Meet The Team

Our Staff

Samantha Knaub Huesman

Executive Director/Founder
Samantha graduated from Regent University in 2015 with a BA in English and a minor in Psychology. After graduation she visited Zambia, where she instantly fell in love with the country and people. In 2016 Samantha moved to Livingstone where she helped build and run a primary school, providing free education and meals to 215 students. In January 2017, the school opened under Samantha's supervision as Headmistress. Longing to expand her vision and make a sustainable impact in children's lives, Samantha founded Free Haven Community Initiative. In the coming years Samantha wants to work more with local government, policy makers, and get involved with curriculum development on a national scale.
Kellie Njekwa

Director of Operations
Kellie graduated with a diploma in Psychosocial Counseling in 2004 from Frontline Institute Bindura Zimbabwe. Following graduation, she worked as a Counselor for four years under DAPP. Kellie then did her Primary Teacher Training at Mkoba Teacher’s College in Gweru, Zimbabwe; afterwards, she worked with the Ministry of Education and HIV/AIDS Advisor with Plan International. Kellie moved to Zambia in 2007 where she furthered her education through a Preschool Certificate. Kellie graduated with her BAED Primary Degree from Victoria Falls University of Technology in 2021. Kellie has been employed by FHCI since its inception, and she is the glue that holds the rest of our team together!
Joshua Nyundo

Finance & Development Manager
Josh is a Zambian citizen currently in Livingstone but has lived in various cities in Zambia throughout his Primary and Secondary School days. He is a professional Choreographer and Events Planner where he runs an events business and is frequently traveling, choreographing and planning events. Josh is also a Chartered Accountant that is affiliated with the Zambian Institute of Chartered Accountants (ZiCA). He has completed his first level and continues studying to obtain his degree in Accountancy. Meanwhile, Josh joined us at FHCI in November 2022.
Brian Mubiana

Human Resource Officer
Originating from Kalabo district of western province in Zambia, Brian holds an Advanced Diploma in Human Resource Management examined by the Association of Business Managers and Administrators (ABMA) United Kingdom, London in conjunction with Kasiya Business and Secretarial College Monze, Zambia and a diploma in Instructional Pedagogy from the Technical and Vocational Teachers Training College (TVTC) in Luanshya. Brian is a self motivated, enthusiastic and an energetic highflier with proven experience in the human resource and teaching sector respectively. Graduating in 2014 from Kasiya Business and Secretarial College (KABSCO), Brian served as an assistant human resource officer at Oblate Radio Liseli in 2014. Thereafter, he developed a desire to foster positive workplaces and this prompted his resignation from the teaching fraternity in 2017 to join and foster the birth of Kinako Game Ranch and took over the managerial role to oversee the daily operations of the company. Brian is currently a third year student of DMI ST- Eugen University and recently joined Free Haven Community Initiative (FHCI) in 2024!
Sampa Chisanga

Mental Health Counsellor
Sampa graduated with a diploma in Social Work in 2010 from the University of Zambia. She is a certified Psychosocial Counsellor and a Peer Educator in HIV/AIDS. She also holds a certificate in Sign Language from Copperbelt University. In addition to this, Sampa is a medical instrumentation technician who worked for Mopani Copper Mines as a technician from 1999 to 2018. Before joining FHCI, she was with Usaid (Discover Health) as a Psychosocial Counsellor. She is currently pursuing a Diploma in Teaching Methodology with Technical and Vocational Teachers College (TVTC) in Luanshya. Sampa hopes to enhance her career by pursuing Conflict Resolution. Sampa is passionate and loves seeing happy children! We are happy since she joined FHCI in 2024!
Nchimunya Simatende

Project Supervisor
Nchimunya graduated with a BA in Education in English Language and Geography at the University of Zambia. He also obtained several certificates from Philanthropy University such as Fundamentals of Project Management, Human Capital Strategy and Advocacy and Storytelling for Impact. He previously worked with the University of Zambia, Kisi University in Kenya and Aston University as a Research Assistant. He is passionate about how language influences society and hopes to further his studies in Psycho and Sociolinguistics. Nchimunya started volunteering with us and established a fantastic work ethic, thus was hired in 2023 as Project Manager!
Karen Muzunda

