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World Bridge Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to bring people together and transform lives through cross-cultural experiences and education.
We provide opportunities for communities to come together to express and share their stories through the visceral power of music, dance, and storytelling, while raising awareness around the need for quality education and living conditions for underprivileged children and their communities.
We partner with M-LISADA organization based in Kampala, Uganda to curate arts programs that tour in schools, cultural centers and communities worldwide introducing African cultural arts to students.
Our central belief is that investing in young people, underserved communities, and empowering more girls into leadership creates livelihoods capable of reinforcing stability, transforming families, and overcoming the cycle of poverty. We provide grassroots support to communities, equipping them with skills, tools, and knowledge that will allow them to have opportunities and compete in global markets.
World Bridge Foundation harnesses the power of music and storytelling to build regenerative livelihoods for families living in poverty. Funds raised through our touring programs support education for many vulnerable children and programs that we run, and through our child sponsorship program you can support a child to receive quality education. World Bridge Foundation strives to durably tackle society’s most pressing issues and generate creative, compassionate solutions to poverty.
Art provides young people from all backgrounds with positivity, engagement, improved relationships, a sense of accomplishment, meaning and a connection to the world around them. At a time when students increasingly struggle with low levels of wellbeing, the arts are one essential avenue for improving wellbeing and fostering a durable sense of community in schools.
Social activities and interaction help allay major challenges within communities and Art helps boost confidence and make us feel more engaged and resilient and connected, no matter our background or story. While World Bridge Foundation’s work has proven this time and again, the finding is not just anecdotal: countless studies have shown that art engagement alleviates anxiety, depression and stress.
Kirsten Lyerly is a public health professional who is passionate about connecting people and cultures and using those connections to improve the health and livelihoods of populations across the globe.
Growing up in a household where exposure to cultures was prominent (tribute to her father), Kirsten’s interest and passion for this type of work happened at a young age and quickly became part of who she is as a person and professional.
Kirsten has a background in public health, earning both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Public Health from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. From there, she has spent over a decade serving in various roles in public health / business development across the NGO, academia, government and military sectors. Encompassing the mission of World Bridge Foundation, Kirsten has immersed herself in different cultures through personal and professional experiences to play a role in connecting people across cultures and creating equitable opportunities for proper healthcare and resources.
Currently, Kirsten works in business development at Castlight Health, a digital health navigation company, whose mission it is to make it as easy as humanly possible for individuals to navigate the American healthcare system and live happier, healthier, more productive lives.
Dr. BENJAMIN GILMER is a family physician and Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and Mountain Area Health Education Center’s (MAHEC) Family Medicine Residency Program. He attended Davidson College and studied medicine at the Sorbonne and East Carolina University. As the Medical Director for MAHEC's Rural Health Initiative and Rural Fellowship, he is passionate about advocating for global and rural health disparities. He has worked extensively in Central and South America and West Africa. Benjamin is committed to advancing medical education, point of care ultrasound, interprofessional collaboration and inspiring students to pursue rural health. His advocacy work currently focuses on bringing media attention to the social injustice of treating mental illness in our prison system. His book, “The Other Dr. Gilmer” (Ballantine) and upcoming film project (Concordia Films) both highlight the injustice of mass incarceration of people with mental illness. A former neurobiologist turned rural family doctor, Dr. Gilmer has lectured across the country about medical ethics, rural health, bias in medicine, and criminal justice reform. He lives with his wife, Deirdre, two children, Kai and Luya, and their dog Prince Peanut Butter in Asheville, North Carolina.
Stella Kinobe is a co-founder of World Bridge Foundation. Born and growing up in Uganda, she experienced numerous challenges as a young girl and lived through it all with resilience.
After quickly realizing early on that she was on her own, she promised herself that if she made it, she would do everything possible to change the lives of others, and help them not to experience the same. After completing her university studies in business administration, Stella relocated to the United States where she worked in the banking sector with First National Bank and then M&T Bank. After working in the corporate field for several years, she decided to focus on fulfilling her life passion of helping communities in need. She joined Open Doors of Asheville; a US based local non-profit that strengthens community by eliminating the race-based opportunity andachievement gaps for students through education.
