Our Leadership

Elizabeth Mhangami

Founder and Executive Director

Elizabeth Mhangami is a passionate youth development advocate who has worked with underserved youth communities in Chicago and Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Elizabeth holds a BA in Political Science and Women’s Studies from Loyola University Chicago and a MA in Women and Gender Studies from DePaul University. Vanavevhu was born out of a desire to give hope and provide opportunity to urban youth from the poorest neighbourhoods in Zimbabwe. After spending 10 years living and working in the US, Elizabeth returned to her hometown of Bulawayo where she has been working with child-heads of household to build Vanavevhu and position the organization as a model for positive youth development and social enterprise in Zimbabwe. Elizabeth is deeply committed to working to rebuild Zimbabwe and ensure that future generations will have better options than those currently available.

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Thenjiwe Nyoni

Executive Officer

Thenjiwe Nyoni oversees the day-to-day operations of Vanavevhu in Zimbabwe. She has worked for the organization since 2010. Thenjiwe is responsible for managing the production and marketing of V2 Enterprises. Thenjiwe’s background is in Marketing and IT.

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Board of Directors

The Vanavevhu Board of Directors are integral partners in achieving our mission.

Tom Mallon

Michael Faris

 Dr. Lesley Blake

Sekai Ngarize

Denver Phiri

Olukayode (Ky) Ajayi

Keith Chibafa