Allen Wilkes, CHAIR

Allen Wilkes is a business executive with experience in international development, performance improvement, financial, operations and risk management.

Allen's career spans 30-years in leadership roles with international mining companies engaged in the production of precious metals, industrial and energy minerals. Allen’s education includes: Doctorate in Organizational Change & Leadership (University of Southern California), MBA (University of Houston), BS Accounting (Brigham Young University), and BA International Relations (Brigham Young University).

 "My connection with Mali goes back to 1977 when as a youth my family moved to Mali.  I attended French immersion at Lycée Français Liberté de Bamako and gained a great appreciation for Mali's unique culture, history and wonderful young people as our family traveled throughout the country.  I've been honored to represent the Mali Rising Foundation since its 2004 beginning and first school opening, the Trujillo Family Middle School, in N'Tentou Mali.  I want success for our students, for all of Mali's youth.  My interest is for the youth of Mali to be literate, healthy, successful adults, educated and contributing to their families and their nation, to succeed in their home village whenever possible and extend their influence throughout Mali."

Katie Murphy, Vice Chair

Katie Murphy has spent nearly 2 decades coordinating travel for guests of Royal African Safaris, applying her deep project management and organizational skills to help people explore other cultures and places. Previously, Katie worked for Sundance Catalog where she managed the print production of the company’s mail order catalogs.

Katie is particularly passionate about Mali Rising’s work to keep girls in Mali in school and with our efforts to engage young people in the United States with service and international issues. Katie is mom to Ian and Annie and lives in Salt Lake City with her husband Mark and their slightly needy golden retriever Ollie. Katie is the chair of the External Affairs Committee/

Mujtaba Ahmed, Treasurer

Mujtaba is a Senior Accounting Manager at Zelis, and had decades of experience in accounting. Luckily, he is also our Treasurer. As such, he oversees our financial systems to make sure we’re accountable and transparent. He is also central to our annual budget development. Mujtaba also brings a great passion for education as a tool for improving lives and a dedication to volunteering to our board. Mujtaba serves on our Executive Committee and on the Internal Affairs Committee.

Jill Miller, Secretary

Jill Miller is the Associate Deputy Mayor of Finance and Administration for Salt Lake County. Prior to this role, Jill worked for Girl Rising, a US-based global nonprofit organization committed to changing the way the world values girls and invests in their education. In her role as Chief Program & Administrative Officer, she developed and directed strategic partnerships and diverse programs to bring Girl Rising’s gender and youth empowerment curriculum to adolescent girls around the world.

Prior to Girl Rising, Jill spent over 20 years at Sundance Institute, the last 10 as Managing Director. In her role she helped grow Sundance from a small nonprofit to a world renown organization showcasing the best in American independent film through the annual Sundance Film Festival. During her tenure, she led the organization’s strategic planning process, developed new programmatic and revenue-generating initiatives, directed the financial and administrative aspects, and oversaw operations.

Jill holds an MBA from American University and an MPH and BA in Political Science from the University of Utah. She is active in the community, currently serving or having served on the boards of Mali Rising Foundation, the Utah Arts Council, Utah Performing Arts Center Agency, and the Park City Chamber of Commerce, among others. Jill is the chair of the Internal Affairs Committee.

Marv Lyons, Immediate PAST Chair

Marv spent his career as an engineer working in the pharmaceutical field.  Although retired, Marv currently consultants on projects in the pharmaceutical and food industries.  He enjoys woodwork, metal work, and gardening and volunteers with his church youth organizations. Marv serves on the Internal Affairs and Governance Committees.

“I realized the value of helping education in Mali when I traveled to Mali to help install solar systems in their schools.  In showing a video in one of the schools, the entire class let out a gasp when the video showed astronauts floating in the space shuttle.  I realized we were opening up a whole new world. They  live in almost an 18th century world and Mali Rising is helping them become part of our world.”

AJ Davis

As CEO/Founder of Experiment Zone, AJ helps online businesses grow their sales by improving their websites. AJ is also passionate about mentoring new entrepreneurs and startups. She brings all of these skills to Mali Rising Foundation where she helps us improve our online strategies and better understand our supporters so we can connect with them more meaningfully. AJ serves on our Internal Affairs Committee.

“I love Mali Rising’s mission: empower the children of Mali, West Africa by expanding and improving educational opportunities for them within their own village. I believe that education provides greater economic choice and freedom, which ultimately leads to better health and life outcomes.”

Scott Dixon

President of Stacey Construction based in Ogden, Utah, Scott brings his significant construction skills to our board, helping to ensure our school construction and maintenance plans are top-notch.  Scott has traveled to Mali multiple times to assist with construction and medical missions, giving him a strong perspective on the reality of our work on the ground. Scott serves on our Internal Affairs Committee.

Andrea Lewis

Andrea is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning, results-driven television producer at CNN. Clearly Andrea brings outstanding communication expertise to the board, and often focuses her skills on helping us improve our social media and video capacities. Andrea serves on the External Affairs Committee.

“I am a big believer in the power of education to change lives.  When I learned about the stories of those whose futures had been impacted by the work of the Mali Rising Foundation, I knew it was an organization I wanted to be a part of.  I am always inspired by those who overcome adversity and make the best of any difficult situation.  Reading stories about kids like Oumou, Miriam and Adama made me want to get more involved.  Having spent the past 20 years helping people tell their stories to a worldwide audience at both ABC and CNN I knew I could help spread the word about Mali Rising’s great work.”

Josh Loftin

Josh is currently a Public Information Officer for the state of Utah. This is in keeping with his decades-long career in communications. Josh brings these skills to Mali Rising by advising on messaging, social media strategy, and general communications. A past chair of the organization, he serves on the External Affairs Committee.

John Thomas

John is the Managing Director of Azure Urban, a residential development firm. John is our sole Canadian board member, and brings deep skills in finance and communications to the board. John serves on our External Affairs Committee.

Carl Trujillo

Carl is the principal of Right Brain Design – a graphic design firm. Carl helps keep Mali Rising’s brand crisp and clear and he donates a generous amount of his time fulfilling our design needs. Carl served as a past board chair, and currently sits on our Governance Committee. In this role, Carl helps keep our board running smoothly and assists in recruiting and orienting new board members.

Jackie Trujillo

A founding board member of Mali Rising Foundation, Jackie provides the heart and vision for the organization. As a young woman, Jackie began her career as a car hop at the Harman Café, eventually working her way up to be the Board Chairman of Harman Management Corporation, best known for Kentucky Friend Chicken. Jackie brings that same determination to the vision of changing lives in Mali through the power of education. Jackie is a past board chair, and currently serves on the External Affairs Committee.

One of the best stories Jackie tells is of her first visit to Mali to celebrate the opening of the school she donated back in 2006 – the Trujillo Family School. Jackie spent the night before the celebration in the village, and only in the morning realized that there was no electricity for her hot rollers. She put them in anyway and the children of the village were both fascinated and confused by the sight!

Paul Williams

Paul is the Managing Director of Home Management Business Unit at Nice Group. He brings incredibly strong skills in project managmeent, communication, and more to the board. He also is the lead producer and co-host of our podcast, Rising. Paul serves on the External Affairs Committee.