Our Leadership

Liz Jarman

Chief Executive Officer

Liz was named CEO in 2018 and is a member of the Living Goods Board of Directors. She sets the vision for how Living Goods partners with African governments to effectively strengthen and deliver high impact, life-saving community health services. Based in Kenya, where she has lived for more than 10 years, she leads a team of over 450 colleagues across 4 African countries and the US. During her tenure Liz has overseen a 50% increase in revenue, and doubled the number of CHWs supported, new country expansion efforts, and the incorporation of family planning and immunization tracking services. She also led the development of an ambitious new 5-year strategic plan (2022-2026) that will ensure Living Goods continues to save lives at scale through country-led digitally-enabled community health systems.

With more than 25 years of experience from various sectors, Liz joined Living Goods in 2014 as Director of Product Strategy and was promoted to Kenya Country Director in 2015, where she was instrumental in launching and scaling our operations in Kenya in partnership with the Kenyan Ministry of Health. At the end of 2017, she was promoted to Chief Strategy Officer, and was named CEO in June 2018. Born in Zambia, Liz spent a large portion of her career at Sainsbury’s, a $30 billion UK grocery business where she rose to lead Sainsbury’s Product Development and Fairtrade strategy and worked with thousands of global suppliers with a particular focus on African sustainable supply chains.

Carol Auma

Chief People and Culture Officer

Carol Auma joined us from Plan International, where she had a large change leadership role supporting countries in the Middle East, Eastern and Southern Africa region. Prior to that, she worked extensively in the private sector including at Unga Holdings, Shell, Standard Chartered Bank and BAT in various regional talent manager and HR business partner roles. At Living Goods, Carol is providing strategic thought-leadership to the Global Executive Team and the People and Culture team on creating a work-place that celebrates Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and where teams are inspired to realize their full potential through enabling learning and growth pathways.

Emilie Chambert

Chief Program Officer

As Chief Program Officer, Emilie reviews and refines Living Goods’ theory of change and helps ensure high-impact service delivery through strategic program design, innovation, monitoring, research, evaluation, and learning. She also oversees incubator stages of our new country operations so that they deliver desired results and ensures we effectively measure our work at each stage. Emilie joined Living Goods in 2014 and has held progressive leadership roles as our Uganda Operations Director, Uganda Deputy Country Director, Uganda Country Director and, most recently, Regional Director for Expansion. A leader committed to driving positive social outcomes and durable change, Emilie has more than two decades of leadership and management experience in the public and private sectors. She got her MBA from EDHEC in Lille, France and is fluent in English, French, and Spanish.

Kanishka Katara

Chief Digital Health Officer

As the Chief Digital Health Officer at Living Goods, Kanishka Katara plays the role of strategic thought-partner to the CEO on all digital health, data, and technology approaches to enable implementation of our organizational strategy. He leads the visioning, strategy development and implementation to co-design digital health solutions that ensure opportunities to strengthen national community health systems through strong performance management approaches are met.

Kanishka joins us from PATH where he has been leading their Digital Health portfolio for the South Asia Hub. He has been responsible for providing leadership, strategic direction and managing partnerships for the implementation of digital interventions. He has been working at the intersection of new age digital innovations and data driven decision making for maximizing the impact of public health programs. Prior to joining PATH, Kanishka was leading the world’s largest digital health intervention in India as Director of Government Programs and Partnerships for Dimagi. Kanishka holds a Bachelor of Technology degree from Uttar Pradesh Technical University in India.

Sonja Kotze

Chief Financial Officer

As Chief Financial Officer, Sonja ensures that Living Goods is an excellent steward of the resources for which we’re entrusted. She oversees our accounting, procurement, facilities, governances, risk, compliance, grant management and internal audit functions. Sonja leads the team with passion to ensure that these functions provide effective and efficient support to our operations and enable us to be accountable to our donors. Sonja joined Living Goods as CFO in 2019 with more than 20 years of global experience in the private and non-profit sectors. In previous roles she has managed multi- and bilateral funding portfolios of more than $100 million. She holds a post-graduate degree in Financial Management, Strategy and Corporate Governance from the University of South Africa, and an MBA  from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town. Originally from Namibia, Sonja’s international experience includes work in the U.S., United Kingdom, and various African countries.

Lisa McCandless

Executive Director, US

As the Executive Director-US of Living Goods, Lisa oversees Living Goods’ global fundraising, communications, and advocacy teams. Her job is to ensure Living Goods has the strategy and the resources—the funding, the partnerships, the relationships, and the brand and visibility—to achieve its mission. Since joining Living Goods, Lisa has overseen a 10x growth in annual revenue to $30 million and grown from a team of 1 to 20 people across the US, Europe, and East Africa. Key wins for Living Goods under Lisa’s leadership include: GiveWell Standout Charity Recognition, Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, and being named a TED Audacious Project Inaugural Winner.

