
Our Team
We are a women-led team of social scientists, practitioners, artists, policy analysts, and visionaries.
Staff
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Anita Babonangenda
Operations Director
Anita specializes in health and community protection, working with adolescent girls and women to prevent and respond to violence. She is passionate about providing safe spaces where girls can develop their confidence, leadership skills, and share their experiences in order to fight against gender inequality and make decisions about their futures.
She has worked as a supervisor for the International Rescue Committee’s Women’s Protection and Empowerment Program, as a doctor focused on GBV response, and advocate in campaigns promoting women’s rights. She completed her doctoral studies at the University of Goma.
With Colors of Connection she directs operations in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, including managing the Girl Awakening Program, and training and supporting to our local partner Tulizo Elle Space.
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Christina Mallie
Executive Director & Co-Founder
Christina is an artist and humanitarian. She has been driven to support the creativity of youth and girls, inspired by her own experiences of utilizing the arts to work through challenges as an adolescent. She was awarded her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Hunter College and her Master of Science in International Affairs from the New School with a focus on conflict and security. She has worked as a consultant with the Population Council, and Assymetrica.
With Colors of Connection, she has designed and implemented programs in Liberia, Burkina Faso and Democratic Republic of the Congo. As Co-Founder and Executive Director she is passionate about creating more space and value for collaborative arts, and artistic healing and expression in places where resources are scarce and traumatic experiences are high.
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Melanie Chan
Program Officer
Melanie is a development practitioner and creative with a passion for prioritizing the experience and expertise of beneficiaries, survivors, and women. She holds a Master in Public Policy from The Harvard Kennedy School with a concentration in Political and Economic Development. She co-wrote a thesis on the ethical engagement of survivors of sexual violence in research and monitoring & evaluation in conflict and post-conflict zones.
With a multi-disciplinary background in art and mental health advocacy, she previously taught art in Kenya for three years and was a greeting card designer at a social enterprise employing women who are survivors of sex trafficking in the Philippines and young adults orphaned during the Rwandan genocide. She has also worked with MIT D-Lab in developing its creative capacity building program in Rhino refugee camp.
Currently, she is thrilled to be at Colors of Connection—using the creative arts as a tool for delivering mental health care in even the most low-resourced and highly-traumatic contexts, and foregrounding the agency and resilience of girls and young women.
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Raymond Bahati Nzayo
Director of Finance and Administration
Raymond Bahati Nzayo is a seasoned finance and administration professional with over 13 years of experience managing financial operations for international NGOs in the humanitarian and development sector. He holds a degree in Commercial and Financial Sciences, specializing in Accounting.
With expertise in budget preparation, financial risk assessment, cash management, and expenditure forecasting, Raymond excels in ensuring financial transparency and efficiency. He has a strong track record in budget monitoring and revision, financial reporting, and tax management, as well as recruitment, staff performance management, and oversight of national and expatriate personnel. His skills also extend to managing partnerships and consultants, strengthening financial systems, and ensuring compliance with donor regulations.
Raymond has served as a financial manager responsible for budgeting and reporting at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), as a Country Finance and Administration Officer at Fauna & Flora International (FFI), and as a Finance Officer for UNICEF’s Ebola response in Ituri province. He continued his work in financial management with Vivo International before joining Colors of Connection in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. At Colors of Connection, he oversees financial and administrative operations and provides training and support to the financial and administrative staff of local implementing partner Tulizo Elle Space (TES). His financial expertise play a crucial role in sustaining the organization’s impact in Goma, DRC.
Board of Directors
Christina Mallie
Laura Hoffman
Amyn Rajan
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Executive Director & Co-Founder
Christina is an artist and humanitarian. She has been driven to support the creativity of youth and girls, inspired by her own experiences of utilizing the arts to work through challenges as an adolescent. She was awarded her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Hunter College and her Master of Science in International Affairs from the New School with a focus on conflict and security. She has worked as a consultant with the Population Council, and Assymetrica.
With Colors of Connection, she has designed and implemented programs in Liberia, Burkina Faso and Democratic Republic of the Congo. As Co-Founder and Executive Director she is passionate about creating more space and value for collaborative arts, and artistic healing and expression in places where resources are scarce and traumatic experiences are high.
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Creative and Communications Consultant
Laura Hoffman is a creative and communications consultant providing support to individuals and organizations. She is an expressive arts therapist, writer, movement artist, director, producer, and entrepreneur having helped several small businesses related to the arts and design. She helped found one of the earliest HMO acute care outpatient programs with an integrative approach; was a member of the Athens Cultural Affairs Commission from 2014-2020, was a Development Officer for the University of Florida, and Director of Development and Events for Slamdance Film Festival; she is a documentary and commercial film and video producer and owned a movement and performance space as well as co-owned a small design business.
She has a Bachelor’s degree with a double major in Cultural History and Dance; was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 1982. She has a Master’s degree in Applied Psychology/Dance Movement Therapy and a second Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture. She currently lives outside Los Angeles, CA where she has her consultancy focusing on creative development and business and continues her various movement practices in Alexander Technique, yoga, dance, pickleball, and writing.
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Chief Strategy Officer
Amyn is an Innovation and Strategy professional; designing and executing strategies for growth across various industries. He currently works at a Texas-based insurance company as Chief Strategy Officer. Amyn earned his M.A. in Conflict Resolution from Georgetown University in addition to a Master’s in Public Affairs and Nonprofit Management from University of Texas.
He has acted as advisor to non-profits, artists, and startups, focused on social impact. With his expertise in non-profit management and international relations, Amyn and his colleagues at Georgetown University came together to provide pro-bono strategic consulting services to budding non-profits to help them scale and increase their social impact and organizational cohesion. Amyn currently resides in Dallas, Texas with his wife Shireen who is a founder of a Digital Health startup.
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Awet Andemicael
Musician, Writer, Consultant & Educator
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Judith Bruce
Senior Associate & Policy Analyst At Population Council
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Kathy Eldon
Founder & Chairman, Creative Visions Foundation
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Gayle Embrey
Filmmaker & Licensed Professional Counselor
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Bonnie Hirschhorn
LCSW, LCAT, LP, NCPsyA, ATR-‐BC
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Dominque Koffy Kouacou
Head of Emergency and Resilience Team for FAO SubRegional Office for West Africa and the Sahel
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Eva Roca
Implementation Research Advisor, UCSD Center on Gender Equity and Health, PhD, MHS
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Joan Snyder
Artist MacArthur Fellow 2007
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Lynn Sanders-Bustle
Associate Professor & Art Education Chair-Lamar Dodd School of Art, University of Georgia
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Sophie Smalls
Delivery Leader at Delivery
Associates