Program Supervisor
Karen completed her primary diploma course in 2015 and started her teaching career at local cowboy primary school. She then went to teach at Lizauli combined school in Katima Mulilo Namibia and then taught at Ebenezer Trust School. Karen is a trained counselor, and a certified public speaker. Karen joined us as a volunteer at the end of 2023 and officially joined us in 2024 as Program Supervisor!
Malilwe Mudenda

Social Worker
Malilwe graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work at the University of Zambia in May 2023. While she was a student, she interned with Kids Alive Zambia and Alliance for Children Everywhere Zambia. In addition to this, she worked as a Tutor at the University of Zambia from February to October, 2023. Malilwe then joined the team at FHCI in 2024 and hopes to pursue her education by obtaining a Masters in Social Protection Management!
Bertha Sinywimanzi

Lead Project Coordinator
Bertha received a certificate from Solwezi Trade School in Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship/ General Hospitality in 2014. From 2015 - 2016 Bertha did volunteer work and in 2017 Bertha was employed as a at KFH Community School as a teaching assistant. At the end of 2O17 Bertha returned to university. In 2O19 Bertha graduated from Nkana College of Education with a Primary Teacher Diploma. In 2020 Bertha was employed by Free Haven Community Initiative as a a project Coordinator/ Office Assistant. In May 2020 Bertha gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. In 2021 she took the year off from work to stay home with her son and she returned to FHCI’s team as a Project Coordinator in January 2022.
Samuel Imasiku

Project Coordinator
Samuel completed his Early Childhood Teaching at Mosi-o-Tunya College of Education and he completed his Secondary Diploma at David Livingstone College of Education. He has worked with different schools across Zambia. In 2019, Samuel joined our team full-time to support students outside of the classroom with extra lessons. Samuel’s goal is to continue his personal education and complete his Bachelor’s degree in Education soon!
Ettah Mulongo

Project Coordinator
Ettah received a Certificate in Early Childhood Education from Mosi -o - Tunya College of Education in 2014. He also studied at David Livingstone College of Education and received a Diploma in Secondary Teaching in 2019. Ettah worked as a teacher at Ray Ross from 2015 - 2016. From January to December 2017 Ettah was employed as a grade four teacher at KFH Community School. In 2019 Ettah worked at Maher Academy as a teacher. Ettah was hired by Free Haven Community Initiative in 2020 as a Project Coordinator and has worked with FHCI off and on since January 2020.

Our Board of Directors

Forest Hall

President
Forest is an experienced entrepreneur, program manager, and volunteer with the United Nations. He has a degree from the University of Minnesota in Social Justice, Business, and Leadership and is currently pursuing a graduate degree in International Development from the University of York in England. Strong with developing relationships, Forest has experience growing organizations through financial, operational, and external partnership support. Passionate about finding ways to help the world fulfil the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, he is deeply motivated by Free Haven Community Initiative’s mission of holistic poverty alleviation for vulnerable families in Zambia.
Caroline Antpöhler

Vice President
Caroline is a student at the University of Exeter completing her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations. Her interest in pursuing a career in the International Development sector started following a three months volunteer experience in Tanzania, where she worked on Water and Sanitation Hygiene projects in several communities. Since then she has participated in the UNICEF Student Volunteer program and is currently working on her final year research project concerning the misuses of foreign aid in International Development. Caroline first worked with Free Haven as an intern in Livingstone over the summer of 2022, where she saw the impact FCHI has firsthand. This experience and her passion for Free Haven’s mission led her to join the board as Vice President.
Sonia Poulin

