Elise Hendrix (Vice President, Chair) continued pursuing a flourishing career as a makeup artist in the entertainment industry ​while attending college. In 2003, Elise founded the Houston Association of Entertainment Professionals, a nonprofit organization of accredited behind-the-camera industry professionals. This led into her founding of another group, the Greater Houston Global Management Group, in 2008, dedicated to transforming the Astrodome into a major production studio. She collaborated and networked with Houston governmental and business leaders, and although it was ultimately shelved due to lack of support by local government, she gained a wealth of management, networking, and leadership experience during this process. Elise has volunteered at several Houston RSF events and now serves as Chair and Vice President. She has known founder Wendee Nicole for two decades; they first met when Elise was a student in Wendee’s biology course at Lonestar College. 

​

Wendee Nicole (President 2014-present) pursued a two-decade-long career in communications, environmental journalism and photography before starting RSF, and which she is still involved in. Wendee previously founded and directed the nonprofit San Jacinto Conservation Coalition in Houston, Texas from 2000-2010, and earned degrees in Ecology (M.A., Ph.D. candidacy at Rice University, U.S. National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship; M.S., B.S. Magna Cum Laude 1993, Texas A&M).  Baptized Episcopalian, she was a long-time member of a Lutheran church and is a member of the non-denominational Woodlands Church in The Woodlands, Texas. The Woodlands Church sells RSF baskets in their WC Trading Co. store. Faith guides her work promoting social justice for the Batwa tribe. 

 

Kakuru Phares Kosia (Secretary & Member 2023-present) is the former Program Manager for Bwindi MgahingaConservation Trust (BMCT), managing the Trust resources for the conservation of Bwindi Impenetrable andMgahinga Gorillas National Parks, to increase tourism potential, and to improve livelihoods and incomealternatives for communities around the two national parks. Previously, he served as a Monitoring andEvaluation Officer for Lutheran World Federation based in Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement and Monitoringand Evaluation Officer for Mercycorps based in Kitgum. He holds a Master of Science degree in ReproductiveHealth and Post graduate Diploma in Monitoring and Evaluation.

​

Ben Ssenkeera (Member 2019-present) co-founded Redemption Song Foundation along with Wendee Nicole in 2014 and worked with the organization for several months before joining the board. He's a Senior Veterinary Officer working with the Uganda Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries. Currently he is pursuing his Msc. in Veterinary Preventive Medicine at Makerere University. He attained an Advanced Diploma in Sustainable Agriculture from Kfar Silver Agriculture Training Centre, Israel. In his undergraduate training, he researched human-wildlife conflicts in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, particularly with gorillas. ​

​

Rene Francis (Member 2018-present) is the former manager of a quality assurance unit in Ericsson, the large Swedish supplier of communication systems infrastructure for the global market. He was a principal at the Stockholm Challenge Award, a global arena for ICT (information and communications technology) projects. After 2006, he specialized in communications management of complex multi-cultural marketing and communications projects and worked on marketing and communications process implementation. More recently, Francis has become involved in politics in his local community, Åsbro, near Stockholm. He is active within the Moderate Party, serving briefly as Sweden's interim Minister of Labor. He supports Rugando Parents Primary School in Uganda and has been involved with Uganda’s Rotary Club for special local projects. Since 2017, Francis has served as the CEO of Focused Sun LLC. Unique Microgrid CSP solution.

 

Cheryl M. Reifsnyder (Member 2024-present) is a freelance medical writer, science writer, and children’s writer who specializes in making complex topics clear for readers of all ages and backgrounds. She earned her PhD in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1996. In the medical writing arena, she specializes in covering the rapidly changing field of healthcare technology. Cheryl and her husband have supported one of RSF’s students for several years, a life-changing experience that has motivated her to become more involved. Currently, Cheryl and her husband are members of All Souls Church of Boulder, a non-denominational church that “celebrates complexity.” Her interests include crochet, art, gardening, hiking, and camping with her family.​​

​

Emeritus Board Members

Steven W. Squyres (VP & Chairman of the Board 2014-2019, Founding Member 2014-2021) was the James A. Weeks Professor of physical sciences at Cornell University. He was the principal investigator for NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover project, and chairman of the U.S. NASA Advisory Council. In 1999 he helped organize the first international space science conference to be held in Africa, in Libreville, Gabon, and he has traveled extensively on all seven continents, with a particular interest in Africa. 

​

Miranda C. Spencer (Secretary 2016-2018, Founding Member 2014-2021) is an American journalist and editor who has run her own consulting company, Red Panda Communications, for more than 10 years. Her work has been published in many national outlets including Nuclear Times, Extra!, Biography, E: The Environmental Magazine, and The Daily Climate. She has also edited or helped develop scores of books for bestselling authors, including Arianna Huffington and Gene Stone. Miranda also has professional and volunteer experience working in communications with organizations including the Open Space Institute, Environmental Grantmakers Association, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and others.

​

​