LEADERSHIP

Anna Msowoya-Keys
Founder & President

Anna has worked for the past 20 years to improve the lives of some of Africa’s most disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. Through project management with nonprofits like Action Aid, the Norwegian Refugee Council, the International Rescue Committee and Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, Anna has worked in Mozambique, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and Rwanda and her native Malawi with refugees and others affected by armed conflict, people living in extreme poverty, and people living with HIV/AIDS. In recognition of her empowering work with women in Malawi, she was the first recipient of Whole Women Healing Award: “Women of Compassion Award for 2007”. Anna divides her time between Mzuzu, Malawi and Nyack, New York, where she lives with her husband and two sons.

John Keys
Chief Operating Officer
John brings more than 35 years of international development experience to Maloto. John was recently Safe Water Network’s Executive Vice President, where he worked for five years. Prior to that, John worked for 18 years at the International Rescue Committee, where he led international relief and development programs and US domestic refugee resettlement assistance programs. As Maloto’s COO, John is responsible for finance and administration, and supports the President and Executive Director in program management and development. John lived and worked in Africa for 14 years, with extended assignments in Togo, Malawi and Rwanda. He began his international development career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo.
Read Bio
Claire Johnston
Board Chair
Claire is a partner in LOOC Art, an independent art consultancy. She has a BA from the University of Virginia and lives in Southampton, NY with her husband, Bart, and four children. Prior to moving to Bedford, Claire ran the trade show division of SIGS Publications, a publisher of magazines and journals for software development professionals. She is currently working with Campus Bound Scholars, an organization that mentors and supports first-generation college freshman to ensure they successfully transition to the world of higher education.
Read Bio
Liza Nugent
Executive Director, Board Vice Chair
Liza received a Masters’s Degree in Global Affairs from New York University in 2017, with a concentration in Global Gender Studies and Economic Development. Her thesis, A Case Study in Gender Analysis & Development: Evaluating an Integrated Program for Women’s Empowerment in Mzuzu, Malawi, was based on research conducted with Maloto’s program partners in Malawi. Liza’s previous career was in advertising, where she was the Director of Account Services at the Arnell Group, with a focus on brand image for companies such as Bausch & Lomb, DKNY and Banana Republic. She also worked in publishing for W Magazine, both in New York and Milan during the launch of W Europe, as well as at Ralph Lauren in Paris. Liza has a Bachelor’s Degree of Arts in Government from the University of Texas @ Austin. She currently resides in New York City, with her husband John and two children.
Read Bio
Andrea Cuvelier
Secretary
Andrea grew up in NYC and graduated from Georgetown University in 1988 with a B.A. in Art History. She and her husband, Guillaume, have raised three children in NYC. Andrea has been involved in philanthropy for many years, initially through the Nichols Family Foundation, a multi-generational family foundation founded by her great grand-father whose mission was to support community organizations that create meaningful change through education, the arts, sciences and humanitarian causes. In 2007, Andrea and Guillaume created their own family foundation which focuses on education, the arts, social and environmental causes. From 2011 to 2015 she was a member of the Board of All Souls School in Manhattan. From 2005-2009, she served on the Carnegie Hill Neighbors Board, an organization that focuses on community and quality of life issues in Manhattan. Andrea also serves as an advisor for a crisis
Read Bio
Jacob Koshland
Treasurer
Jake is a Brand Manager with The Clorox Company in Oakland, CA. His inspiration to jump into the world of Consumer Goods was a result of his work with Maloto between 2012 and 2013 where Jacob spent a year in Mzuzu, Malawi. Jacob worked with the women of Kwithu Women’s Group to launch Kwithu Kitchen, the first and only tomato canning business in Northern Malawi. He's continued to advise and support the growing enterprise while in the U.S. Jacob has an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business and a BA from Williams College. He currently lives in Mill Valley, CA with his wife, Claire, and two sons, Simon and Charlie.
Read Bio
Phlyssa Koshland
Board Member
Phlyp’s career has focused on art and sculpture, but she comes from a long family tradition of philanthropy. Her key particular interests are education, social policy for poverty alleviation and environmental issues. She grew up on Long Island during the Civil Rights years, moved to Berkeley in the 1960’s and now divides her time between Sydney, Paris and New York. She holds a BA in Sociology from Harvard.
Read Bio
Kate Moran
Board Member
Kate was introduced to Maloto's founder in 2005, and was so captivated by the love that Anna showed for the people of Malawi, that in 2011, Anna invited Kate to Malawi to see for herself the great work that Maloto had been doing. That trip made a lasting impact. Kate was incredibly inspired by the positive impact the organization was making and wanted to be involved. As a former collegiate athlete, Kate no longer plays competitive sports, but has found a passion in the outdoors and spending time with close friends and family. She lives in Concord, MA with her wife, Erin, and two young sons, Max and Hunter. Kate is currently working part-time in Interior Design and house staging for Real Estate Brokers in the Boston area.
