Team

Jeffrey Shames is the Senior Strategy Advisor to Rockefeller Capital Management where he advises the CEO on Corporate Strategy, Acquisitions and Organizational Structure and he is the retired CEO and Chairman of MFS Investment Management® and the Board of Trustees of the MFS Funds.

From 2005-2021 Jeffrey was a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management where he lectured in Finance, Leadership and Global Health Management. After joining MFS in 1983 as an Industry Analyst and was named a Portfolio Manager in 1985, Chief Equity Officer in 1987, President in 1993 and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 1998. In September 2002 he retired as CEO and retained the Chairman title until his retirement in February 2004. From 2010-2013 he was a Senior Advisor at Morgan Stanley where he advised the President of Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Wealth Management.

Jeffrey is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the X Prize Foundation, Tufts Medical System, Otis College of Fine Arts, SHOFCO, Summer Search, and is a Trustee Emeritus of Wesleyan University and Chair Emeritus of the Berklee College of Music. He is, also, a member of the Advisory Boards of the MIT Sloan School of Management and the MIT Finance Program.

He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1977 and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management in 1983.  In between college and graduate school he served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Fiji and with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.

Blair Miller has spent her career using business to address pressing social challenges with a focus on talent, access, and inclusion.  Currently, she is an investor focused on the human side of the future of work. She is also a senior advisor on talent and workforce to organizations including Andela, the Governor of Maryland, and Rockefeller Foundation.

Throughout her career, Blair has held key positions at Two Sigma, Blue like an Orange Sustainable Capital, and the family office of businessman Ray Chambers, and she began her career at Acumen, a global impact investment fund.

Blair is committed to reimagining higher education and as such serves as a Leader in Residence at the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at City College and also served as a Senior Fellow at Yale’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs for six years where she taught a course called “Aligning Profit and Purpose”.

Blair is a board member at Shining Hope for Communities and a long-serving trustee of The Africa Center, a multidisciplinary institution that serves as a gateway to contemporary Africa. Blair holds an MBA from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and BA in English Literature from the University of Virginia. Her most recent op-eds address reframing the career track, building purpose resilient companies and restructuring professional pathways for the future of work.

Lucy is the Chief People and Culture Officer at SHOFCO. With more than 19 years of progressive global experience in international development organizations and working in direct collaboration with various Ministries in Africa, Lucy has led large teams and turned around People departments into strategic business partners that become an integral part in achieving business objectives. Prior to joining SHOFCO, she was the Director of People and Culture at Mercy Corps. She has also worked in various senior People & Culture positions in international Development organizations such as Internews Network, PATH, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, RTI International among others.

Lucy holds a Bachelors of Science in HRM from Moi University and received her Masters in Organizational Development from the United States International University – Africa. She is an Internationally certified professional workplace Mediator and Trainer, certified SHRM, a seasoned and active SPHRi, CHRBP and TMI Certifications via HRCi-USA and a leadership trainer.

Lucy is a fellow at the American Academy of Project Management (AAPM), member of the Institute of Directors Kenya, Women on boards Kenya, IHRM-K and Kenya Institute of Management. She is a board evaluator and sits on several development organization boards.

Julius Mutundu is the Head of Sustainable Livelihoods at SHOFCO. Prior to this, he served as the Business Development and Livelihoods Expert at Dorcas AID International. In addition, Julius was the General Manager at Blossom Markets Development Ltd. and the Regional Director of East and Central Africa for the African Agribusiness Incubators Network. He is a board member of various organizations, including Emerging Youth Entrepreneurs Initiative (EYE), a continental organization that supports youth entrepreneurs based in Nigeria, Good Reach Foundation and the Kangetha African Brotherhood Church. He also sits as the Chairperson for Mbooni Boys Alumni and Vyulya Primary School. Julius holds an MBA in Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship from Moi University as well as a Higher National Diploma in Entrepreneurship from Kenya Technical Teachers Training College and a Diploma in Business Administration from the Technical University of Kenya (formerly Kenya Polytechnic) Julius is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK).

David Ouma Otieno is the Library and Youth Engagement Officer at SHOFCO. Prior to this, he served as a library coordinator with SHOFCO and has been a volunteer with the program since 2016. David is a Fellow of the Emerging Leaders Foundation (ELF) and a YALI RLC East Africa alumni. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Library and Information Science from Kenyatta University and a Diploma in Library Management from Intraglobal College.

Catherine Gathura is the Head of SUN at SHOFCO. Prior to this, she served as a Credit Analyst and Microfinance & Credit Officer at Family Bank. In addition, Catherine was a Project Associate with Sanergy. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Nairobi, a Postgraduate Diploma in Microfinance from Strathmore University and a Monitoring and Evaluation Diploma from KIM.