Meet our team

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PRESIDENT

A passionate advocate of creating positive change in the lives of vulnerable people worldwide, Mark has devoted his community leadership efforts to a number of organizations that share his mission. The invitation to join Equal As One from its inception in 2017 has provided a unique opportunity to merge his entrepreneurial and business development skills with his commitment to creating real change for individuals in need. He is currently serving as Equal As One’s first President of the Board of Directors.

Mark has also served as a regular volunteer at Eagle Brook Church and Feed My Starving Children, and as Finance Chair at Epiphany Station Church, where he was able to introduce fundamental finance tools during a period of high growth, while helping to organize a $2M capital campaign. In another leadership role, he served as Vice Chair for the Thief River Falls (MN) Food Shelf, co-leading the turnaround and re-launch of a vital community resource that now helps more than 5,300 people annually.

In his professional life, Mark has more than 30 years of global experience in the technology industry, specializing in executive leadership of sales, operations and general management teams. He has traveled extensively in Europe, Asia, Japan and many remote areas of the world. 

VICE PRESIDENT

Nkuzi has been on the board of directors since the formation of Equal As One and became the Vice President in September 2017. He also serves on the advisory committee for the organization's community health center pilot project in southeast Nigeria. Nkuzi has a distinguished career in the field of education, he is an author, currently a professor of philosophy at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois and is the founding Director of Black World Studies at the same institution. In addition to his position on the Equal As One board, he also serves in many leadership roles for various community organizations of Nigerians living in the United States. 

TREASURER

Nikki serves as the Treasurer of our organization, and a Physician Assistant in our clinics. She is part of the advisory committee for Equal As One's community health center pilot project in southeast Nigeria, and is our current volunteer organizer. Nikki has been a physician assistant for 10 years, but most recently has taken on a new roll of Stay-At-Home Mom when in the United States.  She received her Masters of Physician Assistant Studies at University of Nebraska Medical Center, and her Bachelor of Science in Biology at Iowa State University. Perhaps her greatest educational influence came from her time on Semester At Sea - sailing around the world and gaining a global understanding of what it means to be part of the Human family.

SECRETARY

Shari is the current Secretary of Equal As One and is a founding member of our Board of Directors. She began her career as an employee of 3M for nearly twenty five years. Shari then moved on to work in an alternative medicine clinic for six years before retiring to become a professional volunteer. She has years of experience volunteering for Eagle Brook Church, the Thief River Falls Area Food Shelf, Sanford Thief River Falls Medical Center, White Bear Lake area Food Shelf, Make A Wish Minnesota and Feed My Starving Children. In addition, she was the Volunteer Coordinator for Epiphany Station Church in Thief River Falls, Minnesota.

Her passion for helping those in need, remarkable organizational skills and deeply caring heart make her the perfect addition to the Equal As One team.   

In addition to his role on the Board of Directors, Jc serves on the Advisory Committee for the organization's community healthcare center in southeast Nigeria and plays an important role in guiding its mission. He is currently working as a Hospitalist in Minneapolis and as Equal As One’s Medical Director and field physician. His first exposure to building an economically self-sufficient rural community came while volunteering as a teacher for Maya Universe Academy in Nepal where he was active in helping establish one of its satellite campuses. To help develop the health care delivery program of Equal As One, he completed a course in primary health care with Universidad de Ciencias Medicas in Cuba. He graduated from Iowa State University with a B.S. in Microbiology, received his Medical Degree from University of Illinois Chicago, and completed his residency in Internal Medicine-Pediatrics at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix.