Ashley Lackovich-Van Gorp | Founding Executive Director
Ashley Lackovich- Van Gorp, PhD is an international scholar-practitioner who focuses on adolescent girls and young women. She has worked extensively with girls and women in conflict and low resource settings, married adolescents, life skills programs, gender-based violence and qualitative research. Ashley manages her own girl and women-focused consultancy with clients such as International Alert, the Population Council, the Center for Creative Leadership and the United Nations Development Programme. As a scholar-practitioner, she has taught university courses on her global rights-based practice. She blogs for Girls’ Globe and serves on the advisory board of Women in International Security West (WIIIS West).
Ashley is the founding executive director of Enhance Worldwide.
Heather Mahardy
Heather Mahardy supports youth development programs with the YMCA of Greater Seattle and is a student in the Antioch University PhD in Leadership and Change program. Previously, Heather was founding Vice President at the Locus Foundation and founding Vice President at the Alliance for Community Empowerment. She also facilitated psychosocial development programs for adolescent girls in a social justice oriented middle school and has over 12 years of experience working in educational settings.
Heather serves as the founding president of Enhance Worldwide, having worked with Ashley on the initial organization conception in January, 2013 at a coffee shop in Seattle.
Amare Siraw Yihun
Amare Siraw Yihun is an international public health practitioner with over 13 years of humanitarian and development experience. Having extensive experience with HIV/AIDS prevention and support programming, he has worked in resource poor settings with at-risk populations such as commercial sex workers and transient populations in Ethiopia with organizations such as International Medical Corps, Counterpart International and Save the Children USA. With a BA in biology and MS in microbiology, Amare received a post graduate diploma in sexual and reproductive health research from the Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research in Geneva, Switzerland. In addition, he completed the project development and management program at the Human Rights and Justice Group in Legos, Nigeria.
Amare serves as the founding vice president of Enhance. Having recently relocated to the United States from Ethiopia, he is combing the personal with the professional by using his knowledge, skills and expertise to assist those living in his homeland.
Roxanne Swogger
Roxanne Swogger specializes in victim’s services at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Pursuing a PhD in Leadership and Change at Antioch University, Roxanne centers her work as a scholar-practitioner on behavior change interventions with perpetrators of domestic violence.
Roxanne advises Enhance on issues related to sexual and gender based violence. Understanding the complexity of cycles of marginalization, she helps us understand both the struggles of the victim and mentality of the perpetrator.
Tsion Asmare
Tsion Asmare is the Project Manger and Facilitator at the Center for Creative Leadership in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In addition to her professional work, she mobilizes volunteers within Ethiopia, most recently organizing a shoe drive for 300 children in Gambela, Ethiopia.
Tsion represents Enhance Worldwide on the ground in Ethiopia. Visiting partners and program participants, she ensures that Enhance maintains its commitment to the girls, women and communities it serves.
Brian Hayden
Brian Hayden is the Executive Director, Institutional Research & Engagement at the Community College of Beaver County in Beaver, PA, USA. With a MA in International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh, Brian has traveled extensively and supports education programs in Ethiopia and Palestine, including sponsoring a female literacy teacher in Aleta Wondo, Ethiopia.
Brian is the founding secretary and treasurer of Enhance. He also serves as chair of the fundraising committee.