Welcome to The Irede Foundation
Our Board of Trustees
- The IREDE Foundation
- About Us
- Board of Trustees
Kunle Akinkugbe
Chairman, Board of Trustees - NG
Kunle Akinkugbe
Chairman, Board of Trustees - NG
Kunle Akinkugbe is a graduate accountant, entrepreneur and keen youth mentor. He has promoted several start-up businesses and takes pride in the many non-profit and non-governmental organizations he devotes time to. He sits on the Board of several private companies, a leading not-for-profit school, is a Trustee of the Youth Business Initiative Nigeria and an alumnus of the Chief Executives Program of the Lagos Business School. Intensely patriotic, Kunle is a keen golfer and art collector. He is currently Managing Director of Alma Stores Limited.
He is best described as an entrepreneur and social investor, committing time and other valuable resources to making a difference that is sustainable in and around his local community.
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts”
Angela Ajala
Member, Board of Trustees - NG
Angela Ajala
Member, Board of Trustees - NG
Experienced Executive Director with a demonstrated history of working in the education management industry. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, International Event Management, Coaching, Program Evaluation, and Entrepreneurship. Strong business development professional with a BA Hons English focused in English Language from Ahmadu Bello University.
Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that's where you will find success.
Jide Falaki
Chairman, Board of Trustees USA
Jide Falaki
Chairman, Board of Trustees USA
A corporate finance executive with over 25 years of experience, Mr. Jide Falaki is currently the Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance, and Treasurer at McKesson Corp., a Fortune 8 diversified healthcare services company, having worked in the corporate finance field with companies such as Lowes, Best Buy, and CitiBank. He has also served on the National Board of Directors for a leading nonprofit in safe and healthy housing known as Rebuilding Together, harnessing more than 40 years of experience.He is an alumnus of the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, where he graduated with first-class honors in Agricultural Economics and currently holds an MBA in Finance and International Business from Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
Azubuike Chigbu
Secretary, Board Of Trustees
Azubuike Chigbu
Secretary, Board Of Trustees
Experienced Executive Director with a demonstrated history of working in the education management industry. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, International Event Management, Coaching, Program Evaluation, and Entrepreneurship. Strong business development professional with a BA Hons English focused in English Language from Ahmadu Bello University.
Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that's where you will find success.
Crystal Ilise Berger
Board Secretary - USA
Crystal Ilise Berger
Board Secretary - USA
Crystal I. Berger is a results driven media professional and entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in the media space. She has worked as a Senior Booking Producer and national news feature host for Fox News and has also been a featured speaker at The United Nations, Business Insider, AMC Netwoks, Black Women Talk Tech, and more.She is also the founder of EBO, an on-demand expert matching engine that connects media outlets with on-air talents while at the same time tackling the DEI challenges faced by publicists when seeking talent for content offerings. To date, EBO has booked guest experts for Fox Business, Sinclair Broadcast Group, BNC and ABC
Lanre Ogungbe
Board Treasurer - USA
Lanre Ogungbe
Board Treasurer - USA
Lanre Ogungbe is the co-founder and CEO of IdentityPass, a KYC/compliance company backed by over $3.3 million in equity funding. He was also the Head of Business and Services in Accounteer, the COO of MyPadi, a property tech company, and the IT Officer for Enactus Nigeria.A Dean Scholarship recipient, He currently holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins University in Analytics, Leadership, and Innovation and serves as a strategic advisor at the Johns Hopkins Technology Venture, where he works with numerous startups, providing advice to them in Baltimore, USA.
Ugochukwu Obiora Chime
Member, Board of Trustees - NG
Ugochukwu Obiora Chime
Member, Board of Trustees - NG
Ugochukwu Obiora Chime, a renowned Surveyor, Real Estate Developer, Physical Development Consultant and prominent stakeholder in the housing sector. He is the Housingnews person of the week.
He is also the President of Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA).
His various academic pursuits at the University of Nigeria, earned him a first degree in Geography, a Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Surveying, Geodesy and Photogrammetry, and another Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Management. He also obtained a Graduate Diploma in Theology from Agape Bible College Enugu. He got registered with the Surveyors Registration Council of Nigeria (SURCON) in 1995, and earned a fellowship of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (FNIS) in 2010.
