Ikirwa School Project Board of Directors
Ikirwa School Project (ISP) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Juneau, Alaska, USA. ISP was formed in September of 2012 for the purpose of providing fundraising support, volunteer program coordination, advisory services, and partnership outreach for the benfit of the Ikirwa School. All members of the ISP volunteer board are actively involved in all aspects of ISP's operations and share a passion for bringing quality education opportunities where they are needed most.
Maria (Masha) Skuratovskaya, Executive Director, Board Chair, and Secretary
Masha was born in Moscow, Russia and came to the US in 1993 as a scholarship student at St. Margaret’s School in Virginia. She spent her career as an investment manager for Freddie Mac and the World Bank prior to joining the Alaska Permanent Fund. She lives in Juneau, Alaska with her husband and two sons, enjoying access to the great outdoors and the mountains that she can’t live without. This remote location allows for time to develop the Ikirwa School Project and through it pursue her true calling of “traveling the world and doing good deeds”. Masha Holds a BS in Business Administration from Bridgewater College, MS in Finance from American University, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. She serves in the St. Margaret’s School Foundation Board, is a Treasurer of the Alaska-Siberia Research Center and acts as and adviser to the World Women Endowment.
Shelja Purohit, Founding Director, Treasurer
With years of project and account management experience in the hospitality, publishing, and software industry, Shelja Purohit (Shel) created the Client Relations department at Votenet Solutions. Adept at realizing the potential of new markets, Shel guided Votenet’s expansion into Europe, Japan, and the Middle East, significantly increasing sales volumes in these regions over time. Shel graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from the University of Bombay, and subsequently, a Post Graduate in Hotel Accommodations and Operations from The Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology, and Applied Nutrition. Along with her goal to lift children out of poverty by educating them one at a time via the Ikirwa School Project, Shel has volunteered with Servathon and Americorps and supports the DC Public Library System and Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts.
Bryan Zimmerman, Founding Director
Bryan is a senior engineering professional/consultant who brings his extensive expertise of IT hardware/software to the Ikirwa School Project Board. Bryan has held many high level positions at various organizations managing the development of engineering products/services of diverse sizes, but takes pride in maintaining his technical skill set. Bryan believes that the Ikirwa school is a good avenue to prepare Tanzanian’s children for higher eduction which would otherwise be unavailable.
Tara M. Kramlich, CFA, Director
Tara Kramlich is currently developing a fixed income fund strategy, which she and her partners expect to launch later this year. Tara began this endeavor after working for two years in impact investing at Imprint Capital, where she actively sourced, diligenced, structured and monitored investments in funds and directly into companies. Prior to joining Imprint, Tara worked on Global Desk of the Investment Management Department of the World Bank Treasury. During her one-year assignment with the World Bank, Tara managed a $3.5 billion portfolio of short term fixed income investments in non-USD securities. Prior this, Tara worked for the Principle Investment Group at Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank underwriting investments and managing a portfolio of IG/BIG bonds, leverage loans and derivatives. Tara graduated for the Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley and is a CFA Charter Holder. Apart from her commitment to ISP, Tara is currently working on a book project and is active with the Haas Alumni Council and Women’s Initiative in San Francisco.