Dear Friends of Kijabe Children’s Education Fund,
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Jennifer Jukanovich has been selected as our very first Executive Director. Her appointment has been made possible by a generous donor who recognized the need for KCEF to move from a volunteer-led organization to one that can handle the ever increasing challenges of fulfilling our mission.
As many of you are aware, KCEF was founded in 2007 by several members of the current board. Since then, KCEF has partnered with local Kenyan school leaders to nourish and educate children living in dire poverty. It has become more and more apparent to us that to best serve the limitless needs of children in Nairobi’s slums, we need an experienced director to help set priorities and work alongside the board.
Jennifer brings nearly three decades of domestic and international nonprofit leadership to her new role with KCEF. She is the founding partner of Ambactus Global Solutions, serves as a coach and faculty member for the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust and is a co-investigator for the internationally celebrated 2020 GLOBE project. She is also the co-author of The Culturally Conscious Board: Setting the Boardroom Table for Impact. As a former Vice President for Student Life at Gordon College, she believes strongly in the power of education to change lives.
Jennifer’s own educational background includes a doctorate in Global Leadership and Change from Pepperdine University, a Master’s of Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a Bachelor’s in Political Studies from Gordon College.
Prior to serving as vice president for student life at Gordon, Jennifer lived and worked in Rwanda, where her family co-founded Karisimbi Business Partners, a management consulting and private equity firm. She has also held positions as the founder and executive director of The Vine, executive assistant to the president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, personal assistant to the religious liaison for the President of the United States, and associate with the Renaissance Weekends.
Jennifer’s strong leadership abilities and passion to serve the poor, coupled with her lived experience in East Africa, are exactly what we need to lead KCEF into the future.
Jennifer is an entrepreneurial and visionary leader, as well as a strong communicator and team leader with a proven track record of successfully bridging cultures and collaborating with others. Those qualities make her the ideal person to help us in our partnership with Kenyan leaders working to transform the lives of children in the slums of Nairobi.
“I am very excited to build on the incredible foundation laid by the founders of KCEF and our Kenyan partners,” says Jennifer. “The hard facts are that half of the three million people in Nairobi live in slum conditions. In Kibera, the largest slum, forty-percent of children in Kibera do not even attend school, and a disproportionate number of these out-of-school children are girls. Still more out-of-school children are among Kibera’s 150,000 orphans. And Kibera is just one of the slums where KCEF is working.
The need is undoubtedly great. But KCEF has found true change makers— Kenyan community leaders who are bringing hope out of despair for the children in their communities. I want to see these leaders have even greater resources to educate and nourish the children living in these harsh conditions, giving them a future and a hope.”
~ Jennifer Jukanovich
Please join me in welcoming Jennifer and praying for her as she assumes her new leadership role.
Craig Hammon
KCEF Chairman of the Board