AFJN Staff & Board

Rev. Rocco Puopolo, SX, Executive Director

AFJN welcomes its new executive director in the person of Fr. Rocco Puopolo, a Xaverian Missionary. Originally from Norwood, Massachusetts, Rocco was ordained in 1977 and has since ministered extensively in Sierra Leone as well as in the US Midwest. During his twelve years in Sierra Leone he was involved in high school teaching, village evangelization and development, administration of diocesan schools as well as various youth chaplaincy responsibilities. In his final assignment in Sierra Leone he worked as director of the National Pastoral Center in Kenema. In the United States, Rocco has done both seminary training, youth retreats and advocacy work in Milwaukee, Chicago and Washington, DC. While in Chicago he worked with Archdiocesan Muslim/Christian Dialogue groups. On leave from Sierra Leone in 1997, he offered his time and experience of the war to AFJN and spent substantial time in DC advocating for a just and fair approach to the conflict there. The main issues addressed through Rocco's advocacy were the situation of child soldiers, the drug trade, the small arms trade and the diamond trade. He holds a Masters of Divinity in Cross Cultural Ministry from Catholic Theological Union. Email: director(at)afjn.org.

Bahati Jacques, Policy Analyst

Bahati joined Africa Faith and Justice Network in 2007 from Chicago. He is originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  In 1996-2000 he witnessed the invasion of the DRC by Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda and worked in the field of post-war relief. He co-founded theAssociation des vieullards Abondonnes (AVA) that addressed the increased number of elderly begging on the streets of Bukavu during the long war in DRC. He holds a an undergraduate degree in Philosophy (2000) from La Ruzizi in Bukavu/DRC, a Masters of Divinity (2006) and Masters of Arts in Ethics (2007) from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He completed four units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois in 2007. Bahati has a wide experience in pastoral ministry with youth in parishes and Juvenal detention in Chicago. 
 
Since joining AFJN, he has written and spoken in different circles across the US on the socio-political issues of the DRC, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi.  He is the author of "Tribe not an Idea, but a True Identity", a piece published in  Recherches Africaines. L'Afrique et son vecu vol. 21-22, and co-author of the paper Promoting International Support for Community-Based Justice Mechanisms in Post-Conflict Burundi and Uganda (2009).  Policy papers of his include Two Rebel groups, One solution (2008) and Evaluating peace and stability in DRC (2009). He has been a guest of Africa Now, a radio program of wpfw in Washington DC and Voice of America TV.  His passion for social justice informs his work at AFJN as well his personal commitment to making this world a better place for all.  Email: bahati(at)afjn.org

Allison Burket, Associate Director for Program Development and Policy

A recent graduate of Kenyon College in Ohio, Allison completed a BA in International Studies, concentrating in Economics and Environmental Studies, with a special emphasis on the continent of Africa. After spending a semester in Senegal studying development on national and levels and interning with a rural environmental organization, Allison dedicated her senior research project to the political economy of food security in Senegal and Ghana. She also pursued questions of international law and justice during an independent study, inspired by questions acquired during her internship with AFJN during the summer of 2008. She is thrilled to return to AFJN to continue working for a US policy toward Africa informed by peace, justice, solidarity, and stewardship. Email: allisonburket(at)afjn.org

Board of Directors
as of July 2007

Christopher Promis, CSSp, Chair
Congregation of the Holy Spirit
Baltimore, MD

Jo’Ann De Quattro, SNJM, Vice Chair
Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus & Mary
Los Angeles, CA

Clarita Hanson, SHCJ, Sec/Treasurer
Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus
Rosemont, PA

Robert A. Dowd, CSC
Congregation of Holy Cross
Notre Dame, IN

Ann Oestreich, IHM
Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters
Notre Dame, IN

Myles McCabe
Marianist Province of the U.S.
St. Louis, MO

Luigi Zanotto, MCCJ
Comboni Fathers
Montclair, New Jersey

Elizabeth Kolmer, ASC
Adorers of the Sacred Blood of Christ
St. Louis, MO

Lacey Haussamen
Emory University
Atlanta, GA

Michael Gable, Ph.D.
Diocesan Mission Office
Cincinnati, OH

Pat Gallogly, MM
Maryknoll Sisters
Yonkers, NY

Trevor Rodrigues
St. Monica's Parish
Santa Monica, CA

John Kleiderer
Jesuit Conference
Washington, DC

Joan Marie Doud, MMS
Medical Mission Sisters
Philadelphia, PA

AFJN Accepts 2007 Fall Interns

Joseph Effiong, a Ford Foundation Fellow from Nigeria, is a graduate student in Sustainable Development at the School for International Training (SIT) in Brattleboro, Vermont. Before joining SIT in 2006, Joseph worked as the Director of a local nonprofit in Nigeria which focuses on Sustainable Agriculture and Education Capacity Building Programs. His internship with AFJN is part of SIT’s graduate requirements and he is hoping to use this opportunity to learn how advocacy campaigns are planned, managed and implemented in a global context. The challenges of coming from a region plagued by oil pollution and underdevelopment has motivated him to acquire skills in the advocacy and agenda setting process that will ensure effective civil society engagement with government for social change.

Barbie Fischer is in her senior year at Great Lakes Christian College based in Lansing, Michigan. She is completing her Bachelors Degree in Cross-Cultural Ministries during her internship this fall. Barbie first became interested in Africa in high school, after viewing a television special focused on children in Uganda. With her interest in religion and politics she found a desire to learn how AFJN, being a faith based organization, functions in U.S. policy making. Barbie has experience working in the medical field, which has made her a prime candidate to focus on the HIV/AIDS epidemic during her time with AFJN. Barbie hopes to find a career focused on changing U.S. policies or with an African organization in the field.  

Mary Hansen is an American University sophomore studying International Service with a focus in International Development and Economics. Originally from the suburbs of Pittsburgh, she enjoys exploring the culturally diverse Washington, DC, area. Although she is focusing her studies on the Latin American region, Mary has always had an interest in Africa after hearing stories about her parents’ missionary work in Tanzania. At AFJN, she will be researching Child Soldiers and AFRICOM.

Alexis Nadin is a sophomore at American University where she is studying International Relations and Political Science. Alexis has a passion for Africa and a sincere desire to learn about the continent—the cultures, struggles, and hopes. She hails from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but has always longed to live in DC. Since her arrival here she has had quite a few eye opening experiences and has jumped at the opportunity to learn from them. This semester, she  will be spending a majority of her time at the office of Congo Global Action which has taken on the immense task of putting together a national advocacy conference.