Leadership Team

Galen Britz, President, Executive Officer

Galen Britz grew up in Minnesota, 40 miles north of St Paul. He earned a BS degree at the University of Minnesota and a MS and PhD at Iowa State University, all in Chemical Engineering. He had a 34 year career at 3M and retired December 31, 1999. Mama Tesha’s visit to Minnesota in 2001 resulted in the establishment of the 1st St Margaret’s Academy Golf Tournament. Galen has been a participant in all of the golf fund raisers since then, chairing the event since 2005. He visited St Margaret’s Academy in 2002 and again in 2004.  In 2007 he visited Uluthe, Kenya and recommended that it become the second site to which FOAE should offer support.  His last visit to Tanzania and Kenya was in 2010. He and his wife Kathy sponsor two children. They have encouraged many of their friends to support FOAE by sponsoring orphans and making financial contributions. Galen has been a member of Lions Clubs International for over 30 years and has a passion in helping others. He is a member and past church Council President at King of Kings Lutheran in Woodbury, Minnesota. In 2005 Galen and Kathy hosted a FOAE Board meeting to help energize the group. Galen recruited several new board members and was chosen as the President of the Board in April 2005.

Justin Stets, Vice President, Executive Officer

Justin is a native Ohioan and originally came to Minnesota to attend St. Olaf College. Justin graduated from St. Olaf in 1985 with a BA degree in Latin, Greek and Theology. He then went on to earn his Master’s degree in Theological Studies from Harvard University. Justin, his wife Kristin, and their four children live in Northfield, Minnesota where Justin is a principal at Carlson Capital Management. Justin and Kristin were first introduced to Mama Tesha in 2002. In 2006, the Stets family traveled to Tanzania to experience the great beauty of the people, the culture and the landscape. The trip made such an impact on their lives that they decided to return again as a family in 2008. The Stets’ have been honored to host Mama Tesha on trips to the United States to share the story of St. Margaret’s Academy. The family has supported FOAE through annual holiday party fund-raisers at their home, where they’ve included family and friends in the mission of FOAE. The Stets’ believe that funding for education and healthcare will help change the face of Africa. Justin joined the FOAE board in 2008.

Larry Paulson, Treasurer, Executive Officer

Larry grew up in West Fargo, North Dakota.  He graduated from North Dakota State University with a BS degree in Mechanical/Aeronautical Engineering in 1962.  He worked for North American Aviation in the Los Angeles area for 7 years and earned his MS degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Southern California in 1967.  He worked for Honeywell, Inc. in the Minneapolis area for 7 years before accepting a position with Medtronic, Inc.   He retired from Medtronic in January 2001 after 25 years of service.  Larry and his wife Eilene (Boots) have been sponsoring an FOAE student in Tanzania for the past 8 years.  After several trips to foreign lands over the years, they had the pleasure of visiting St. Margaret’s Academy in Tanzania and the schools in the Uluthe area in Kenya in 2010.   World travel has shown the need for educational and healthcare assistance in developing nations.  The successes achieved in East Africa through FOAE in the past 10 years are impressive.  He joined the board in January 2011 and looks forward to continuing the work of FOAE in sub Saharan Africa.

Reuel Nygaard, Secretary, Executive Officer

Reuel Nygaard considers Willmar, Minnesota his hometown. He attended St. Cloud State University and majored in biology. Reuel has had a diversified career path. He was a Divisional Manager at Dayton’s Department Stores, Vice President of Operations at Cable Value Network, (now QVC), Vice President of Operations at Fingerhut and Chief Operations Officer at ParaBody. Reuel is married to his wife Mary of 49 years. Both are active in Wayzata Evangelical Free Church in Plymouth, Minnesota. Reuel has been a Teaching Directory in Community Bible Study, Directory of the Alpha Program, served on the Senior Pastor Search Committee and participated in other capacities in his church. He is retired and he and Mary have enjoyed traveling since Reuel’s retirement. It was one of their trips that brought them to Tanzania where they witnessed the poverty and dire need for education for the African people. A visit to St. Margaret’s Academy near Arusha got them involved with FOAE. Reuel is committed to making a difference in ministering to the needs of the African people.

