Wharton Club Of DC

Asante Africa Foundation, an “on the ground” implementing organization, invests in adolescents and youth (ages 10-24) in extremely rural Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, empowering them with the skills they need to be successful in school and rise above the challenges they face (- 95% come from extreme hardship, and 65% from orphaned or single parent homes).  Our interconnected educational, life skills and livelihood programs, keep at-risk adolescent girls on the path to learning, accelerate academic classroom learning and develop future leaders, confident job seekers and innovative entrepreneurs. We have transformed over 1 million lives and growing. These young leaders are pioneering the way forward to create a better future in a post-pandemic era for themselves, Africa and the world.

Erna Grasz is an 11 year Rotarian and co-founded Asante Africa Foundation with two visionary African women from Kenya and Tanzania. She is a Systems Engineer turned Systems Entrepreneur for Global Impact. Trained initially as an Electrical-System Engineer, she spent her early career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and then in Silicon Valley as a Medical Device Executive. Leaving her 25-year-long corporate career in 2012, Erna began managing Asante Africa full-time and is the visionary behind many of the organization’s innovative programs and practices. She has a strong belief in local staff, local partnerships, and developing local talent for long-term sustainability. Erna has won countless awards for her work with Asante Africa, including the Jefferson Award for Public Service, a “Distinguished Engineering” Award for Innovation in Developing Countries, the Gratitude Network Fellowship and Award, 2020 Medaling for Reimagining Education in Sub-Sahara Africa, and was a finalist for the Drucker Institute for Education Innovation.

Geoffrey Kasangaki is a Rotarian, Gratitude Network Fellow, and a thought Leader in the Not For Profit/Humanitarian World. Over the last 10 years Geoffrey has held different leadership roles and currently serving at Asante Africa Foundation as the Uganda Country Director. He holds an MBA in Oil and Gas Management from Uganda Christian University, An international Diploma in Leadership and Management from Luxury Academy London having previously attended MAKERERE University for a bachelor’s of Information Systems. Geoffrey celebrates having successfully worked in designing and implementing adolescents and youth education and skills development projects in Ugandan rural schools and communities in partnership with the government of Uganda and for the geographical growth of the organization to deepen the impact and quality of programs that advance livelihood, gender equality, girl empowerment and keeping girls in school. During the Covid 19 pandemic, he led a team that innovated community Learning groups which were sustained for nearly two years when schools were closed in Uganda and kept adolescents and youth on their educational path and safe in the communities where they lived.