Prior to Living Goods, Lisa spent five years at Chemonics International Inc., where she led strategy, program design, and proposal development for large-scale development projects in Africa. As Director of Business Development, East Africa, she oversaw growth for the division, developing and managing a strategy to grow Chemonics’ portfolio in the region. In this role, she secured USAID funding opportunities up to $50 million in value.  Lisa holds a B.A. in International Development Studies from UCLA.

Christine Namayanja

Uganda Country Director

Christine Namayanja joined Living Goods in October 2020 as Uganda Country Director. She is responsible for providing strategic leadership for programs across the country and successfully driving community health impact at scale through improved technology infrastructure, investments in human capital, and partnerships with government, development agencies and communities. Christine is a seasoned leader with more than two decades of experience managing health programs at senior levels, and has significant expertise in strategic leadership, strategic communications, private sector approaches, and innovative health financing mechanisms. A sociologist by background, Christine has a deep commitment to sexual and reproductive health and previously worked with organizations including Abt Associates and Marie Stopes International. She obtained her Bachelor’s in Social Sciences at Makerere University. Christine is a Rotarian, a mentor and passionate about advancing the empowerment of girls and women- achieve a world where women can reach their full potential.

Thomas Opiyo Onyango

Country Director, Kenya

Thomas joined Living Goods as Country Director Kenya in June 2018 and is responsible for driving and executing country-level strategy, team development and representing the organization with key stakeholders. He describes himself as dynamic global health leader and has close to two decades of experience in healthcare. Before joining Living Goods, Thomas built his career in the pharmaceutical world with progressive leadership responsibilities across Africa with Merck and Novartis. His current focus is to effectively implement the new multiyear strategy and specifically enhance Government partnership to drive national impact that leverages digital technology. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Biochemistry & Master’s in Business Administration from Strathmore University.

Jules Souleymane Gaye

Country Lead, Burkina Faso

We are pleased to welcome Jules Souleymane Gaye to Living Goods as the new Country Lead for Burkina Faso. Jules brings more than 15 years’ experience and knowledge to the role. He joins us from NITIDAE Burkina Faso where he held the role of Country Representative over the last eight years, growing significantly the operations in the country. He has expertise in designing, developing and leading community development projects and brings a wealth of experience in leadership, stakeholder management, program development and operations, as well as an understanding of critical bilateral donors such as EU, USAID, USDA and AFD. Jules holds a Master II Degree in Accounting and Financial Management from the International School of Engineering (Boston MA, USA).

Caroline Kahora – Githii

Deputy Country Director/ Director Program Delivery

Caroline Kahora- Githii holds more than 15 years’ experience in designing, implementing, and monitoring strategic initiatives to targeted audiences with the aim of driving impact and improved outcomes. As the Deputy Country Director/ Director Program Delivery for Kenya, she is responsible for overseeing the implementation of LG’s strategy and the attainment of core impact KPIs. She has worked across different sectors with global and regionally renowned organizations and brands, among them; Novartis, Nation Media Group, Nestle, Sanofi & GSK. Caroline has an MBA (Marketing) and a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Nairobi and Jomo Kenyatta University, respectively. She is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Dr. David Ochieng Oluoch

Director Partnerships, Advocacy and Communications

Dr. Oluoch’s experience encompasses 13 years in increasingly responsible managerial roles in National and County Government Departments of health. In his most recent position, he served as a County Director of Health Services-Kakamega County, where he was the overall technical lead of all health services in the county. He has significant experience in health systems strengthening and program management. He is resourceful, detail oriented and a meticulous planner with a high level organizational acumen. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Nairobi, a Master’s of Science degree in Applied Epidemiology from Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology and is completing an MPH in Monitoring and Evaluation from Kenyatta University.

Evelyne Wekesa

Senior Manager, Technology Operations

Evelyne Wekesa joined Living Goods on 1^st February 2021 as a Senior Manager, Technology Operations. She is responsible for establishing, planning and administering the overall policies and goals for the IT department in Kenya as well as overseeing all technology projects, operations and manage the country’s IT department. Evelyne Wekesa joins us from Five Forty Aviation Ltd (FLY540) & East African Safaris Air Express Ltd where she held the role of an ICT Manager for over 10 years. She was responsible for System and Network Administration, Network Security, Data Security, General ICT Technical Support and ICT Project Management for both companies. She brings on board a wealth of experience in Hardware and Software Engineering, Review of Security Policy and Controls, Project Management, Budgeting and Technology Analysis. She likes jogging, travelling, and passionate about improvement of WASH facilities in the rural areas.

