john_cothern
John Andrew Cothern
Co–Founder, Treasurer &
Executive Board Member
John Cothern grew up in North Carolina, spent six years serving in the US Navy (4 years on the USS Topeka), and then attended college/university for bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics. He has worked as a scientist and engineer at Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center for 15 years. He first met Caroline in May of 2003 and they married each other and moved to California in 2004. A family trip to Kenya in 2011 was an eye opener in seeing the challenges facing Kenyans in the areas of educational opportunities and openings for small businesses (and in getting from point A to point B in the rainy season). Since then John and Caroline had occasionally discussed ideas on how to best help improve educational opportunities and economic conditions for rural children in her native Kenya. Those conversations created the impetus to start the Lelei Foundation with the first project to be a school in Caroline’s hometown in Mosoriot. John is committed to this vision and looks forward to getting to work for the Foundation. As the vice president of the organization and operations manager, John will oversee day-to-day operations to support the growth and add to the bottom line of the organization.   
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