Secretary
Driven by her passion to ensure fair and equitable access to justice for all, Sonia is the Chief Executive Officer of the Justice Education Society (JES), a Canadian non-profit organization that empowers people to access and deliver justice in Canada and globally. Sonia has more than 25+ years of leadership experience within the justice and legal sectors. Sonia holds a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics and French Studies from Concordia (Montreal), a Master of Information Studies from McGill (Montreal), and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Strathclyde (Scotland). Sonia has also studied law in the UK and Canada and is an LLM candidate (Human Rights) from the University of London (UK). Inspired by FHCI’s mission, Sonia joined the Board in 2023
Amanda Ragula

Treasurer
Amanda is a Certified Public Accountant with two decades of experience in auditing, accounting, and financial reporting for nonprofit organizations. She has been a partner at several CPA firms and currently works as the Director of Accounting at a large national nonprofit. She has worked with hundreds of nonprofits, by providing audit, consulting, compliance, “rescue CFO”, outsourced accounting, and forensic services, and has previously served as a peer reviewer, an “auditor of the auditors”. She has previously taught seminars on nonprofit accounting, internal controls, fraud prevention, and new auditing standards for a variety of organizations and a wide variety of board and staff trainings for nonprofits throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and its Nonprofit Section, and a former Certified Fraud Examiner. Amanda has visited 5 continents and is a passionate traveler who enjoys experiencing the wild and remote places of the world. She was inspired to join FHCI after a recent trip to Livingstone showed her both the depth of the need, and the drive of its community to work towards education and a healthier and safer future.
Mirna Kovach

Director of Strategic Partnerships
Mirna is a student currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Political Science and International Relations at University of Sarajevo School of Science and Technology. She works as a production manager and editor at independent student project AGORA Magazine and has been actively volunteering with several both local and international non-profit and youth led organizations. Mirna has a background in strategic development and communication as well as advertising. Inspired by Free Haven Community Initiative’s values and determined engagement in providing underprivileged communities with a sustainable future, she joined the board of FHCI as a Strategic Partnerships Director where she can best implement her skills in fostering professional collaboration.
Mark Ragan

Board Member
Mark Ragan has had three careers during his sixty-five years on the planet. After graduating from Chicago's DePaul University in 1979, Mark embarked on a 15-year career as a journalist, covering presidential politics, the White House and Congress. His second career was launched in the mid-1990's when Mark leveraged his expertise in storytelling to grow Chicago-based Ragan Communications into a worldwide leader in Employee Engagement, Public Relations and Social Media. Six years ago, Mark hired his longtime competitor, Diane Schwartz, to take over as CEO of his company and he started a third career as an actor, director and producer based in Colorado. Mark lives in Denver with his wife Jamie and their 15-year-old daughter Juliet. During his first trip to Zambia in 2022, Mark became passionate about wanting to make a difference in the Zambian community. Mark’s experience in Zambia, and his passion to assist the community, is what led him to join FHCI’s board.
Emmanuel Phiri

Board Member
Emmanuel, is an expert agricultural economist and thought leader in Financial Inclusion. He has lead multi sectoral projects in Agriculture, Health and Nutrition, Environment, Finance and Technology. He has worked extensively on issues of market systems development, trade, regional and global value chains, and economic regulation in Southern Africa advising governments, NGOs and businesses. Emmanuel is a member of Market Systems Community Hub of Practice and African Agricultural Economics Association. Emmanuel also has over 10 years’ experience in Market Systems Development, Inclusive Development Finance, Sustainable Finance, Rural development and Climate change, Knowledge Management, Financial Inclusion, Gender, Social Inclusion and Women Empowerment.
Roark Robinson

Board Member
Roark is an architect with a broad range of experience across the scales, from large urban design schemes to impactful local insertions. Working in South Africa has given him the opportunity to be involved in many social and community driven projects and much of his academic and professional focus has been on the development of affordable housing in South Africa and around the world. Roark has recently started Roro, a design consultancy that works on global projects surrounding the growing housing crisis in the world’s major cities, with a focus on affordability and the development of active and engaged urban spaces. His work has developed a strong focus on publicly engaging spaces and an interest in the development of effective archetypes, which in conjunction with sustainable urban development strategies can lead to architectural insertions in both urban and natural environments that bring outsized benefits to both current and future generations.