Jimmette Brooks

MD

Founder and CEO

Dr. Jimmette Brooks, a current family medicine physician at Care New England in Rhode Island, is the passionate humanitarian physician behind the conception of TBCHC. She is a Ph.D candidate and also a Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at the Brown University School of Medicine.

Dr. Brooks was born in Monrovia, Liberia and grew up in diverse places including the United Kingdom, the Ivory Coast and Providence, Rhode Island. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts from Rhode Island College, followed by a Certificate in Modern Biological Sciences. She is a graduate of the St. George’s University School of Medicine. She was a chief resident physician during her family medicine residency at the Robert Wood Johnson/Barnabas Somerset Hospital in Somerville, NJ. Dr. Brooks completed a one-year curriculum of integrative medicine in residency which was done through the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. She is passionate about leveraging her current medical experience in the US and abroad to help improve the lives of individuals in diverse global communities that are in need, by serving these communities.

Dr. Brooks is an industrious family physician with strong experience in primary health services. Her vision is our vision: to provide accessible, low-cost, and high-quality healthcare to the citizens of Liberia and beyond, including inpatient support and medical outreach services. “I believe that as global citizens, our health is interconnected, hence, working to improve access to quality health care and education in resource limited countries is a necessity that cannot wait for someone else to do.” “You and I are the change that we all would like to see happen.”

Nekpo Brown

M.S.

Board Treasurer

Nekpo Brown is a dynamic professional with over 15-years of experience in the field of finance and leadership development, carrying a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Rhode Island, a Master of Science in Communication & Information Management from Bay Path College. She is presently a Business Analyst at MassMutual Financial Group, previously serving as the Quality Assurance Tester, and Change Agent Consultant. “I am passionate about applying my communications development and implementation experience with the Brooks Community Health Center as we work together to insert a medical infrastructure that Liberians desperately deserve.”

Kathleen C. Toomey

MD

Board Member

Dr. Toomey is a Hematology/Oncology physician in Somerville, NJ. She is a graduate of the University of Bologna School of Medicine in Italy. Her residency in Internal Medicine was done at St. Peter’s Medical Center in New Brunswick, NJ. She completed her fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at UMDNJ – Rutgers Medical School in NJ. Dr. Toomey is a passionate physician and is actively involved in the education of Family Medicine residents during their Hematology/Oncology rotation and cancer conference at the Robert Wood Johnson/Barnabas Somerset Hospital in NJ. “I chose this career to take care of patients with serious illnesses and provide all the resources available to help with this difficult journey. The most enjoyable aspect is the relationship that I develop with you and your family, and it’s an honor and a privilege to help you through this challenging part of your life. I strive to give you hope, no matter what the situation, encouragement where my worries are not conveyed, peace in all the decisions you make for yourself, reassurance for your family, and courage to do the difficult but necessary things for your health and well-being.”

Weayonnoh

Nelson – Davies

JD

Executive Director, Economic Progress Institute

Weayonnoh Nelson-Davies is the Executive Director of the Economic Progress Institute, a nonpartisan research and policy organization dedicated to improving the economic well-being of low- and modest-income Rhode Islanders. She was previously the managing attorney of Community Legal Aid’s (CLA) Worcester County offices, where she supervised several special projects including the Asian Outreach Project, the Medical-Legal Partnership pro bono project, the CORI/Reentry Project, and the Veterans Legal Assistance Project. She also co-chaired CLA”s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. She started her legal aid career over 14 years ago as a Bart Gordon Fellow at South Coastal Counties Legal Services focusing on the cumulative effects of structural racism on communities of color. She specializes in general poverty law, medical-legal partnerships, public benefits, and housing law. She has served as a small group faculty and capstone project mentor of the Patient Care in Complex Systems Gateway Program at Brown University Medical School and taught a civic engagement law-based course as an adjunct professor at the Community College of Rhode Island. She is a proud alumna of the Rhode Island Foundation’s inaugural Equity Leadership Initiative, Leadership Worcester, the Shriver Center’s Racial Justice Institute, and City Year Rhode Island. She received her Juris Doctorate from Roger Williams University School of Law and undergraduate from Rhode Island College.

