Board Members
The board composition itself models the organization’s values by includes African Americans, refugees, immigrants, and local Idahoans. By our board members representing diverse racial, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, we emphasize inclusion not only in service delivery but also in governance.
Liyah Babyan
Liyah is a dedicated social entrepreneur with a passion for giving back to her adoptive community and country. She was 10 when she came to the U.S, being put in Twin Falls by CSI after having to leave her hometown, Armenian, because of a devastating earthquake that left hundreds of thousands dead and injured. She graduated from Twin Falls High School in 2002 and attended at Southern Oregon University. There, she earned her associates in military science philosophy and her bachelors in international science, as well as political science. Liyah then went to College of Southern Idaho, worked for her associates in Latin and Western History. She's currently back in school to become a human rights lawyer!
Winnie Christensen
Born in Kenya, now living in Twin Falls, is Winnie, the owner and founder of Culture For Change a non profit that works with women, girls and local youth by empowering them to become passionate, focused and successful advocates of the community to create a positive change. She is a cultural storyteller, speaker, a board member of the Magic Valley Arts Council, assisted in co-created the City of Twin Falls first Diversity and Inclusion Committee, the former director of Miss Africa Idaho for 6 years, a proud Rotarian, and a wife and a mother to three boys. Her ultimate goal with this foundation is to show people we are not that different, but with the differences each of us do have, we need to recognize and love them. Winnie states with care, "Your life matters, make it count. Live to inspire and support those around you and be mindful of how you make people feel because life is a chain reaction."
Bernadette Nyriabariyanga
Bernadette Nyirabariyang was born in Ruhengeri Prefecture in northern Rwanda. She moved to Boise, ID in 1995 and graduated in 2007 from Borah high school and continued on to college where she attended University of Idaho and joined a sorority she that solidified Bernadette's love of philanthropy and community engagement. In 2012, she started a position with the City of Boise in the Parks and Recreation department and the Treasure Valley YMCA, Downtown Branch to continue and expand her community involvement
which led to working for Ballet Idaho 2015-2017. In 2017 Bernadette met Winnie Christensen and she became assistant program director of Miss Africa Idaho. Since 2019, Bernadette has been a member of the Global Village Festival, which promotes the diverse cultures in Idaho. Bernadette is excited to be part of the Cultural for Change foundation and can't wait to see the impact it has on the world.
Team
Dedication. Expertise. Passion.
This is your Team section. It's a great place to introduce your team and talk about what makes it special, such as your culture or work philosophy. Don't be afraid to illustrate personality and character to help users connect with your team.