Lisa Engh, Board Member

Lisa grew up in Iowa and attended undergraduate studies and law school at the University of Iowa. After practicing law in Iowa, she moved to Washington to serve as a program director and fundraiser for the Girl Scouts organization.  Her family returned to the Midwest (Minnesota!)-and she is now a community volunteer and stay-at-home mom of two young children.  In 2006, after participating in a mission trip to Tanzania, she fell in love with the country! Also, she became aware of the enormous challenges in the area and saw that FOAE was making an impact. Lisa became a board member because she believes the vision of FOAE is inspiring, and the organization is making a difference for so many families and children in the area.

Meleah Follen, Board Member

Meleah grew up in Portland, Oregon but has lived in the Midwest since attending the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. Meleah graduated from Notre Dame in 1990 with an Accounting degree and worked as an auditor and financial planner before returning to Loyola University in Chicago to obtain her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing. She worked as a nurse in Chicago for many years before moving to Minneapolis with her husband Chuck. Since that time she has been active in the non-profit arena serving on various boards and working as the Executive Director of a local cancer support non-profit. Meleah and her husband have traveled to Tanzania twice; in 2006 and 2008. Their first trip introduced them to the beauty of the land and its people, yet also showed them the immense challenges that face the area. Becoming involved in FOAE, as both a student sponsor and now with Meleah as a board member, supports their belief that education truly is the key to changing Africa’s future. Meleah will be working to pair up students in need with sponsors who can help fund their education.

Matthew Grove, Board Member

Matthew was born and raised in Northfield, MN. He attended Gustavus Adolphus College where he studied Secondary Social Studies Education. At Gustavus Matthew was involved in a number of organizations and sports including football, baseball, and rugby. His desire to travel and help the world began while studying at Gustavus. During his junior year, Matthew traveled to South Africa to work at a youth camp, and the next summer he independently traveled to Arusha, Tanzania. While in Tanzania, Matthew lived with the Tesha family and volunteered as a teacher at St. Margaret’s Academy. This experience was eye opening and has forever changed his life. Time spent in Tanzania with the incredible people of Africa has motivated him to become a board member of Friends of Africa Education. After graduating from Gustavus, Matthew traveled to South America for a year to volunteer as an English teacher. Most of his time was spent in Chile, and he was fortunate enough to spend time in Argentina and Peru as well. Since returning to Minnesota, Matthew has been teaching in Farmington and FAIR School Crystal. He became a member of the FOAE board in 2010 because he was inspired by the mission and vision that FOAE stands for. Education is the key to changing the Africa’s future.

George Oyeho, Board Member

George Amenya Oyeho is an Independent Consultant in “Management Process, and Holistic and Sustainable Community Development Services” in Minnesota; and founder/ coordinator of Uluthe Community Project in Kenya since 1988. George also is a founder and vice president of Harambee Inc., an American 501(c)3 organization fostering development in the Uluthe/ Mungao area of Kenya and in Harare, Zimbabwe. He is a social entrepreneur interested in building relationships among world communities through organizations and institutions.
George Oyeho received his Master of Science in Public and Nonprofit Administration and Bachelor of Science in Management from Metropolitan State University (Minnesota); Executive MBA from Northland Open University of Canada; and a Fellow of Kenya Institute of Management.

Honest Tesha, Board Member

Honest grew up in Tanzania where he attended Arusha School and graduated from Ilboru High School, before migrating to US to pursue higher education. He came to Minnesota in 1999 as an undergraduate to earn his BS at St Cloud State University, St Cloud. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Nuclear Medicine and has been working in the medical field for 4 years now. He also served as a board member on the Umoja Society, a non-profit organization representing Tanzanians in Minnesota between 2005 and 2007. Growing up in Tanzania Honest saw first hand how HIV and poverty affected the quality of education to young children. Honest first became involved in Friends of Africa Education in 2001, being inspired by the vision of his mom (Mama Tesha) and vowed to make a difference in the lives of Tanzanians and Africans at large.

Jackie Abebe, Board Member

Jackie is from Tanzania and came to Minnesota to attend University of St. Thomas.  Jackie graduated from St. Thomas in 2005 with an MBA in Finance and Project Management.  Jackie has served as the Chairperson on the Umoja Society, a non-profit organization representing Tanzanians in Minnesota between 2005 and 2008.  Since migrating to Minnesota, Jackie has worked at various public accounting firms in the Twin Cities and currently manages the Internal Audit Department for Jostens Inc.  Jackie joined the FOAE board in 2011 as she believes that “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Nelson Mandela.