Board Member – Richard Noel

Richard Noel was born and grew up in the twin island of Trinidad and Tobago. He and his family relocated to the United States in the year 1998 to further his aeronautical engineering career. He later established a job at Evergreen Air Center as an Aircraft Structural Manager, where he oversaw major, commercial, private and governmental projects including N.A.S.A.. In the year 2003, Richard and his wife assisted with children in crisis in the foster care system. During that time he started a non-profit organization called One Kingdom Image that entails community enrichment projects with other organizations such as Up With People and Parks and Recreation. Richard’s musical ability has given him the opportunity to be featured in events such as: “The Joy of Music 2004,” hosted by the Tucson Symphony Women’s Association, Tucson Meet Yourself, Family Arts Festival, stage manager at Martin Luther King event 2008 and also held an exclusive part in the opening act at the 2008 Rose Bowl Parade along with the performing arts group “Up With People". Richard is presently a director with the Cultural Exchange Council (CEC), an organization that promotes cultural diversity by promoting events such as Tucson Meet Yourself, Family Arts Festival, Fiesta De San Agustin and the Waila Festival.


Board Member - Seema Jha

Seema was born in India and relocated to The United States of America in 1993. She has a Masters degree in Business Administration. She has served in the banking industry for eight years and is currently working for National Bank of Arizona.  She has also served as the Vice President on the Board of India Society of Southern Arizona, a non-profit organization in 2008-2009. She is also an active member of the Basis Oro Valley Booster Club.


Board Member - Ousmane Ble Mbaye

Ousmane Blé Mbaye is an IT professional with over 12 years of hands-on experience. Over the course of his career, he has earned great experience and developed expertise deploying, maintaining,trouble-shooting and managing computer systems and networks. Since returning to Senegal, after earning his Bachelors degree in Computer Information Systems in the United States and gaining some work experience in the US market, Ousmane has been actively involved in the IT environment in his home country, working for both private companies and government agencies. Currently, Ousmane is employed as Head of VAS (Value Added Services) for a mobile telephone operator in Senegal. He is in charge of managing a team of technical and commercial project leaders. He is fully involved in the development of new products and services in the evolving market of mobile telephone and mobile Internet. Prior to his current position, he lent his proven management, project management and leadership skills to an insurance and assistance company he helped build into an international network.


Board Member - Marlene Skibbe

I was born, raised, schooled and married in Chicago, IL. I have two children and I am a grandmother of two. When my children were beginning school, we moved from Chicago  to Madison, WI and purchased a large farm, where we lived for 3 years, but ultimately moved from the farm to a small town outside Madison where we lived for 25 years. My children attended The University of Wisconsin, Marquette University and University of Michigan. After the children were gone, I moved back to Chicago to take care of my mother, who was ill, and two years ago moved to Tucson.   I am a retired Human Resources Generalist with over twenty years of managerial, administration, and operations experience with a major focus on employee benefits management and policy and procedure formation.  I’ve worked in human resources for Chevron, Unocal, and Pleasant Company/American Girl, a catalog company for children’s books, toys, dolls and educational materials.  I volunteer two days a week at a local hospital.