Tisu Makota
Trustee (Malawi)
Other team members
Head of Data
Richard joined Sparkle as a volunteer and leads on data analysis and developing our IT systems. Richard has introduced new tools into our systems that automate our data processes. Before joining Sparkle, Richard held various Board positions at Cornelius plc, a partner for Sparkle.
CEO & Founder
Sarah is a dynamic and innovative charity leader, who has over 12 years' experience across the third sector. Sarah has deep knowledge of the NGO space, after volunteering with 13 not for profits worldwide before founding The Sparkle Foundation age 21. With expertise in fundraising and philanthropy, the BSC Psychology holder started her career as a Sports Journalist at the BBC before moving into PR and Media. Holding various strategy, business development and communication positions alongside her role as CEO, Sarah has helped develop social responsibility programmes as a CSR consultant for organisations including London Stock Exchange, PwC and Clifford Chance to bridge the gap between the charity and corporate world. A passionate advocate for the work of charities, the Ted-X speaker was named in the top 7 CEOs for the UK charity sector.
Finance Officer
Ruth is Sparkle’s Finance Officer, supporting the day-to-day financial operations of the organisation. She works closely with the Finance Manager to ensure accurate financial reporting, budget tracking, and compliance with internal policies and donor requirements. Ruth brings experience in financial management and plays a key role in maintaining transparency and accountability across all Sparkle’s programmes.
Chairman
Neville is currently Chairman of Trustees, ensuring we have good governance of Sparkle, informative meetings and that The Sparkle Foundation, continues its strategic journey. By education, Neville has a PhD from University of Cambridge in Organometallic Chemistry. Today, he is Chairman and majority owner of a multinational chemical and science business. In his spare time, Neville plays saxophone, travels and supports his International Showjumper daughter and team of horses.
Development
Mike started his career in a family commercial laundry and dry-cleaning business and oversaw the company’s successful transition from B2C to B2B in textile rental, whereby workwear was leased to industry and linen to restaurants and hotels. He then established a facilities business specialising in hygiene and infection control services to the London market. After the sale of the businesses, Mike enjoyed more family and personal time, pursuing his passion for skiing as well as tennis and cycling. He enjoys helping others and has derived great satisfaction from supporting Sparkle as a Trustee since 2018 - enabling him to apply his commercial experience to assist the charity’s development. Mike and his events committee organised the first two Sparkle fundraising balls in the UK. Pleasingly, his son, Gus, became an ambassador for The Sparkle Foundation, using his professional racing career to raise awareness of Sparkle and raise funds. Together, they had the satisfaction of witnessing Sparkle’s great work in Malawi in late 2019 and, accompanied by Mike’s daughter, Suzie, they visited Sparkle again in 2023.
Finance
Martin is a qualified chartered accountant (CA) with twenty years experience spanning UK, Americas and the Middle East. After spending over 8 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers, he has worked in a range of industries including Logistics, Medical Services and most recently the legal profession. Martin is currently Regional Chief Operating Officer for Clifford Chance in the Middle East & Turkey, whom he has worked with for over 8 years. He currently lives in Dubai with his wife and two daughters.
Development
Shaun Gause is a seasoned life sciences executive with over 25 years of leadership experience spanning global corporations like Pfizer and Novo Nordisk, innovative technology firms such as Align Technology and Innovaccer, and effective international healthcare development and consulting responsibilities at Global Group Inc. His deep understanding of the healthcare industry's complexities, coupled with his commitment to mission-driven organizations, makes him a valuable asset to The Sparkle Foundation. Mr. Gause's diverse background and strategic insights will contribute to the Foundation's impactful work
Charity Governance – UK Board
With a robust background in international development, Nick has built a career dedicated to inclusive leadership, capacity building, and driving impactful change. As a consultant, he has honed his ability to design and implement strategic solutions that empower marginalised communities and promote sustainable development. His commitment to creating meaningful social impact has been central to his leadership approach, particularly during tenure as CEO of *Carriers of Hope*. Whether consulting on international projects or leading organisations, he is motivated by a deep commitment to social justice and empowerment, ensuring that every endeavour he undertakes brings us one step closer to a fairer, more just world.
Malawi Board Member
Ms. Joyce Mataya brings 25 years of technical expertise, program development, capacity strengthening and partnership building skills, complemented by on-the-ground experience working with a wide range of public, non-profit and for-profit entities in the Eastern and Southern Africa region as well as Malawi. She has led and built the organizational and technical capacities of NGO and CSO leadership teams, government departments and private corporations to drive institutional change and greater effectiveness to achieve sustainable education, health and livelihoods programs within national policy frameworks. Currently, Ms. Mataya is employed by World Education, Inc. (WEI) as APA’s Director and CSO Capacity Strengthening Advisor. In this role, she provides senior leadership and management to the project; heads up organizational and technical capacity strengthening activities; and stewards partnerships with implementing partners and GoM stakeholders at national and district level. Prior to this role, Ms. Mataya served as the Team Lead/Capacity Development Advisor for PACT Malawi, providing overall program management and leading capacity development teams working with local partners implementing various programs funded by KFW and USAID PEPFAR under the Coordination Comprehensive Care for Children (4Children) to deliver education and other comprehensive child supports. She introduced a structured mentoring approach in the district action plans and successfully developed the capacity of over 100 district-level stakeholders.