Dr. Stella Kanyerere

Deputy Country Director/Director Program Delivery

Dr Kanyerere oversees the implementation of Living Goods’ strategy in Uganda and manages the Programs Delivery team. Additionally, she supports growth of strategic partnerships and business development efforts. Stella is a medical practitioner and public health specialist with more than a decade’s experience in planning, implementation, and M&E of maternal, neonatal and child health programs. Her experience also encompasses provision of technical assistance in health system strengthening to government at the national and district levels. Stella joined Living Goods as a Community Health Program Manager and led the implementation of the GAVI funded immunization program, providing technical and managerial oversight for the training, M&E, and quality assurance functions. Prior to joining Living Goods, Stella worked in HIV programming at Protecting Families Against HIV AIDS (PREFA) and the Uganda Aids Commission. She holds a master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Melbourne, Australia and a MBChB from Makerere University, Uganda in addition to other certificates and short courses in program management and evaluation.

Juliet Najjuma

Senior Manager, HR Business Partner

Juliet is a seasoned HR professional with Living Goods in Uganda. She brings a wealth of experience to her role from previous roles at World Wide Fund for Nature, where she worked as a Country HR Manager;  World Vision Uganda as Regional People and Culture Business Partner; and International Rescue Committee, where she worked as a Regional Senior HR and Administration Officer for the Karamoja region. She has a master’s degree in Management Studies, with a focus on Human Resources Management and Development from Uganda Management Institute. She also holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management and Development from Uganda Management Institute, a bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management from Makerere University and a certificate in Administrative law.

Rose Mbaziira

Head of Finance and Administration

Rose joined Living Goods in October 2020 as the Head of Finance and Administration. Prior to joining Living Goods, Rose was working as a Finance Management Specialist for International Conference of Great Lakes Region (ICLR) for five years. In the past, she worked as a Finance and Administration Director of TASO Uganda, Finance and Support Services Director for World Vision Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, and held numerous other senior finance and support services leadership roles. She has extensive experience with multi- and bi-lateral funding, including World Bank, USAID, UNICEF, and AUSAID, to name but a few. Rose is a CPA and holds a Masters in Management Studies. She is passionate about servant leadership and building effective teams that empower leadership with information for strategic decision making.

Amy Kakiza

Director Partnerships, Advocacy and Communications

Amy is responsible for the management and supervision of advocacy and government relations, whilst working closely and collaboratively with the Global Business Development and Communications Heads. Previously, Amy was the Senior Manager, Business Development, since joining Living Goods in January 2021. She brings over 21 years of experience in business development, strategic partnership development, policy and advocacy. Prior to Living Goods, Amy was the Regional Manager, East Africa for VSO, where for five years, she managed and grew the bi/multilateral portfolio. Amy has worked as the Senior External Relations Manager at Marie Stopes Uganda, Programme Manager at African AIDS Vaccine Partnership (AAVP), and Director of Development for CARE USA. Amy has a BA degree in Diplomacy and World Affairs from Occidental College, and Non-profit Leadership and Strategic Management certified from SF State University.

Monica Gertrude Mugisha

Senior Manager, Digital Health

Monica offers strategic support to the country’s leadership on digital health and technology initiatives, approaches, projects, and partnerships. She oversees digital health operations and projects in the department. Monica joined Living Goods in June 2019 as the Manager, Technology Operations, where she was responsible for project management, field support, and internal IT system support. Monica has over 10 years of experience in technology innovations and service management within the banking and telecom sectors. Prior to joining Living Goods, she worked with Stanbic Bank Uganda for 7 years, where she pioneered the service management function in the IT department. She also worked with Huawei Technologies, supporting 5 countries in which MTN operates. Monica is passionate about women and youth empowerment.

