Diana Coleman will give an illustrated talk on her work with Mpanzi in rural, Southwestern Kenya on Thursday, September 10, 6:00 pm at the Rockland Public Library.  This event is free and open to all.

An advocate for women and girls, Diana Coleman is a board member of Mpanzi, which promotes education, microenterprise and ending violence against women and girls in rural southwestern Kenya. Her story, Glimpses of Kenya from a Mzungu Woman is in the Goose River Anthology 2015. Believing in the power of stories, Diana is interviewing and writing about inspiring women who are having new experiences their second half of life, for presentations to motivate others.

With thirty-five years of leadership and fundraising experience for nonprofit organizations in health care, education, international relief, social services and technology, Diana has raised over $200 million with teams including Save the Children, the California Academy of Sciences, University of California-Berkeley, Pen Bay Healthcare, and the International Museum of Women. Her work has taken her to Ethiopia, Egypt, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Indonesia and Guatemala. She does capital campaign consulting for multiple clients; lectures about fundraising and the developing world; and taught nonprofit and fundraising management graduate level college courses. A former emergency responder for Save the Children, she is also an American Red Cross Pillowcase Project trainer.

Diana’s awards include: Outstanding Service to San Francisco, a Save the Children Service Award, Outstanding Service from the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, and “Sine Qua Non” from Project Open Hand, San Francisco.

She has an MA in Business/Education Administration from American University, Washington, DC, a BA from Russell Sage College, Troy, New York, and studied at Oxford University, England. From Massachusetts, Diana lived thirty years in San Francisco and when not traveling, resides in midcoast Maine. An avid photographer, Diana enjoys the art of capturing compelling moments on camera.

This presentation is hosted by the Rockland Public Library and offered as a free community event in in anticipation of the 29th Annual Camden Conference: The New Africa, February 19-21, 2016.