Leadership
Our Management Team
Board of Directors
Our Ambassadors
Our Management Team
Bisila Bokoko
Founder and Board Chair of BBALP
Bisila Bokoko is the former Executive Director of The Spain-US Chamber of Commerce located in New York City. In this capacity she helped several businesses and governments build strategic partnerships that have assisted to set the bedrock for sustainable global economic growth expansion using her own brand of energetic leadership, vision and spirit over the years.
Prior to joining the Spain-US Chamber of Commerce, Mrs. Bokoko-Echols had a six-year tenure with IVEX NYC, a Spanish agency dedicated to developing trade and investment opportunities between the Spanish region of Valencia and the United States. She played a key role in securing Valencia as the host city for the 32nd Annual America’s Cup, outbidding Portugal’s Cascais, France’s Marseilles and Naples in Italy.
In 2010 she was selected to participate and provide her expertise to Empretec an integrated capacity-building program of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in the area of SMEs and entrepreneurial skills promotion.
Always reminded by the obstacles she faced as one of only a handful of African families living in Spain, and the joy and power of reading that kept her focused on her goals, Mrs. Bokoko founded the, Bisila Bokoko African Literacy Project, a foundation focused on leveraging resources from all over the world providing books and resources to the people in Africa. She currently manages all day to day operations for the organization, overseeing the projected programs.
Mrs. Bokoko-Echols received her Masters in International Relations from the City College of New York, her Masters in Business Administration and a Degree in Law (J.D. Equivalent) from the Universidad CEU of San Pablo.
Valarie Hunsinger
Director of Library Training Programs
Kubah Borico
Europe/Program Director
Leonardo Melchiori
Latin America/Program Director
John Hutchison
Ghana/Program Director
Board of Directors
Kike Sarasola
Kike Sarasola comes from a multifaceted career as an athlete, businessman, and actor. Kike won three medals in all three Olympic Games he participated in: Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, and Sydney 2000. He was champion of Spain on four occasions, and won the bronze medal at the European Championship 2001 (the first bronze medal won by a Spaniard in that event). Kike Sarasola has been involved in real estate companies for many years. In addition to real estate Kike has IT projects, and he is managing the Hippodrome de Madrid. Kike founded the successful and innovative Room-Mate Hotels chain, of which he is now President and recently the Spain-US Chamber of Commerce honored him the “Young Entrepreneur Award”.
Maite Loubet
Maite Loubet holds a Degree in Law (J.D) and a Masters Degree in International Aid and Development. At present she manages international contract negotiations at the Spanish company ISOLUX CORSAN a world leader in renewable energy generation.
Loubet also has an extensive history in the field of Children’s Rights. In July of 2004 she adopted a Ghanaian baby and became deeply involved with Orphan Aid Africa, a non-profit organization which aims to support orphans and vulnerable children in Ghana with programs in care reform, education, and development.
She researched intensively on the links between Children’s Institutional Care and Human Rights and participated with a new perspective of rights in the launching of the Ghanaian “Orphans and vulnerable children care reform initiative”. After avocating to put children’s rights at the core of the spanish international development agenda Loubet aims to promote cultural diversity and cultural rights in Africa as an integral part of the mainstreaming human rights perspective.
Michelle Mitchell
Michelle has a certification in Computer Systems Technology, and has extensive business expertise having worked for companies such as The Ford Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Sony/BMG, Goldman Sachs, and Yahoo.
Michelle has worked as an officer in the Long Beach Branch NAACP back in 2003 and currently has active memberships in, The New York Urban League Young Professionals, National Council of Negro Women, and The Order of Eastern Star, The National Congress of Black Women, Inc., Black Data Processing Associates, National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). Michelle has also created an online support and empowerment group for the women of color called The Phenomenal Women Group in 2004 that translated into a movement and solidified itself in November of 2006.
Bettina Alonso
A visionary and dynamic leader, innovative strategist, and pragmatic bridge builder with more than 15 years’ experience positioning non-profits to greater levels of financial solvency and operational efficiencies.
Career reflects vast experiences leading organizations during all phases of development including start-up, expansion and revitalization. Talent for motivating and inspiring employees, donors and board members in the United States, Europe and South America.
Highly effective at developing the framework, building the foundation and setting goals for fundraising. Proven ability to attract and secure investments of $1,000 to $1MM from individual donors. Possess 20 years’ experience cultivating relationships with international business leaders. Instructor for Columbia University’s Master’s level course ‘Global Philanthropy.’
Juan Manuel Gabarron
Juan Manuel Gabarron is the Vicepresident of the Gabarron Foundation. The main objective of The Carriage House Gabarron Foundation is based on the promotion of Culture, making this multicultural space a reference in the city of New York, a meeting- and educational-point where learning is the cornerstone of freedom for a sustainable society. Juan Manuel specializes in art exhibitions and various cultural activities. The Gabarron foundation which Juan Manuel successfully runs also serves as a meeting point for people, organizations and governments to promote the exchange of world cultures.