Dr. Kezia K’Oduol

Global Director of Health

Dr. Kezia K’Oduol is a medical practitioner and public health specialist with over 23 years of experience in health program management, capacity building, project and knowledge management, research, and health systems strengthening.
A passionate health and wellness advocate, Kezia’s work within the non-profit sector has yielded immense success in the setting up of comprehensive public health care facilities, implementation of health research initiatives, and training and mentorship of health care professionals.
She has also managed partnerships with high-level stakeholders in government, academia and development circles to strengthen health service delivery. At Living Goods, Kezia steers the strategic direction of all health initiatives backed by a strong team to deliver high-scale public health impact, improve the health system and reduce maternal, neonatal and child mortality. Kezia holds a master’s degree in public health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Tom Sessions

Director of Development

Tom leads the business development team at Living Goods. He is a strategic social innovator with 16 years’ experience in the not-for-profit, commercial and philanthropic sectors. Tom is interested in co-creating relevant and responsive partnerships for the future. He has a wealth of experience engaging businesses around shared value—a core business approach to drive sustainable impacts for both positive commercial and social outcomes. Tom led several funding and partnerships teams across CARE International, working globally with businesses, governments and foundations. He has also worked for UNICEF, small national NGOs and the private sector. He holds a Master’s in Business Management and Sociology from the University of Glasgow.

Mandy Folse

Global Advocacy Director

With over a decade of experience in global health policy and advocacy, Mandy brings significant expertise in advocacy strategy development, policy analysis, communications, and coalition building to her role at Living Goods. She previously served as the inaugural Director of the Frontline Health Workers Coalition at IntraHealth International, where she positioned the coalition as a leading voice in global health workforce advocacy.  Prior to this experience, Mandy served as Head of Policy and Advocacy at WaterAid America, where she developed the organization’s first policy and advocacy program in the U.S., focused on global water and sanitation issues. She also worked as Associate Director of Policy and Advocacy for Save the Children, leading the organization’s advocacy work on global health and development issues, including nutrition, HIV/AIDS, and education. Most recently, Mandy led fundraising as the Chief of Strategic Advancement for a New Orleans-based non-profit organization, securing over $70 million to support local education initiatives. Mandy received her Master’s in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.

Euloge Ishimwe

Global Director, Communications

Euloge is a strategic communications expert with over 20 years of experience in humanitarian aid, advocacy, thought leadership, communications, and media relations. He joined Living Goods in May 2023 as the Global Director of Communications. In this role, he is responsible for planning and executing Living Goods’ global communications strategy. Prior to joining Living Goods, Euloge served for nearly seven years at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) as the Head of Communications for Africa. During his time at IFRC, Euloge developed a theory known as the “Idai Principles,” which consists of seven rules for successful emergency communications. Euloge has also served as Global Communications Advisor for SOS Children’s Villages International, a lecturer of journalism and as a manager of a TV station. He is a multilingual communicator, with an MA in International Relations from the United States International University-Africa, as well as a BA in Communications and Sociology. He also holds a Diploma in Electronic Journalism. While a student, he was passionate about poetry, and his collection was eventually published as a book titled “Declassified Verses” in 2012.

Edward Zzimbe

Global Director, Program Strategy and Excellence

Edward Zzimbe is a private sector and health markets expert with local and international programmes experience. He is currently the Deputy Country Director and Director Programs Delivery for Living Goods in Uganda. He has successfully designed and managed several large and innovative donor-funded programmes for DFID, USAID, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UNFPA, UNDP, the World Bank and the German Development Bank (KfW). He has an exceptional track record in delivering results and has previously served as the Technical Director & deputy to the team leader for DFID Kenya’s flagship family planning. He is an expert in external relations including working with governments, New business development, public relations and has represented Africa at the House of Commons (UK) and European Parliament (Brussels).  

Nicholas Kasidhi

Director Talent & Capability Management

Nicholas joined Living Goods from East Africa Breweries Limited (DIAGEO), where he was the Head of Talent Engagement for East Africa. He has extensive experience working across Africa and the Middle East to champion talent programs and HR engagement initiatives that enable people and businesses to succeed in demanding, complex environments. Prior to DIAGEO, Nicholas worked for Genesis Consult as their Senior Partner for Executive Search and at General Electric as their Regional Talent Sourcing Lead for Eastern Africa. He has a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Pontifical Urbaniana University, Rome and a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management from the College of Human Resource Management, Kenya.

Jimmy Okutoyi

Director, Compliance and Grants

Jimmy Okutoyi is a financial, risk, and compliance expert with over a decade of experience. Jimmy worked as the Finance and Operations Manager at a $38m USAID-funded program as well as a finance management specialist for an FP2020 program targeting ten countries. He has successfully participated in the management of other large and complex global/regional programs funded by DFID, USAID, UNDP, World Bank, European Union, among others. He is an expert in the management of complex programs, supporting internal audit functions, business development, management of commercial and non-commercial contracts, grant management, development and implementation of compliance programs, supporting anti-money laundering and diversion program, Identification, measurement and assessment of compliance risk, and staff capacity building.

