OUR TEAM

Executive Director

Ingrid lives with her husband in Golden Valley, MN. Her grown sons are nearby. Her passion for fighting poverty began in 1991 as a volunteer for a local ministry impacting children in lower-income areas of her hometown. Her desire to be more effective led her to pursue a B.A. in cross-cultural studies from Moody Bible Institute. After graduating and marrying in 1997, she spent 17 years reaching out to children and youth in North Minneapolis. In 2010, the story of an Ethiopian widow inspired her to travel to Ethiopia to look for an opportunity to get more involved. After returning, her focus on poverty shifted to Ethiopia. Since January 2011, she has supported local organizations in Ethiopia as an advocate and raised much-needed financial support for them. Ingrid uses her Instagram to connect with PWE supporters and bring attention to the needs in Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Representative

Thomas Kaba lives in Hawassa, Ethiopia, with his wife, Freye, and their son, Naod. We have known Thomas since 2013, when he was hired to translate for our vision trip. In late 2015, due to our recommendation, our partner, SHAPEthiopia, hired Thomas. He worked for them for five years. In the spring of 2021, Thomas left SHAPEthiopia and became our full-time Ethiopian Representative. Thomas hosts us when we visit. He checks in with and visits our partners throughout the year. He also volunteers with the youth at his church, is involved with a new church plant in Hawassa, volunteers time with local students with disabilities, and recently joined the board of a new faith-based Ethiopian NGO focused on meeting the needs of displaced people in northern Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Driver & Contact

We first met Ermi during our 2016 trip to Ethiopia when he was hired as our driver. Ermi owns his own tour company and has expanded his business to include importing in recent years. Since 2016, Ermi has been a vital part of our team. He helps host us when we visit, serves as our driver and in-country travel agent, and is available year-round to assist with various needs. With a wealth of knowledge about Ethiopia and over a decade of experience working with tourists worldwide, he is a great translator and always ready to lend a hand wherever needed. Thanks to his support, our last ten trips to Ethiopia have been successful. He truly is the best!

Board Member and Bookkeeper

Abby lives in Northern New York and works as a bookkeeper for an oil company. Abby sponsors three boys through Partners With Ethiopia and loves how personal the relationship feels, more so than other sponsorship organizations she has dealt with. She traveled to Ethiopia with us in 2022 and again in 2023 to see firsthand the programs we support. Abby enjoys music, crafts, and travel. She is very active in her church and is one of the music leaders.

Board Member

Dick lives in Plymouth, Minnesota, with his wife Mary Lou, where three children and six grandchildren are the joys of their lives. In his spare time, Dick is an avid skier, runner, sailor, and wilderness camper. He brings to our board a wide range of international experience, which includes court reporting on international cases, leading his church for ten years as board chair in global outreach, and since 2015, working as ambassador to Ethiopia for Community Bible Study International. Dick’s involvement has included leading multiple teams to Mongolia and Ethiopia to partner and serve local organizations working with street kids, vulnerable women, and impoverished communities. He has firsthand experience with our projects from his multiple visits to Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Advisor

Getachew Teklu has lived in Minnesota since 1986. He was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Getachew has been a longtime donor and volunteer cultural advisor to Partners With Ethiopia. He has an international business degree from the University of St. Thomas. He owns and operates Admas Travel and is a global business and risk assessment consultant. He has coordinated our international travel since 2013. His care, concern, and guidance regarding our involvement in Ethiopia have aided our growth and development as a nonprofit.

Board Member

Evyn joined our board of directors in May 2024. We first met Evyn and his wife, Jenna, in April 2020 when we reached out to them to learn more about Meheretab Abate, the founder of I Care Ethiopia. At the time, we were considering providing I Care Ethiopia with its first financial grant. Evyn and Jenna had a long-standing personal relationship with Meheretab and spoke highly of him. Evyn and his family reside in Crosslake, MN. They have four children, two of whom were born in Ethiopia and later adopted. Evyn is very active, as he owns and operates Equity Builders and Roofing, serves as a Crosslake firefighter, and is a trained emergency medical responder. Evyn and Jenna are involved in Providence Community Church of Crosslake. The church is a longtime and dedicated supporter of our partner, I Care Ethiopia. Evyn has traveled to Ethiopia multiple times and maintains strong connections with friends and their oldest daughter's brothers in Ethiopia. Evyn's increasing involvement will help us better support I Care Ethiopia. Meheretab visited and connected with his supporters in the United States in the fall of 2023. He is pictured with Evyn, enjoying the snow and a stunning view of Lake Superior in Northern Minnesota.

Board Member

Ben's first real experience with poverty was on a service project trip in college. The group visited an impoverished community in the border town of Reynosa, Mexico. During that trip, he traveled to a nearby dump and saw the people who lived there scavenging from what others had discarded. A mansion, separated from the dump by a large wall, was visible in the distance. The contrast between the mansion and the dump impacted him. After finishing law school, he and his wife, Nicole, decided to sponsor several young boys the same age as their boys. They enjoyed the opportunity to correspond with the children and see them develop over time, and they knew they could play some small part in improving their lives. Ben's family has expanded their child sponsorship by sponsoring children in Ethiopia for several years. Ben is a patent attorney and a partner in the law firm of Merchant & Gould in Minnesota. As an avid triathlete, he often swims, bikes, or runs in his spare time. He also enjoys practicing taekwondo with his family, as well as spending time fishing and bow hunting.

Partners With Ethiopia and our Ethiopian partner organizations are faith-based initiatives, following the example and directive of Jesus to “care for the least of these,” “love orphans and widows in their distress,” and to see God’s “Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven.”

As we focus on serving and building lasting relationships, we use that as a platform to share the good news of Jesus. However, we realize that faith is a personal choice that each individual must make for themselves.

Regardless of their faith, we serve all children and women and do not require any of them to adhere to the Christian faith in order to receive our services. In the same way, we encourage you to join us (regardless of your faith) in the life-giving journey of loving and helping to care for others.

Join us in the journey of caring for others; sponsor a child at sponsor.give2pwe.org, or make a donation to our general fund at give2pwe.org.