The Rose Board and Team

Susan Stasi, CEO, Rose Academies

Susan Stasi is the CEO of Rose Academies, a globally recognized humanitarian agency that is established in Uganda, Eastern Africa. Since 2014, she has spearheaded multiple campaigns that address the disparities of health and wellness of impoverished communities in an effort to empower the oppressed, vulnerable and disabled with knowledge while reducing preventable deaths of children.

A firm believer in collaboration and cooperative teamwork, her drive and determination have united multiple institutions of higher learning and community based partners in the development of innovative technologies that are changing the way we teach the illiterate, uneducated rural poor.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from San Jose State University, Magna Cum Laude, concentration on Foreign Languages and DSCTE California Teaching Credential from U.C.Berkeley.

Jeannie Mahan, Vice President, Rose Academies

Jeannie Mahan is the consummate professional in the field of education. Ms Mahan taught school in Santa Clara for 35 years and for the last 5 was principal at St. Justin’s Catholic School. Her wealth of experience in education is key to our growth as leaders of healthcare education for the rural poor.

Ms. Mahan is a graduate of Santa Clara University.

Carol Buchser, Secretary/Treasurer, Rose Academies

Carol Buchser has been Rose Academies’ Board Secretary since its founding in 2014 and has been instrumental in the growth of our organization to an internationally recognized leader in educational programs for the vulnerable and oppressed populations found in LMICs.

Ms. Buchser has an extensive background in a diversity of sectors which include education, technology, and investor relations. She spent years teaching in the public school system that led her to a position as Associate Research Scientist at American Institutes for Research. At the Institute, she was responsible for the development of a concept of using the vocational education program as a means of advancing economic enterprise. The Career Technical Education (CTE) Program happens to be one of the pillars of Rose Academies’ educational programs that is encouraging vocational skills development to improve incomes of the rural poor.

Ms. Buchser received her Bachelor of Arts from Swarthmore College and her Masters of Science from the University of Pennsylvania.

Andrea Diarte, MPH

Andrea Diarte is a recent Master of Public Health graduate of Texas A&M School of Public Health, obtaining her degree in Health Promotion and Community Health Sciences. Additionally, she received her BS in Public Health from Texas A&M University. During her Master’s she completed a practicum experience on Cervical Cancer conducted with Rose Academies. Her efforts have helped set the foundation for our program to educate rural women about the HPV virus, increase vaccination and improve knowledge of how cervical cancer can be treated and cured with early detection. She is a firm believer that Rose Academies’ dedication to health education and the organization’s mission will save lives and improve the quality of life for many.

Michele Parker, PhD

Dr. Parker is the Assistant Director of the Public Health Program at Santa Clara University, and an adjunct lecturer. She received her BS in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from the University of California, San Diego and her Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on cross-disciplinary solutions for global health problems and collaborates with teams in the School of Engineering to bring health education, low-cost medical technology, and mental health awareness to marginalized communities in regions of Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.

Monica Metzger, MSCSE, Senior Technical Development Manager

Monica Metzger is a graduate of Santa Clara University where she received her Masters in Computer Science and Engineering. Over the last few years, Ms.Metzger has consistently contributed to the ROSE library of educational training tools, including our popular Healthy Future Application Program.

This year, at CSW68, Ms.Metzger gave a riveting presentation as she demonstrated her latest innovative product design: the ROSE PCH (Portable Classroom Hub). This powerful device is a game changer in tackling the huge challenge of limited or nonexistent public services typical of rural poor areas. Watch Monica’s video to learn more about this amazing device and see why we are excited to discover a possible solution for improving healthcare education for the rural poor around the world!

Rebecca Chavez, Board Member

Ms Chavez comes to Rose Academies with over 16 years experience in the technology sector. As product manager of Cloud technology at Google, Ms. Chavez brings a wealth of knowledge in the use of tech to solve the world’s most critically important social issues. We welcome Ms. Chavez to our board.

Clare Ainomugisha, Program Director, Rose Academies-Uganda

Ms. Ainomugisha has been Rose Academies-Uganda’s Program Director since we started working in Uganda in 2018. Her dedication and commitment to Rose is exemplary as she manages a staff of 25 persons that work in 4 different districts in Uganda. Under her direction, she has developed our Rose Uganda Fellowship Program into a recognized provider of critical healthcare education programs throughout Western, Central and Eastern Uganda.  

Ms. Ainomugisha is an accomplished public relations professional and a recent graduate of Ndejje University.

Haidar Luboobi, MPH, Rose Director of Nutrition

Haidar Luboobi, MPH, is a highly skilled nutritionist and healthcare professional. As Rose Director of Nutrition, he has developed a solid nutrition program that is fully integrated into all of Rose Academies’ healthcare educational programs. Due to Mr. Luboobi’s expertise in nutrition assessment, counselling, capacity building of community based trainers of IYCF (Infant Young Child Feeding), Maternal Infant Child Health and food safety practices, communities are now enjoying improved health as a result.

Mr. Luboobi is employed as Nutritionist for Kampala Extra Region Prison Service. He holds a Masters Degree in Nutrition from Makerere School of Public Health.

Kimberly Gutierrez, MPH, Rose Texas State Representative

We are proud to announce the newest addition to our growing team of healthcare professionals: Ms. Kimberly Gutierrez, MPH, has been appointed as Rose’s Texas State Representative where she will be heading up our new program dedicated to improving access to resources for the disabled population in Texas.

Ms. Gutierrez graduated with a Masters in Public Health from Texas A&M School of Public Health in May 2023 and is currently employed by the Department of Health and Human Services in San Antonio. Her knowledge and expertise in epidemiology, public health and biostatistics are attributes that will guide us as we develop this new program.

Noah Carrico, Rose Global Youth Ambassador, 2024-2025

Our new Global Youth Ambassador for 2024-2025 is the highly talented Noah Carrico. Noah is an AP student at Lincoln High School, located in San Jose, California and excels in a wide range of disciplines that include music, the arts, science and sports. When he is not attending to the many extra-curricular activities he is involved in, you just might find him at water polo practice or practicing his violin which he has been playing since he was 4 years old!  His love of medicine and helping others to have healthier lives drives his passion to one day become a physician. We are thrilled to have Noah join our team and look forward to working with him as our Global Youth Ambassador.