A natural relationship builder, Ms. Mataya is a seasoned professional and highly experienced leader who understands the Malawi country context, and issues across the region. She brings particular expertise in organizational development (OD) that will be critical to realizing Bantwana’s vision and technical approach. Aside from project-focused work noted above, she has served as a technical specialist and lead consultant in the design, facilitation, and successful delivery of over 40 OD interventions and trainings in Malawi and other countries including leadership training, strategic plan development, organizational cultural transformation and change management, and partnership management. Ms. Mataya holds a M.Sc. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from UNICAF in Cyprus, and a B.Sc. in Agriculture from Bunda College of Agriculture in Lilongwe, Malawi.
NGO Malawi Board Member
Ozzie is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants - ACCA(UK) and a Certified Accountant professional registered in Malawi with ICAM (Institute of Chartered Accountants in Malawi). Ozzie has a wealth of vast experience of over 25 years in Grants Financial Management and leadership mostly in the International NGO sector obtained in Malawi, West Africa and Asia. She is also a certified USAID Grants Manager and TOT. Ozzie has been exposed to various Government Grants, ie EC, DFID, Australian Govt, New Zealand Govt, Germany Govt etc,. Ozzie aspires to provide finance leadership that ensures standards of excellence. She promotes an environment of innovation, empowerment and responsible stewardship throughout the business unit.
Bookkeeper
Jen joined Sparkle as a volunteer bookkeeper and consolidates the UK, UAE and Malawi financial information reporting to the CEO and Trustees. Jen is a qualified accountant and for the last 10 years works as a bookkeeper for a social impact organisation. She qualified working in finance at the BBC. She enjoys helping children and volunteers at a local primary school.
Human Resources
Amy joined The Sparkle Foundation as a volunteer to support and manage HR processes for the organization across the UK, UAE, and Malawi. In addition to providing management training and support, Amy has also brought the Insights tool to enhance our team’s collaboration. Through her work, Amy helps ensure that Sparkle can continue to make a meaningful impact on the lives of those it serves.
In addition to her volunteer work at Sparkle, Amy serves as the HR director for Cornelius, a corporate partner to Sparkle. With over 15 years of experience in the field, Amy has held various HR roles in large organisations; her expertise in recruitment, training, and general HR practices allows her to provide effective support to Sparkle.
Legal
Gareth is an English law qualified solicitor with over 12 years of experience, specialising in corporate M&A and joint venture transactions across a range of sectors and geographies. Gareth is currently a Legal Director in the Corporate team of Clifford Chance in the United Arab Emirates, where he has been based for the last 7 years (and prior to that, he was based in London). Gareth also leads the pro-bono team for Clifford Chance's Africa Group and has worked with Sparkle since the beginning of its UAE journey.
Malawi Board Member
Dr Tiyesere Mercy Chikapa is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Management and Leadership Studies Department at the University of Malawi in Malawi. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Business and Management from the University of Manchester, UK, a master's degree in human resource management from the University of Leeds, UK and a bachelor's degree in public administration from the University of Malawi, Malawi. Tiyesere has over 19 years of research and teaching in Human Resource Management and Public Administration and is specifically interested in Gender and governance related aspects. She is a Malawi NGO board member for the Sparkle Foundation.
Community Officer
Frances oversees our community program, working primarily with the women, youth and community members in the 17 villages. Frances facilitates the identification and discussion of challenges withing the community and ways to address the challenges and improve our community empowerment program. Frances has previous experience in theatre for development and working towards empowerment of women, youth and vulnerable groups including the elderly.
Teacher
Esther is one of the team members in our education team and is in charge of Tigers class which has children between 3 to 4 years old, in the pre-school program. Esther also teaches our standard 3 and standard 4 children aged between 8 to 10, in our primary after school program. Esther is responsible for planning and delivery of day-to-day activities for the groups.
Teacher
Veronica oversees our youngest pre-school class with children of ages between 2.5 to 3 years, helping the preschoolers develop phonemic awareness, awareness of the environment and day-to-day physical activities. Veronica also teaches the standard 1 and standard 2 learners in the primary after school program, aged between 6 to 8 years old.
Lead Teacher
Atupele is in charge of the Lions class, a class with children aged between 4 to 5 years old, making sure the children are ready for their final class at pre-school level. Atupele also teaches the standard 3 and standard 4 learners in the primary after school program, aged between 8 to 10 years old.
Project Coordinator (Europe/UK)
Vanessa serves as our Project Coordinator for Europe and the UK. She plays a vital role in managing relationships with corporate partners, schools, and event organizers to enhance visibility and support for The Sparkle Foundation across the region. Her efforts focus on cultivating new opportunities and deepening existing partnerships throughout Europe and the UK.
Finance
Gregory Shippee. Managing Partner and Co-founder of Re/think, a UAE based consultancy firm. Born and educated in the US, with 24 years living and working in Europe, Central America, and the Middle East.
Provides CFO and strategic advisory to NGOs and impact entrepreneurs, while working to connect the ecosystem of HNWI, Family Offices, and individuals to the impact community.
Chairman
Menassie M. Taddese is a seasoned biopharmaceutical leader with extensive experience in business execution, transformation, partnerships, and leadership across global markets. He has led businesses up to $13Bn in revenue, driving performance and value creation.
Currently, Menassie is involved in steering three healthcare startups and serves as Senior Advisor at EMIR Group. He holds several board positions, including Chairman of the Audit Committee at Medexus, Board Member at BCIU, the American School of Dubai, and The Sparkle Foundation. He has received numerous industry and academic awards and holds an MBA from Penn State, a BSc from Virginia Tech, and completed an EPM at Columbia Business School.
Office Manager
Marketing Coordinator
General Manager
Fundraising and Partnerships Manager
