Our staff based in the US focus on the sponsor-child relationships that help our students excel and succeed. When asked, the students have indicated that these relationships are the ones that encourage and inspire them to perform well in their studies and beyond.
Anne-Marie Hendrickson, Development Director
Anne-Marie joined Friends of Ngong Road in 2021. She began her career working in insurance and banking, but her passion for serving others led her to transition to the nonprofit sector in 2003, and she has served exclusively in development roles since 2008. Her experience has been wide-ranging, including all aspects of development. She has effectively raised funds for local organizations serving Twin Cities communities as well as those with an international mission, including farmers in Africa, where she got her start.
Her interest and dedication to fundraising and philanthropy go beyond her professional life. In addition to being a donor to a variety of organizations, she is also an active volunteer. When not working or volunteering, she enjoys traveling, enjoying a meal with friends, learning new things and spending time with her husband and adult children, especially at their family cabin in NW Wisconsin.
Michon Garrett, Operations Manager
Michon is the organization’s “data guru”, taking care of data management, information systems management (Salesforce), reporting, and data processing. She also runs the operations side of the organization, including sending communications to sponsors for renewals, running our social media pages, working with the board on tech-related
projects such as the Sponsor Portal, and helping the staff and board members to understand and interpret the incredible amount of data we have collected over the years. Michon loves working for an organization that has a central mission which she is truly passionate about – educating children.
Michon started her career as a social worker, and spent time as a property manager for a non-profit organization in Minneapolis. After discovering her love of business operations, she headed back to college at Colorado State University for a degree in Business Management, while working part time for Friends of Ngong Road. As her role has expanded, she has been able to work with the rest of the staff in the US and Kenya to create a more streamlined system of communication between staff, and also for sponsors to better understand their students’ progress.
Jil Bakko, Accountant
Jil has been with Friends of Ngong Road in her current position as Accountant since 2012. She enjoys the challenge of full charge bookkeeping along with being the point person for the annual audit. She has been proud of seeing the organization grow over the years and the impact that we have made in students lives.
Before Friends of Ngong Road, Jil worked at USBancorp Asset Management, Piper Capital Management and Voyager Asset Management as an accountant. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire.
While Jil isn’t working she enjoys spending time with her teenage daughters and getting away to her cabin in Brainerd.