Our Board of Advisors

M. G. Abutaleb 

Mohammed (Moe) Abutaleb is a seasoned executive who has been involved in various segments of the telecommunications and aerospace industries since 1979. As an engineer and technical manager, he was engaged in the definition, development and implementation of advanced satellite and wireless communications products, networks and services. His career includes the formation of several start-ups that were organically built and grown and subsequently sold to public companies. With a strong sense of customer service, his businesses have prioritized the client’s objectives, developing innovative best-value solutions in response to unique application requirements.

Gulzar Akbar

Gulzar is a Development Consultant with over 30 years of experience in social and corporate sectors. He has worked in telecom and computer peripherals R&D during the formative stage of his career. He has expertise in digital extension services, knowledge management, and capacity building. Gulzar earned his Master in Development Management from Asian Institute of Management, Philippines in 2008 and Bachelor of Engineering from University of Mysore, India in 1987. Gulzar has a life philosophy of ‘Learn and Extend’.

Melissa Andrews

Melissa graduated from Northeastern University with a bachelor of science in accounting and finance. She is also a Certified Financial Planner with over ten years of experience in finance, including starting her career at Invest Diva Capital, where she was responsible for market research and identifying investment trends and opportunities in global markets. Melissa also enjoys wealth management and financial market analysis and is driven by the idea of helping people in impoverished countries to get the education that all people deserve. Being involved with the Locks of Love charity, raising donations, even donating her hair, and volunteering at Global Gift Foundation are other activities she is passionate about.
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Gary Bettan

Gary Bettan is a veteran within the video equipment industry. He leads two companies: a retail company, VideoGuys.com, and a distribution company, Broadfield Distribution Inc. Gary enjoys creating and growing markets for the video editing, video production, live streaming and digital content creation.
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Tian Cai

Tian Cai is currently a manager of an agribusiness-related project in Food and Agriculture Organization and holds a PhD in Media and Information from Michigan State University where her research focused on increasing social impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) on marginalized populations. It specifically focused on how such technologies are harnessed to shape peoples’ perceptions, adoption, and adaptation of new agricultural innovations.
Passionate about using video to provide information to farmers to increase their productivity and profitability, Tian is constantly exploring strategies to design video content and finding ways to bundle video with other information channels, such as mobile phone messages. She believes in the power of farmers’ personal storytelling through the use of video in the concept of co-creation video content with the community. Through her field work in Malawi and Kenya, Tian has found that these stories can help farmers learn skills and change mindsets which prevent them from lifting themselves out of poverty.

A.S. Douno

Aboubacar S. Douno is a Software Architect with more than 12 years of experience working in the software development industry in Europe and Africa. From 2014 to 2021, he actively used his skill and passion for technology in the fight against the Ebola virus and Polio in West Africa, the African trypanosomiasis in Central Africa and to provide better health systems across sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, Douno is focused on mentoring and helping young African entrepreneurs bring their ideas to life through his startup studio, 54 Startups.

Bob Gustafson

Bob Gustafson is an Associate Professor of Media Arts in Higher Education. After spending 25+ years producing media for not-for-profit organizations and publishing houses, he returned to the classroom to teach creative video production. Gustafson holds a Masters degree (MA) in Digital Storytelling and a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Film and Television Production. He and his wife Jody live in the Chicago area.

Laurie Kaplan

Laurie’s background in communication, training and education make her uniquely suited for her role as Programs & Communications Associate. She works with project partners and other illuminAid staff to assist in implementing new programs, executing Video Education Workshops and procuring the most updated equipment in the industry.
She graduated from National University and Pepperdine University with an MFA and BA in Creative Writing, respectively. Her past experiences include remote education, online technology, hospitality and blogging/editing. In her free time, you can find her listening to audiobooks and podcasts on weird history facts, adopting cats, and trying to learn Turkish.

