Laptops
to Lesotho
ABOUT US
BOARD OF DIRECTORS & VOLUNTEERS
(All volunteer and unpaid positions)
Founder: Janissa Balcomb
Janissa was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho from 1977-80. She is co-founder of Laptops to Lesotho. Janissa is currently taking a leave due to health reasons.
President: Kathy Plath
Kathy is a retired I.T. teacher and librarian. She is familiar with Lesotho, having lived there in the early 1980s. She is in charge of fundraising and assists with lesson development and training. She traveled to Lesotho in January 2013 and March 2014 to help with training at Nohana Primary and Kokobe Primary Schools.
Treasurer: Vicki Panhuise
Vicki retired in 2017 after 35 years working in the aerospace and defense industry. She is now an adjunct professor at Arizona State University. Vicki and her husband have established a Family Foundation that is focused on education, with a particular interest in STEM education for girls.
Secretary: Sarah Gardner
Sarah graduated from the University of Evansville with a BS in elementary education. She teaches kindergarten in Bloomington, Indiana. Sarah serves as L2L Secretary, and she has been to Kokobe to assist with training.
Director: Sherrie Howey
Sherrie got involved with L2L through her work for FIPE (The Foundation for International Professional Exchange), where she is currently president. FIPE provides scholarships to top students participating in the L2L program so they can continue on to secondary school. Sherrie participated in the January 2013 L2L trip to Lesotho.
Director: Janet Lee
Janet Lee, Dean Emerita, Regis University in Denver, is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Ethiopia. She has returned to Ethiopia six times to work on various library and literacy projects. Her most recent stay was as a Fulbright Scholar from August of 2017 to May 2018, where she worked at the Axumite Heritage Library.
Board Member: Scott Loomis
Scott Loomis is a recently retired organizational development specialist with 50 years of international development experience. Mr. Loomis started his career as in Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia in 1969. Since then he has worked in over 40 countries in a variety of development programs.
LOCAL LEADERS
Project Coordinator: Florence Tieho Monoto
Based in the capital Maseru, Florence coordinates all aspects of the project in Lesotho. She handles communications, logistics, information gathering, progress reports, translation, and she assists with training.
Alice Ranthimo, Principal
Alice is the principal at Kokobe Primary School in Ketane. She has worked as both teacher and principal for several decades at a school with few resources and only three classrooms for 200 students. She is the project's lead for all local community contacts and organization at Kokobe Primary School.