Who We Are - Meet the Board Members

Dr. John Cabra, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer

John Cabra Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer

Hi! My name is John Cabra and I am the Co-founder of the Institute for Myanmar United (IMU). Previously, I was IMU’s President and now I am its Vice President. I often get asked why Myanmar. Well, my former student, Myo Thant, who is also IMU’s Executive Director, was Aung San Suu Kyi’s personal assistant while they were both under house arrest in Myanmar. Before fleeing Myanmar, Myo Thant made three promises to Aung San Suu Kyi. One was to one day return to Myanmar to help build its democracy. With this incredible promise, I offered to Myo Thant a study abroad program. I became the initiator, program director and the instructor of the service learning and civic engagement courses at the State University of New York, Buffalo State. We took three cohorts of students to Myanmar. The idea of starting IMU was to sponsor student’s return to Myanmar to grow the projects they had started with our community partners. My passion is organizational creativity and nurturing the creative confidence of people to face any challenge.

William O. Fogarty, Director of Programming

Director of Programming William Fogarty

William Fogarty is a facilitator of creative well-being who uses meditation, guided art creation, and other facilitative wellness tools to help others connect to well-being and transform their lives. He has a Master’s of Science in Creativity and Change Leadership from SUNY Buffalo State. He is currently Creativity and Thought Leadership Associate at MovingExperience: the next generation facilitation company out of Hudson, New York; is Director of Programming for the Institute for Myanmar United, and is founder of C-Life Creativity, a startup creative well-being and education organization.

Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann, Director of Fundraising

Director of Fundraising Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann

My name is Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann and I became involved with IMU after hearing about the amazing work being done to spread the power of creativity to the people of Myanmar and beyond while I was completing my Master’s in Creativity. I spent the last ten years working in the non-profit field and am passionate about sharing the story of IMU and the positive impact that creativity can have in the world.

Taylor Ansuini, Director of Social Media

Director of Social Media Taylor Ansuini

Hi, my name is Taylor Ansuini, and I am the Director of Social Media here at IMU. I am graduating with my Master’s degree in Creative Studies and change leadership at SUNY Buffalo State in May of 2022. I currently work as an ESL teacher and am looking to work in the event planning field, specifically non-profit. I am so excited to be a part of this team and see the impact that IMU will make on our communities.

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