ISD | Board of Trustees

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees is the school’s governing body. There are nine Trustees who are parents or legal guardians of current students at the school. Trustees are volunteers and are elected by ISD parents and faculty through an annual election process. Trustees serve a two year term and may run as candidates in the elections to serve further terms.

The Trustees are joined by two non-voting representatives: a US Ambassador’s Representative and a Faculty Representative. The Director, the Elementary Principal, and the Secondary Principal also participate as non-voting members of the Board.

The Board meets monthly from August to May. Parents, legal guardians, and faculty are invited to attend Board meetings as observers. The Board can be contacted at boardbox@isd.sn.

Parents and faculty are welcome to view the Board agendas and minutes, as well as the Board Policy. To access the Board Agendas & Minutes page linked below, email board_assistant@faculty.isd.sn.

View Board Agendas and Minutes

View Board Policy

View Board News | Jaguar Journal

Meet the 2022-2023 ISD Board of Trustees

Alexandra Gifford

Board Chair

Alexandra Gifford joined the board in June 2021. Alex has three children at ISD; a daughter in 9th grade, a son in 5th grade, and a daughter in 1st grade. Alex has served on the PTO since coming to Dakar in 2018, currently serving as the Treasurer and main PTO Representative.

Aylin Karahan

Vice-Chair

Aylin was elected to the Board in April 2017 and is the Board's Vice-Chair and Chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee. She previously served as a Trustee from 2007-2010. Aylin has one child in Middle School and one child who graduated from ISD in 2020. She works as a property developer. Aylin is Turkish-American and has lived in Russia, Cyprus, Lebanon, Turkey, U.S.A., China, and Switzerland before settling as a permanent resident in Senegal.

Molly Glenn

Treasurer

Molly was elected to the Board in April 2019. Molly has one child in High School and one child in Middle School. Molly is American and works with the U.S Government for Millennium Challenge Corporation on large-scale infrastrastructure, reform and rural access investments in the energy sector. This is her third time living in Senegal since 2008 and has previously lived in Mali, Burkina Faso, Malawi and London.

Sara Lori Mogharabi

Secretary

Sara Mogharabi joined the Board in June 2022. Sara has a daughter in 2nd Grade, a son in Kindergarten, and a baby girl who will join the ISD community in a few years. Sara is an American environmental attorney and works remotely for her Colorado-based law firm. She hails from a family of educators and has taught legal writing and environmental conservation in the past.

Birame Sock

Trustee

Birame N. Sock was elected to the Board in August 2020. She has one daughter in elementary school at ISD. Birame is a tech entrepreneur now living in Senegal after over 25 years in the US. A Senegalese native, Birame lived in several African counties (Kenya, Congo, Niger, Senegal) prior to moving to the US for college.

Carlo Cassina

Trustee

Carlo was elected to the board in June 2021 after joining the Policy Committee in 2019 as a parent expert. He has one daughter in the elementary school at the ISD. He is an Italian attorney with over 15 years of experience in Labour Law, Real Estate, Litigation and Contracts. Before coming to Dakar, Carlo lived in Italy, England, Switzerland, Thailand and Malaysia

S. Afua Manyo-Plange

Trustee

Afua joined the Board in June 2021. She moved to Dakar last year after living in South Africa for 10 years. Afua is a New Yorker with Ghanaian roots. She has 3 children at ISD, a son in Kindergarten, a daughter in the 6th grade and a son in the 9th grade. She has lived in Ghana, India and Malawi. As a demographer and health researcher, she has worked for US health agencies and across various African countries.

Xiaojing 'Kate' Hou

Trustee

Xiaojing (Kate) was elected to the Board in June 2021. She has one daughter at ISD in 1st Grade and one 3-year-old son. Xiaojing is a Chinese citizen, and her husband is Austrian. Prior to moving to Dakar, she lived in China (Beijing, Guangzhou), Austria, Malaysia and Brunei. Xiaojing has degrees in mechanical (bachelor’s) and petroleum engineering (master’s) which she acquired in Australia and China. Xiaojing worked for Samsung and Motorola before.

Eric Huberdeau

Trustee

Éric was elected to the board in June 2022. He has a son in grade 5 and a daughter in grade 3 at ISD. Éric is Canadian. He has worked as a public servant for the Government of Canada since 2001 in a number of roles, and is currently working part-time as a policy advisor. He has lived in Senegal since 2018.

Non-Voting Representatives

Mark Wilson

US Ambassador's Representative

Mark began serving as the US Ambassador’s Representative in June 2021. He moved to Dakar in August 2019 with his family. He has two children in middle school. Mark is the Director of the Democracy Rights Governance and Peace Office at USAID. From 2001-2003 Mark was a Peace Corps volunteer in Kaolack and speaks French and Wolof.

Rama Ndiaye

Faculty Representative

Rama is a passionate elementary teacher and lifelong learner at ISD. She will serve as the faculty representative to the board.

Rama believes in a pedagogy that focuses on critical global issues, cultural understanding and a holistic world history that will help to educate learners who can use their skills to create a more sustainable, equitable, peaceful, and culturally aware global community.