Folake Okunubi
Member, Board of Trustees - NG
Folake Okunubi
Member, Board of Trustees - NG
Mrs. Folake Okunubi is a Human Resources Professional with 21 years of experience, 15 of which has been in Human Resources. She has had experience working with Multinationals like Procter & Gamble and Guinness Nigeria (Diageo). While working with these Fortune 100 Companies, she had the privilege of leading the Talent Practice Group for Nigeria and being a member of the Procter & Gamble CEEMEA Region Practice group – which gave her design expertise; on the other hand, as an HR Business Partner and later HR Director, she has firsthand experience with applying these principles in building sustainable talent management models.
She has also had the benefit of facilitating and training people across various locations and countries – South Africa, Kenya, Morocco, India, and Pakistan and experiencing different cultures.
She is currently an HR Consultant on the European Union Agents for Citizen-Driven Transformation (EU-ACT) Programme where she is involved in building the capacity of Civil Society Organisations across Nigeria.
Onwuamaeze Agu
Member, Board of Trustees - USA
Onwuamaeze Agu
Member, Board of Trustees - USA
Mr. Agu is a serial entrepreneur, currently running an EdTech startup based in Nigeria known as Q-Verse focused on digitalizing tertiary educational content for easy accessibility for online and distance learning. He has also worked with E-Tranzact and Airtel Nigeria.He is a graduate of Electronic Engineering from the University of Nigeria and currently holds an MBA from Clemson University, South Carolina, USA.
Fela Durotoye
Member, Board of Trustees - NG
Fela Durotoye
Member, Board of Trustees - NG
Fela Durotoye is a NATION BUILDER & the Chief Executive Officer of the GEMSTONE GROUP, a Leadership Development Institution aimed at raising leaders of excellence and exemplary values who would be committed to building Nigeria into a most desirable nation to live in by Wednesday the 31st of December 2025.
Fela Durotoye is considered one of Nigeria’s leading strategists and business consultants with expertise in Culture Transformation, Service Leadership, Workforce Activation & Facilitating Strategic Retreats.
Fela is married to Tara, a renowned beauty entrepreneur and Chief Executive Officer of the House of Tara and together they have 3 sons: Mobolurin, Demilade & Morolaoluwa.
We cannot become what we need by remaining what we are.
Laurie Whetstone-Idahosa
Member, Board of Trustees - USA
Laurie Whetstone-Idahosa
Member, Board of Trustees - USA
Rev. Mrs. Laurie Idahosa is a speaker, life coach, and influencer. She is the Lead Pastor at Victory Christian Fellowship in Newcastle, Delaware, and also the co-founder of Nathan American Academy and Big Ben’s Children Hospital in Benin City, Nigeria. She is also a brand ambassador, author and has with modelling in dubai and acting in Nigeria.She is married to Bishop F. E. Benson Idahosa and is the mother of three sons, Feb Jr., Nathaniel and Judah. Her humanitarian works with the youth and IDPs have earned her numerous awards and recognition as she continues to mentor thousands daily via her social media handles
Obi Ugbana
Member, Board of Trustees - USA
Obi Ugbana
Member, Board of Trustees - USA
Dr. Obi Ugbana is a pediatrician in Newark, Ohio, and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including MedStar Maryland Hospital Center and Christian Care Union Hospital. She has been in practice for over 20 years after receiving her medical degree from Spartan Health Sciences University.
Crystal Chigbu
Executive Director
Crystal Chigbu
Executive Director
Crystal Chigbu, a CNN African Voices Changemaker is a Social Entrepreneur, Grief recovery specialist, Speaker, Coach, Author, Wife, Mother, Founder, and Executive Director of The IREDE Foundation. She is a Development Consultant with a focus on children and teens living with disabilities. Crystal has set a standard in the disability space through her advocacy and continues to prove through her work that “disability is only a thing of the mind.”
