United by the unwavering power of education and empathy…
JOIN UP
We are always looking for compassionate Board members who appreciate the unwavering power of education, recognize and want to share their privileges, and are willing to infuse energy and wisdom throughout all we do.
SEEKING PURPOSE?
Our Board members are united by at least two elements. The first is our belief that education is, as Nelson Mandela often said, the most powerful weapon we may use to change the world. We believe education empowers and provides a sustainable pathway to economic and personal freedom. The second is our compassion. We hear people’s stories and work to bring opportunity to those who have been long-denied. Some of us know well the experiences of those we serve in South Africa; others of us are learning each day. We all, however, recognize the structures that have systemically subordinated others, and we are working to eliminate those in the name of equity.
Please contact us to learn more about joining our team.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BOARD COMMITTEES
FUNDRAISING & MARKETING
Members Anne B. Warwick, Martha T. Cummings, Siyabulela Rabie, Susan Wolf Greene
GOVERNANCE, AUDIT & FINANCE
Members Aphiwe Ntloko, Kim Finnerty, Meg Pickering, Zuki Mbuli
BOARD OFFICERS
CHAIR Meg Pickering was born in Washington, DC and grew up in a diplomatic family, living in Europe, East Africa, and the Middle East. She retired in 2022 after 38 years of federal government service, mostly as an attorney at the Department of State where she worked on numerous issues including UN affairs, ethics, foreign assistance, and refugees. She is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College (A.B.), Harvard Law School (J.D.), and the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium (LL.M).
SECRETARY Susan Wolf Greene, MD, a native of New Jersey, is a Reproductive Endocrinology & Fertility expert who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Bryn Mawr College before completing her medical degree at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Susan finished her OB/GYN residency at Mount Sinai Beth Israel in New York City and completed her REI fellowship at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark, New Jersey. Susan, who is fluent in Spanish, specializes in vitro fertilization (IVF), recurrent pregnancy loss, infertility, reproductive endocrinology, menopause, and minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopy and hysteroscopy).
TREASURER Kim Finnerty was raised in the suburbs of Boston and lived in Southwestern Connecticut for 30 years before heading south to Virginia. After earning degrees from Yale College and Harvard Business School, Kim spent most of her career building consumer brands at both manufacturing companies and marketing services agencies. She recently founded her own strategy consultancy, DataBards, which is dedicated to helping marketers create inspiring stories from the data they collect.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & BOARD PRESIDENT Martha T. Cummings is a native of Southboro, Massachusetts, and an alumna of Bryn Mawr College, the Università Italiana per Stranieri in Perugia, Italy, and the Dante Alighieri School in Florence, Italy. After graduating from Bryn Mawr in 1980 with a degree in Anthropology, Martha entered the field of education. For 42 years, she served as an administrator, a teacher, a coach, and a tutor. Martha won the Anti-defamation League's Golden Teacher Award and is a published author, including two books, several articles, and speeches. Martha, known as Nobuntu and MamTshawe in South Africa, is the UP founder and Executive Director.
BOARD MEMBERS
Anne B. Warwick, MD, MPH, a resident of Kensington, Maryland, received her undergraduate degree in Latin Literature from Bryn Mawr College and a Master of Science degree in Physiology and a Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Minnesota. She remained in Minneapolis to complete a residency in Pediatrics and a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, and Bone Marrow Transplantation. Anne’s career combined clinical practice with teaching and research in both civilian and military capacities. She has established multi-disciplinary clinics for survivors of childhood cancer and for children, adolescents and young adults with bone and muscle cancers, served on various national and international professional committees, and served in the military as an officer in the US Army Reserve Medical Corps, during which she was mobilized for three periods of active duty. She also earned a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College before being appointed into the Regular Army with an active duty assignment to the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. Along with clinical responsibilities in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, she served as Program Director of the fellowship program, then also as Director of Pediatric Subspecialty Fellowships, until she retired from military service.
Aphiwe Jackson Ntloko, a native South African and a registered Social Worker, earned a Bachelor of Social Work, a B.A. Honors in Development Studies, and a Master of Social Work research, all from Nelson Mandela University. His Master’s topic, Student Hunger within Institutions of Higher Learning, exposed the myriad challenges students face in their quest for academic excellence and the role of hunger in compromising their chances for success. On his path towards a Ph.D., he researched and enhanced the Decolonial and Afrocentric discourse in social work. A product of marginalized communities himself, Aphiwe is acutely sensitized to these communities and to structural issues and is a catalyst for the transformation and the development of people and their lives. Aphiwe has worked as a Mentoring Coordinator, Facilitator, Student Development Advisor, Student Support Officer, Lecturer, and Project Coordinator. He is also a certified Life Coach and a Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner who enjoys devising alternative interventions for youth and student development programs. Aphiwe currently works at the North-West University as a lecturer in the Department of Social Work.
Siyabulela Rabie was born in Slagboom, South Africa, and grew up there with his Xhosa grandmother, aunt, three uncles, and cousins before relocating to Addo with his grandmother in the mid-1990s. There Siya attended school, including Vusumzi Primary School and Samkelwe Senior Secondary School, the very schools with which Universal Promise has partnered over the years. Denied a proper education herself, Siya’s grandmother, a major force in his life and an unwavering advocate of education, lived to see her grandson enroll at Nelson Mandela University (NMU) in 2010 and complete his Bachelors in Social Work degree in 2014. He subsequently worked in the Social Work Department at NMU, Cape Town Child Welfare Society, and the Department of Social Development in Cape Town. Siya now works as a Forensic Social Worker (Captain) at the South African Police Service.
Zukiswa (Zuki) Mbuli grew up with her grandmother, grandfather, and cousins in the rural village of Healdtown in the former Ciskei, South Africa. Zuki’s grandfather and mother were passionate about education, which inspired Zuki to pass her matric before heading to University of Fort Hare, the alma mater of Nelson Mandela. Zuki ultimately earned her degree, a Bachelors of Arts, majoring in Education, at The University of South Africa (UNISA) in 1993. Zuki worked at Fort Hare for 19 years, first as a fee clerk, and then as an Admissions Officer, a Senior Officer in Academic Administration, and a Faculty Manager, until she was offered an admissions position at Nelson Mandela University, where she now serves as a Senior Manager in Admissions.