OUR TEAM
Jennifer Fill Crooks
Founder & Executive Director
Jennifer has seen and lived in many countries and cultures, and now calls Bend, Oregon home.
Through all of the professional and personal accomplishments Jennifer has experienced, it is her work in humanitarian aid for vulnerable children that she finds the most important. She has learned to navigate the complicated challenges which are inevitable when dealing with developing countries and orphan care systems. Through her tenacious will, passion, and determination, she has been able to successfully navigate multiple international systems to get Uryadi’s Village not only up and running, but to the place it is today. Uryadi’s Village is now home to 93 orphaned children. These hard-won abilities have literally saved many lives. These experiences dealing with developing nation's governments and processes, and raising 17 children through adoption, have uniquely qualified Jennifer to be our village leader. Jennifer is a veteran rider in the international equestrian world. For over 20 years, she and her husband Mike owned and operated a highly successful show jumping business on the west coast They gained world-wide recognition for superior performance as well as the incredible integrity. Jennifer's ability to run a complex business in this high performance, high stakes arena has proven to be an effective training ground for work in the non profit world. The skills she has honed competing at the Grand Prix level have uniquely prepared her for working with people in diverse, high pressure situations where communication, decisiveness, and wisdom are critical abilities.
In preparation for starting Uryadi’s Village, Jennifer completed a Permaculture Design Course for International Development & Social Entrepreneurship, consisting of over 72 hours of university level courses and field work and has now received full certification in this area. It was at this course that she met world renowned Permaculturist Warren Brush, who not only became a dear friend, but who came on board as Uryadi’s Village Resilience Design Planner.
Hunter Crooks
Country Director
Hunter is originally from Seattle, Washington, and grew up in Sandpoint, Idaho. He is the son of Jennifer Crooks and has found his path in life due to her support and guidance. He attended Malmö University in Sweden and graduated with a degree in International Migration and Ethnic Relations. After graduating, he joined the Uryadi’s Village team as Assistant Programs Manager and moved to Ethiopia to live and work in the Village for a year. He then returned to Sweden to attend a master’s program in Humanitarian Action and Conflict at Uppsala University. He has been involved in Uryadi’s Village since it was founded, often going on trips once or twice a year, which has given him the experience needed to take on a more significant role on our team. He has since returned to Ethiopia and is now living onsite full-time as he has taken on the role of Country Director. He is passionate about ensuring the children we serve all have their needs met and are given love and support as they make their way through life.
Henok Dawit
Deputy Director
Project Manager
Head of Human Resources
Henok joined our team in 2021 and has extensive experience working for NGO’s in Ethiopia. He has worked in a number of positions, giving him great knowledge on all the different aspects of NGO work. His experience, combined with his passion for children’s rights, has given him the skill set to wear many hats. From Head of HR to Programs Manager, he is a great asset to our team here in Ethiopia. Due to his exemplary job performance he was recently promoted to Deputy Director.
Abebe Babu
Head of Security
Abebe has been with Uryadi’s Village since day one and is an all around rockstar! He is a father figure to each and every child in the Village and takes time to know and develop deep bonds with our children. Abebe has earned the respect of our children and staff due to his incredible work ethic and dedication, and also due to his quiet, fun loving demeanor. We trust our Village’s safety in Abebe’s capable hands!
Meselech Urke
Head Nanny
Meselech Urke is the head of our amazing team of nannies. She is mother to all the children, and the guide and trainer for our other nannies. Meselech is a strong, gentle, and all around lovely woman, who manages our nannies with her firm kindness, and cares for our babies and children as if they were her own. She is tireless, uncomplaining, and a pleasure to work with.
Mekides Bergene
Head of Finance and Accounting
Mekides came to Uryadi’s Village in 2017 with a long history in non-profit finance and accounting. Mekides is exceptionally hard working , a meticulous accountant, and committed to Uryadi’s Village and all of the children. She is a mother of three biological children and has also adopted a little boy from Uryadi’s Village. We are so grateful to have Mekides on our team!
Amanual Elias Jaldu
Licensed Physical Therapist
Amanual is a physical therapist at Uryadis Village where he dedicates his expertise to improving the lives of our children. Hailing from the vibrant town of Wolita Soddo, he earned his Bachelor's degree in Physical Therapy from Bahirdar University. He worked in Help Hope Charity Club at the Bahirdar University College of Medicine and Health Science, where he enjoyed working with children and supporting them.