Read Bio
Elizabeth Bohart
Emeritus Board Member
Elizabeth is a social impact strategist and founder of the Antelope Foundation. She works with start-up initiatives and organizations in transition. Recent examples of her work include co-managing the development of the Global Survivors Fund, an initiative established by Nobel Laureates, Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad, and co-founding AMPLIFY Girls alongside 18 community-driven organizations in eastern Africa. Bohart also worked to support the development of Maloto and Kwithu Kitchen, and served as Maloto's founding Board Chair.
Read Bio
Victoria Harmon
Board Member
Victoria has served as the Senior Advisor to the Chairman of Energy and Finance for New York. Prior to this role, she was a Managing Director for Credit Suisse in the Talent, Branding and Communications division. She has worked for Salomon Smith Barney in the Corporate Communications department in both their New York and Hong Kong offices, as well as for the US Trade Representative, Mickey Kantor. Victoria holds a JD from Georgetown University and a BA in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.
Read Bio
Rose Allen
Board Member
After serving as the longstanding, inaugural President of Maloto's Young Professionals Board for 6 years, Rose passed the baton and stepped up to the Board of Directors in 2022. After graduating from Miami University of Ohio, where she studied Psychology and Marketing, Rose returned to the East Coast, first in an account position at a healthcare advertising company in NYC. Rose then joined the team at Indagare, a luxury, boutique travel agency, where she organized an "Insider Trip" to Mzuzu to showcase Maloto's programs to curious Indagare members. Rose then spent 2 years at Eleven Experience, a global experiential hotel brand, before her return to Indagare in 2023 as Director of Safari Experience.
Read Bio
Claire Whipple Koshland
Board Member
Claire is a dedicated educator and longtime supporter of Maloto. She has worked in independent schools for thirteen years, both in the United States and in Malawi. She is currently a Reading Specialist at Town School for Boys in San Francisco, where she specializes in early literacy skills and reading intervention. Claire has a BA in Art History from Williams College and an MSEd in Early Childhood and General Childhood Education from Bank Street College of Education. In 2012, Claire volunteered with Maloto in Malawi for a year. While in Malawi, Claire taught literature classes at Mzuzu International Academy and helped to establish Kwithu Nursery School, a high-quality early childhood education program based out of Kwithu CBO. Since then, Claire has remained an active volunteer for Maloto, both as a member of the Young Professionals’ Board and with various projects on the ground in Mzuzu. She currently lives in Mill Valley, California with her husband, Jake, and two children.
Read Bio
Meredith Brokaw
Emeritus Board Member
Meredith has been a high school teacher, an author of 8 books on parenting (The Penny Whistle books), the founder of a store specializing in educational toys, and the author of a western lifestyle book (Big Sky Cooking). She is an emeritus board member of WNET.org and Conservation International. The mother of 3 daughters and 4 granddaughters, she and her husband, NBC’s Tom Brokaw, believe that everybody has a stake in making the planet a better place for future generations.
Read Bio
Gina Paoloni
Emeritus Board Member
Gina is a founding board member of Maloto and was also the Co-founder of U.S. operations. Gina helped founder, Anna Msowoya Keys, to build the organization’s U.S. board and oversaw all development activity—including the execution of Maloto’s fundraising strategy. Gina’s professional background is in business development, strategy, and team leadership and she has held positions at Indagare Travel, Equinox Fitness Clubs and Meco Sales. Gina is also the founder of GPG Concepts which is a business development and strategic planning consultancy that assists start-up to mid-size companies to grow and scale their businesses. Gina lives in Piermont, New York with her husband.
Read Bio

BOARD MEMBERS

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS BOARD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Melissa Wasser
YPB President
Melissa has always had a passion for community service and a deep love for Africa. Prior to learning of Maloto, Melissa spent multiple summers as an undergraduate volunteering in South Africa and working with young children. After graduating with a BA in Communications from Syracuse University, Melissa moved back to the East Coast to begin her marketing career and soon learned of the incredible work of the Maloto YPB. Over the last 4 years, Melissa has been a YPB member and was fortunate enough to visit Malawi in 2019 (she is hoping to go back VERY soon!). Melissa currently works full time in Influencer Marketing and enjoys spending her free time traveling, exploring new workout classes or healthy recipes and, of course, enjoying the occasional Netflix binge.
Read Bio

Michael Allen

Dan Androuin

Sarah Baroody

Jen Carew

Olivia Dolan

Brendan Earl

Anna Johnston-Rogers

Ben Koshland

Jenna Kyme

Kristina Luckfield

Shay Nugent

Isabella Nugent

Ben Rogers

Caroline Schoen

Kelly Teicher