Born and raised in Meru, Kenya, Dr. Ringera earned her Ph.D. in intercultural communication in 2008 from the University of Denver. She earned a Masters Degree in Media from Natal University, South Africa, as well as a Master of Theological Studies (with a peace and justice emphasis) from the Iliff School of Theology in Colorado. She received her Bachelor of Education degree and Postgraduate Diploma in Mass Communication from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Ringera is also a lecturer at the University of Nairobi.

She has used her extensive academic background and international experience working in many countries to design and implement models of effective community engagement, women’s grassroots organizing programs, collaborative problem solving models, preemptive and post conflict reconciliation, and proactive health campaigns. She has built a successful, working model of “Amani Homes,” community homes of peace for orphans and vulnerable children in Meru, Kenya.

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Karma Sherpa was born in 1984 to a nomadic family living in the remote Solukhumbu region of Nepal near Mt. Everest. Luck and opportunity came to Karma in the form of a donation from a kind-hearted traveler that enabled him to attend school. He eventually became the first person in his village to receive a Bachelor’s degree. Soon after, Karma returned to pay it forward and provide other children with the same opportunities he had been granted by founding the non-profit organization, The Small World (TSW), in 2006.

Since then, his efforts have expanded to include sustainable community development. In essence, Karma’s profound understanding of his people, their customs, and their culture contributes greatly to TSW’s ability to realize effective results in the pursuit of the organization’s mission. The gift of education made a huge difference in Karma’s life and provided him with opportunities that he could never have imagined. He hopes to transform many more lives for the better in his beloved country of Nepal.

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