I grew up in central Ohio. I’m an avid hockey fan and love the outdoors. I received my undergraduate degree in economics from Ohio State University and my Master of Science in aviation management and logistics from Kent State University. My master’s thesis was entitled “Has aviation improved economic efficiency of the human trafficking market?” where I explore the economic impact of improved transportation infrastructure on trafficking methodologies. Through this research I discovered that the best defense against human trafficking is by educating underserved communities about the topic, as well as providing resources to ensure the validity of international job offers (a common ruse). My goal is to disrupt the market and make it as difficult as possible for traffickers to succeed. Such a disruption will lead to traffickers taking greater risks in victim acquisition leading to a higher arrest rate and driving up the price when selling which would shrink the overall market. I believe cross-cultural education is critical to a successful society and am extremely excited to work with the World Bridge Foundation to reduce this global pandemic.
Alan has over 35 years of experience in senior management positions in a global enterprise, being an executive coach, a trainer and a consultant. He has a demonstrated track record of success coaching leaders to realize breakthrough results, utilizing his unique talent for disruptive/context shifting interactions. Alan brings a commitment to optimizing leadership performance and realizing professional fulfillment to each of his coaching clients. He can be counted on to bring joy to the client and the coaching process!
Prior to his professional coaching career Alan hired, trained and mentored over 100 managers and leaders. He successfully launched and grew several new operation centers for an international training and development company. He was known in this company as someone who could both design new products and processes as well as take failing parts of the enterprise and turn them into successes. His eye was always on the employees AND the bottom line.
Alan holds a Bachelor in Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Social Inquiry. He has post-graduate training and expertise in strategic design, business management and practical philosophy. He is also a trained individual and group counselor. While Alan has deep expertise in business, he is also passionate about serving international non-profits. He gets great joy from helping them realize their missions and elevating the culture of the organization.
Kinobe was born in Uganda where he and his family lived through poverty.During that period many children lost their parents to HIV/AIDS and the war in Northern Uganda. In 2000, after performing a song on the World Aids Day, he was invited to UNICEF by H.E. Michel Sidibe, and shortly became a UNICEF advocate for children on topics of child labor, HIV and girl education.
Kinobe’s music took a big turn towards social work and soon started touring extensively in throughout Africa, Europe and North America, performing,teaching and working with young people. In 2012 he was appointed World Ambassador for the Harmony Foundation (CANADA) supporting their important work on environmental protection and social development and improving the lives of children and their families around the world.
Bwette Daniel is a self taught community/ freelance photographer and a team member at I Profile Foundation. He is also the Ugandan Correspondent and Photographer for Youth Journalism International and Young African Visionaries online magazine and a Freelance Photographer for Masaani Art – Uganda, Bayimba International Festival Of the Arts.
His 10 years of working and volunteering in youth communities has attracted both national and international opportunities to work in the fields of photography, and community journalism.
In 2012, Bwette was selected to be part of the Emerging youth Peace network of the Universal Peace wheel where as the Uganda Youth peace ambassador on the programme with 21 more youth ambassador from different countries. During this project, Bwette organized a peace project at Stand Tall Education Centre to celebrate International Peace day with the students of the education centre.
As a community focused photographer Bwette has had collaborative exhibitions internationally at MoCADA (Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts) New York in 2011 and locally at Uganda National Cultural Theatre during the Bayimba Cultural Festival 2011, Breda International Photo Festival 2012, B-Global Hiphop Exhibition in Uganda 2012, Hague at International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)2013, Visionary Africa : ART at WORK (European union /African Union International Photo Exhibition)2012, Self Identities Photography & art Exhibition (Washington DC) 2015.
Bwette’s community works using photography as an archiving tool through photography has also attracted international attention and earned him an opportunities to represent Uganda youth Hip hop community at the International Hiphop Teachin “Remixing the Art of Social Change” by Words Beats & Life in Washington DC and Hip hop think tank for international hip scholars in New York organized by Hip hop education Centre at New York University and lately in 2015 at Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership in Michigan – Kalamazoo 2015 as well as presenting in various prestigious international Universities. He concluded his 2 year role as a diplomatic photojournalist with African Union Youth Envoy Aya Chebbi on various diplomatic and high level mission between 2019 -2020.