Amanual considers it a true privilege to support and uplift these precious young lives at UV through his work.
Chemere Habtewold Melkamu
Head of Montessori School
Chemere is the Head of our onsite Montessori School, and oversees not only the education of our youngest children, but also helps guide our other Montessori teachers. He has a great depth and breadth of education and experience, including 13 years of leadership of primary and secondary schools, 11 years of High School instruction in Chemistry and Physics, additional study and training in Evidence-Based Planning and Decision Making, has been published academically, and is a PhD candidate at Wolaita Soddo University.
Beyene Hebana
Head of Human Resources
Beyene holds a Bachelors Degree in Management and has worked at several different organizations over the last 28 years, including positions such as transport officer, human resource manager, and general coordinator. He recently retired, but wanted to continue working and giving back to his community, which led him to working with Uryadi's Village. As the head of HR here at the village, Beyene is able to use his experience to support the organization by developing effective HR systems and ensuring that we have a positive working environment and that the needs of our staff are met. It was always his dream to give back to the children of his community by providing a loving home for them, and he loves being a part of Uryadi's Village.
Asrat Gense
Head of Social Work
Asrat joined the Uryadi’s Village team with a Degree in Social Work from Wolaita Soddo University. Her responsibilities range from mentoring the children in our Village, to handling our adoption, foster care, and school sponsorship programs. Asrat has a deep love for our children and amazing dedication to this project.
Fedila Lema
Licensed Physical Therapist
Fedila is a physiotherapist at Uryadis Village, and has a Bachelor’s in Physiotherapy from Bahirdar University. She has experience working in YFS (Youth Friendly Service) at the Gessa Health Center, supporting community health initiatives and executing awareness programs. Helping children was always been her dream. She is so happy and thankful to realize her wish through Uryadis Village, where she can provide professional support and care for children with special needs. She is enjoying her work as a Pediatric Physiotherapist in such a warm and welcoming program. She feels it is an honor to contribute to the better future of these young lives.
lilt Shalebo
Head of Nursing
Lilt is a very special nurse, who heads up our team of 4 nurses. She has extensive experience in pediatric nursing, and has a deep love for our children. She is also a very important part of managing the care of our children with special needs.
Muluken Alemu
Individualized Education Planner
Muluken is, in his own words, "a passionate educator and champion for individuals with special needs". He has excellent teaching credentials, including a teaching degree from Hossana Teacher’s Training College, and also a degree in Special Needs and Inclusive Education. He has extensive experience working with deaf students, has a certification in sign language, and is skilled and experienced at using adaptive learning techniques to help all students thrive. Additionally, he serves as a substitute teacher, providing tailored instruction to students with diverse needs, and works as an assistant lecturer at a university, sharing his passion for inclusive education. Currently, Muluken is our Individualized Education Program (IEP) planner, driven by a profound vision to ensure that individuals with special needs receive the necessary support to thrive. His focus on providing personalized services for children with special needs reflects his commitment to promoting inclusivity and enabling every individual to lead a fulfilling life.
Warren Brush
Resilience Designer Planner
Warren Brush is a global permaculture design consultant, educator, lecturer and storyteller. He has worked for over 35 years in sustainable systems design for communities, private and public organizations, households, small holder farms, and conservation properties worldwide. He is co-founder of Quail Springs Permaculture, Regenerative Earth Enterprises, Sustainable Vocations, Wilderness Youth Project, Casitas Valley Farm and Creamery, and his Permaculture design company, True Nature Design. He is a consultant for USAID’s TOPS (Technical Operations Performance Support) program where he trains technical field staff, for their African Food for Peace programs, in a Resilience Design Framework. He works extensively in North America, Africa, Middle East, Europe, and Australia. He teaches a vast array of courses focused on increased resilience around food production and the interconnectedness of all life. We were extremely fortunate to have had Warren’s guidance in designing the Village from the ground up, and we are even more honored that he has become not just a believer, but a partner in Uryadi’s Village.
