FAME Board of Directors
FRank Artress, MD, Co-Founder/CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - Karatu, TZ
Frank is Co-founder and Co-director of the Foundation for African Medicine & Education (FAME). He did his undergraduate and post-graduate medical training at Loma Linda University in the US. Prior to coming to Tanzania, he spent 20 years doing cardiac anesthesia, the last 18 years at a hospital in Central California where they did an average of 600 open heart surgeries per year. As a member of a cardiac team with the Medical Relief Foundation, he helped to set up heart surgery programs in Guatemala, Nicaragua and Vladivostok, Russia. Born in Ethiopia, where his father worked as a doctor for seven years, he comes by his love of Africa and medicine naturally. He currently serves as the Medical Director at FAME and practices general medicine along-side an all Tanzanian medical team.
Susan Gustafson, Co-Founder/CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - Karatu, TZ
Susan is is Co-founder and Co-director of the Foundation for African Medicine & Education (FAME). She has a background and training in Counseling and Educational Psychology. She completed her undergraduate work at UC Berkeley and her graduate work at California State University, Stanislaus, and University of the Pacific. She spent over 16 years working in the California public school system as an elementary school counselor. In addition to working with children experiencing learning difficulties, she developed and coordinated a number of school-wide prevention and intervention programs designed to support children and families. In 2004, she and her husband, Dr. Frank Artress, moved to Tanzania full-time, where they built FAME Medical. She focuses her energies on project implementation, grant writing, donor relations and fundraising for the hospital.
Jeanne Artress, Treasurer - Redding, CA
Jeanne was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, but moved to the U.S. at the age of three. One of six siblings, she is the sister of FAME Co-Founder, Dr. Frank Artress. She studied Accounting at San Fernando Valley State College and Shasta College, eventually forming her own business through which she provides bookkeeping and tax preparation services for multiple companies in and around Redding, CA. Jeanne is a founding FAME board member and was instrumental in helping to establish FAME as a registered 501(c)(3) organization. When Jeanne is not working, she is volunteering her time and expertise for FAME, insuring transparency in FAME’s financials, communicating with donors and providing administrative support in the US and Tanzania. Jeanne has traveled to Karatu fourteen times, spending 4-6 weeks with the FAME Medical team every year. An extraordinary ambassador for our work, Jeanne has personally sponsored two FAME staffers through nursing school. Since serving on the board, she has organized and hosted eleven fundraising events for FAME, building an amazing circle of supporters in her church and community.
Barb Dehn, Director - Cupertino, CA
Barb is a women’s health nurse practitioner who cares for patients in the heart of Silicon Valley. She’s also a popular television, radio, internet and published health educator and expert, known as “Nurse Barb.” As an entrepreneur, she also founded Blue Orchid Press, a provider of women’s health guides. Barb earned her BS from Boston College and then began her nursing career at Stanford University Medical Center where she was privileged to care for the first children to receive heart transplants. She earned a masters and NP certificate from the University of California, San Francisco.
"Nurse Barb" has been volunteering at FAME since 2016 and brings a unique perspective, having worked alongside her Tanzanian colleagues on many return visits and understanding the challenges inherent in many aspects of caring for people in rural Tanzania. She has provided clinical education to the Tanzanian medical staff in all aspects of women's health issues, helped create FAME's cervical cancer screening program, and also provided critical input on FAME’s new Maternal Health Center.
KATHY MCKENNA, MD, DIRECTOR - SAN MATEO, CA
Kathy is a board certified diagnostic radiologist who has been practicing on the San Francisco Peninsula for over 30 years, specializing in Ultrasound and Women’s Imaging. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. She completed her residency in diagnostic radiology and Ultrasound Fellowship at U.C.S.F. She has recently returned to U.C.S.F. and works part-time as a clinical attending in the ultrasound section, where she enjoys teaching residents and fellows. Kathy first volunteered at FAME in 2009, when she helped donate a portable ultrasound unit and train staff. She looks forward to returning and working with the staff to provide on-going ultrasound and radiology education/training.
Michael Rubenstein, MD, board chair - Philadelphia, PA
Michael Rubenstein is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, and West Virginia University School of Medicine. He completed his neurology residency at the University of Virginia in 1989 and began private practice in the Philadelphia area while also holding a clinical appointment at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2013, he moved to a full-time faculty position at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is currently an Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology and the Director of Health Equities and Global Health for the Department of Neurology. He has served as a primary referral resource for state, regional and national Tourette syndrome organizations over the last 25 years and currently evaluates and cares for patients with Tourette syndrome at both the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Michael brings residents and fellows from both the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to FAME biannually to provide a global health experience and partner with FAME’s Tanzanian medical team to offer neurological care to the Karatu community.
