a US 501(c)3, Est. 1981
URDT 2015 Remarkable Women Award
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As part of International Women's Day 2015, URDT recognized 20 women who made vital contributions to the growth and development of URDT and ARU. Among these 20 women, four are current or former AFPF Board Members or Advisory Council Members.Â
Silvana Veltkamp
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It could be said that without Silvana AFPF, URDT and ARU may not have ever been created. Silvana was a co-founder of AFPF in 1981, and served as the organization's first Executive Director from 1981-1997. She was the first Secretary of the Board of URDT and authored the organizations working documents. She is credited as a co-founder of URDT and ARU. Silvana previously had worked at the Food and Agriculture Organization at the UN. She officially retired from her work in 2007 to return to Italy.
Martha Dolben
Martha has been an integral part of fostering the unique partnership between AFPF and URDT/ARU. She assumed her role as an AFPF Board Member in the early 1980s, and from there went on to serve as Board Chair until early 2015, and Executive Director until 2013. In her time as AFPF leadership, Martha grew average annual fundraising from a few thousand dollars to more than $500,000. She has been a pioneer in sponsoring URDT's and ARU's commitment to women's learning and leadership, and in 2008 she received the Unity College Women's Environmental Leadership Award.
Dr. Susan Warshauer
Susan was the first Vice Chancellor of ARU (2009-2011), she is a current member of the ARU Council, and was recently confirmed as the AFPF Board Chair. Susan is a Social Psychologist who has spent her career helping organizations hone leadership skills in their employees. Her particular interests in helping women develop their full leadership potential led to her work with ARU. Susan continues to visit Uganda twice a year.
Patricia Seybold
Patty has been a supporter of URDT and ARU for over 20 years. She has been a member of the ARU Council since 2006, and was instrumental in moving ARU from a vision to a reality. Patty also published a book in partnership with leaders at URDT, It Takes a Child to Raise a Village, capturing the stories of URDT Girls' School students. Recently, Patty's hometown paper, The Boothbay Register, published an article about her work, and the honor received from URDT.
