Our Team

Kelly Anderson is pleased to join the dedicated team at Fistula Foundation as Senior Director of Philanthropy.

Kelly’s commitment to women’s health and social justice began as a sexual assault crisis line volunteer at the University of Michigan. After two decades in leadership roles in rape crisis centers – first in Washington, DC and then in Madison, Wisc. where she worked to expand service for underserved communities – she moved to the San Francisco Bay area in 2015 to serve as CEO of the Nepal Youth Foundation.

In addition to her professional experience, Kelly has engaged in related volunteer and community activities. In DC, she co-founded and served as the president of a small non-profit that supports women unable to afford medical treatment, spent six years as a mentor at BeFriend a Child, and served on the Washington Area Women’s Foundation grants committee. In Madison, her commitments included chairing the Dane County Commission on Sensitive Crimes and the Community Coordinated Response on Sexual Assault, serving as a board member of the Hancock Center for Dance/Movement Therapy, and fostering and rehabilitating rescue dogs.

Originally from the Midwest, Kelly is thrilled to be able hike and backpack in the stunning mountain ranges of northern California. She finds joy and satisfaction in her role connecting generous, compassionate individuals with the world of good they can help accomplish.

Jesse joined Fistula Foundation in 2019 and serves as the Program Manager, helping to support dozens of partnerships in over 20 countries. Jesse learned about fistula while serving as community health organizer with the Peace Corps in Ethiopia, where she developed and implemented programs to empower youth with reproductive health education.

She is passionate about gender equality and social entrepreneurship, and has worked on projects ranging from postpartum hemorrhage training in Guatemala to recycling feasibility studies in Indonesia. She holds a BA in International Studies from American University and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.

Nicole Huelar joined Fistula Foundation in the role of administrative assistant in November 2022. She has a bachelor of science degree in industrial design from San Jose State University, and has served in administrative and management roles on a voluntary basis with various organizations. Nicole brings to her role at Fistula Foundation a passion for human well-being and inclusivity. Her work at the organization supports the operations, donor relations, and communication teams.

Jackelen Renteria-Bustos joined Fistula Foundation as a marketing and communication associate in August of 2022. She has a bachelor of science degree in business administration, with a specialization in marketing, from San Jose State University, and she has worked as an intern at for-profit organizations. Her passion for creating a positive impact in the lives of others brought her to Fistula Foundation. Her work for the organization supports the donor relations and communications teams, and focuses on building and maintaining connections with donors.

Tarah Walker joined Fistula Foundation in July 2021 as Senior Writer for Marketing Communications. She brings with her six years of experience in nonprofit communications, including media and public relations, content marketing, and internal communications. In addition to her public relations role at ACT, the global education nonprofit, Tarah led communications for ACT’s internal volunteer organization, facilitating donation drives for women’s organizations in Iowa, like the Domestic Violence Intervention Program, and generating positive broadcast coverage for ACT. She has volunteered for women’s organizations like the Iowa Women’s Foundation, using her communications expertise to promote economic self-sufficiency for women and girls. Tarah is a graduate of American University (MA, Strategic Communications) and the University of Iowa (BA, Journalism & Mass Communications). She believes that messages hold immense power and hopes to use her gift for communications to empower donor action and transform the lives of women across the world.

Habiba C. Mohamed is regional director of programs, based out of Fistula Foundation’s Kenya office. Habiba joined the Foundation in 2014 as the outreach manager. In this role, she designed and spearheaded the community strategy for the Fistula Foundation Treatment Network in Kenya. Later, she was promoted to country director to oversee the entire network of hospital and community partners. In her role as regional director of programs, Habiba is responsible for the expansion of the treatment network model throughout the African region.

Prior to joining Fistula Foundation, Habiba had worked in fistula programming for nearly a decade. She began her career as a veterinarian, assisting livestock farmers in western Kenya. Through her close contact with these rural communities, she became familiar with the socioeconomic challenges they experience and developed a passion for working with marginalized women. In 2006, she founded Women and Development Against Distress in Africa (WADADIA), a Kenyan nonprofit that advocates for women’s rights and reproductive health. While serving as lead director of WADADIA, Habiba also supported a community program funded by the United Nations Population Fund for six years, and served as a consultant program specialist for One By One, a US-based nonprofit focused on fistula treatment.

Habiba is currently working towards her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at Kenyatta University. She holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in the same subject from Mt. Kenya University, and has a higher diploma in Social Work and Community Development. Her research on the psychological effects of obstetric fistula has been published in the International Journal of Sciences, and the verbal screening tool she developed has improved identification of fistula cases.

Bwalya Magawa Chomba joined Fistula Foundation as program manager in 2017, and is now the program director for Zambia. She holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from Mulungushi University in Kabwe, Zambia, and a master’s in public health from the University of Lusaka (UNILUS). Bwalya is responsible for supporting referrals for fistula patients to partner hospitals, and serves as a key liaison between the hospitals and the community. In her role as director, she also strengthens partnerships with government ministries and community and faith-based organizations.

Bwalya has been working as a social worker and community development officer for 18 years. Most recently, prior to joining Fistula Foundation, she worked with the Ministry of Community Development and Social Welfare in Nakonde District. Bwalya has also worked with Caritas / Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Mpika Diocese. There, she served as a monitoring and evaluation officer, coordinating revisions of project strategies with key stakeholders, and ensuring a shared understanding of strategic and informational needs. During her tenure as district development facilitator with the NGO Africare Zambia, she learned about obstetric fistula and took up an active role in mobilizing fistula patients, successfully referring 200 women for life-transforming surgery.

Bwalya has always believed that local community participation is an important way to achieve sustainable development, particularly in the fight against obstetric fistula.

Victor D.  Chibale is a motor vehicle driver in Fistula Foundation’s Zambia office. He provides reliable and safe transportation to Fistula Foundation staff and relevant officials, and delivers mail, documents, and any other Fistula Foundation cargo. He also ensures that all licenses and documents for Fistula Foundation vehicles are valid.

Victor has a class C driver’s license, a certificate in Defensive Driving from the National Institute for Productivity in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and more than 20 years of driving experience. Before joining the Foundation, he worked for Tanzania Zambia Railways Authority (TAZARA) for 17 years. Victor also has an International Certificate in Transport and Logistics and is currently studying for a diploma in the same field.

Martin Chiyana works as a Program Officer in Fistula Foundation’s Zambia office. He is stationed in Nchelenge District to cover programs in Luapula Province and some parts of Northern Zambia. Martin works with the Ministry of Health, assists in training and supervising Community Health Volunteers and Safe Motherhood Action Group Members (SMAGs), and holds sensitization meetings for local community leaders to spread awareness about fistula and treatment options.

Martin holds an Advanced Diploma in Computer Science and Information Processing from the Association of Business Managers and Administrators, a certificate in Monitoring and Evaluation from the University of Michigan, and a certificate in teaching methodology from Technical Vocation Teachers College Zambia.

Before joining the Foundation, he worked as a Monitoring and Evaluation Research Assistant on a maternal and child health project at Africare for three years. He also worked as an Engineering IT Planner at Mopani Copper Mines for 2 years and as a Network Benchmarking Engineer at Airtel Zambia and Nutek India for a year.

Martin has a heart for suffering and isolated women and believes there is a better tomorrow for these marginalized communities.

Kalumba Kaputa is a Program Officer at Fistula Foundation’s Zambia office. He collaborates with the Ministry of Health and local grassroots organizations, screening potential fistula patients and referring them to treatment centers for care in Zambia’s Luapula Province.

Prior to joining Fistula Foundation, Kalumba worked for 8 years as a Clinical Officer for the Zambian Ministry of Health, serving as a frontline health provider at Chilonga Mission General Hospital. He has also served in roles at the Mpepo Rural Health Centre and the Mpika District Health Office. Kalumba holds a diploma in Basic Clinical Medical Sciences in Mental Health and Psychiatry from the University of Zambia School of Medicine in Association with Chainama College of Health Sciences.

Kalumba strongly feels that unity and team work are essential for any organization to achieve its key objectives, especially in the fight against obstetric fistula.

Thomas Huntington is currently studying to become a physician at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He previously worked as the developer of several mobile applications for Apple iOS, including Nightstand Central, an alarm clock app. He has contributed to colorectal and ovarian cancer research and has volunteered at a nursing home and homeless shelter. Thomas studied violin performance at the Colburn Conservatory of Music and earned a bachelor’s degree in neural science at New York University.

Ling Yang Lew serves as senior legal counsel at Apple. She previously worked at the County of Santa Clara, where she served as an advice attorney to the County’s health and hospital system, which provides safety-net health services. Prior to law school, Ling worked in health economics research. Ling is a graduate of Stanford Law School and Duke University.

Gillian Slinger is a Midwife and holds a BSc in Health Management, an MSc in Public Health, and a Teaching Certificate. After completing her Nurse and Midwifery training in the UK, Gillian worked as a Midwife for 10 years in French speaking Switzerland, before joining Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF/Doctors Without Borders) and Save the Children as a field Midwife and Trainer in numerous countries, including Mali, Chad, DRC, Kenya and Sierra Leone. As part of her MSF duties, Gillian managed maternal health programs in more than 20 countries across Africa and Asia, and had an active role developing projects for women with obstetric fistula.

In the last 15 years, she has become an international activist for fistula and her involvement in fistula work has increased considerably, taking her to New York for 4 years to head the global Campaign to End Fistula with UNFPA, where she was instrumental in establishing the UN approved International Day to End Obstetric Fistula, and bringing her to the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) in London in 2014 to undertake her present role, leading the FIGO Fistula Surgery Training Initiative.

Gillian also teaches in the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and has recently served on the Board of Directors of MSF Switzerland

Dr. Steve Arrowsmith has been working with Fistula Foundation for many years, but has recently become an official member of the staff. Currently based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Steve has treated fistula throughout Africa and Asia for nearly 30 years and is an esteemed mentor and trainer for new fistula surgeons. He received his undergraduate degree from Miami University, his M.D. degree from the Medical College of Ohio, and he is a Urologist by surgical training. Steve says his inspiration comes from the women he helps, starting with his first fistula surgery, and it has continued unabated.