Allyson Goldsmith, Executive Director
Allyson Goldsmith is the Senior Manager, Digital Advertising at USA for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Prior to this position she worked at the World Food Program, M+R consulting and the National Organization for Women.
Allyson holds both a Master of Public Administration and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Her undergraduate degree is from Brandeis University where she majored in Sociology, with a minor in both Political Science and International and Global Studies. Allyson is committed to reducing extreme poverty in the developing world.
Allyson lives in Washington D.C. and enjoys the amenities of the city.
Arthur H. Goldsmith, Chief Financial Officer
Arthur H. Goldsmith is Jackson T. Stephens Professor of Economics at Washington and Lee University. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois and has served on the faculty at Bond University – Gold Coast Australia, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Connecticut in Storrs. Art leads courses and conducts research on social issues, including education and poverty. He is president-elect of the Southern Economics Association, a past Vice President of the Southern Economics Association, and has served on the Editorial Board of the Review of Behavioral Economics, the Review of Black Political Economy, the Journal of Socio-Economics, and the Journal of Economic Psychology. He has served on numerous public service organization boards.
Jan Kaufman, Secretary
Jan Kaufman is the Director of Health Promotion at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has an interest in helping people achieve optimal health and well-being. Jan currently serves on the Board of the Rockbridge Prevention Coalition and Healthy Rockbridge which seeks to set strategies to provide access to health care to all citizens and to improve the health status of county residents. She is active in civic affairs and has served as president of Woods Creek Montessori. Jan’s hobby is to design jewelry and donates all of the proceeds from her sales to ELEVEate.
Mohamed Kamara
Mohamed Kamara is an Associate Professor of French, and Head of Africana Studies at Washington and Lee University. He holds a Master’s and Ph.D. in French from Tulane University and Purdue University, respectively as well as a BA from Fourah Bay College in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He teaches French language and African literatures as well as courses on French and Francophone literatures and cultures. His varied research interests include Eighteenth Century French literature by women, the literature of Sierra Leone, the history of French colonial education, and literary representations of the African bourgeoisie. Mohamed, who is also a writer, lives in Lexington, Virginia with his wife and two children.
Alessandra Del Conte Dickovick
Alessandra Del Conte Dickovick is Associate Director of Community-Based Learning at Washington and Lee University. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs (MPA) from Princeton University. Prior to living in the United States, she had the opportunity to work in other countries, including Brazil, India, South Africa and Switzerland, both in the private sector and with international organizations. Alessandra loves to meditate and spend time with her two daughters.