Tesfaye Bergene
Head Permaculturist
Tesfay's energy and love for growing food, is an inspiration. Tesfaye's story with Uryadi's Village has been a beautiful one. He came to us in 2019 with his sweet daughter Meheret who has microcephaly and CP, asking to relinquish her to the Village. He was scared and overwhelmed, thinking that he and his wife couldn't give sweet Meheret the care she needed and couldn't support her medical care, with the extremely limited income Tesfaye was generating. We immediately saw the love that these two parents had for their daughter and together with Tesfaye, came up with a new plan. We offered him a job and offered to sponsor Meheret to receive the care she needed, while remaining at home with her loving parents. Fast forward 4 years and Tesfaye is now a Certified Permaculturist who leads our thriving food production systems and and an integral part of the Uryadi’s Village management team.
Sarah Klintworth
Programs and Administrative Manager
Hailing from the Midwest US, Sarah is an incorrigibly curious and adventurous person who has always loved working to make the world a better place. She has accumulated a wide ranging collection of experiences in life, including living off grid, teaching English overseas, rock climbing, and building chicken tractors in her back yard. She was originally part of the UV team starting in 2015, until 2019, and has rejoined the team again in 2023. She brings with her an enduring love of permaculture, nature, diversity, and a passionate desire to make a positive impact on our world and for the children of UV.
Scott Rulander
Videographer & Community Outreach
Scott lives in a small off the grid home nestled in the mountains of North Idaho. His life has been focused on outdoor adventure and he has traveled to some of the world's most beautiful places to explore their rivers and climb into the mountains. His passion for videography developed out of a desire to capture beautiful landscapes and share people's unique stories. He worked for 9 years as a videographer and editor for a television production company before starting his current creative adventure... Gem Vision Productions. Scott loves the mixture of music, images, and thoughts and their ability to evoke emotions. His motto is live simply, travel light, and share the stories. Scott has been producing beautiful videos for Uryad’s Village since its inception in 2014.
Dennis Fill
Adviser
Mr. Fill was born and educated in London, England where he served three years in the Royal Air Force . Following his distinguished service, he began his forty year career in senior management positions in the global health care industry. Dennis has led many U. S. companies to positions of worldwide leadership in the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries, as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President and has served on the Board of Directors of five Fortune 500 Companies. With the reinstatement of open trade with China, Mr. Fill founded a highly successful business serving US corporate needs. His time in the Asian markets also includes residing in Hong Kong and Japan for a total of twelve years.
THE URYADI’S VILLAGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Board Chair, Emma Goltz
Emma Goltz is a director of Hattington Property Management and a former manager in the retail and consumer products group at Bain and Company in San Francisco. For the past fifteen years she has been actively involved in a wide range of non-profit organizations in the US, UK and Ireland with a focus on fundraising and governance. Emma and her family are now based between London and Marlborough, Wiltshire, where they run Manton Grange Stables. After Emma and her family visited Uryadi's Village in December 2018, Emma joined the Uryadi’s Village Board of Directors in order to support an organization that she witnessed directly impacting the orphaned children of Wolaita, Soddo, and their community.
Sandy Garner
Sandy Garner has been one of our biggest supporters since the beginning and we are so thankful to have her helping to guide our work with the children she so clearly loves.
Dr. David Paton
Dr. Paton is our newest board member, and we are so thankful to have such a kind, knowledgeable, and committed individual on our board of directors.
Traci Schmidt
Traci Schmidt, a resident of Sandpoint, ID, is a pediatric physical therapist passionate about making sure every child has their best chance to move and play. All it took was one trip to the Village for Traci to be hooked. She now makes yearly trips to Uryadi’s Village to assess the children and train our local staff (as well as train local hospital staff). Traci also consults via phone and e-mail when the children have an issue or when new children with special needs arrive at the Village. Traci joined the board in 2018.
Vafa Milani
Vafa Milani has always been passionate about working with underserved children. She has been volunteering for non-profit organizations in the USA and Africa since she moved to California in the mid 90s. After meeting Jennifer Crooks in 2016, she fell in love with the vision of Uryadi’s Village and started supporting the organization in various capacities. With a focus on fundraising, Vafa joined the board in 2017.
Molly Talla
Molly grew up on the west coast, in Southern California, but has recently moved with her husband, 3 children, dogs, horses, and all other creatures to Montana. Through a lifetime of involvement in the equestrian world, Molly would run into Jennifer a couple times a year and reconnect. Molly was emotionally drawn into Jennifer’s work with Uryadi’s Village and in 2016 was at a place in her life that she could accept a position on the board. Molly has a deep love for these children and Jennifer and her family.