BOARD MEMBERS

James Butty is the managing editor and host of Daybreak Africa, Voice of America’s breakfast show to Africa.  His broadcasting career began in Liberia, where he worked as a volunteer at the Voice of Pleebo, a community radio station in Pleebo, Maryland County.  He later worked as assistant news editor and radio and television newscaster at the Liberia Broadcasting System.  Mr. Butty has a Master’s Degree in mass communication from Howard University, a Bachelor’s Degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota, and a diploma in radio and television broadcasting from Brown Institute (now Brown College) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mr. Butty is grateful to the late Fr. Hayden and the SMA for his academic and professional success.”

Alexander Bahram is the great nephew of Fr. Hayden. Growing up, his "Uncle Ted" was Alexander's gold standard for what a good person is: altruistic, compassionate, and brave. When the opportunity arose to continue his uncle's legacy of educating students in Liberia, he eagerly joined the Board. Alexander is currently a senior at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He is the CEO of JupiterDX, a health data aggregation startup that helps patients with chronic illnesses manage their health data. Previously, Alexander was a Business Operations Analyst at SummerBio, a company that produced affordable and accessible Covid-19 tests.

Dr. James Elliott is a board-certified Pathologist and serves as the Medical Director of the Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Doctors’ Community Hospital in Lanham, Maryland.  Dr. Elliott is also a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pathology at the George Washington University Medical School.  He studied at the University of Liberia Medical School and did his pathology residency and Fellowship at George Washington University Medical School. Following the death of his father, Rev Thomas Hayden provided a scholarship to young James Elliott to continue his education at Our Lady of Fatima High School in Harper, Liberia. He remains grateful to Father Hayden and his family for providing him the opportunity to succeed

Christopher Hayden is Fr. Hayden’s nephew and has served on the board since 2020 supporting financial functions.   He enjoyed spending time with his uncle whenever he could and especially valued the conversations about Liberia.  Christopher is very proud of the work Uncle Ted performed in Liberia and is happy to contribute to his legacy.  Christopher has over 30 years of experience in governmental finance at the state, county, and municipal levels and is currently the Deputy Chief Financial Officer for the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.  Christopher holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Missouri - Columbia.

Charles Newton graduated from St. John Fisher College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business  Management.  He also earned an MBA in Finance from Clark Atlanta University Graduate School of Business.  Mr. Newton worked at General Motors Corporation for 27 years in various positions and retired in 2009.  From 2010, Mr. Newton started a second career with Chrysler Corporation in the Engineering Research and Development Group. He extends his appreciation to Father Hayden and his family for the many blessings and gifts received.

Gregory Nimpson is a direct beneficiary of the investment in human capacity development provided by the SMA (Society of African Missions) and the Bernadine Sisters at Our Lady of Fatima High School in Cape Palmas, Maryland County, Liberia.  He is thankful to them and especially to Fr. Hayden for affording him the opportunity to attend schools in Montana, Indiana, and Illinois.  Greg is very involved in the Liberian community in Chicago and remains engaged in soccer activities with the World Soccer League and the alumni association of Our Lady of Fatima and St. Francis High Schools.  He chaired the Advisory Council on African Affairs of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations and led the steering committee that restructured the United African Organization, a coalition of African community-based organizations that has matured to promote social and economic justice, civic participation, and empowerment of African immigrants and refugees in Illinois.  

Anthony Raymond, Sr. is retired as a Senior Technology Manager from Verizon Communications. Mr. Raymond started his career with the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company (an AT&T subsidiary in Washington DC) in 1979. During his long career, he served in a variety of management and leadership positions in areas such as Customer Service, Data Processing, Problem Management, Systems Architecture and Technology Management. Mr. Raymond has a Master’s degree in Technology Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland. He completed four years of college in the School of Architecture at Howard University in Washington, DC before pursuing his degrees in the technology disciplines. Mr. Raymond has known Father Thomas Hayden for over 50 years. Mr. Raymond and his family are thankful to God and eternally grateful to Father Hayden and his family for sharing his many gifts of love, compassion, wisdom, and kindness.