MEMBERS OF THE BOARD
The Faces of Our Organization
Le Toudjida Allara
Le Toudjida ALLARA, a citizen of Chad by Jus Sanguinis and a resident of Rockville in the lovely State of Maryland, has served as a board member of the Friends of the Buea School for the Deaf, Incorporated (FoBSD, Inc.) since January 2013. Prior to honorably accepting FoBSD's invitation to join the Board, he successfully arranged and launched the fundraising event with his GSR 300 - Deaf Education in Cameroon team supervised by Professor Christina Berdichevski at Gallaudet University and assisted Mr. Aloysius Bibum running around for the school's projects in the Washington DC Metro Area during the academic year of 2010-2011. On the other hand, he has hold his positions as Executive Director of Strategies to Advance and Network Deaf Africans for Ubuntu, Incorporated (STAND for Ubuntu or STANDU, Inc.); and Principal Adviser of Liberian American Deaf Association, Incorporated (LADA, Inc.). Furthermore, he has obtained a professional Master's Degree in Public Administration (MPA) and two Bachelor's Degrees in Government and International Studies along with a double minor in Deaf Studies and French (both Language & Culture) at Gallaudet University. Plus, he has been part-time candidate of the doctoral-level Educational Specialist in Deaf Education with a specialization in School Leadership and Management at the Gallaudet University Department of Education, and the Master of Science in Soccer Coaching Education at the Ohio University Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education. Finally, he has been member of American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA), and National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
Tara Miles
Tara J. Miles is a Family Educator at the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University. She works at Kendall Demonstration Elementary School (KDES), one of the two federally mandated demonstrations schools at the Clerc Center, serving over 140 families from birth to eighth grade. She plans family educational events for families, serves as a liaison between the home and school, advocates for families and works closely with teachers and staff. In addition to her work at KDES, she also travels around the world presenting to parents, teachers, and staff on topics such as Reading to Deaf Children: Learning from Deaf Adults, EQ Parenting, Sexuality Education, Family Involvement, and Deaf People in Dance. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the department of Social Work at Gallaudet University.
Tara is a graduate of Gallaudet University with a B.A. in Early Childhood Education, a M.A. in Family-Centered Early Education, and a M.S.W. in Social Work. A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Tara enjoys teaching dance, travelling, and shopping.
Billy Sanders
Billy Sanders credits his love for serving within the Deaf community to his mother, Debra - who is Deaf. Having earned both a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Science in Public Administration from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Billy is currently a doctoral student in the Community College Leadership Program at Morgan State University. A staunch advocate for education, Billy has taught extensively over the last fifteen years at a myriad of colleges and universities in the subjects of American Sign Language, Signed Language Systems, and Strategies for Cross-Cultural Communication.
As a nationally certified interpreter, Billy is a Communications Consultant with Bridges Consulting; a company he founded fifteen years ago to champion cross-cultural communication through education and empowerment. Aside from living out his passion, Billy loves to spend time with his 18-year old son, Donovan, who is a scholar attending the University of Virginia.
Ann Bibum Kona
Mrs. Kona is a Cameroonian born, United States Citizen.
She has an MA in Psychology from The Catholic University of America. She has experience in the area of medical and other insurance reimbursement. She has worked with government agencies in the Metropolitan DC Area as an Information Technological Specialist.
Ms. Kona has been an avid supporter of FoBSD since its inception and has visited BSD on a number of occasions, acting as a liaison in the exchange of information between the school and FoBSD.
Teresa Arcari
Ms. Arcari is a social worker who retired in 2006 after 26 years in the Department of Social Work at Gallaudet University, Washington, DC. During this time, she served as Director of Field Instruction (internships) for twelve years. Ms. Arcari managed two U.S. Department of Education grants totaling approximately $2,000,000 to prepare social workers to work with deaf children in schools. She was fortunate to visit BSD in the spring of 2009, giving the opportunity to witness the transition from a crowded, rented facility to the development of the school’s new campus.
Teresa Kona
Teresa is a third year board member, currently working with the United States Peace Corps on the Placement Legal Team and as a Public Relations Committee Rep for Friends of Buea School for the Deaf in DC. Kona has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications studies, with a focus in Public Relations and Marketing from Morgan State University, and is pursuing her Master’s in Political Management at The George Washington University; she has worked on numerous fundraising campaigns for BSD since early childhood, volunteered as a fellow for Maryland Congressman Anthony Brown, concurrently establishing strong connections with various Associations and Non Profit organizations in the Greater Washington region. Teresa credits the passion she has for service, and advocacy to the experience she garnered as a child watching the school develop from its inception. She last visited the school in 2012, and hopes to use applied advocacy, strategic public relations campaigns, as well as strong organization to organization connections to spread awareness and strengthen the visibility for the nonprofit; she hopes to create a voice for the students at the school, and create opportunities that enhance the school. She is the goddaughter and niece of Aloysius and Margaret Bibum.
Crepin M Mahop,
Ph. D
Dr. Mahop has been a Professor of Mathematics at Howard University MathematicsDepartment in Washington DC, since 2003, where is also the Director of UndergraduateStudies.He was formerly Head of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, andDirector of General Administration of the ENSAI-IUT, University of Ngaoundéré,Cameroon.Currently, he is:- President, Cameroon Congress of America (CAMCONGRESS), a 501 (C) 3 NGO whosepurpose is to help facilitate the integration of Cameroonian Immigrants in the AmericanEconomic, Cultural, Educational, Social and Political ways of life.- Advisor of CamRef-USA or Cameroon War Relief Fund-USA, a 501 (C) 3 NGO organized in 2015 to lead an effort in raising funds to help alleviate the suffering of the populations caused by the devastations of the Boko Haram war in Cameroon.- Shepherd of the Paraclete Charismatic Prayer Group of St. Martin Catholic Church inWashington DC.- Sir Knight, Bishop Walsh Assembly, and Knight of Columbus at the Mother SetonCouncil, St. Matthias Catholic Church in Lanham, MD.
Marie Therese Oyalowo
Marie Therese is a Cameroonian American with long time interest in supporting the Buea School for the Deaf. Dr. Oyalowo is an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions.
She is the Director of the Drug Information Program and specializes in pharmacological treatment of Oncology.
Ernest Tsala
Ernest is a Deaf Cameroonian, currently residing in Maryland. He was formerly a teacher of Cameroon Sign Language, a specialist for five years at the Buea School for the Deaf (BSD). Ernest continues close connections with BSD. He has since traveled to Buea and has brought back updates of challenges and progress
reported by administration, staff and students
Bernadine Bertrand
Bernadine serves as Treasurer of Friends of the Buea School for
the Deaf, Inc. She has been employed for many years at Gallaudet University, originally as Administrative Assistant in the Department of Social Work, managing several US Department of Education grants. She also has had extensive experience in the Office of Student Finances. Bernadine is currently Director of Operations of Gallaudet Technology Services.
Bernadine works conscientiously with FoBSD in addition to being
a dedicated mother of two young boys.
We’re proud to be a group of movers and shakers.