Meet Our Project Team

Chingwell Mutombu

Chingwell’s strong NGO leadership skills, background in international relations, and passion for the women of her DRC homeland, fuel her visionary approach to the Women Rising Project.

  • Chingwell Mutombu was born in Iowa, where her parents had moved from the DR Congo in order for her father to pursue higher education. When Chingwell was two, her parents returned with her to their home, a small remote village in the southern part of the country. During her growing up, Chingwell was deeply impacted and shaped by the strength and resilience of the women of her village in the face of enormous adversity. When she returned to the U.S. to complete her own studies, Chingwell’s dream was to help the women of her homeland create better lives for themselves. Her initial endeavor, First Step Initiative, was a micro-loan project launched in 2006 to offer a gateway for the poorest women to establish independent lives. Utilizing the learnings from leadership of that nearly ten-year undertaking, Chingwell broadened her dream into the Women Rising Legacy Project, focused on creating a new reality today and a lasting legacy into the future for women of her DRC homeland. Chingwell holds masters degrees in Public Administration and in International Relations.

Carol E. Anderson

Carol is a former organizational change consultant with 35 years of experience in large and small corporations empowering people to live more authentic lives in and outside of work. She is currently an executive coach and writer.

  • Carol serves as organizational development advisor to Women Rising. She is a former organizational change consultant with 35 years of experience in large and small corporations empowering people to live more authentic lives in and outside of work. Currently, Carol’s work is as an executive coach and writer. Her travels around the world have inspired her sense of global sisterhood and led her to pursue ways to lift women up everywhere. Her personal mission is to evoke wonder, inspire vision and encourage the heart. She is author of the award-winning book, You Can’t Buy Love Like That: Growing Up Gay in the Sixties, She Writes Press, 2017.

Kasuu Namusapan Becky

Kasuu is a natural leader with keen business acumen. Her capacity to navigate customary and formal law is matched only by her commitment to the Women Rising community.

  • The Women Rising DRC Lead brings years of experience working in the Lubumbashi area as a businesswoman. She is a leader in the community through her capacity to navigate the formidable mix of informal and formal systems of government and community through intelligence, courage and determination. Kasuu is also a skilled relationship builder and problem-solver who is passionately committed to the Women Rising Project. She oversees the day-to-day operation and implementation of the project on the ground in the DRC, including engaging with the attorney, government officials, the regional chief, and members of the village of Kipopo.

Archer Christian

Archer brings lifelong advocacy for environmental justice, deep experience in NGO administration, and expertise in sustainable agriculture to the Women Rising leadership team.

  • Archer H. Christian is a native of Virginia, USA. Indelibly marked from an early age by both the disempowerment and exploitation of women by the patriarchy, and the reckless destruction and exploitation of the natural world by unrestrained political and economic systems, Archer pursued a service path to address those issues. She has worked and volunteered in the nonprofit sector for most of her adult life – in peace work, environmental protection and justice, organic and sustainable agriculture, community food systems, women’s empowerment, and climate policy. Within state-based, regional and national organizations, her roles have ranged from community organizing to executive director and, ultimately, advisor/consultant. Archer holds masters degrees in Crop & Soil Environmental Sciences and in Environmental Law & Policy.

Our Sponsor

Women Rising Legacy Project is an official project of the U.S. nonprofit, Rebellious Dreamers, Inc., (RD) whose mission is to provide the lift for women to nurture their spirits, dreams and wellbeing. RD’s vision is for a world in which all women thrive.

Our Values:

> Respect

> Integrity

> Inclusivity

> Community

> Empowerment

> Good Stewardship

Our Mission:

To provide secure land tenure and opportunities and support for women of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to create healthy, sustainable lives for themselves and their families, and help their communities thrive.

Our Vision:

A world in which women everywhere have the freedom to choose and the capacity to manifest self-sufficiency; A world in which the communities women create together are safe, healthy, and guided by the spirit of Ubuntu (Oneness) with each other and our precious Earth.