Meet our Board of Directors

Left to right: Hon. Jaqueline Kyatuheire (board member), Rachel Simms (board member), Fr. Justus Kiiza (board chairman), and Natukunda Fortunate (Director of Operations)

An essential part of any organization, is a strong team of good leaders working together for the a common goal. We are thankful to have a wonderful team leading Margaret & Emma Uganda to be its absolute best! Meet our Board of Directors!

Fr. Justus Kiiza - Board Chairman: Father Justus Kiiza was raised in Kabale Uganda where he was eventually ordained a priest. He received his MBA from the University of Portland where he was sent to study by his Bishop. He had many roles in the diocese, including serving as the director of finance for several years. Fr. Kiiza is currently the parish priest at Nyamwegabira Parish in Kanungu District of Uganda. The parish keeps him very busy with 30 village churches, 36 schools (4 parish, 14 nursery, 14 primary, and 4 secondary), and a total parish population of around 34,000 people. Despite his busy schedule, he is involved in a few small nonprofit organizations, all focused on helping the most vulnerable communities in Uganda. We are incredibly grateful to have Fr. Kiiza leading our Board of Directors.

Hon. Jaqueline Kyatuheire - Board Member: Honorable Jaqueline is a former Member of Parliament (MP) for Kanugu District. She is a strong leader, with a huge heart. Hon. Jaqueline has spent her career ensuring women, especially vulnerable women, are cared for. She started an all girls secondary school in Kihihi, Uganda, and the school is flourishing. Hon. Jaqueline is currently serving as the Deputy National Treasurer for the Central Executive Committee for the Ugandan Government. She works hard, and consistently puts others before herself. We are thrilled to have the Honorable Jaqueline as a member of the Board of Directors.

Rachel Simms - Board Member: Rachel grew up in Washougal, Washington State in the Pacific Northwest USA. She met Fr. Kiiza in 2006 when he was assisting at her parish in the US. In 2009, she went to Uganda to volunteer, and to experience a different culture. In 2014, Rachel started Margaret & Emma, LLC, a company that imported handmade products from vulnerable women in Uganda. After several years of struggling to find a steady market, she and Fortunate decided to start a nonprofit to better serve the women's groups. In 2020, Margaret & Emma Uganda was born!

Rachel is currently working as a law clerk, while studying law through the Washington State Clerk Program. She plans on taking (and passing) the BAR in 2023. Rachel oversees our fundraising efforts in the USA, manages the website, newsletter, and blog and works closely with Fortunate monitoring day-to-day operations. She loves working with the team at ME Uganda, and wants to thank all of our amazing supporters for making ME Uganda a reality!

Natukunda Fortunate - Director of Operations: Fortunate was a founding Board Member, but we quickly shifted her to the role of Director of Operations. You can find her story on our first blog post. She is AWESOME, and we are eternally grateful to have her on the team!