We are accepting registrations to Winter/Spring 2023 Community CLASSES for ALL!

  • Mission
  • Programs
  • Classes
  • About Us
  • Donate
  • Get Involved
  • Events and Calendar
  • Photos and videos
  • African Heritage Festival
  • More
    • Mission
    • Programs
    • Classes
    • About Us
    • Donate
    • Get Involved
    • Events and Calendar
    • Photos and videos
    • African Heritage Festival
  • Mission
  • Programs
  • Classes
  • About Us
  • Donate
  • Get Involved
  • Events and Calendar
  • Photos and videos
  • African Heritage Festival

Meet our team

A nonprofit organization is as strong as the community that holds it up. Together, we can do more than we can do alone. Let's bring our abilities and passions together to build a global community.

Find out more
Yvonne Baraketse is a passionate educator, community leader, dancer, and choreographer.
FOUNDER,BOARD PRESIDENT, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR &CHOREOGRAPHER

Yvonne Nsabimana

Yvonne B Nsabimana is a dedicated educator and community leader. She experienced firsthand the benefits of African dance on coping with the war trauma she faced in Rwanda in 1994. She holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration and founded NACC with a vision to create a culture learning space about Africa for all.

FOUNDING BOARD MEMBER

Deidre Green

Deidre Nicole Green is theologian, philosopher, and athor of Works of Love in a World of Violence. She has traveled to Africa to interview religious women of various countries, including Rwanda and that's how she met Yvonne in 2016. After listening to her vision for NACC, she offered to become a founding board member. 

Meet our Board of Directors - TREASURER & FINANCE DIRECTOR

Phoebe Anderson

Phoebe is from Minnesota and mother of 5. She has a degree from BYU in Theater  and English education where she took some modern dance classes laying the foundation to join the NGOMA dance team.  She loves to learn more about the beautiful music, dance, and languages of Africa and to connect with diverse people. 

Meet our Board of Directors - MARKETING DIRECTOR

Reginald Maonedzo

Reginald Maonedzo is a recent MBA-Finance graduate who is passionate about African drumming and african music in general. He enjoys volunteering and bringing his entrepreneurial experience to help move the organization forward.

Meet our Board of Directors - RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Vimbai Tembo

Equipped with a BSc in Marketing, Vimbai Murisi chose to serve in Non-Profit development work. She is an MPA  graduate student with special skills in Resource Development, Project Implementation, Data Analysis and Administration. Her role in various projects has improved many lives in the rural communities of Zimbabwe.

Meet our Board of Directors - ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER

Annette Knight

Annette Knight has an interest in International Affairs having studied International Public Law, Comparative Constitutions and as a Research Assistant for the International Center for Law and Religious Studies. She enjoys volunteering and bringing public awareness to our organization both locally and internationally. 

Meet our Board of Directors - FINANCE COMMITTEE

Leslie Hadfield

Born and bred in Logan, Utah, Leslie Hadfie, now a History professor and the Coordinator for Africana Studies at Brigham Young University. Having lived in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, she speaks Xhosa and Swahili. Hadfield earned her PhD in African history at Michigan State, after which she began teaching at BYU. 

MEET OUR ARTISTIC DIRECTORS

At our Culture Learning Center, you can DANCE, DRUM and SING (Ngoma) to improve your physical and mental health with these amazing artistic directors. 

Find out more
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & NGOMA DANCE INSTRUCTOR

Shakira Smith

Shakira Smith. She is an afro- futurist cardiac ICU nurse and a novel writer with a bachelors in Neuroscience and Nursing. She has lived in Seattle, WaD.C. and Fayetteville, NC. Since colleges, she has always enjoyed dancing and cooking as her hobbies. She has been performing with Yvonne and others in Utah since 2007.

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & NGOMA DANCE INSTRUCTOR

Julie Robinson

Julie Robinson studied dance at BYU, the Martha Graham Dance School in NYC,and then earned an MFA in modern dance performance at the U of U in 1998. She studied African dance at the U of U and at the RDT. She believes dance is a powerful tool to build community and to explore our cultural identity and family heritage. 

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & NGOMA DANCE INSTRUCTOR

Madelaine Lamah

Madelaine Lamah (aka Maddie/Mado) is originally from Guinea West Africa. In addition to English,  she speaks French, Haitian Creole, and three other tribal languages from her country.  She is learning Korean "Anyeong Aseyo". She graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor's Degree in Finance and Theatre.  

MEET OUR INSTRUCTORS

At our Culture Learning Center, you can LEARN (Jifunza) languages such as French and Swahili  and EXPERIENCE (Ujuzi) African History, Cooking, and Arts & Crafts with these amazing instructors

Find out more
Meet our Instructors - JIFUNZA SWAHILI CLASS

Joy Richards

Joy Sitawa Richards is a Human Resources professional, BYU Adjunct Faculty for Swahili, and Coordinator for the Swahili Interpretation team with the LDS Church conferences. She immigrated from Kenya and graduated from BYU with a MPA degree. She loves being connected to her African roots and enjoys everything African. 

Meet our Instructors - JIFUNZA SWAHILI CLASS

Karani Namunyu

Karani is from Kenya where he worked in radio as a breakfast and political talk show host for 5 years prior to graduating in Broadcast Journalism-TV from BYU.

He joined NACC because the organization connects him to his roots back in the motherland as a Panafricanist. He feels spirits of his ancestors through drumming.

Meet our Instructors - UJUZI YOUTH ARTS & CRAFTS

Annette Campbell

Annette Campbell is from Jamaica and has a Bachelor's degree in Social Work with an emphasis in photography, sculpture and art studies. She enjoys painting, drawing, taking pictures, and traveling. Her favorite quote: “Every child is an artist". The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”Pablo Picasso. 

Meet our Instructors - UJUZI COOKING CLASS

Bibiche Ehounou

Bibiche Ehounou is from DR of Congo. She has a Business degree and owns an African restaurant called "Restaurant Le Carrefour". She teaches the cooking class to help those interested to learn how to make African food. She believes in the importance of keeping our culture alive even though we live in a foreign country. 

  • Donate

Culture Learning Center

Copyright © 2021 Culture Learning Center - All Rights Reserved.

This month's Newsletter

Welcome! Check out our November Newsletter.

Learn more