Meet Our Board of Directors
Princess Zindaba Nyirenda / President
Princess Zindaba was born and raised in Zambia, Africa. She is a real African princess and true descendant of the Tumbuka Royal Family; the 4th generation great granddaughter of Chief Nyathi Mphamba (paternal), the Tumbuka tribal chief, (from her father’s side of the family) and is the 6th generation great granddaughter of ‘Ngani-Ngani’ Kamangadazi, the ancestry line of Shaka Zulu, the King of Southern Africa (from her mothers side of the family) who settled in Mbelwa,(Malawi) and Lundazi in the Eastern Province of Zambia, Southern Africa.
"Zindie," as she is called, received her Bachelor of
Arts degree in Public Administration from the University of Zambia. In
1985, she migrated to the US, and lived in Houghton Michigan where her
husband was studying at Michigan Technological University. Later, she
moved to the metropolitan Chicagoland area and studied fashion design
at the International Academy of Merchandising and Fashion Design in
Chicago and Harper College in Palatine, Illinois. She has a passion
for genuine fashion artwork, influenced by authentic African flair.
Currently, Zindie is studying for her Masters of Arts Degree in
Training and Development at Roosevelt University, in Schaumburg,
Illinois. Her concentration is eLearning Strategies for Distance
Learning, Instructional Systems designs and Organization Development
with ROI.
In 2001 Zindie established her non-profit organization The Lord of the
Harvest – that has since been renamed "The Light On The Hill for
Africa”.
She is the author of the new release Ta Lakata’ The Tears of Africa, a semi-autobiographical account of her life, her
family and her country, the impact of globalization in Africa, how
poverty thereof and the poverty-related diseases caused by poverty,
perpetuated by poverty, have afflicted Africa and the people she loves.
She gives an African perspective of the impact of the epidemic on
Africa and offers ‘Solutions for Africa’. Her writing is
the authentic African voice that need not be stifled, but included as
well and heard in all the Nations… . as one voice passionately
advocating for "Life before Death".
George Isaacson / Vice President
George Isaacson joined the Executive Board of the
Light on the Hill as Vice President of the organization in 2008. He was
born in Detroit, Michigan and as a child, lived in Florida, Upper
Michigan and Illinois. He graduated from the Illinois Institute of
Technology with a Bachelors Degree in Mathematics and began a career as
a high school math teacher for the Chicago Board of Education upon
graduation. Over twenty-six years, he has worked for five different
high schools in Chicago and has also taught a variety of science
classes. He obtained his Masters Degree of Education from DePaul
University and Administration Courses at Loyola University. In 2007
George retired from teaching and took on the nonprofit initiative with
the Teachers Academy for Mathematics and Science, an organization that
addressed the staff development needs of educators and addressed a
variety of issues around advancement of staff and improvement of school
planning. In this capacity, he attained a national certification in
Professional Staff Development from the National Staff Development
Council. George is a past president of the Illinois Staff Development
Council and Pi Lambda Theta and has been on the Board of Directors for
The Quest Center at the Chicago Teachers Union for nine years.
As the V.P. of the Light on the Hill originated and
is currently leading two major projects: 1) “Hospitals on Wings with The Doctors on Wheels” which will allow people in Lundazi to have medical support instantly and have it be readily available; and
2) “The Legacy Project - A Zoom on UnderMining In Zambia…” an initiative to partner with the multinational mining companies that have and are operating in Zambia, and hopes to bring their responsibility for the damages and pollution of the environment caused by their reckless mining activities and the abandoned mines in Zambia. The ultimate goal of the project is to restore the land, its natural environment and give innocent people back their dignity and respect of nature. In his free time George enjoys time with his two children and grandchildren whom he considers to be the best part of his retirement.
Anna Pishchulina / Project Coordinator
Anna was born and raised in Saint Petersburg, Russia. She
completed her education in Organic Chemistry and English. Anna has
actively supported projects pertaining to the restoration of pre-communist Russia's cultural heritage by working with numerous museums
and palaces in and around Saint Petersburg. Fascinated by innovations
in biotechnology and Pharm industry development, Anna came to the United States to expand her
diverse knowledge base and pursue a graduate degree in science. She has
worked in one of the leading institutions in Chicago; the emphasis of
her research is drug discovery in area of neuroscience and
neurodegenerative diseases. Throughout her career in science, Anna has
managed to involve herself in fringe developments and ‘out-of-
the- box’ opportunities that ultimately contribute to others.
Anna Pishchulina has been actively involved with nonprofit initiatives between Africa and the United States since 2007, working closely with the Sudanese Lost boys. Anna joined the Light On The Hill, as a consultant for technological needs of the organization and later took on the role of Projects Coordinator. Based on her professional background and expertise in drug development industry Anna has taken on overseeing the HIV/AIDS prevention project. She is responsible for LOTH's relationships with Pharmaceutical companies and developing campaigns that support anti-HIV initiatives in Lundazi, Zambia.
In her free time Anna enjoys all kinds of sporty outdoor activities with her husband and the next step in her career in getting an MBA with a focus on nonprofit organizations and development.
Charlotte Mutesha/ IT & Web Director
A senior at Dominican University in River Forest
Illinois, Charlotte is studying Journalism and Communications with a
concentration in Writing and Editing. Charlotte has a passion for
writing. Charlotte Madeline is a columnist and reporter for Review Chicago, a
contributing blogger on Dominican University's news site, DominiNET,
and a staff writer for the Dominican Star newspaper. Also as a professional editor, she writes
bio’s or reviews, proofreads theses, and edits or ghostwrites
novels.Her writing is depicted in these blog sites:
Her Gemini duality allows her to empathize with
people that have other perspectives while staying true to her own
ideals. The firstborn, first generation daughter to Zambian parents and
addicted to travel, Charlotte has visited over eight international
countries in the past year and a half and utilizes her different
cultural experiences in her writing.. When finished with her undergrad
studies, she hopes to continue writing and have her own magazine that
will depict her writing with a social responsibility.
Charlotte manages the IT and Website management for Light On The Hill
and gets the impact her writing has on the reader but also the
difference her work makes in the lives of many underprivileged people
that she advocates for. Most especially and dear to her heart are the
faces and giggles joyful happy HIV/AIDS orphans whom she saw firsthand
in her travels to Africa. She is a firm believer that it does not take
a whole lot to change the heart of indifference towards these innocent
children. We can make a difference if we choose to…especially,
on the behalf of the underprivileged. She will work and contribute her
writing to the common good of looking out for the “least of
these….”
