Leadership

Dr. Tanya, Sululu, Angella
Dr. Tanya, Sululu, Angella

Terrawatu is registered as a charitable, non-governmental organization (NGO) with the Registrar of Societies in The United Republic of Tanzania (NGO/R2/000249) and as a U.S. Registered 501(c)3 Not-For-Profit Organization (EIN 26-0212786).

Our staff, board of directors, and international advisory council are a unique group of people who all support the bridge that connects indigenous cultures to modern development.

Staff and Board of Directors

  • Dr. Tanya Pergola - Co-Founder / Co-Director / International

  • Lekoko Ole Sululu - Co-Founder / Co-Director / National

  • Angella Marcel - Project Director

  • Boniface Msuya - Project Manager

  • John F. Augustine - Treasurer

  • Boris Sululu - IT Specialist

  • Sophia Arango - Senior Social Media Strategist

  • Abraham Lengai - Board Member

  • Zawadi David - Board Member

  • Beatrice Mlay - Board Member

  • Innocent Viekule - Board Member

  • Dr. April Linton - Board Member

  • Nicole Davis - Board Member

  • Natallia Clancy - Board Member

International Advisory Council

Gemma Burford
Sara Curran, PhD
Jessica Erdtsieck, PhD
Kathy Fowells
Anna Lappé
Kakuta Ole Maimai
Meagan Mayers
Stephen Ndegwa, PhD
Ann Vogel, PhD

Our Staff

Dr. Tanya Pergola
Co-Founder

Tanya Pergola is a founder of Terrawatu and has served as the organization's co-director since 2001. She is the author of Time is Cows: Timeless Wisdom of the Maasai which shares the mind-body-spirit medicine of the Maasai that was imparted to Dr. Tanya in exchange for implementing the sustainable development projects of Terrawatu. She has spoken about the work of Terrawatu at major conferences around the world including the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nairobi, Kenya and at the Information Technologies for Development Workshop at Oxford, University, UK. Under her leadership, Terrawatu has received grants and recognition from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank. Tanya holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Washington in Seattle.

Lekoko Ole Sululu
Co-Founder, National Director

Lekoko Ole Sululu co-founded Terrawatu and has served as the organization’s co-director since 2001. Sululu was born in a traditional Maasai village in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania and spent his childhood herding his father’s cattle, being initiated as a warrior, and learning the medicinal plants and sacred rituals of the Maasai. For over 20 years, he worked as a guide on Mt. Kilimanjaro and for wildlife safaris with several prestigious travel companies based in Tanzania and the United States before co-founding Terrawatu with Dr. Tanya Pergola. A respected Maasai elder, Sululu is a traditional healer and herbalist and is the director of the People-to-People Safari Company. His primary home is in Arusha, Tanzania and he travels extensively throughout Maasailand advising communities on how to maintain their traditional culture while developing in new and sustainable ways.

Angella Marcel
Project Director

Angella has more than 15 years’ experience in teaching computing, program management, and women’s empowerment. She completed her Secondary level of education at Karatu High School and received a certificate from Arusha Technical College; in addition to continuing education courses in Community Development (2 years) and Tourism Operation at Nairobi Institute of Tourism (Arusha Campus). Angella has most recently been awarded certificates in ‘effective performance for quality results’ and ‘personal success through employment’ through Tanzanian-based institutes. Under her program leadership, Terrawatu has established more than a dozen computer labs at private and government schools, created a solid partnership with Roots & Shoots, a project of the Jane Goodall Institute, and built a strong women’s network focused on environmental conservation and small business development.

Boniface Aminiel Msuya
Project Manager

Boniface has worked as an accountant and field officer for over a decade. After completing his Secondary education, Bonny attended University of Dodoma and received a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance in 2011. While at university, he worked at the National Sugar Institute as an assistant accountant. In 2012, Bonny founded the Arusha Academic Centre (AAC) and currently chairs the AAC to help educate vulnerable children in the community. Bonny joined Terrawatu in 2019 as its Field Officer and also assists with project management. In 2020, he was chosen to be Vice Secretary of the Arusha City Union of Non-Governmental Organizations (ACUNGOs) and in June 2021 he, and Terrawatu, were chosen to represent at the National Council for NGOs. Under Bonny’s leadership, Terrawatu has been exploring ways to take advantage of the opportunities afforded to the organization with the changes in national NGO policies.