Capacity Building Projects
Pennywise Projects
Pennywise supports planning and programming that lasts over time and reaches increasingly larger scales. We work actively to bring together potential partners so that impact can increase exponentially. We research possibilities for collaboration and provide the technical assistance needed to bring them to fruition. In addition, we offer professional facilitation, conduct strategic planning, and advise on best practices in evaluation and outcome measurements.
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![A group of indigenous people sitting under a thatched roof, with some holding cups or bowls, and a foreign man sitting nearby, possibly observing or participating.]()
Amazon Hopes Collective
The Amazon Hopes Collective (AHC) is comprised of an active team of indigenous, Brazilian, and international scientists, as well as public health and community development experts.
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![A spectacled bear perched on a tree branch in a leafy forest.]()
Maquipucuna
Fundación Maquipucuna is an Ecuador-based nonprofit organization, reserve, and ecolodge situated on 14,000 acres within the Chocó-Andino bioregion, one of Earth's top 5 biodiversity hotspots.
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![Group of children in school uniforms sitting at wooden desks inside a classroom with brick walls, some students have backpacks, sunlight coming through an open window.]()
The Nguku Library Project
Near the shores of Lake Victoria in western Kenya, Nguku Primary School serves a rural community of more than 5,000 individuals.
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![An elderly woman sewing on a vintage black machine while young students and a teacher observe around her in a classroom.]()
Zambia Net-Works Project
The Pennywise Zambia Net-Works project connected Doane Net Project's (DNP) vision with Power of Love's (POL) on-the-ground malaria net distribution and micro-lending programs.
Project Advisors
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Principal Investigator, Macipucuna Project
wdorshow@earthanalytic.com
Wetherbee Dorshow, PhD. is president and owner of Earth Analytic, Inc. (EAI). Wetherbee also serves as the executive director of The GIS Institute, a not-for-profit organization that investigates human adaptations to environmental change with advanced geospatial technology and science. Wetherbee is an Assistant Adjunct Professor in the Anthropology Dept. at the University of New Mexico. Wetherbee has over 27 years of experience as a professional archaeologist, scientist, GIS analyst, and web developer. Wetherbee has earned a Doctor of Philosophy, Anthropology (Archaeology), and an MA, Anthropology (Archaeology) from the University of New Mexico, as well as a BA, Anthropology from the University of Vermont. -
Principal Investigator, Zambia Net Project
brad.elder@doane.edu
Brad Elder, PhD. (Professor of Biology at Doane University, maker of mosquito nets, Zambia). Brad invented and teaches a simple method for turning waste plastic bags into mosquito screens, mosquito bed nets, and other important products such as raincoats, school bags, and solar showers. He is a member of the Crete Volunteer Fire and Rescue and has dedicated his life to improving the quality of life for other people. -
Principal Investigator, Amazon Hope Collective
mheck@ufl.edu
Michael Heckenberger Ph.D. (Associate Professor, University of Florida) has worked with indigenous peoples in the Amazon for over 25 years, particularly the Kuikuro of the Xingu Indigenous Territory (TIX) in the southern Brazilian Amazon. His research with the Kuikuro has revealed the remarkable cultural history of Xinguano groups over the past millennium, published in several books and prominent articles in Science, The Royal Society, and elsewhere. His work has also involved collaboration with the Kuikuro people on community-based projects to improve public health, heritage preservation, and ecological conservation. Michael's most recent (2014-present) project is the Kuikuro Cultural Center or "Casa da Cultura". This center aims to provide a base of operations and a venue to represent indigenous culture and interact with outsiders from broader regional, national, and international society. -
Principal Investigator, Nguku Library Project
ogingaj@pennywise.org
Oginga Josahn is a development economics enthusiast currently pursuing a masters in Data Science at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy. Originally from Kenya, he holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and agriculture from Berea College in Kentucky and a master's in Global Affairs from Tsinghua University in China. Before moving to China to study its people, culture, and growing influence as a Schwarzman Scholar, he worked for a year with JBS Foods in Georgia. He is the founder of Harmonized Enterprise for the Less-Privileged Farmers, which provides free online agricultural extension support to a network of more than 2,600 farmers in Southeastern Africa. Oginga is passionate about addressing economic development and sustainability as equally important goals in the Global South.