Maurice Brenyah-Addow grew up in Ghana, West Africa, where he completed his elementary and secondary education. He later moved to the United States and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Architecture. Maurice also graduated from Oakland's School of Urban Missions with a degree in Theology. Maurice currently works as a City Planner with the City of Oakland's Community and Economic Development Agency.
Maurice's long term vision is to impact lives by providing affordable healthcare and developing sustainable communities in developing countries. As program coordinator for FOA, Maurice led a medical team to Cameroon in 2006 where the team consulted and made presentations to 1,500 patients. Maurice joined WEHHS in 2006 as the logistics manager and is WEHHS’ leader for the Cameroon 2007 project. Maurice will also join a medical team in Cameroon in October 2007 to distribute supplies and facilitate a two week health fair. Maurice draws inspiration from the Bible and hopes to carry out the great commission of touching lives for the kingdom of God. He enjoys jogging, swimming, hiking, salsa dancing, cooking, reading, and debating.
Norma has worked at Kaiser Permanente managing their clinical research operations for the past 10 years. As a nurse, she especially loves her role as patient and staff advocate, which is why she has continued to commit to certain outreach programs for the homeless in Berkeley. Norma feels that it is her ethical responsibility to contribute to global needs as well, which is how and why she became affiliated with the WEHHS. Norma had collected medical supplies donated by Kaiser that needed to be routed to a worthy organization, and mentioned this to Dr. Lawrence - coincidentally, he had an immediate and resounding "yes, I'll take them!" Norma is pleased and excited to be a part of the WEHHS Board with such clear and defined intentions to help those in need. And to keep her centered and balanced in life, she enjoys cycling, hiking and her family pet labrador.
Alex’s personal as well as his professional experiences have forged his interest and determination to aid in improving public health for under-served communities in developing countries and the U.S. As a patient of Dr. Bruce’s he became familiar with work of WEHHS, and joined WEHHS’ board of directors as the Central America Program Coordinator and resident epidemiologist. He is currently a Research Scientist at the California Department of Public Health and is also an International Training Consultant for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Previously he was an Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory Training Fellow with CDC/APHL during which time he obtained his license as a Public Health Microbiologist. Alex earned both his bachelors and masters degrees in biology with his primary focus being in molecular virology.
After graduating from UCLA with a BA in International Development, Maiya moved back to the Bay Area to work for an Global Service Corps, a non-profit organization that provides international volunteer programs. As the Tanzania Coordinator, Maiya worked both in the San Francisco office, and also in the Arumeru region of Tanzania, coordinating programs to teach HIV/AIDS education and Sustainable Agriculture. In the winter of 2007, after teaching herself web design in order to rebuild GSC's website, Maiya left GSC to establish her own independent design practice. Her dedication to supporting progressive international change also lead her to volunteer with the World Exchange for Health and Human Services (WEHHS). Since 2006, Maiya has worked with WEHHS to develop their Cameroon and Chiapas programs, and also created their website and marketing materials. She is currently living in San Francisco and working as a freelance website designer.
Mike Fong, a native of Sacramento, has lived in bay area for past five years, and is the most senior member of the WEHHS team, (along with Dr. Bruce, of course). Mike met Dr. Bruce as a patient, and soon joined on as WEHHS’ financial manager in the summer of 2003. Mike has 15 years of experience working in accounting and auditing, and is presently working as an accounting manager. When taking a break from handling the numbers, Mike enjoys running and playing tennis. Mike is married with two small children, and like a true Bay Area resident, is an avid A's and Raiders fan.
Soma joined the WEHHS team in 2007 as our Development Director and WEHHS Asia Program Coordinator. She is a published author, and currently the Director of Institutional Advancement for the Oakland School for the Arts, which is where she first met Dr. Bruce and became involved with WEHHS. With her background as a writer and interest in East Asian studies, Soma will be a fundamental part of developing WEHHS’s Asian medical outreach programs, as well as building capacity for all WEHHS projects.
Caleb, better known as “Cal” graduated USC in 2004 with a BA in Business, and currently works for Holliday Development. His friendship with Maiya dates back to the days when they were both crawling around in onesy pajamas. Cal offered to work with WEHHS to manage our storage space, which is donated by Holliday Development and located near their office in Emeryville. When he finally gets out of the office, Cal enjoys reading, sailing, bike riding and snow boarding.
World Exchange News