Cura International Advisory Committee
Evelyn Mungai, Project Coordinator
Evelyn Mungai is the overall Project Coordinator for the Cura village empowerment program, within which sits the Cura Rotary Home. She is one of Kenya's leading women entrepreneurs, and is best known for her pioneering school of design. She has for many years been a champion for women's economic empowerment. She was the first lady member of the Rotary Club of Nairobi, and its first lady President. She has also served on numerous Kenyan, continent-wide and global boards, and is currently a property developer. She has been chairperson of the Kenya chapter of Transparency International, and was nationally honoured by the President of Kenya with the Order of the Grand Warrior.
Mike Eldon, Deputy Project Coordinator
Mike Eldon, Evelyn Mungai's husband, partners and supports her on empowering the people of Cura. He was in the IT industry for many years, and is now a management consultant and an author. He has been a member of the Rotary Club of Nairobi since 1978, and served as its President in 1986. He has served on the boards of various private sector associations, and is currently on the council of a local university and a director of a water and alternative energy equipment company. His book, 'Kenyans. Yes we Can', has just been published.
Hayden Bixby Nichols, International Program Coordinator
Hayden Bixby Nichols is a member of the Advisory Committee and has been the International Program Coordinator since December 2008. She is tenured English faculty at Edmonds Community College in Washington state, and serves as a Board member for Wyo-Ben, in Billings, Montana. As a young woman, she lived in Kenya and briefly attended the University of Nairobi before returning to the U.S. and graduating from Pitzer College with a degree in English and Third World Studies. Hayden went on to complete her MA degree in English Studies at Western Washington University, focusing her research on West African literature.
Yassi Somen
Yassi Somen is a member of the Advisory Committee and has volunteered at Cura Rotary Home and Cura Primary School since her move to Kenya in 2009. She was born in Iran and, at age 11, moved with her family to New York to escape the revolution. She received her BA in Comparative Humanities from Old Westbury NY, and is now a mother of three. She lives a peaceful and purposeful life and being at Cura has magnified that for her to an even fuller degree.
Amy Eldon
Amy Eldon is a member of the Advisory Committee. Her career in broadcasting began with the Emmy nominated documentary, Dying to Tell the Story. She was the Associate Producer and host of the film which wove the story of her brother, photographer Dan Eldon, with those of other journalists working in conflict zones around the world. Amy also co-produced Soldiers of Peace for CNN. In 2003 she was the host and co-creator of Global Tribe a PBS series about “change-makers,” ordinary people finding solutions to the challenges they face. She is the co-author, with Kathy Eldon, of three books, published by Chronicle Books: Soul Catcher: A Journal to Help You Become Who You Really Are; Angel Catcher: A Journal of Loss and Remberance; and Love Catcher: A Journal to Invite Love into Your Life. Currently she is Vice President of Production for Creative Visions Productions and Co-Chair of the Creative Visions Foundation.
Jon Turteltaub
Jon Turteltaub is a member of the Advisory Committee. Born in New York and raised in Beverly Hills, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University and his Masters degree from the USC School of Cinema and Television. He has been one of Hollywood's premier directors for over 15 years. His biggest hits include "Cool Runnings" with John Candy, "While You Were Sleeping" with Sandra Bullock, "Phenomenon" starring John Travolta, and both "National Treasure" movies. In July of 2010, Turteltaub will release his 9th film for the Walt Disney Studios: "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." In Television, Turteltaub was the executive producer of the CBS hit "Jericho" in 2006-2008 and executive producer of the CBS mini-series “Harper’s Island” which aired in the Spring of 2009.
Susan O'Neal
Susan O’Neal is a member of the Advisory Committee and a third generation Coloradoan. She received her BA and MA degrees from Colorado State University before living in a number of countries teaching English to corporate executives in the 70’s. She is an accomplished humanitarian who has facilitated diverse projects in both the corporate and charitable realms. She is a passionate Rotarian, with a global network of colleagues, and her desire is to reach out to “the poorest of the poor” in developing countries and to continue being an independent philanthropist and humanitarian.