Bea Simpson
Founding Director
Bea is one of the founders at Tusome Africa. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Education at the Cambridge University where she completed a Master of Philosophy in Education in 2019. As a trained lawyer, she has worked in the justice and health sectors in Kenya, Uganda and the UK.
She is passionate about education and sees it as one of the greatest equalisers in society and for many people, the only invisible line of separation between absolute poverty and a life of dignity. She has seen it first-hand throughout her life where for instance justice is for those who can afford it and can read and write. In her words ‘I decided that I would not wait for governments, and international bodies to do it for us. I am part of the solution and we together can start an education revolution.’
Peter Tibigambwa
Co-Founder
Peter is one of the founding members and a trustee with a special focus on operations. He worked with the Justice Defenders in Uganda and Kenya for six years where he worked in prisons and travelled extensively to mobilise funds. Before that he worked for a health research charity and a tabloid newspaper. He has most recently moved to Safe Way Right Way Uganda where he is working has set his sights towards promoting Road Safety in Uganda by leveraging private – public sector partnerships. He is passionate about functional education of the African child and empowerment of the African girl. Outside Safe Way Right Way and Tusome Africa, he is also Trustee of Tribe + Glory where Women from Eastern Uganda are empowered to achieve sustainable livelihoods. Peter is a recipient of the Commonwealth Secretary General's Innovation for Sustainable Development award.
Aggie Nakirya
Co-Founder
Aggie is a founding member and trustee with special roles in Programmes. Aggie is a former Felix Scholar and a recent graduate with a Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the University of Oxford. She is currently the Deputy Team Leader for the DFID funded project; Strengthening Education Systems for Improved Learning (SESIL), implemented by Mott MacDonald’s Cambridge Education, in Uganda. aimed at improving learning outcomes for pupils in Uganda’s primary Aggie has an interest in public policy; governance; policy execution, innovation and adaptation; anti-corruption, transparency and accountability; public sector reform and organisational change (including policy processes, structures and behaviours); access to justice, education, and legal empowerment. She spearheaded an innovative legal Aid programme at a Social Justice charity resulting to the release of over 2800 prisoners, with the Legal Aid Model replicated at the national level with support from a leading donor basket fund.
Steve Cutts
Trustee - Organisational Development
Steve has wide-ranging senior level experience in international organizations, delivering results and driving major reforms to improve effectiveness and efficiency. His role as a trustee involve organisational development. He served from 2013 to 2017 as United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for the Office of Central Support Services in New York, and was previously Assistant Secretary-General for Corporate Affairs at the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Before this, he held various senior positions in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, including Chef de Cabinet and Deputy Executive Director. In November 2017, Steve became the Chief Executive of Reach to Teach, an education charity working in India with its HQ in London. Under his leadership, Reach to Teach has transformed from a schools and community-based charity into a strategic partner of the Government, helping to improve foundational literacy and numeracy outcomes across a circa of 33,000 schools.
Barbara Achiro Ogwal
Trustee - UK – Organisation development
Barbara currently works as an Operations Manager for Elite UK, a Health and Social Care, human resource employment agency in the UK where she has been working for the past ten years building the agency from start up. She has also held various roles in management in revenue, health and social care and retail industries.
Barbara has a degree in Social Sciences from Makerere University, Business Administration from Gloucestershire College and Business Process Analysis and Engineering from Cranfield University. Barbara enjoys travelling and reading.
Chris Thompson
Trustee UK
A respected leader of international teams with over 25 years of commodities trading experience in sugar, cocoa, coffee and base metals. Currently Senior Coffee and Sugar Trader with ED&F Man Holdings Ltd. Formerly Chief Trading Officer for Sugar at Olam Europe Ltd and Senior VP – Macro and Strategic Trading in their Cocoa group. Various senior commodity trading roles at Noble Group, Louis Dreyfus and Cargill. Chris has a BSc Hons from University of Aston in Birmingham and a Certificate in Managerial Finance from London School of Economics.
Dora Kiconco
Board Member Uganda
Dora is a member of our board in Uganda. For the past 10 years, she has worked as the Executive Director of UGANET - an organization that promotes HIV, health and gender justice in Uganda. Among her causes is articulating Education as a human right and a key social justice issue - the main tool that liberates communities from poverty. She is a proud member of our Board which she sees as platform to have her voice heard on quality education for children on the African continent. Dora is a feminist leader, a mother and a gardener. She believes that access to quality education for children is a turning point to unlocking injustices in health and social equity. She is a practicing human rights lawyer and advocate. She is passionate about causes that mobilize social leadership and exploit law and legal policy to drive transformation and equity
Davis Ddamulira
Chair, Uganda Board
Davis is a Development Economist by profession and currently chairs our board in Uganda. He formerly served as the Executive Director of the Independent Development Fund (IDF), WaterAid Uganda, ActionAid Uganda, MS-Kenya, Uganda Debt Network and Centre for Development Initiatives (CDI). He has contributed to the growth and strengthening of several civil society organizations through technical support in grant management and fundraising, effective institutional governance and programme management.
