Meet the Team
Jon Hamilton
Co-Founder, CEOJon’s background includes working as a research assistant focused on sustainable development, an aide to a state representative in Massachusetts, and an agriculture and environment extension agent in The Gambia as a Peace Corps Volunteer. During his service, Jon saw many ways in which traditional development activities were not meeting the needs of the community he served, leading to wasted efforts and the persistence of issues like out-migration and environmental degradation. Combining his experiences in academia, government, and community development, Jon partnered with Haruna to co-design a better solution: Fandema International.
Jon holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard University and is currently pursuing a master’s in Development Practice from Emory University.
Haruna Jallow
Co-Founder, COOHaruna has been a champion of Gambian development efforts for decades. He is currently the Program Manager for the education sector of Peace Corps The Gambia, having spent more than 10 years with Peace Corps. Before that, he founded multiple community schools from scratch, furthering his mission to provide education to all Gambian youth. Haruna uses his education and program management backgrounds to support Fandema farmers in the field and build community among like-minded achievers.
Haruna holds an associates degree in Elementary Education and Teaching from The Gambia College School of Education and a bachelor’s of Education from International Open University.