Sherbro Foundation Board of Directors

Sherbro Foundation Board is all-volunteer and receives no compensation for their services.  They volunteer from around the United States.

Arlene Golembiewski, Executive Director & President 

Arlene founded Sherbro Foundation Sierra Leone in 2013 to serve Rotifunk, Bumpeh Chiefdom, where she was a Peace Corps science and English teacher 1974-76. She returns annually to live in the community for 4-5 weeks and work with our partner CCET-SL.

The National peace Corps Association recognized Arlene with their 2018 Sargent Shriver Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award for her work in Sierra Leone, their highest honor for a returned volunteer..

Arlene also received the Procter & Gamble Alumni Network’s 2017 global Humanitarian award for her work with Sierra Leone. She retired from Procter & Gamble as Associate Director of Global Health, Safety and Environment in 2009 after a thirty-year career developing HS&E programs in their operations around the world and assessing new product introductions.

Arlene has a B.S. in Zoology and a Masters of Public Health in Environmental & Industrial Health, both from the University of Michigan. She gained experience running a nonprofit as a 3-year president of her Cincinnati, Ohio neighborhood 501(c)(3) community council. She serves on the Boards of the Hillside Trust and the East End Adult Education Center, where she has tutored immigrants on English as a second language.

Cheryl Farmer, M. D., Treasurer

Cheryl is a physician who retired after 30 years in private practice in Internal Medicine in Ann Arbor, MI, following an early career in environmental science and air pollution.  Cheryl has long responded to public service needs. A member of the Michigan State Medical Society Bioethics Committee for over 20 years, she has helped define statewide positions on medical ethics issues. She balanced her medical practice with 12 years of service as mayor of Ypsilanti, MI, when she saw her city needed economic development opportunities and infrastructure improvements.

Her hands-on experience in health and governance are invaluable. She has an M.S. in Air Pollution from the School of Public Health, University of Michigan and a medical degree from Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine. She remains Board certified in Internal Medicine. Cheryl was the 2019-20 President of the Ypsilanti Rotary Club.

Chris Golembiewski, Vice President & Secretary

Chris had a career in journalism, stemming from a lifelong interest in writing and social issues. She was a reporter at the Lansing State Journal, handling investigative reporting and government coverage in Michigan’s capital on a range of in-depth topics, including environmental and health issues, urban sprawl and regional planning, politics and state social policy.

Chris has a B.A. and M. A. in journalism and communications from the University of Michigan, where she was a co-founder of the Public Interest Research Group in Michigan (PIRGIM), an independent citizen-funded organization advocating for the public interest. She also served as U-M’s chapter president of Women in Communications. Chris has been a reading tutor for Cincinnati Public Schools, and continues to advocate for women and social justice around the world.           .

Steve Papelian, Director

Steve also served in Sierra Leone as a Peace Corps Volunteer, teaching secondary school science in Rotifunk in 1974-76. He is retired from the Arlington, VA school district as an Earth Science teacher. He also taught at a school in Scotland for two years and spent two years in Lima, Peru where his then-wife was in diplomatic service.

Steve earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Eastern Connecticut State University and later studied at Antioch University New England. His love of science and talent as a science educator are important assets for work with rural Sierra Leone, where senior high science classes remain nearly nonexistent.

Virginia (Ginny) Fornillo, Director

Ginny joined the Peace Corps upon obtaining her B.S. in Mathematics from Marymount Manhattan College. She served from 1974-1976 as the secondary school math teacher in the Sherbro village of Shenge, Moyamba District, Sierra Leone.

She attended evening classes at the City University of New York, Staten Island while working full time as a manager at New Jersey Bell Telephone   Graduating with an M.S. in Environmental Science, she began working for the US Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. Headquarters. She retired from the EPA in 2010 and moved to the Delaware beach.

Ginny is a member of the RPCV of Delaware Association and a long-time member of the Friends of Sierra Leone. Since retiring, she has been a volunteer teacher at the local maximum security prison for men, and for the Marine Education, Rehabilitation and Research Institute.

The Center for Community Empowerment & Transformation, CCET-SL, our Sierra Leone partner.

CCET-SL is registered with the Sierra Leone Government as a nonprofit Community Based Organization or CBO. They have authority to carry out a development agenda for Bumpeh Chiefdom from the Chiefdom Council, the body with overall chiefdom governance responsibility. CCET-SL works to improve the standard of living of chiefdom people, providing access to quality education, sustainable agriculture, enabling children’s futures and protection of the environment.

Bumpeh Chiefdom Paramount Chief Charles Caulker, Board Chairman

Chief Caulker is the longest serving Sierra Leone paramount chief (33 years). He is a recipient of the country’s highest civilian honor, Grand Commander of the Order of Rokel, which he received for his service in ending the rebel war and helping restore democratic systems in its aftermath. As an 11-year Minister of Parliament representing the chiefs of Moyamba district, he chaired seven parliamentary committees, including Defense, Finance, Transparency, Communication and Public Accounts.

Chief retired in 2016 from a series of government roles, most recently as Commissioner of the Public Service Commission. He is frequently invited to serve on various government oversight boards, including the Mineral Agency Board, Anti-Corruption Steering Committee, Education Board and Police Council. From 2011 – 2017 he chaired the National Council of Paramount Chiefs, a body he helped form to give 149 chiefs across the country a place to speak with one voice and interact with the government. Under his leadership, they created a Code Of Ethics for Paramount Chiefs.

In addition to leading CCET-SL’s Board, he serves as Executive Director of the Board of the Union Trust Bank. He has a B. A. degree from Fourah Bay College in History and Political Science.

Rosaline Kaimbay, Managing Director

Rosaline served as CCET-SL’s Executive Director from inception in 2012 to 2016 on a volunteer basis, overseeing the development and introduction of its programs and leading a team of volunteers.  In 2014-15, she was instrumental in supervising the chiefdom’s Ebola program, traveling the chiefdom by motorcycle educating villages and ensuring Ebola control procedures were in place. With growth of CCET-SL’s programs, she was hired into a full time paid position in 2017. A chiefdom native, she is a tireless advocate for children and women. 

From 2009 – 2016, Rosaline was the founding principal of Prosperity Girls High School, the chiefdom’s first all-girls secondary school she started from scratch. Under her leadership, the school received the highest results of 40 schools in Moyamba District on the national senior high entrance exam three years running – after being in operation only four years.

Rosaline brought 12 years of experience as an English teacher in Freetown. She has a B. A. in Education and a M. A. in Peace and Development Studies, both from Njala University.