To contact us, please e-mail us at

mail@expandinglives.org

Our Board of Directors:

	Rachel Mossi currently serves as the president of Expanding Lives, having served as treasurer in the past. Rachel graduated in Mathematics from Northwestern University. She became interested in girls’ education while working as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching high school math in Tillaberi, Niger from 1990 to 1992. Rachel works as an actuarial consultant for Towers Watson and has returned to her Niger community numerous times.
	Leslie Natzke currently serves as vice president and executive director of Expanding Lives, having served in the past as its founding president. She became interested in girls’ education and empowerment as a development tool while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger in the late 1980’s. Leslie has subsequently worked in the field of education in Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Ghana, Senegal, Chicago, IL, and at her current job as an ESL teacher at Niles West High School in Skokie, IL. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with B.A.s in English Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies and has a Masters in Curriculum Development from Loyola-Chicago.
	Jessica “Jessy” Wilt serves as the Treasurer of Expanding Lives. Her initial interest in girls’ education developed while working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger from 2004 to 2007. In completing her Master’s in social work from Loyola University Chicago, Jessy specialized in non-profit management and philanthropy and continued to develop her passion for girls’ education initiatives through her graduate research. With a background in work as an early educator and social worker, Jessy now works with the Peace Corps as an assessment specialist recruiter.
	Dana DesJardins, a graduate of UCLA, is the secretary of Expanding Lives has taught various classes with the program. She has been a high school English teacher for the past twenty years and was the former director of Rogers Park Family Focus. She has volunteered with various nonprofits including Howard Area Community Center and Refugee One.
	Jennifer Rice joined the Expanding Lives board in 2010 as a resource development officer. Jennifer served in Peace Corps Niger from 2002-2006 as an agriculture and natural resource management volunteer. With several years experience as a fundraising professional for nonprofit organizations, Jennifer recently graduated with her MS in International Development from DePaul University.
	Rabi Bouzou-Waziri is a native of Niger. She currently serves as a senior board member in development for Expanding Lives. Thanks to financial support, Rabi came to the U.S. to study in 1992. She graduated both high school and college in Chicago, at Providence St. Mel and the University of Chicago, respectively. She taught French for seven years at a Chicago foreign language school for children. As one of only two educated women in her family, she is excited to bring her passion for girls’ education to Expanding Lives. She currently lives in New Mexico and together with Expanding Lives, she looks forward to building future generations of empowered, bright young women from Niger.

Our Junior Board:

	Josephine Tritsch is one of five members of the inaugural Junior Board. She began working with Expanding Lives when she was in high school, serving in various volunteer positions, including Cultural Activities co-ordinator, and most recently teaching computers. Josephine is currently attending the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, where she and fellow board member, Akshita Siddula, co-founded a student group on behalf of the organization. She is majoring in Crop Sciences and is interested in the role of women in agriculture, particularly global food security and sustainable farming systems. While her experience with women’s empowerment is limited to Expanding Lives, Josephine hopes to develop these interests into a career in international development.
	Akshita Siddula is a member of the Junior Board, serving as special events coordinator. She began working with Expanding Lives in 2009 as a Dance Marathon executive through Niles North High School. That same year, she helped to shape the cultural liaison program by attending our first retreat and intensively volunteering throughout the summer. She later transitioned from cultural liaison to a position on the junior board. As a current sophomore at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Akshita works to fund raise for Expanding Lives through a chapter organization on campus with fellow board member Josephine Tritsch. She is majoring in Comparative World Literature/Pre-medicine and hopes to work in developing countries providing free access to health care while simultaneously encouraging women's empowerment through education.
	Julia Lechowicz graduated from Niles North High School, where she first heard about Expanding Lives. She has been volunteering with the organization for two years, attended retreat in 2010, organizes the yearly transportation training and tutors in classes. Julia was a founding member of the junior board. She is currently a student at Loyola University Chicago, studying in the College of Arts and Sciences. In the spare time left over after work, school, and volunteering, she enjoys lots of outdoor activities and exploring new places.
	Charlotte Nougnito has volunteered with Expanding Lives since her arrival in the United States in 2009 by translating, assisting with social entrepreneurship and health classes, and fund raising. She is one of the founding members of the junior board. In her native Benin and on visits to bordering Niger, Charlotte has seen first hand the work that educated, empowered women can make in a family and in a community. Since Charlotte’s own early education was delayed, she also understands the frustration that even a 10-year old girl can feel of not being allowed to meet one’s potential. She will finish her associate’s degree from Chicago City Colleges in December 2011 and hopes to combine her interest in business and health care in pursuant of a bachelor’s degree.
	Faizan Khan is a sophomore at DePaul University majoring in political science. He has a passion for helping others and doing whatever he can to help his community. Faizan serves as the treasurer for the Expanding Lives Junior Board and handles all financial matters. He first began working with Expanding Lives his senior year in high school with a charity organization called Dance Marathon. In the past, Faizan has arranged canning sites at local Jewel stores, worked with board member Charlotte to get food donations for a recent 5K, and got an article about Expanding Lives released in his college paper, DePaulia.Through Expanding Lives, Faizan aims to empower and educate young Nigerien women with the hopes that they will go back and serve as leaders in their own communities at home. He is an enthusiastic individual who always maintains a positive attitude in everything he does. Faizan hopes to pursue law in the future.