Jonathan Richter
Executive Director

Jonathan grew up in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and started traveling as a hobby. He spent three years in the rural areas of Ghana as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and gained fluency in the Volta regional language. It was through this life transforming experience that he learned the traditional norms of the Ewes and observed the great potential that exists for collective action in rural villages.

Jonathan's academic background is in Business Administration, Public Policy, and International Development. He has worked for several international development organizations including the International Youth Foundation, the World Bank, and USAID.

Jon@bridgingdevelopment.org

Bismark Agbeve, Volta Office Manager

Bismark is from Adaklu-Tokor, which means "mountain side", as his community rests on Adaklu Mountain. He has a long history community activism. He has served as an assembly councilman, served as regent chief to his community, and helped establish the eco-tourism site in the area. He is a farmer, a taper of palm wine, and owns a bicycle shop. He is an entrepreneur in the truest sense of the word.

Bismark worked closely with Peace Corps Volunteers for over six years. He was a Counterpart for Bridge volunteers for five years, and mastered the art of integrating outsiders into the local culture and development efforts.

He presently runs Bridge's Ho office in the Volta regional capital. He provides technical assistance to our partners, teaches them how to use computers for their organizations, places volunteers in communities, and helps us reach out to new communities and groups.

VoltaOffice@bridgingdevelopment.org

Volta Office: P.O. Box MA 288, Ho, Ghana

Bismark jokes with partner committee member

Veronica Anku, Cultural Advisor

Veronica is from Adaklu-Kordiabe, and traveled over to the U.S. to marry Jonathan after his Peace Corps service. Veronica has been an active member of BRIDGE since the beginning. She assists with Ewe translations in the cultural movies displayed on the site, writes letters of introduction in Ewe to the chiefs and elders when new volunteers arrive in their communities, and translates documents in Ewe for grassroots partners who are not literate in the English language. She has been very active in BRIDGE's fundraising events, continues to provide guidance on cultural issues related to our work, and communicates issues to our partners over the telephone, email, and through site visits.

Vero@bridgingdevelopment.org

Justin first traveled to Ghana in 2003 as a student at the University of Notre Dame. He returned in the summer of 2006 to film a short documentary about the Adaklu Youth Education Committee, a longstanding partner of Bridge.

With a background in communications and technology, Justin is involved with website management and recruiting volunteers to travel to Ghana.

Justin@bridgingdevelopment.org

Justin with some friends at the top of Adaklu Mountain.