Davis is a researcher on different development subjects including trade policy and negotiations, budget policy and governance, rural livelihoods, food security and poverty reduction strategies. He has served on different organizational boards like: treasure in SEATINI Uganda (Treasurer) and East Africa Association Grant makers-EAA), MS Uganda (Member) and chairperson to the Uganda Water and Sanitation Network-UWASNET)
He is an active participant in international trade negotiations, strengthening social movements, and fair trade as well as debt relief for developing countries.
Daniel Joloba
Chair programmes sub-committee - Uganda
Daniel is a member of our board who currently heads the Programmes & Fundraising Sub-committee in Uganda. He has over fifteen years of small and medium enterprise training and, consulting experience, advising and coaching clients in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia, Rwanda and Ethiopia.
He is an accomplished business coach and practicing entrepreneur, with interests in real estate, construction, commercial forestry, financial services, transport and agro-processing among other Education, Social and Economic Development ambitions. Daniel is a professional entrepreneurship trainer who has delivered entrepreneurship development programs that have reached over 50,000 small and medium enterprises in Uganda and beyond. He has headed (as Program Manager), the entrepreneurship development programs that promoted youth entrepreneurship skilling, like the Northern Uganda Youth Entrepreneurship Program (NUYEP), the Local Enterprise and Agribusiness Program (LEAP), the business linkage program, the Strengthening Small and Medium Enterprises (SSME) program.
Macey Tan
Trustee – UK
Macey focuses on TUSOME’s fundraising stream. She is passionate about strategy, sustainable fundraising and social entrepreneurship. She believes access to education is a human right and the fundamental driver of development. Macey has a diverse career background, with experiences in Social Entrepreneurship and Marketing. She currently manages the Investment & Market Analysis team for market expansion at IKEA in Southeast Asia, one of the most sustainable companies in the world. Macey holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA Honours) from the National University of Singapore, and was a visiting scholar at Yale University.
Esther Bwaku
Treasurer – Board Uganda
Esther is the Treasurer for the Ugandan Board and chairs the Country’s Finance & Risk Sub-committee. She is a Human Capital Practitioner currently working for Stanbic Bank Uganda, as Manager HR Service and Benefits. In her 15 years at Stanbic Bank Uganda, she has held various roles in the Human Capital space; including: - Human Capital Business partnership, Learning and Development consultancy & facilitation, Training Lead on the Core Banking Projects in Standard Bank Namibia & Stanbic Uganda. She has also worked with Price Water house Coopers and Africa One Airline where she gained valuable experience in radio program production, communications, customer experience, sales and administration. Esther holds an MA (Public Administration & Management) and a Bachelor of Arts in Education.
Elise Mahoro
Board Member, Uganda
Elise is a member of our board in Uganda and sits on the Programmes and Fundraising Sub-committee. She is a Founder and Director at EASE Agriculture Co Ltd based in Uganda which she has been managing since 2010. She is the proud exporter of Jam gourmet brand Abana™ jam, and Jam premium brand (since January 2016) Kijuli™. She has also been a Board Director at Metajua (U) Ltd, a firm specialised in the use of IT for data collection, analysis and display with a key focus on agriculture supply chains. Elise is also a French interpretation consultant and a Photojournalist and video freelance consultant (France, Uganda). She previously worked in film production, and as a researcher at the Rwanda 10 genocide press centre and also as a journalist. Elise has a Degree in journalism and communication.
Rosalind Hancell
Trustee-UK
Ros brings a wealth of experience and expertise spanning two decades. Her career has been marked by transformative efforts in schools both in the UK and abroad, with a focus on enhancing the quality of teaching, learning, and educational leadership, particularly within primary education.
Ros's passion lies in reigniting the joy of learning among pupils, fostering their excitement, imagination, and curiosity. Having served as the Executive Director of Education at Reach to Teach, she has demonstrated her commitment by supporting and challenging teaching, learning, and leadership methods in marginalized communities in India. Her experience as a Head Teacher and her extensive work with schools and government agencies have provided her with a comprehensive understanding of the education landscape, ensuring that improvements remain closely aligned with the needs of children.
Ros's collaborative approach is further exemplified by her partnership with government as a Specialist Education Advisor, where she contributes to enhancing the quality of education in primary schools.
Lillian Nakiwala Nyakana
Board Member - Uganda.
Lilian is board member and sits in the sub-committee for Programmes & Fundraising in Uganda. Lillian is passionate about books and reading. She worked with the National Book Trust of Uganda as Program Officer in charge of Children's Reading Tents and now runs a Children's Reading Club registered as a community based organisation in Gayaza, Uganda where she is working from the grassroots out and providing reach out opportunities to schools. She holds a B.A Social Sciences, from Makerere University and an M.A Ethics and Public Management.
Patrick Timmis
Trustee UK
Patrick sits on the Finance and Fundraising sub-committees. He is a Finance and Strategy Professional with ten years’ experience working in Africa across management consulting and within a Pan-African multinational where his roles included running the financial planning process and as one of the project leads in the company’s listing on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges.
Patrick is currently working in London and Nairobi on expansion strategy for clean cooking fuels and technology start-up. His passion for improving education in Africa stems from volunteer experience teaching in Rwanda in 2008 and 2009.