Board of Directors

Micklina Peter Kenyi, Executive Director
Term: January 2011-2013

I was the first “Lost Girl of Sudan” to settle in Colorado: a far distance from my village in the Didinga Hills of Southern Sudan. As a child, I fled my homeland when government forces began a deliberate and devastating ethnic cleansing campaign against my people. Like all of the “Lost Girls, I witnessed terrible atrocities, endured starvation and the separation from my family as the ensuing violence escalated into genocide.

I too walked my journey under unbearable conditions before reaching Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya: a place where life was heartbreaking and filled with the constant fear of danger, violence and disease.

Hope finally came into my life when I was taken into a Kenyan orphanage run by Sister Luise Radlemeier, and I began to pursue my dream of an education: a dream that led me on the long journey to America and the shining day in 2008, when I became a graduate of the University of Colorado. In 2009 I became an American citizen!

Once safe in the U.S., I partnered with Sister Luise to resettle other Sudanese refugee women in Colorado. In 2005, with the help of American friends and my husband Omunu, I founded the Community of Sudanese and American Women/Men (CSAW), now Comunnity of South Sudanese and American Women/Men (CSSAW). CSSAW’s mission, to empower other Sudanese refugee women through education, has been responsible for providing educational and financial support, mentoring, health care, and acculturation and life skills assistance for 19 young women to date. I am very proud to serve as the Executive Director of CSSAW.

Michael Ritter, President
Term: February 2011-January 2013

I started volunteering with the girls from Sudan shortly after the first six arrived in July 2006. I joined the Board of CSSAW in 2008 and headed the restructuring of the organization, which included defining its mission as a secular non-profit that concentrated on the education of the young women we help. My wife, Mikhy, our four sons and I are the point family for two of the girls.

Professionally, I have worked in the pharmaceutical industry, taught and coached at two high schools, and started two businesses, including the real estate investment company I currently run.

I've been a member of several non-profit organizations and served as president of the board of Congregation Har HaShem.

Omunu Abalu, Vice President
Term: January 2011-2013

As one of the thousands of lucky refugees from war-torn Sudan, I made it to the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya in the early 1990s and was later resettled by the U.S. State Department to Denver, Colorado in January 2004. One of my most proud accomplishments occurred this past year as I became a naturalized U.S. citizen. Working with my wife, Micklina, we co-Founded the organization CSSAW and since the first girls' arrival in the summer of 2006 I have been a volunteer working with them. I also serve on the Board and have done so since 2005.

I graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder and I am currently pursuing an MA degree in Political Science at the University of Colorado, Denver campus. Concurrently, I have been working for the U.S. Census Bureau as a field worker. I strongly believe that all cultures are essentially the same, therefore, people in the community are my dads and moms, uncles and aunts, and brothers and sisters, and that without them I would be "naked."

Ann Cooper, Secretary
Term: May 2011-2013

I have lived in Boulder since 1987 and have served on a number of Boards, Commissions and Committees including: People's Clinic, EFAA, Community Foundation serving Boulder, Safehouse, United Way, the Library Foundation, the Library Commission, Hospice of Boulder County, Historic Boulder and United Black Women of Boulder Valley.

I've received numerous awards including PaceSetter, Women Who Light Up the Community and Community Action Program's Multicultural Award.

I'm married to Geoff Cooper, President/CEO of CaraSolva. My daughter, Jasmine is studying at Northeastern University in Boston majoring in International Business with an Asian emphasis.

Originally, I'm from rural Georgia and as evidenced above, I like to be involved in my community. I attended Loop Junior College in Chicago and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

Curtis Broome, Director
Term: April 2009-2012

I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, but have proudly called Colorado home since my high school years when I moved to Estes Park, Colorado. I am an active volunteer in the community, working with international aid groups such as Compassion International and local aid organizations such as the Denver Rescue Mission and The United Way. I have helped to establish a not-for-profit skate park in rural Texas, dedicated time to work with orphans in Katmandu, Nepal, and rebuilt devastated areas in southern Thailand after the 2004 tsunami. I currently work for a large non-profit in Boulder, Colorado. I am an active musician, performing and recording with many regional acts while also teaching at the collegiate level. I currently live in Denver, Colorado.

Priscilla (Polly) Dana, Director
Term: April 2009-2012

I have worked with a number of non-profit educational organizations and served on the Board for First Presbyterian Cooperative Preschool here in Boulder. My work experience is primarily in education. I have worked as a camp director (which included working closely with the Board), science department head, and teacher/instructor for both traditional classroom and alternative educational programs in the U.S. and abroad.

In 1983-84 I worked for the International Rescue Committee with refugee relief at two refugee camps in Thailand. That experience taught me a lot about the plight of refugees, the system managed by the UNHCR for placement to third countries, and the cultural challenges facing those who have been forced to leave their home country. I have found it rewarding to be at the other end of the refugees' journey with the women of CSSAW.

I became involved with CSSAW as a tutor in the fall of 2007 and later joined the Education Committee. In January of this year I joined Linda Schwartz at the Thinking Outside the Box school as the math and science instructor.
Many people have put an enormous amount of time and heart into supporting the young women of CSSAW; I am honored to be part of the CSSAW community.

Gil Berman, Director
Term: May 2010-2013

I have been an independent financial adviser in Boulder for 20 years, and have been a member of five non-profit boards since 1999. I served as the treasurer for the Bixby School and Congregation Har HaShem, and as vice president for Har HaShem. Prior to joining the board, I volunteered with CSSAW by helping to prepare thank you letters to donors. I am married to Nancy Berman and we have an 18 year old daughter, Hannah.

Reagen Lozar, Director
Term: May 2010-2013

I attended the University of Georgia where I received a Bachelor's in Business Administration, completing a dual degree in Marketing and Risk Management/Insurance. I completed my Master's in Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Colorado at Boulder in August 2009.

I have volunteered with the Longmont Humane Society, assisting with the growth and maintenance of their social media pages (Facebook and Twitter). I was later hired by the Longmont Humane Society as a development associate and have been employed there since the fall of 2010. 

I feel a strong connection to CSSAW and its mission. I look forward to using my experience to advise fellow CSSAW volunteers on communications, public relations and marketing efforts.

Rachel Lionberg, Director
Term: 2011 - 2014

A recent transplant to the Boulder area, I relocated to Colorado from Chicago, to take a position with a local non-profit organization. Previous to my move, I held positions in higher education development in the Chicagoland area. I obtained my undergraduate degree in Communication, and my MBA in International Business and Marketing, both from Loyola University Chicago.

I have served on the Young Alumni Board for my alma mater, and since 2002, have volunteered for the international study abroad program that I participated in. Previous to my move, I had begun to work with a non-profit that supports the Southern Sudanese refugee community in Chicago. I am delighted to be able to continue supporting these individuals here in my new home, and look forward to utilizing my development and fundraising skills to further the CSSAW mission.