Fran Bardusco
Fran holds a Masters in Education, with specialization in second language literacy (Spanish and English). She has worked as a high school English language learning teacher for 16 years, and evaluator of all incoming new students from other countries at Franklin High School in New Jersey. Fran is the advisor to AIU, the Africa and Islands United Club, where the mission is to educate and nurture interest about the African students at her school. Fran co-founded “Books in the Park,” a mobile lending library that brings books and literacy activities to children and families in her school district. She enthusiastically works part-time as an assistant to the children’s librarian at the quaint local library of her hometown, Lambertville, NJ.
Trina Bardusco
Trina is a New York City based director, producer, casting director, and co-founder of Latino Media Works, a production company dedicated to producing quality content for Latinos living in the U.S. She is executive producer and casting director of the “Habla Series” for HBO, and the director of the award winning documentaries “Making Habla” and “Habla Mas” in Chicago. While working for the network V-Me, Trina produced more than 150 episodes of “Viva Voz”, its signature prime-time show featuring Latino celebrities. Fran currently writes and produces “De Moda”, featuring the hottest fashion & beauty trends in television, film & music. De Moda is the first video program created especially for “Yahoo Mujer”, Yahoo’s new site for Hispanic women.
Bardusco’s documentary “El Turista Soy Yo” is distributed by Discmedi (Barcelona), a project she started as a Fulbright scholar titled “Flamenco’s Duende and Deep Song.” She is currently developing a new documentary series in Spain “In Search of Duende.”
June Haynes
June Haynes has been name by Harper’s Baazar as the best dressed and O the Oprah magazine calls her the “Glamour Girl” and publishes her style tips.June is known as much for her business acumen and her accomplishments as for her sense of chic a perfect balance for her position as Vicepresident of Retail & Brand Ambassador for Valentino. She has been extremly successful at building high-performance management and in-store sales teams while leading sophisticated apparel and merchandising organizations with P&L responsibility up to $50 million. A strategic visionary with a clear sense of purpose and urgency when faced with diverse situational challenges Highly skilled at inspiring staff to exceed business objectives and establishing sales and merchandising excellence within culturally diverse environments, translating conceptual models into specific growth strategies, and planning/executing multi-faceted global business development campaigns designed to improve market share, gross revenue and EBITDA.
June serves in several boards sharing her expertise as the Museum of Natural History and March to the Top Africa.
Jennifer OK
Jennifer Ok is a Managing Director at The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ), the world’s largest exchange company. Jennifer plays a key role in the strategic development and implementation of the company’s branding and messaging. Jennifer is responsible for the full spectrum of NASDAQ OMX’s Strategic initiatives, including Times Square advertising, nationally and internationally televised Opening and Closing Bell Ceremonies as well as specials events targeting NASDAQ OMX customers and audiences in the U.S. and abroad.
Prior to joining NASDAQ, Jennifer was with the National Football League (NFL) where she served as the liaison between NFL headquarters and 32 NFL teams, players and external partners in the Community Relations division of the Communications & Public Affairs Department.
Jennifer earned her BA in Environmental Studies and Sociology from Oberlin College where she served as the President of Class.
John Phillips
John Phillips is the former Deputy under Secretary of Defense (Logistics). He recently left Home Depot as Vice President of the Government Solutions Group, which he formed. The organization propelled Home Depot into the federal business, growing to over $100M in the first 12 months of operations. He is now president of Phillips Defense Consultants. His organization boasts of subject matter experts across the range of Defense operations from IT, supply chain management, and acquisition, to Network Centric Warfare.
John served for more than 27 years in the United States Air Force, retiring with the rank of Major General. His last assignment was Commander, McClellen AFB, California. The military depot was responsible for aircraft, satellites and microelectronic technology. John earned the highest Department of Defense certifications (level III) in Program Management, Acquisitions Logistics, and Computer Systems Development (DOD Black Belt equivalent). He is a fighter pilot with over 3,000 flying hours, 300 hours in combat. He earned wings as a navigator and pilot and was awarded German pilot wings. He has flown the F-15, F-111, T-38, KC-135 and T-37 aircraft.
Active in civic and professional affairs, John is currently a member of the Army Science Board; International Society of Logistics Engineers, Board of Directors; Association for Enterprise Integration; Maintenance Repair & Overhaul Conference; Board of Visitors, Defense Acquisition University; Shades of Blue (Aviation Mentoring), Americorps National Civilian Community Corps, and is a former chairman of the Board of Advisors of the Tuskegee Airman, Inc and formerly served on the Board of Boys and Girls Club of America. His other accomplishments include authoring the book, “Navigating the Pentagon” and co-authoring the book, “Military Project Management,” as well as numerous articles and lectures on leadership and management. John is a current member of the Air Force Association, US Chamber of Commerce, US China Policy Foundation, The Corporate Council of Africa, The Navy League and the Association of U.S. Army. He is the 2010 recipient of the DOD Acquisition Excellence Acker Award. He and his wife Blanche have three daughters, one son and four grandchildren.