Sarah Kiden

Sarah Kiden is a technologist and researcher working at the intersection of technology, communities and design. She is a Marie Curie Research Fellow on Open Design of Trusted Things (OpenDoTT), a joint programme between the Northumbria University and Mozilla. Prior to this, she was a 2017-2018 Ford-Mozilla Open Web Fellow hosted by the Research ICT Africa in Cape Town, South Africa, working on research around broadband performance and Internet measurements in Africa. She has worked in various capacities in higher education and the private sector on projects ranging from systems and network design/support, promoting ICT use in the classroom, and Internet policy. Sarah holds an MSc in Information Systems, a BSc in Information Technology, and is currently pursuing a PhD in communication design research.
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Ed Lee

Ed Lee is a co-founder of Rise Above Research, LLC, an independent market intelligence and strategic consulting firm that covers the consumer and professional digital photography and imaging markets. He has over 20 years of experience as an industry analyst and market researcher providing thought leadership and actionable insights to industry vendors, service providers, and retailers.
Ed has held key marketing positions at Xerox, where he helped the company launch its first desktop color laser printer, and Eastman Kodak, where he was responsible for its portable inkjet printer business. Ed earned his MBA in Marketing and Finance at the University of Rochester, Simon Business School and his BS in Mechanical Engineering at Tufts University.

Victoria Lewis

Victoria Lewis is an Anthropology alumnus of Chico State University and am currently residing in Maastricht, Netherlands pursuing my Masters degree in Globalization and Development. I grew up in California, and since I was a child I’ve had a fascination with the world around me and the unfamiliarity that comes with it. After my studies in Chico, I made my way to Bilbao, Spain to work in primary schools. I’ve always had a niche for education, technology, and understanding how others learn in different cultural contexts. Soon traveling to South America to research and experience how indigenous communities sustain their heritage through community engagement and the facilitation of educational resources.
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Nurudeen Sanni

Nurudeen is the lead filmmaker at Messiah Investment. He has been working in the media industry spanning two decades in various capacities including Producer, Director, Camera Operator, Editor, Graphics Designer, Script Writer, and more. This led him to serve in Liberia, Sudan, and South Sudan with the United Nations.
He has contributed to many international stories on CNN, Al Jazeera News Network, Animal Planet, and other cable networks in and outside Liberia. His most current work is a film titled Hell's Gate, a story about the Ebola epidemic in his home country Liberia.
Being an Apple Certified Professional with Master Certification in editing with Final Cut Studio applications, Nurudeen is enthusiastic about learning new technologies. He has a background in technology with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Electronics Engineering.
He has been happily married to Agnes Sanni for thirteen years and they both have three loving children.

Hari Thapa

Hari Thapa is a founder of Contemporary Vision, a research based socially aware audiovisual production company in Nepal that works with local and international clients for investigative reports and documentaries.
Hari has been active in the media sector for the last 16 years working on educational and social issues. He has been carrying out programs on documentary film making, audio-visual training and holding discussions on social issues by working together with the local community. He has partnered with many organizations including the United Nations Development Programme, Swiss Development Co-operation (SDC), UNESCO and Save the Children. Hari is also a founder of the Teachers Can Make a Difference campaign which has trained more than 20 thousand teachers and guardians of over 40 districts in Nepal.

Tom Tilson

Tom Tilson has been supporting education in Asia, Africa and Latin America since his Peace Corps experience in the Philippines decades ago, including long-term assignments in Nicaragua, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Kenya.
Currently he works in Kenya where he is Senior Education Advisor to the DFID-funded Kenya Essential Education Program. His special passion has been the application of appropriate technologies to expand access and improve the quality of basic education and teacher training. He was part of the founding team for Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) in Nicaragua in the mid-1970s and has expanded his interest to include video, tablets, mobile phones and computers.
He has had the pleasure of working with Matt York in South Sudan and Kenya. Tom has his BA and MAT degrees from Yale University and Ph.D. in education from Stanford University.

Mike Wilhelm

Mike Wilhelm is Editor-in-Chief of Videomaker based out of Chico, California. He is a 15-year veteran of the media industry, having worked in television advertising, film production and online publishing.
A graduate of California State University, Chico, Mike has produced video assets for hundreds of clients and has worked on countless independent film projects. At Videomaker, Mike strives to make video production more accessible by equipping beginners with the knowledge they need to successfully share their ideas through visual media.
Mike believes that free communication should be a universal right and that in the 21st century, video is an essential tool in the distribution of knowledge.
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Jennifer R. Wilking

Dr. Wilking is the Department Associate Chair and the coordinator of the International Relations Program at California State University, Chico. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science from UC Davis in 2010. Dr. Wilking studies and teaches in the field of Comparative Politics, specializing in development and political behavior, with a focus on China. Other interests include research design, local housing issues, and collaborative teaching and learning. With Susan Roll, she was a recipient of a 2020-2021 CSU Faculty Innovation and Leadership Award.