Florence Chukwuneke

MSN, RN, APN, CNRN

Board Member

Florence is an advanced Practice Nurse Practitioner. She obtained her MSN/ NP degree from Rutgers the University School of Nursing. Florence holds National Board certification in Adult Gerontology Primary Care and Neuroscience Nursing with multiple years’ experience in providing health care to adult population. She maintains professional membership with American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, American Association of Nurse Practitioners and American Academy of Neuroscience Nursing. She is currently working as the Stroke Program Coordinator of the Comprehensive Stroke in a large academic hospital in New Jersey as well as practicing as Nurse Practitioner at a Primary Care /Internal Medicine Clinic.

I believe that good health is priceless and preventative care is of utmost importance for health maintenance. My passion is to empower patients and families through health promotion education to prevent, treat and /or manage cardiovascular, neurovascular diseases and chronic comorbidities.

Florence is currently the President of New Jersey Stroke Coordinators Consortium, a statewide organization comprising of healthcare professionals from acute care hospitals and rehabilitation Institutions. She is an active member of the church and serves as an elder of Presbyterian Church, USA.

Brandis Belt

MD

Board Secretary

Dr. Brandis Belt received her academic and medical training at Stanford, Yale, and Rutgers Universities. She currently resides in New Jersey where she practices traditional academic family medicine. Her commitment to reaching across cultural, linguistic, and geographic barriers started after being accepted to do a year of high school in France. Since then, she has worked and lived in Germany, El Salvador, Gabon, Belize, and Malawi. She is an avid learner of languages, and her favorite hobby is reading fantasy series in French, Spanish, or German. She continues to seek interdisciplinary answers to the intersection of medicine and humanism. She strongly believes a global society free from severe poverty and other dehumanizing forces is within reach if we choose to devote our talents and resources to this goal.

Amirali Merati

M.ARCH, M.UD, M.SC

Architect

Amirali is an architectural and urban designer with more than 15 years’ experience in the discipline. He is a graduate of Tehran universities and Columbia University, holding a Bachelor and Master of architecture, a Master of urban design and a Master of science in advanced architectural design. He is currently residing and employed as project architect in New York. As a designer, Amirali has a strong and robust background. His experience ranges from small private structures to public buildings which enables him to design contexts sensitive facilities for high-end urban neighborhoods as well as low-tech rural communities with restricted budget.

Emmanuel Porte

M.S.

Board Member

Emmanuel Porte is a senior cytologist at Sun Path-Medical Diagnostics Laboratory in Tampa, Florida and a per diem cytotechnologist at Newton Wellesley Hospital in Newton, Massachusetts. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Rhode Island College. He later worked at Rhode Island hospital as a surgical pathology assistant. His ambitions led him to enroll at the University of Rhode Island to study cytopathology and simultaneously work towards a Master of Science in Clinical Laboratory Science.

Emmanuel is particularly interested in volunteering in Liberia to diagnose gynecologic malignancy, as well as pre-malignant conditions. Human papillomavirus which causes cervical cancer has become an epidemic worldwide. Cervical cancer is almost preventable when diagnosed and treated at an early stage; therefore, it is extremely important for us to apply the new molecular technologies and bring the HPV vaccine to Liberia. “I am thrilled to join “Team TBCHC” in an effort to improve the healthcare system in Liberia. It will be extremely fulfilling to accomplish our mission and bring an affordable medical facility to Liberia.”

Emmanuel Kizekai

B.Sc.

M.Sc.

Board Chair

Emmanuel obtained a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with honors from Rhode Island College and Master of Science in Clinical Chemistry from the University of Rhode Island. He has over 15 years’ experience working in the biotechnology industry where he has worked on antibodies targeting rheumatoid arthritis, metastatic breast cancer, colorectal cancer and acute myeloid leukemia. Emmanuel is very passionate about early childhood vaccination, early cancer screening and health education.  He is an avid tennis player who takes pride in training kids develop skills on the tennis court. A mentor to several youths helping them foster good behavior and prepare for college.