Busie Matsiko
Executive Director of The Global Syndicate— a collection of professionals and friends who mobilize their resources for paradigm shifting activities. The current Global Syndicate campaign is entitled the Haiti Project— it will raise the substantial awareness and dollars for education, economic development, and health related issues in Haiti.
Busie’s name seems to come come up where is a co-relation between For Profit companies and non- For profit organizations. This drove her to seeking opportunities at top tier financial firms such as Smith Barney, Oppenheimer and Company, and Citibank where she was determined to leave a positive mark. While at these firms Busie, felt the itch to further impact communities, so her business experience, as well as her gregarious personality led her to launch Fashionably Independent in 2005 otherwise known as Fashion Indie. This was started as a platform for fashion designers to help them become business savvy. Fashion Indie evolved into a Fashion Media company, which was cutting edge and grew a readership of 1MLN a month beating Vogue Magazine. Fashion Indie was recognized by TimeOut New York and Business Week as being one of the top 3 fashion blogs in New York. It even expanded the horizons of fashion designers through the creation of challenges such as the Maurices Handbag Challenge where the winning handbag which was designed by a stay-at-home mother in Wisconsin was mass produced and carried in over 500 Maurices Stores throughout the United States respectively. Fashion Indie managed accounts such as Maurices, Louis Vuitton, and numerous Project Runway Alumni.
Our Ambassadors
Our Ambassadors are people who truly understand the mission of BBALP and who have pledged to help spread awareness and understanding of the need to share the gift of ideas and literacy in Africa.
Almudena Fernandez
Starting with a career in fashion defined by collaboration with the world’s most renowned designers, photographers, and media, and evolving into socially conscious partnerships with former Vice President Al Gore and other icons of global change, Almudena Fernandez is working to capture humanity’s imagination in exciting and impactful ways. Almudena has worked in many other projects to promote eco-friendly and humanitarian messages. In September 2009, Almudena launched the Sweet Rock Eco shoe line, and recently joined forces with Lupo to fight hunger in Africa through the proceeds earned by a bag made from ecological and biodegradable materials.
Spanish Elle awarded Almudena with their ecology and environmental prize, and she collaborates annually with the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United States on various projects related to fashion and ecology. In 2010, she was awarded the “Best Steward Prize” by the Sustainable Planet Film Festival for all her recent work.
In the end, all human beings are the same, and her work reminds us that we all deserve a healthy world in which to celebrate our lives.
Gbenga Akinnagbe
Having begun his acting career in theater just nine years ago, Nigerian-American actor Gbenga Akinnagbe has since carved himself a well-respected niche on stage and screen.
Best known for his role as street assassin “Chris Partlow” on the critically acclaimed HBO series, THE WIRE, Gbenga has also proved himself to be a versatile performer with a multitude of varying roles. His recent film credits include THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123, THE EDGE OF DARKNESS, starring Mel Gibson, and THE LOTTERY TICKET, starring Bow Wow, released by Warner Bros. On television, he is currently recurring on the Emmy award winning series, THE GOOD WIFE, and also starred on BARBERSHOP: THE SERIES, for Showtime. Gbenga has made guest appearances on Fringe, Dark Blue, Law and Order: Conviction, Cold Case and Law and Order: SVU to name a few. Most recently, he completed a World Premiere at Seattle’s Intiman Theatre; a one-man show, “The Thin Place”. An accomplished stage actor, Gbenga frequently works with The LAByrinth Theatre Company, founded by Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz. His performance with the group stemmed from his collaboration with Hoffman and Laura Linney in the Oscar-nominated independent feature, THE SAVAGES. Gbenga is also an avid world-traveler. In 2009, Akinnagbe became a freelance writer for the New York Times after they published his first article on his trip through the Himalayas. Yet some of Gbenga’s proudest accomplishments lie within his community outreach. He is a member of the executive boards of both “All for Africa” and “Shine on Sierra Leone”. He is also a spokesperson for other nonprofits such as, “Let’s get Ready”, and “Rewired for Change”.
Gbenga Akinnagbe currently resides in New York.
Maria Jurado
María Jurado -also known as Suniti- has worked as an actress in Spain, France, Italy and USA under the direction of directors such as Gabriele Salvatores (Oscar for Mediterraneo), Michel Gondry, Abel Ferrara (The Funeral) in 22 films.
She has worked as a Reiki Master in Usui and Reiki Unitario (Shamballa, Karuna), giving sesions and Iniciating people in Reiki I and Reiki II all around Europe (Spain, France, Bulgaria, etc) as well as guiding Active Osho Meditations.
Nowadays, she is directing a shortfilm and developing a Documentary called “A seeker” -the relationship of a disciple with an enlighted Master-. As a director she is sharing the spiritual path and new ways of healing though the cinema.
“As a writer, I consider books are an amazing tool to learn, to grow , to find the knowledge necesary to do what you want to do in your life, to find freedom . On my spiritual path, books are a huge door to grow in councioussnes, in Acceptance. That’s why I totaly belive it’s necesary to bring books to this kids to find their own freedom.”