About Us

Our Vision

A world where every woman and girl enjoys her full rights and dignity, leads with courage and transforms her community.

Our Mission

We create opportunities for women and youth leaders in Liberia and beyond to advance peace, further justice, and drive reconciliation. We do this by investing in education, leadership development, and policy engagement.

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Our Logo

Our emblem is a traditional West African wood carving of three intertwined figures holding up a shared bowl. It symbolizes community, cohesion and corporation.

Board of Directors & Staff

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Leymah Gbowee

Co-Founder & Board Member
2011 Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee is a Liberian peace activist, trained social worker and women’s rights advocate. After winning the Nobel Peace Prize, she established the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa. Leymah also serves as the Executive Director of the Women, Peace and Security Program at the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Leymah is the proud mother of eight children.
George Pinto

George Pinto

Board Member & Chair
George is a CPA and Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Silicon Valley Accountancy Corporation. He also teaches philosophy part time at San Jose State University. George is passionate about amplifying the lessons and leadership of Nobel laureates Leymah Gbowee and Kailash Satyarthi.
Angie Wang

Angie Wang

Board Member & Vice-Chair
Angie Wang (she/her), an experienced strategist with 25+ years in social change, collaborates with visionary groups to enhance their impact. As Chief of Staff to Abigail E. Disney she brings expertise in strategy and operations to organizations including the Daphne Foundation, Level Forward, and Fork Films. Angie's leadership spans roles at Peace is Loud, The New York Women's Foundation, the September 11th Fund, and Safe Horizon.
Ernest Obubah

Ernest Obubah

Board Member & Treasurer
Ernest Obubah is an Audit Managing Director with over 15 years in the field. He is dedicated to providing audit services to his clients, specializing in sectors such as higher education, not-for-profits, healthcare, and public companies. Beyond his professional career, Ernest is married and takes pride in being a father. As a proud Ghanaian, Ernest is devoted to enhancing education in West Africa through his board service and personal efforts to support the education of young people in his community in Ghana.
Kouty Mawenh

Kouty Mawenh

Board Member & Secretary
Kouty is an active board member for both Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa in Liberia (since 2014) and Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa-USA in the United States (since 2016). Currently a District Leader of Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) Southeast SeniorCare Division, Kouty has considerable experience in marketing, lobbying and operations management at Lilly and abroad. He is Partner for the Liberian-based ProSyte entity. Kouty is passionate about Liberians in the US giving back to Liberia.
Wayétu Moore

Wayétu Moore

Board Member
Wayétu Moore is the author of the novel She Would Be King, and the memoir, The Dragons, The Giant, The Women. She is the recipient of the 2019 Lannan Literary Fellowship for Fiction and the 2022 William Saroyan Prize for Nonfiction. Moore is a graduate of Howard University, University of Southern California and Columbia University.
Brian Rusch

Brian Rusch

Board Member
Brian strategizes with nonprofits, governments, corporations, and celebrities to help optimize their platforms to be change makers for good. Currently, Brian serves as the Vice-Chair of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for Rotary International, and is the CEO of Out For Equality, a US-based nonprofit that provides strategy and resources to grassroots LGBTQ+ organizations fighting for human rights around the world.
Lanaia Edwards Estrella

Lanaia Edwards Estrella

Board Member
Lanaia Edwards Estrella, M.B.A., brings over 20 years of brand marketing experience, having worked in the personal care industry with natural beauty and personal care brands ranging from Fortune 500 to entrepreneurial organizations. She served as a Chief Marketing Officer for two companies and currently runs her consulting business, Encompass Market Solutions Inc., specializing in branding, digital media, marketing strategy and communications. Lanaia resides in New Jersey with her husband and two sons.
Richelle Todd-Yamoah

Richelle Todd-Yamoah

Executive Director
Richelle Todd-Yamoah has a wide range of experience having worked on issues related to international peacebuilding, community development, human rights, child welfare systems, capacity building and social justice. She is highly experienced in program management, implementation, and evaluation, with over 20 years of experience in philanthropy, government, and the nonprofit sector. A proud former Peace Corps volunteer in both Malawi and Côte d’Ivoire. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Rutgers University.

History of GPFA-USA

Founded in 2015 in New York City, Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa – USA (GPFA-USA) supports the vision of Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee to empower women and youth through education and leadership development. As the U.S. sister organization to the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa (GPFA) in Monrovia, Liberia, GPFA-USA mobilizes resources, partnerships, and public awareness to advance peace, justice, and opportunity in Liberia and beyond.

Since its founding, GPFA-USA has galvanized the African diaspora and global allies to invest in education, leadership training, and community transformation. By creating scholarships, mentorship opportunities, and platforms for advocacy, GPFA-USA helps ensure that every girl and young leader can reach their full potential and contribute to a peaceful, equitable society.

Together with GPFA-Liberia, the Foundation continues to advance a shared vision: a world where every woman and girl enjoys her full rights and dignity, leads with courage, and transforms her community.

Our Founder

A 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate, Madame Leymah Gbowee is a Liberian peace activist, trained social worker and women’s rights advocate.

Ms. Gbowee’s leadership of the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace – which brought together Christian and Muslim women in a nonviolent movement that played a pivotal role in ending Liberia’s civil war – is chronicled in her memoir, Mighty Be Our Powers, and in the award-winning documentary, Pray the Devil Back to Hell.

After winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Ms. Gbowee established the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa in Monrovia, Liberia where she serves as Founder and President. She is the founding head of the Liberia Reconciliation Initiative, and the co-founder and former Executive Director of Women Peace and Security Network Africa (WIPSEN-A). Ms. Gbowee serves as the Executive Director of the Institute on Gender, Law, and Transformative Peace at CUNY School of Law. Ms. Gbowee is an advisor for numerous organizations working for peace, women’s rights and sustainable development, including Nobel Women’s Initiative and PeaceJam. In 2017, she was selected by the UN Secretary General to serve as a Member of his High Level Advisory Board on Mediation and she is a former SDGs Advocate for the United Nations. She has been named as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy by Apolitical and one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine.

For inquiries about hosting Ms. Gbowee as a speaker at your event, please contact Peace is Loud.

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