BOARD OF DIRECTORS
JESSICA LEMBELEMBE
Board Chair
I believe that leader development and institution building in for-impact settings fuels long-term social change. I currently serve as Chief of Staff for United World Mission, a leadership formation and ministry training organization. Previously, I served for 7 years with a leader development ministry in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I am from the United States, where I earned a degree in History from the University of Evansville (IN) and a Masters in International Peace Studies from Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute (IN). My husband and I live in Chicago where we enjoy exploring different neighborhoods, preferably by bike!
MAGDALENE AFRAKOMAH
Akwaaba (welcome)! My name is Magdalene Afrakomah, LICSW, a clinical social worker by day and a professional smile-maker at all other hours. As a Ghanaian woman of Ashanti heritage, I value the ways community, culture, and service bring people together. My career is rooted in a commitment to people’s well-being, dignity, and potential. With experience across schools, private practice, and outpatient mental health settings, I am particularly interested in how systems and environments shape people’s opportunities. I earned my bachelor’s degree in psychology from Clark University and my master’s degree in social work from Smith College, where my studies emphasized an anti-racist framework for clinical practice. My work has included developing a district-wide suicide risk screening tool and protocol for a public school system, reflecting my interest in strengthening how schools identify and respond to students at risk.
I believe meaningful service goes beyond addressing immediate needs; it also requires examining the barriers that make support necessary in the first place. I am interested in how we can build more equitable, responsive systems that recognize people’s strengths, expand their opportunities, and equip them to advocate for themselves. To me, meaningful change is not about having all the answers, but about listening, asking better questions, challenging assumptions, and creating conditions in which people and communities can shape their own futures.
Beyond my professional life, I bring curiosity and humor everywhere I go. I enjoy the simple things: good food, music, and conversations with friends and strangers, whom I would argue are simply friends waiting to be made.
MEGAN SLOAT
Megan is a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) who has been delivering babies for 14 years. She earned her midwifery degree (MSN) from Yale University and also holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) from Boston University.
Besides her extensive clinical experience, Megan has worked on policy and programming issues related to maternal and child health across various settings. This work has deeply informed her perspective that a community is only as healthy as its women. She is driven by a passion for engaging in initiatives that foster healthier, more robust communities.
Megan currently lives in Ames, Iowa, where she enjoys reading, traveling, crafting, and spending time outside with her husband and two kiddos.
LOIS SHAW
I have a deep passion for networking, especially connecting African women who are full of potential and dreams with those who can offer valuable experience and wisdom.
Having spent most of my adult life in Kenya, I have witnessed the incredible resilience of women in our communities. My husband, a professor at Africa International University, teaches PhD students while I engage with women graduates and support single mothers grappling with poverty on the fringes of society. I thrive in these two worlds, where my heart truly lies.
For many years, I have found fulfillment in hosting tour groups of North American women who aspire to transition “from success to significance.” We collaborate to share professional insights with African women leaders and extend our outreach to marginalized women, helping to uplift those in need.
Impact Now is where I hope to harness my lifetime of experiences to create meaningful impact. I received my Doctorate in Transformational Leadership from AIU, centering my research on relational philanthropy. I genuinely believe that transformative change occurs when we build authentic relationships with those we aim to serve.
I am proud to be the grandmother of four exceptional grandsons, who inspire me every day!
GRACE HA
My worldview and heart for service was shaped by growing up in a family with a service-oriented vocation and early exposure to different cultures while growing up in Korea, the U.S. and Kenya. I observed time and again how women make a major difference in the survival and success of their families and communities in every culture I encountered, and I hope to be of service to the women that Impact Now supports through its programming.
My professional background consists of legal practice in the areas of criminal prosecution, international arbitration, healthcare reimbursement and complex commercial dispute resolution, and in non-legal capacities in project management and real estate development. I hold degrees from Duke University (AB) and Emory University (JD), and I am currently the Executive Director of the Chicago International Arbitration Center.
JANICE MCADAMS
My professional experience includes over 25 years as a nonprofit and development leader. I enjoy building long term relationships and growing programs and buildings that accommodate those programs. In my spare time, just give me a good book or a great path to walk!
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