Meet the Team in Uganda
Turinawe Samson
Samson is the Executive Director of ULA, a Ugandan humanitarian, educator and human rights defender. He believes that "every human being should be respected simply for being who they are, a part of Life's creation." Tolerance, inclusiveness, love, compassion, dialogue and reconciliation are all central themes in his work. Through his teaching and activism, he emphasizes that “ignorance can be defeated through education, poverty through hard work and possession of capital, and internal schisms and separatism through unity. Samson is working for a new generation -- one that is open-minded, open-hearted, diversity-embracing, and committed to serving all of humanity.
Kukunda Sharon
Sharon is the Associate Director of ULA. She is a teacher by profession and a Ugandan Human Rights Defender who believes in the equal treatment of all human beings, and the inclusion and acceptance of all people regardless of who the person is. She believes in treating others the way she would love to be treated.
ULA Board of Directors
ULA has a Board of Directors of influential people in Uganda who help ULA in determining its strategic direction. Because ULA serves highly marginalized groups, and for the safety of all involved, ULA Board members are not listed here.
ULA also has close friends outside of Uganda who provide advice about strategic direction.
Meet the ULAF Board & Associates
Professor Lanny Arvan
Lanny Arvan is the Treasurer and Vice President of ULAF, and Emeritus Associate Professor at the University of Illinois. Lanny is also a Trustee of the ULA Board in Uganda, acts as an advisor and confidant of the ULA Executive Director, Turinawe Samson, and assists on document writing for ULA.
Jean Altshuler
Jean is secretary on the board of ULAF. Having served in an advisory capacity of non-profits, she brings experience of working with group dynamics. An accomplished artist, Jean founded an arts school in Massachusetts. She served on the Omega Institute advisory board and headed the Berkshire Hunger Project Committee.
Susan Olsen
Susan has devoted her professional life to the preservation of a rare technique of hand-papermaking as an exhibiting artist and teacher. She became drawn to the selfless, brave and prolific humanitarian mission of ULA in Uganda, and assumed the role of president of ULA Foundation in 2017 as a vehicle of channeling financial support to game-changing work of ULA.
Rosy Aronson, PhD
Rosy Aronson, PhD, is the coordinator of the ULA Youth Ambassador Initiative and Trustee of the ULAF Board. She is an artist and author with a Masters in Expressive Arts Therapy and a Doctorate in Intuitive Listening & the Creative Arts. She is also the creator of the 64 Faces of Awakening and various Global Outreach projects.
Rita Hallgató
Rita, originally from Hungary, is an HR Director for the European innovation incubator of a global FMCG. She's lived and worked in 4 different countries and currently resides in London, UK. Rita has been an advisor to ULA since 2018.
