Brittany Young
President
Britt is a technology and culture writer. She writes essays, reports, cultural criticism, and creative non-fiction. Her work has been featured in The Baffler, Wired, n+1, The Drift, IEEE Spectrum, Rest of the World, and Wirecutter. Her debut book, SILICONE VALLEYS: HOW TO BUILD THE FUTURE OF THE BODY, an investigation of prosthetics by an author who was born with a limb deficiency, delving into the military-prosthetic complex, biohacker culture, the transhumanist movement, and the ways Big Tech seeks to control all of bodies will be published the Fall of 2028 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
She is currently a lecturer in conservation and innovation within the Fung Fellowship at UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering. Britt teaches human-centered design, critical theory, science and technology studies, as well as writing.
She received her PhD in geography from UC Berkeley, where she focused on the startup technology sector of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Britt has expertise in topics including science and technology studies, climate change politics, international development, disability, and entrepreneurism. Her research was supported by the National Science Foundation and Fulbright.
Joanne Young
CEO
Joanne was a successful computer supply business owner in the 80’s and 90’s, retiring in 1991, before embarking on her most important career, raising her daughter. Joanne was also on the Board of Trustees of North Broward Preparatory School, lending her valuable business knowledge. She now devotes her time to A Spring of Hope fund-raising and building awareness of the world water crisis and the global education gap. She travels yearly to South Africa, bringing her positive energy and devotion to helping the children she cares so deeply about.
Gail Auguston-Koppen
Board Member
BS Political Science, Arizona State University
A passionate and creative leader, Gail is founder and President of Auguston and Associates, a global retained executive search firm specializing in medical and dental device manufacturing. Gail and her husband have been visiting South Africa regularly since 1989. Recently, they sponsored the borehole at the Faith Burlington Crèche though A Spring of Hope. Gail also serves on the Boards of Hope South Florida and the Study and Renewal Center. An active Rotarian for 16 years, Gail has been a Paul Harris Fellow since 1995 for Rotary International and a passionate fundraiser for 5 years for Operation Brave Kids, a nonprofit for National Guard soldiers’ families sent to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Dr. Charmaine Johnson-Leong
Board Member
Dr. Charmaine Johnson-Leong was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and trained as a dentist there. She moved to Chicago to further her training and then South Florida to settle. Charmaine got involved with A Spring of Hope through a patient that would go back to South Africa frequently to visit the Kruger National Park area. It was an area she knew well and as a South African, can identify with the challenges of the poor rural communities there. She started fundraising for them by doing walks, car washes and dinner auctions and asking her patients to donate to this exceptional cause. Visiting the schools in which these boreholes have been drilled has been moving, impactful and inspirational for her, her 2 boys and her husband. What makes her continue to support this worthy cause is the impact clean running water has been on these communities; how the organisation’s purpose is to empower these communities with their permaculture center and school gardens and just the appreciation of the people in these communities. Helping people is always rewarding, whether it is a patient in pain or a child who can drink clean water from a tap.
Hamilton Mnisi
Board Member
Dr. Hamilton Mnisi is a current board member of A Spring of Hope, South Africa.
Dr. Mnisi is a highly respected retired educationist who served education in the region for almost 50 years – including as a principal rector of a college, Deputy Chief Education Specialist in provincial government and a member on multiple educational boards.
A Spring of Hope is extremely grateful and honored that Dr. Mnisi has chosen to work with A Spring of Hope in the Mpumalanga and Limpopo Provinces to further our work in the rural communities.