Crystal, the Founder and current Executive Director of The IREDE Foundation was formerly a sales and marketing manager with 12 years of experience at Procter and Gamble (P&G). The IREDE Foundation, founded in 2012 following Crystal’s personal experience, is focused on helping children living with limb loss live self-sufficient lives.
Under Crystal’s leadership, the foundation has provided 420+ prosthetic limbs for 376+ children across 30 states in Nigeria. She leads a disability awareness walk called “Out on a Limb”, which is held in over 50 locations around the world. Her dream is a society that is enabled for children living with disabilities, and discrimination reduced to the barest minimum for all persons living with disabilities.
She brings her 12 years of sales and marketing experience from Procter and Gamble into the social innovation sector. Crystal currently sits on a number of boards, is an Acumen Fellow, a member of several professional bodies, and a recipient of multiple awards.
Kunle Akinkugbe
Chairman, Board of Trustees - NG
Kunle Akinkugbe is a graduate accountant, entrepreneur and keen youth mentor. He has promoted several start-up businesses and takes pride in the many non-profit and non-governmental organizations he devotes time to. He sits on the Board of several private companies, a leading not-for-profit school, is a Trustee of the Youth Business Initiative Nigeria and an alumnus of the Chief Executives Program of the Lagos Business School. Intensely patriotic, Kunle is a keen golfer and art collector. He is currently Managing Director of Alma Stores Limited.
He is best described as an entrepreneur and social investor, committing time and other valuable resources to making a difference that is sustainable in and around his local community.
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts”
Angela Ajala
Member, Board of Trustees - NG
Experienced Executive Director with a demonstrated history of working in the education management industry. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, International Event Management, Coaching, Program Evaluation, and Entrepreneurship. Strong business development professional with a BA Hons English focused in English Language from Ahmadu Bello University.
Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that's where you will find success.
Jide Falaki
Chairman, Board of Trustees USA
A corporate finance executive with over 25 years of experience, Mr. Jide Falaki is currently the Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance, and Treasurer at McKesson Corp., a Fortune 8 diversified healthcare services company, having worked in the corporate finance field with companies such as Lowes, Best Buy, and CitiBank. He has also served on the National Board of Directors for a leading nonprofit in safe and healthy housing known as Rebuilding Together, harnessing more than 40 years of experience.He is an alumnus of the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, where he graduated with first-class honors in Agricultural Economics and currently holds an MBA in Finance and International Business from Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
Azubuike Chigbu
Secretary, Board Of Trustees
Experienced Executive Director with a demonstrated history of working in the education management industry. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, International Event Management, Coaching, Program Evaluation, and Entrepreneurship. Strong business development professional with a BA Hons English focused in English Language from Ahmadu Bello University.
Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that's where you will find success.
Crystal Ilise Berger
Board Secretary - USA
Crystal I. Berger is a results driven media professional and entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in the media space. She has worked as a Senior Booking Producer and national news feature host for Fox News and has also been a featured speaker at The United Nations, Business Insider, AMC Netwoks, Black Women Talk Tech, and more.She is also the founder of EBO, an on-demand expert matching engine that connects media outlets with on-air talents while at the same time tackling the DEI challenges faced by publicists when seeking talent for content offerings. To date, EBO has booked guest experts for Fox Business, Sinclair Broadcast Group, BNC and ABC
Lanre Ogungbe
Board Treasurer - USA
Lanre Ogungbe is the co-founder and CEO of IdentityPass, a KYC/compliance company backed by over $3.3 million in equity funding. He was also the Head of Business and Services in Accounteer, the COO of MyPadi, a property tech company, and the IT Officer for Enactus Nigeria.A Dean Scholarship recipient, He currently holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins University in Analytics, Leadership, and Innovation and serves as a strategic advisor at the Johns Hopkins Technology Venture, where he works with numerous startups, providing advice to them in Baltimore, USA.
Ugochukwu Obiora Chime
Member, Board of Trustees - NG
Ugochukwu Obiora Chime, a renowned Surveyor, Real Estate Developer, Physical Development Consultant and prominent stakeholder in the housing sector. He is the Housingnews person of the week.
He is also the President of Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA).
