Board Chair
Rev Charles Yaw Ansah-Twum has been in ministry for over twenty years, and has over twenty five years of experience in finance, banking and business. He currently serves as the Senior Pastor of Chatfield Christian Fellowship in Littleton, Colorado, and is a Business Consultant and Business Specialist with Wells Fargo Bank. He has supported leadership training and development of Pastors in the community, and has promoted business leadership with integrity, through mentoring and developing potential leaders. Charles has been married to his lovely wife Rosemary, for almost twenty-five years and blessed with two amazingly gifted sons, Derek and Jeremy.
Fesehaye is a Senior Systems Engineer at Lockheed Martin, where he manages the NASA Orion Integrated Test Lab. Having graduated from The University of Colorado at Boulder with a Degree in Electrical Engineering in 2004, he started his career with Lockheed Martin as a Software Engineer for the Department of Defense. He then transferred to working in Space Systems for a NASA project called Orion which will take humans to Mars by 2030. Fesehaye worked as a Certified Test Conductor for Exploration Flight Test 1, launched in December 2014 from the Kennedy Space Center. Fesehaye is actively involved in the community, including contributing his time to ALG, and serving as chairman to the board of elders for the Bethel Eritrean Church of Denver.
Tyler Sandberg has worked on campaigns all over the world and country, from Malaysia and East Timor to New Hampshire and Colorado. A Senior Project Manager at EIS Solutions, Sandberg helps corporate, campaign and non-profit clients navigate political and communications challenges and runs issue, independent expenditure and candidate campaigns. In 2014, he was the campaign manager for Congressman Mike Coffman’s successful re-election, which Roll Call named one of the best run campaigns in the country. He is running Coffman’s campaign again in 2018.Before coming to EIS, Sandberg served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Congressman Coffman, running his Washington, D.C. office. He is married to Kelsie Sandberg, who leads fundraising efforts for Unite Colorado.
Born in Senegal, Macodou moved to the United States in 2000 with a Machinist degree. He quickly learned how to speak English and started several transportation companies, with a passion for finding ways of making a difference in people lives. Macodou has been involved in the African Leadership Group since its inception and has been serving in a leadership role in different a variety of initiatives, fulfilling his desire to give back to the community. Macodou’s hobbies are soccer, swimming, basketball, and fishing.
Solomon currently serves as the Vice President and Principal Business Relationship Manager for the Business Banking Division of Wells Fargo. He has spent the last 20 years as a professional banker in Colorado, working for Bank of the West, Washington Mutual, and Community Banks of Colorado before landing at Wells Fargo in 2012. After completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics at Makerere University and working briefly in Uganda, Solomon came to Colorado with just $700 in his pocket and a dream of attending graduate school, which he ultimately achieved with an MBA from Regis University. In terms of community and civic engagement, Solomon has been nominated by the Mayor of Denver to serve on the Denver Work Force Board for a three year term. He also has been coaching youth in soccer and skiing for the past ten years, and is also glad to be serving on the ALG board.
Instructor
Abdul is originally from Sierra Leone, West Africa. He received his Bachelor of Theology from the Evangelical College of Theology in 1995, and subsequently served in senior positions for churches in Sierra Leone for over twenty years. Abdul obtained a Master’s degree from the Gordon Cornwell Theological Seminary, and a diploma in Clinical Pastoral Education at the University of Colorado Hospital. He served as Chaplain for the University Hospital, the Center for Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation, and Denver Hospice. Abdul currently serves people with disabilities through Community Support Services and is an on-call Chaplain for Suntree Hospice. Abdul serves on the ALG board, while also completing his doctorate in Care and Counseling. Abdul is married and has two beautiful daughters, the oldest serving in the US Military. Abdul feels blessed to continue to serve, especially with immigrant communities.
Judith migrated from Jamaica, W.I. and has been residing in the US for over 30 years and is married with two children. She graduated from the Fashion Institute of Denver, a Division of the Colorado Institute of Arts. Past graduate of the Leadership Aurora Program with the Aurora Chamber of Commerce.
With over 27 years’ experience in the Colorado banking industry and a strong commitment to her community, Judith Donaldson was a former Branch Manager and Vice President with Wells Fargo Bank for 18 years. She is currently an Assistant Vice President at KeyBank and Operations Leader for 11 Branches in the Colorado East Area. In this position, Judith is responsible for managing compliance and operations control for 11 Retail Banking Branches. She is the current Vice President serving on the board for the Colorado Caribbean American Diaspora, C_Cad which provides local scholarships and school supplies to schools in the Caribbean. Judith serves as an active volunteer for several Non-Profit organizations initiatives.
Judith is passionate about serving the community, loves soccer, reading, traveling and enjoys entertaining family and friends.
A graduate of University of Colorado Denver, Alphonse holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics-Statistics and a M.A degree in Economics. He is also a holder of Doctorate from the University of Douala, Cameroon in applied quantitative economics and econometrics.
Alphonse has taught in Douala and Denver, subjects ranging from applied mathematics to economics and econometrics. He currently teaches Mathematics in the CEC charter schools network, in Aurora. He also serves as a Data scientist consultant for a variety of companies. Diplomatic and tactful with professionals and non-professionals at all levels, Alphonse is a motivated-leader, problem-solver, creative-thinker, and excellent instructor.
As Executive Director of NNAM Translation, LLC, he facilitates the integration of international students and immigrants and provides translation for immigration purposes. Alphonse makes himself available to build community resilience, and it is to fullfil this passion that he serves on the ALG Board.
Beatriz Gonzalez is Vice President of Community Lending & Diverse Markets at Bank of the West where she is responsible for diverse and affordable lending strategies for the Rocky Mountain Region.
Mrs. Gonzalez serves as a trusted business partner to leaders by developing market specific program plans and solutions to achieve short-term needs and long-term business in CRA & Fair Lending growth.
Prior to Bank of The West, Mrs. Gonzalez was a Mortgage Loan Officer for UMB Bank, where she generated loan applications through active sales calls, worked with diverse business groups, non-profits, and retail/commercial line of business.
Mrs. Gonzalez has been working in the Mortgage industry for over 20years and brings a wealth of knowledge, compassion, and understanding to the diverse clients she has served.
Mrs. Gonzalez was appointed to by Governor Polis to, two different task force where she advocates for housing stability for Coloradans.
Mrs. Gonzalez thought leadership has advanced diversity and economic equity with private, philanthropic and nonprofit sectors across the country.
ALG is an established Colorado nonprofit of 15 years created to serve the entire African immigrant community to help improve their quality of life. We do it through social, education and economic programs such as youth empowerment and public speaking classes reaching thousands of individuals. Every year during the month of August, we celebrate loudly and proudly the impact African immigrants have in the state of Colorado.
