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Staff

Melissa Kushner, Founder and Executive Director

Melissa has spent her entire career working in international development. Melissa’s experience has provided her with a deep understanding of multi-sector partnership building, heath infrastructure development, fundraising, field research and organizational and program development. Positions at the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships, Hahn Associates, Population Communications International and Gay Men’s Health Crisis have made her a well-rounded development practitioner, giving her both hands-on and managerial experience. Melissa received her MPA from New York University and her BA from the University of Pennsylvania.

Allison Milewski, Director of Institutional and Program Development

Allison Milewski joined Goods for Good in 2007 as the organization’s Director of Institutional and Program Development. Her professional career includes comprehensive experience in domestic and international program development, capacity building, fundraising, and grant making with a focus on human rights, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and youth programming and outreach. Over the past ten years, she has worked with a diverse range of nonprofit organizations, most notably Population Communications International, the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Union Square Awards for Grassroots Activists. Allison is also the founder and director of PhotoForward which provides photography and literacy instruction to at-risk and underserved youth in the US and abroad and empowers them to tell their own stories through words and pictures. Allison attended the Literacy through Photography Institute at Duke University's Center for Documentary Studies and received a bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts from the New School for Social Research with a focus on Women's Studies and Media Studies. She is currently pursuing a certificate in Creative Arts Therapies at The New School.

Jeremy Kaplan, Chief Financial Officer

Jeremy has been working in finance for several years with a focus on budgeting and forecasting. Jeremy's work at Barr Laboratories, a global specialty pharmaceutical company, included managing the company's short and long-term financial planning process. In 2006 Jeremy made his first field research trip to Malawi where he traveled to several local institutions caring for orphans and vulnerable children. Jeremy received his MBA from New York University and his BA from Brandeis University.

Brigitte Zimmerman, Program Associate

Brigitte Zimmerman completed undergraduate studies at Stanford University in Public Policy. Her honors thesis, which examined and compared different modes of orphan care in Malawi, was the recipient of the Noll Award for outstanding senior thesis, and was published in the Review of Policy Research in November, 2005. After graduation, she accepted a Philanthropy Fellowship through Stanford, which required both coursework and extensive work experience in the grant-making field of Silicon Valley. She then worked for Archstone Consulting as a management consultant specializing in procurement, operations and financial services before joining Goods for Good in 2007. She is now responsible for on-site program coordination and logistics in Malawi, as well as exploratory research into the field of community-based orphan care to supplement Goods for Good’s long-term strategy.

Aaron Lewani, Program Officer

Aaron, who was born and raised in Malawi, has focused his career on working with the most vulnerable groups in the country. Through his work with non-governmental agencies over the last several years, Aaron has been able to focus on the complex needs of children, women, the elderly, the disabled, female-headed households and people living with HIV/AIDS. Working with these groups has provided Aaron with a deep understanding of the challenges they face, particularly in the areas of child rights, child protection, agriculture and food security, water and sanitation and health and HIV/AIDS. Positions at World Vision International and Chisomo Children’s Club, a charitable organization that works with street kids in Malawi, has provided Aaron with expertise in project planning, design and implementation, monitoring and evaluation and managerial work. Aaron received his Bachelors Degree in Agriculture from the University of Malawi- Bunda College and has undergone additional training in program development, implementation and evaluation.