Our Team

PAOLO MELE
CEO

Paolo is a highly experienced and motivated manager and consultant with many years working and living in Sub Saharan Africa. He has worked for more than ten years across Africa, managing and advising companies and NGOs working to effect changes in rural areas. He has mainly worked in the areas Agriculture and Renewable Energy. He joined Alma Mater Education as their CEO in 2019 and manages all aspects of the charity, school and farm.

DENNIS AKOMEAH
PROJECT DIRECTOR

Dennis has been with Alma Mater Education since the very beginning. He started as a teacher of maths and accounts and is now the project director and in charge of all operational matters in Ghana. He works tirelessly to ensure the school and farm run smoothly and has been instrumental in the development of the farm.

CHRISTOPHER BIELENBERG
CHAIR AND FOUNDER

Christopher graduated from Trinity College Dublin in Physics and, following an industrial career, was Chairman and CEO of an International Consulting Company for 25 years. During this time, he was closely involved with the UK based Organic Research Centre for 30 years as Trustee and Chairman. He is currently a Trustee of both the Conservation Farming Trust and New Food Entrepreneurs and has been actively engaged with Alma Mater Education since its inception in 2014.

CHARLIE EASMON
TRUSTEE

Dr Charlie Easmon trained at St George's, London, and did his elective in Ghana (his country of birth). He has since worked widely abroad with, among others, Merlin, Raleigh International and Save the Children in Rwanda, and ECHO in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. His particular interest is in mental health in the workplace, and he lectures on the subject in schools. Over the past fifteen years he has built up his own private medical business, Your Excellent Health Service (www.yourexcellenthealth.co.uk), based at 1 Harley Street. In 2008, Charlie was awarded the Excell award for Innovation, Dedication and Excellence at the 8th Annual Ghanaian Professional's Association Awards, and in 2012 was nominated for the Ghana UK Business Awards. He is a regular commentator on health matters in the media.

KATHARINA BIELENBERG
TRUSTEE

Katharina has worked in book publishing for more than twenty-five years, and is passionate about literacy and building bridges through cultural exchange. She is now Publisher of an imprint specialising in international literature at Hachette UK. She is also a Trustee of the South London-based children’s charity, Slade Gardens Community Association.

TOM CRONIN
TRUSTEE

Tom has a wide range of experience both within teaching in the UK and project management within the charity sector in Ghana.  Tom worked closely with James Riggs, the co-founder of Alma Mater Education, in the setting up of the first pilot school in Wioso.  He now oversees all academic strategic decisions.

CONSTANCE AGYEMAN
TRUSTEE

Constance works at NESTA and has designed and delivered programs with, among others, USAID, World Bank, Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Cabinet Office. Constance provides strategic innovation guidance and has delivered more than twenty-five challenge prizes in the fields of agriculture in South-East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, in social innovation across Europe, and UK prizes focused on waste reduction and ageing populations, as well as youth-focussed digital-enterprise challenges.

At the heart of her work ethos is a practice of co-creation with communities and innovators, building effective stakeholder networks across a range of sectors to strengthen the market potential of products, technologies and services for sustainable and impactful change that helps communities thrive.

Constance is engaged in a number of judging and speaker panels and was on the board of trustees for Youth Music, serving disadvantaged youth. She also demonstrates her entrepreneurial spirit by running her own micro business.

ARABELLA HUDDART
PATRON

Bella has been involved with the development of Alma Mater since 2016. She has initiated partnerships which have helped the school build its infrastructure including our girls boarding house. Bella’s background in Art, Media and Interior Design and her close involvement and enthusiasm for children’s education and development ensures her ongoing support and contribution to Alma Mater.  She has taken on the role of Founder Patron to create a small group of supporters and ambassadors for Alma Mater Education to spread the word.

DAVID BENTHEIM
PATRON

David trained as an interior designer in Jerusalem, Edinburgh and finally a post graduate masters at the Royal College of Art.  He has run his own design practice for some forty years. His portfolio encompasses everything from galleries in major museums, hotels and restaurants and private residences. His work has been widely published in design and architectural journals

David has been involved in working with important charities for many years. He helped to instigate theatre premiers, concerts and galas over several years as well as chairing major fundraising events for Macmillan Nurses. He has been supportive of the work of Alma Mater Education for several years.