Erick Yegon

Director, Evidence & Insights

Dr. Erick Yegon is a distinguished data scientist with a Ph.D. in epidemiology and 16 years of experience in monitoring, evaluation, and research. He joined Living Goods in February as the Director for Performance, Evidence and insights, where he is instrumental in driving impact, fostering improvement, and cultivating compelling evidence to shape policies related to community health systems and practices. Dr. Yegon’s invaluable contributions over the years to data science and research have directly influenced the formulation and implementation of healthcare practices and policies.

His numerous policy briefs, research reports and peer-reviewed publications have guided critical policy decisions, substantially improving health outcomes across Sub-Saharan Africa. His extensive research experience includes identifying evidence-based strategies for community health systems and sexual and reproductive health programs, among others. His robust technical background is complemented by a deep understanding of data science tools, including Python, R, and SQL, which he utilizes to dissect intricate datasets and generate meaningful insights.

Gitahi Ng’ang’a

Director of Software Engineering

We are excited to welcome Gitahi to Living Goods as the Director, Software Engineering. He will lead the Global Software Engineering team to deliver on the overarching technology strategy for Living Goods while also working closely with operational managers and high-level staff in our countries of operation. Gitahi has a wealth of experience in digital health within the public health sector, having risen from a junior programmer at KEMRI/ CDC to leading the software engineering team at the International Training and Education Center for Health. He has also consulted widely as a digital health expert for various organizations including the United Nations Foundation, World Bank, HIVOS, IntraHealth, the HealthStore Foundation, IntelliSOFT Consulting, and Living Goods, among others.

In addition to his work in public health, Gitahi is the founder of Hoji and Thamini, two successful SaaS products that specialize in data collection and motor vehicle valuation. These platforms have been instrumental in more than 400 data collection projects across 7 African countries, and the valuation of over 12,000 vehicles cumulatively valued at over 17B Kenya Shillings. He holds a BSc. degree in Statistics from the University of Nairobi and enjoys cycling, reading and occasionally playing chess during his free time.

Phionah Katushabe

Senior Global Communications Manager

Phionah is a health communications practitioner with more than 10 years’ experience. As senior global communications manager, she is responsible for coalescing Living Goods’ dynamic team to design and execute strategic and program communications initiatives to serve the organization’s internal and external audiences. She plays a key role in advancing thought leadership and brand positioning at regional and international levels. Before transitioning into this role, Phionah served as Living Goods’ Uganda Communications Manager. She has also held communications roles with other development organizations including CBM and CoRSU Hospital, where she led efforts advancing the rights of people with disabilities. Phionah holds a master’s degree in International Social Development from the University of East Anglia and a bachelor’s in Mass Communication from Makerere University. She enjoys traveling and hiking.  

Sarah Riczo

Senior Manager, Business Development

Sarah joined Living Goods at the beginning 2021, after six years with Heifer International. As Project Manager for the Hatching Hope Global Initiative, co-created by Cargill and Heifer, she oversaw projects in India, Mexico, and Kenya. Sarah has extensive resource mobilization experience with on bi- and multilaterals, corporations, and foundations. Sarah has worked with Global Giving, Creative Associates, and co-founded a non-profit based in Ghana, which worked to engage Ghanaian and American youth around global current events. Sarah holds a Master’s in Public Administration from American University, a Bachelor’s in Political Science from Arizona State University and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Harriet Andrews

Senior Manager, Strategic Innovations

In her role, Harriet is responsible for overseeing and growing our portfolio of innovations. Harriet brings more than 12 years of experience in designing, implementing and managing a portfolio of maternal and reproductive health programs across Africa, Asia and the UK. She joins us from Options Consultancy Services, where she held positions as Senior Program Manager, Technical Advisor, and a Kenya-based role providing senior strategic support and leadership to a CIFF funded multi-country (Kenya & Nigeria) adolescent SRH program. More recently at Options, Harriet was the Innovations Advisor and Project Lead for a Grand Challenges Canada funded accelerator platform providing technical support to 40 global safe abortion innovators. Harriet holds two master’s degrees, one in Social Anthropology and another in Public Health.

Abiot Zegeye

Senior Manager, HR Business Partner US and Global Functions

Abiot Zegeye focuses on providing strategic HR advice, and implement HR policies, procedures, and projects to support organizational strategy for our US, New Country, and Global Functional annual operational plans. Prior to joining Living Goods, he spent nearly 2 years at Tahirih Justice Center, a US national non-profit organization that provides free legal and social services to women, girls, and other immigrant survivors fleeing gender-based violence.  Prior to Tahirih, Abiot spent more than a decade working in the HR field for international development organizations including Global Communities and PSI. Abiot holds MPA (Masters in Public Administration) from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.