Dave Steinmetz, Director - FL
Dave began his career as an accountant in New York and London and went on to have a career spanning 36 years in the financial services industry. He retired at the end of 2019 as CFO for an industry-leading alternative investment management firm recognized for its best-in-class infrastructure and is now a private investor and business advisor. Previously, he held various senior finance and operational roles in three investment banks as well a 50-person privately held specialty finance firm. Using an old axiom that life is divided into thirds (learning, earning and returning), Dave is now embarking on the return phase of his life and is excited to be contributing to FAME’s future growth and success.
JOHN STEPHENSON, DIRECTOR - SAN MATEO, CA
John brings a background in corporate and nonprofit management. Following a 27-year corporate career leading marketing, strategy and finance groups in large Fortune 100 companies in the paper industry, he fulfilled a lifelong goal to leave the corporate world and utilize his skills and experience to help others in the nonprofit world. Roles with a variety of different national and local nonprofit organizations have included executive, board, and consulting. After learning about FAME in 2010, he was impressed with its mission and successes and became an annual donor. After an inspiring onsite visit with his wife to FAME in 2019, he gladly accepted the invitation to join the FAME Board in 2021.
Craig Wainscott, Director - Seattle, WA
Craig is a 30-year veteran of the international finance markets and former Managing Director of Russell Investments. At Russell Craig held a variety of roles, including CEO, Russell Canada, and Senior VP and Director, Russell Australia. Since leaving Russell Craig has been an advisor and board member of a variety of companies. Currently Craig is CEO of instaCOVER, LLC an insurance technology company and on the board of Brandes Mutual Funds and the Paradigm Project, L3C.
Mary Ann Zetes, MD, Director - Menlo Park, Ca
Doctor Mary Ann Zetes is a board-certified general pediatrician who has been practicing in the Silicon Valley of California for over 30 years. She completed college and medical school at Dartmouth College and her pediatric residency at Duke University Medical Center. Mary Ann first volunteered at FAME in 2017 and was quickly struck by the passion, commitment, and dedication of the providers and staff. She was also impressed by the excellent care being delivered at FAME in this rural area of Tanzania. Mary Ann has returned each year since then and enjoys both caring for sick children at FAME and teaching the Tanzanian doctors and nurses about all aspects of pediatric care. Mary Ann will be retiring from her position at Stanford Children's Health in fall 2020, and she looks forward to devoting even more time and energy to FAME.
Ke Zhang, MD, PhD, Director/secretary - Boston, MA
Ke is a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale University where he earned MD and PhD degrees. His PhD work focused on regulators of actin cytoskeleton dynamics in the context of cellular migration and metastasis. He completed his surgery internship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he is currently an interventional radiology resident physician. Ke first came to FAME in 2008 and has regularly returned to work on numerous IT projects including creation and implementation of the original patient record system, pharmacy inventory system, laboratory information system, and helped implement the PACS system for tele-radiology services.
FAME Medical NGO Board
Peter MMASSY - Karatu, TZ
Peter joined the Rift Valley Children’s Village in 2004 as its Assistant Director when it was just a rented home on a hill and has been working there ever since. Peter has a degree from the Community Development Training Institute and an MBA from Mzumbe University, and his skills and insights have been instrumental in the development and success of RVCV’s various community outreach programs. He lives and works at RVCV full time along with his wife, Grace, and their three daughters.
Nickson Mariki - Karatu, TZ
Nickson was born and raised at the foot of Kilimanjaro. He has lived in Karatu for ten years and operates a number of local restaurants here. He is also director and co-founder of Black Rhino Academy - International School, a non-profit school recently built in Karatu.
MWASITI JUMA MSAHARA - Arusha, TZ
Ms. Mwasiti is a practicing Advocate and owner of AMAL ADVOCATES, a law firm based in Arusha. She has vast knowledge and special skills on matters pertaining to NGOs, corporate transaction, conveyancing, employment and labour law. She also has attended various seminars to continue advancing her knowledge and expertise. Ms. Mwasiti is one of the lawyers who were fortunate to be mentored and trained by the late Advocate Nyaga Paul Mawalla, founder of Mawalla Advocates before establishment of her law firm.
william mhapa - karatu, tz
William is FAME’s Director of Operations. He has been working at FAME for 11 years. He started his career at FAME as a receptionist in 2011, rising through the ranks from Community Health Coordinator for the mobile clinic to Human Resources Manager to his current position as Director of Operations, which he began in 2020. William has a Bachelor's degree in Medical Sociology from the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Through a scholarship from FAME, he acquired a Master of Science degree in Health Systems Management from Kenya Methodist University in Nairobi, Kenya. Born in Iringa, Tanzania, William now lives in Karatu.
SAID HALIFA SWEDI - KARATU, TZ
Said works at FAME as a cashier and assists with coordinating volunteer duties and activities. Born in Karatu, Saidi has lived at the Rift Valley Children’s Village his whole life. He joined FAME in 2021 straight from St. Augustine University in Mwanza, Tanzania, where he got a bachelor's degree in economics and finance.