Past Board Members
John Loum
President (2021-2022)
John Loum was born and raised as a Gambian with “tremendous patriotic love for [his] beloved country and people”. At an early age from a humbled background, he left home in pursuit of a dream, which led him to travel and live, over the last twenty years, in many West African countries, and Western and Northern Europe. John also studied, worked, and served in the United States. He is married and blessed with four boys. His sons are each serving in various fields of…
Fatou Njie-Jallow
President (2021-2022, 2022-2023)
Fatima Phall
President (2022)
Isatou Jobe
Secretary (2021-2023)
Isatou Jobe was born and raised in the Gambia. Growing up she mostly lived in the Greater Banjul/Kombo area and the Lower River Division for three years. She also lived in the United Kingdom for two years. She moved to the US in 2004 where she received a Bachelor of Science in Community Health from SUNY Cortland and a Masters of Public Health from the University of New England. Isatou has been working for the New York City Department of…
Cherno O. Kebbeh
Treasurer (2021-2022)
C. Omar Kebbeh is a Gambian-born economist based in Washington DC. He currently works for the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Prior to joining BEA, he worked as a Statistician for the State of North Carolina Government. His research interests are in remittances, international labor movements, economic growth, international trade, and debt sustainability. He studied at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, North Carolina…
Jarra Jagne
Director of Agriculture & Processing (2021-2023)
Jarra Jagne is a veterinarian with over 25 years of experience in poultry disease management. She is a Senior Extension Associate in the Department of Population Medicine at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine (https://www.vet.cornell.edu/research/faculty/jarra-jagne). She translates and interprets poultry test data for veterinary practitioners and poultry producers as well as provides farm technical assistance to commercial…
Matarr Sajaw
Director of Agriculture & Processing (2021)
Matarr Sajaw is an experienced leader with a history of producing superior results and a proven track record of building high performing teams. Skilled in Compliance and regulatory management, loss prevention management, business metric development and data analytics, sales building and revenue management. Matarr is married and together with his spouse they have four children. He is a devoted husband, father, son, and passionate community…
Mam Foon
Director of Arts & Cultural Affairs (2021-2022)
Mam Foon is a graphic designer and concert producer with 15 years of experience within the entertainment and design industry. Within entertainment she has worked for Selam(cultural/music organisation), project managed projects such as the exchange project Benachin, toured different countries in Africa and the Caribbean, presented artists like Youssou N’dour, Mr Eazi, Kaliffa, Oumou Sangaré and Maleek Berry and many others in Sweden. On the…
Michael Banutu-Gomez
Director of Education & Professional Development (2022-2023)
Abdoulie Sallah
Director of Education & Professional Development (2021-2022)
Abdoulie Sallah is a Senior Lecturer in Healthcare Management & Leadership and Program Director for the Advanced Management Program at Alliance Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. Prior to this, he was a Senior Lecturer in International Business and Program Director for the Masters in Leadership & Management at the School of Strategy and Leadership at Coventry Business…
Kunna Faal
Director of Membership & Public Relations (2021-2023)
Kunna Faal is a Quality Assurance / Continuous Improvement Manager with over 20 years of experience in the food industry. In that time, she has held a variety of food safety roles to including lab manager and supplier quality manager. She is a graduate of the Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry and on track to finish her Master’s in Food Safety at Michigan State University. Kunna is passionate about Food…
Gabou Mendy
Director of Health & Health Systems (2021-2023)
Gabou Mendy is trained as a Medical Doctor, with a Master degree in Public Health and Tropical Medicine. He completed his residency in General Preventive Medicine. He has over 35 years of experience in Primary Medical Care, HIV Medicine/Infectious Diseases and Global Health. His work experience highlights clinical practice; program development; healthcare management; operations; quality improvement and patient safety; community-based…
Saul Badjie
Director of Information, Communication, & Technology (2021-2023)
Sulayman Badjie also commonly known as Saul Badjie was born in Banjul on Perseverance Street. He grew up with his grandparents in Kombo Busura. He went to Muslim High School (1983-1988) and worked at the President’s Office as an intelligence officer under the National Security Service NSS during the Jawara era (1989-1993) before traveling to the United States in August of 1993. He holds a BA in Public…
Ndey Fatou Jabbie
Director of Science, Technology, & Innovation (2021-2023)
Ndey Fatou Jabbie was born and raised in The Gambia. She has over 15 yrs. in the technology, engineering, and sustainability fields. As an energy efficiency expert, entrepreneur, and business owner, Fatou’s work in NYC centers around policy and compliance, social equity and economic development, project engineering implementations and energy cost savings through the delivery of a more comprehensive range of systems upgrades that address…
Ndey Marie Njie
Director of Energy, Infrastructure, & Climate Science (2021-2023)
Ndeye Marie Njie brings to the GDEI Board experience in planning strategies for project development and delivery and client management. Her accountability and collaborative philosophy ensure decisions are applied and multidisciplinary teamwork is promoted toward a shared goal. Her vision for the Energy, Infrastructure and Climate Science Committee is to identify gaps in access to affordable and reliable energy, and infrastructure improvements…