Schools for Salone is led by a small Seattle-based team and board.
The Sierra Leonean organizations who lead our work on the ground are introduced on Our Approach page.
Cindy Nofziger
Founder and Senior Advisor
Cindy Nofziger founded Schools for Salone in the fall of 2005. After serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone in the mid-1980s, she returned to the country decades later and reconnected with friends and colleagues from Masanga. During that trip, Cindy’s friend John Sesay asked if she could help with efforts to rebuild the school in his village that had been destroyed during the war. Cindy raised funds for school construction by selling note cards made from drawings done by local Leonean children. The efforts were successful – a short time later, Cindy was back in the village celebrating with the community and students at the opening of the brand new school. Encouraged by the possibilities, and driven by the unmet need for educational assistance in the country, Cindy launched Schools for Salone to help vulnerable communities all across Sierra Leone.
Allison Sinning
Joanna Matson
Joanna Mattson serves as SfS’s Finance and Business Information Manager. She holds a master’s in information management & systems from UC Berkeley and a BA in Economics from the University of Washington. She joined Schools for Salone in 2022.
Board of Directors
Jon Bayley
Board Member
Jon Bayley is currently the President of the Board for Schools for Salone, which he joined in 2012. He is a veteran of the US Navy and a career teacher and administrator in public and private schools in the Seattle area. He holds BA and MAT degrees from Harvard University, and for five years was head of the Lakeside Educational Enrichment Program, which helps middle school students from Seattle schools make a successful transition to high
Emory Brinkman
Board Member
Emory Brinkman was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sierra Leone. He taught Senior Secondary math in Rotifunk, a small town in the Moyamba District of the Southern Province. When he wasn’t at the school, Emory worked at the local community center, preparing students for the WASSCE (their version of the SATs/ACTs) and introducing them to computer basics.
Bidemi Carrol
Board Member
Dr. Bidemi Carrol is an international education specialist with over 18 years of experience supporting education reform across Africa. Born and initially educated in Sierra Leone, her commitment to expanding opportunity through education is both personal and professional. She has worked closely with governments, donors, and nonprofit organizations to strengthen education systems, improve teaching and learning, and expand opportunities for underserved children.
Barbara Herz
Board Member
Barbara Herz, Ph.D., has worked on girls’ education for more than thirty years. In the 1970’s she headed the U.S. Agency for International Development Division responsible for policy in education, health, and population. She was a member of the U.S. delegation to the UN Conference for Women in Copenhagen in 1980.
Michael Gibbons
Board Member
Michael Gibbons, Ph.D. served as an agricultural extension worker and trainer in Sierra Leone with Peace Corps in the 1970s. He worked in basic education, community development, and social justice in the 1980s and 90s in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and low-income areas of the USA. From 1998 to his retirement in 2019, he served as a director with the Banyan Tree Foundation and Wellspring Philanthropic Fund.
Erica Lane
Board Member
James Mannah
Board Member