His various academic pursuits at the University of Nigeria, earned him a first degree in Geography, a Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Surveying, Geodesy and Photogrammetry, and another Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Management. He also obtained a Graduate Diploma in Theology from Agape Bible College Enugu. He got registered with the Surveyors Registration Council of Nigeria (SURCON) in 1995, and earned a fellowship of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (FNIS) in 2010.
Folake Okunubi
Member, Board of Trustees - NG
Mrs. Folake Okunubi is a Human Resources Professional with 21 years of experience, 15 of which has been in Human Resources. She has had experience working with Multinationals like Procter & Gamble and Guinness Nigeria (Diageo). While working with these Fortune 100 Companies, she had the privilege of leading the Talent Practice Group for Nigeria and being a member of the Procter & Gamble CEEMEA Region Practice group – which gave her design expertise; on the other hand, as an HR Business Partner and later HR Director, she has firsthand experience with applying these principles in building sustainable talent management models.
She has also had the benefit of facilitating and training people across various locations and countries – South Africa, Kenya, Morocco, India, and Pakistan and experiencing different cultures.
She is currently an HR Consultant on the European Union Agents for Citizen-Driven Transformation (EU-ACT) Programme where she is involved in building the capacity of Civil Society Organisations across Nigeria.
Onwuamaeze Agu
Member, Board of Trustees - USA
Mr. Agu is a serial entrepreneur, currently running an EdTech startup based in Nigeria known as Q-Verse focused on digitalizing tertiary educational content for easy accessibility for online and distance learning. He has also worked with E-Tranzact and Airtel Nigeria.He is a graduate of Electronic Engineering from the University of Nigeria and currently holds an MBA from Clemson University, South Carolina, USA.
Laurie Whetstone-Idahosa
Member, Board of Trustees - USA
Rev. Mrs. Laurie Idahosa is a speaker, life coach, and influencer. She is the Lead Pastor at Victory Christian Fellowship in Newcastle, Delaware, and also the co-founder of Nathan American Academy and Big Ben’s Children Hospital in Benin City, Nigeria. She is also a brand ambassador, author and has with modelling in dubai and acting in Nigeria.She is married to Bishop F. E. Benson Idahosa and is the mother of three sons, Feb Jr., Nathaniel and Judah. Her humanitarian works with the youth and IDPs have earned her numerous awards and recognition as she continues to mentor thousands daily via her social media handles
Obi Ugbana
Member, Board of Trustees - USA
Dr. Obi Ugbana is a pediatrician in Newark, Ohio, and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including MedStar Maryland Hospital Center and Christian Care Union Hospital. She has been in practice for over 20 years after receiving her medical degree from Spartan Health Sciences University.
Crystal Chigbu
Executive Director
Crystal Chigbu, a CNN African Voices Changemaker is a Social Entrepreneur, Grief recovery specialist, Speaker, Coach, Author, Wife, Mother, Founder, and Executive Director of The IREDE Foundation. She is a Development Consultant with a focus on children and teens living with disabilities. Crystal has set a standard in the disability space through her advocacy and continues to prove through her work that “disability is only a thing of the mind.”
Crystal, the Founder and current Executive Director of The IREDE Foundation was formerly a sales and marketing manager with 12 years of experience at Procter and Gamble (P&G). The IREDE Foundation, founded in 2012 following Crystal’s personal experience, is focused on helping children living with limb loss live self-sufficient lives.
Under Crystal’s leadership, the foundation has provided 420+ prosthetic limbs for 376+ children across 30 states in Nigeria. She leads a disability awareness walk called “Out on a Limb”, which is held in over 50 locations around the world. Her dream is a society that is enabled for children living with disabilities, and discrimination reduced to the barest minimum for all persons living with disabilities.
She brings her 12 years of sales and marketing experience from Procter and Gamble into the social innovation sector. Crystal currently sits on a number of boards, is an Acumen Fellow, a member of several professional bodies, and a recipient of multiple awards.
Contact
USA Address: 5A Gwynns Mills Court, Owings Mills, MD, 21117
Nigeria Address: 15, Ramat Crescent, Ogudu GRA, Lagos, Nigeria.