Macfarlane Okonta

Macfarlane Okonta is the Founder and President of the Victoria House Foundation (VHF). His belief and desire have always been to pursue a better life through the continual development and acquisition of information technology skills, and being able to bring aid to those who need it the most. Throughout his career, Macfarlane has worked across Information Technology and charity organizations as a Network Engineer. In 2007, he founded Razon Technologies to provide IT services to businesses and individuals in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Approximately a year after the inception of the company, Macfarlane volunteered his professional services for the church which he attended. His tasks included building a network for the administrative offices of the church and maintaining both the user and network environments. As time progressed, Macfarlane assessed and repaired various customers’ computers for minimal costs, and sometimes at no cost, depending on client circumstances. It was during this period that the idea of creating a charity was born.

In January of 2009, after the passing of his mother, Macfarlane decided to dissolve Razon Technologies and dedicate his efforts and time to a new professional endeavor; a technology-focused and charitable organization named in honor of his mother, Victoria. The idea of working with disadvantaged public school systems emerged in 2011, following a trip to Lagos, Nigeria in December of the same year. While in Lagos, Macfarlane had the opportunity to meet with a principal from a local public school. During the meeting, he was saddened to see, first-hand, the dire circumstances of the public school and the lack of adequate technological resources for learning. After this meeting, Macfarlane immediately knew that his calling would be to provide assistance to schools that were critically lacking fundamental resources. Most of the public schools in Lagos cannot boast of one single computer or internet access, and some schools have but only a couple to accommodate a large number of students. Macfarlane founded VHF to help develop education through technology.

Macfarlane received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Virginia Wesleyan College in Computer Science and Business, and his Masters in Cyber Security from the University of Maryland University College. He is also a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and a Cisco Certified Network Associate. He lives with his wife Rashida, daughter Ariela, and son Remy, in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Rashida Johnson-Okonta

Rashida Johnson has over 11 years of Program Management experience securing multi-million dollar grants and contracts for large universities, government contractors and non-profits. Rashida is Program Director at The America Society for Engineering Education, a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC of individuals and institutions committed to furthering education in engineering and engineering technology. Ms. Johnson has a keen understanding of educational framework in developing nations, and has worked on several international development projects in health and education in Nigeria, Guyana, Venezuela and Peru. Ms. Johnson holds a Masters Degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University and a Bachelors Degree in Government from Smith College.

Tanisha Smith

Tanisha M. Smith, born and raised in Rochester, New York currently resides in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. In 2002, Ms. Smith graduated from the State University of New York College at Brockport with a Bachelor’s of Science in Health and a minor in African-American Studies. In 2009, Ms. Smith obtained a Master’s in Public Health (MPH) from Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. She has a passion for public health, education and empowering people of African descent. Her dedication to education is a family value that has been the foundation behind her success as a health educator.

Sharon Bollers

Sharon Bollers is a Portfolio Management Officer at Bank of America. She has more than eight years of experience working with nonprofit organizations throughout the DC Metro area, where she directs and participates in loan asset management, and provide credit services for portfolios of nonprofit clients. Her familiarity with market trends, ability to identify potential risks, and excellent underwriting allows for good judgement to make effective decisions.

For the past six years she has served on the board of Blossoms of Guyana, a nonprofit organization focused on improving the lives of children in Guyana, South America. Since 2011, she has also served on the Board of Mentors of Minorities in Education’s Total Learning Cis-Tem (MOMIE’s), a Washington, DC based nonprofit focused on improving educational outcomes for low income and minority students living in the District and Prince George’s County, Maryland. She is currently the Treasurer of the Board of MOMIE’s. Sharon is very excited to contribute her years of experience in nonprofit finance and management to the board of Victoria House Foundation.

Sharon holds a Bachelor of Arts in Banking and Finance from Lincoln University PA, a MBA from the University of Maryland R.H. Smith School of Business and a MPP from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy.

Celena Parker

Celena Parker brings a diverse range of professional and personal experiences to the mission and goals of the Victoria House Foundation. Celena is a Senior Program Manager with a nationally-recognized aging services organization. In her role, she brings over a decade of experience in program evaluation, dissemination and implementation for evidence-based health programs. She is responsible for ensuring that best practices, materials and other recommendations are made available to state agencies and local organizations which are implementing self-management health programs.
In addition, she provides program management and technical assistance to state grantees. Prior to her experiences with evidence-based programs, Celena worked in public policy at an area think-tank and also conducted research in endocrinology. Currently, in her spare time, Celena provides consultation to business start-ups and volunteers for various charitable organizations. She has given her time for such causes as Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry initiative, provided computer tutoring for senior citizens and academic tutoring for school students. She has also delivered health presentations in the community.

Celena is honored to be able to offer her subject matter expertise and management services to the Victoria House Foundation.