Board of Trustees
Dr. Tammy Gray-Steele has been named one the top 10 American agricultural specialist, agripreneur, educator, and women and children advocate. Born and raised on a farm, she received her secondary education in the rustic and rural community of Wewoka, Oklahoma.
Upon graduating high school, Dr. Steele left Oklahoma to pursue a dual educational and business career in New York City. Armed with the legal degree she obtained from New York
University Law School, and the requisite legal business experience she acquired on Manhattan’s Wall Street, she returned home to her family farm, and started to give back to the Oklahoma rural communities, in the process working full-time in the Oklahoma Corporate legal arena, and devoting time to study for a Master’s Degree in Business
Administration (MBA), Horticulture and Childcare Development Certifications.
On the broader national turf, Dr. Steele is a former USDA-SARE Advisory Main Council Member. Additionally, she had the rare honor of being appointed by President Barack Obama’s administration as a distinguished USDA-NASS Advisory Councilwoman, serve on
USDA Grant Panels and a USDA Strategic Action Team Leader. Dr. Steele serves on various scholarship committees that were instituted for the educational empowerment of the youth. In addition, she offers invaluable support to the Oklahoma City Black Chamber of
Commerce, apart from volunteering on various rural Chamber of Commerce boards. Deploying uncommon intellectual energy and superlative personal industry to achieve exemplary and duly-acknowledged results-oriented performance in both individual and team activities, Dr. Steele has demonstrated unrivaled commitment in assisting counties in the State of Oklahoma with expert knowledge in healthy food production at a level that
matches any known empirical and international standards. In the process, she has managed to build for herself an unassailable reputation, and a formidable pedigree, as a widely sought after agricultural expert who is never short of strategic, innovative and entrepreneurial solutions to challenges in the agricultural sector of the economy.
Dr. Steele has embarked upon a personal crusade to develop good character amongst women and children. With a total belief in the credo that, “A child can only be developed if her mother provides sufficient support and resources,” and with a legendary passion for empowering disadvantaged women and women of color in rural America, she strives to ensure that no woman, and no child, with whom she comes into contact, is socially and economically marginalized in the scheme of things.
Sincerely motivated by an altruistic desire to empower the socially and economically disadvantaged, and to deliver timely awareness and education to those who truly desire a sustainably healthier lifestyle, Dr. Steele established National Women In Agriculture Association in 2008. Since then, she has employed the powerful and influential instrumentality of NWIAA to pursue her agenda of sustainable development in America’s agricultural sector. To this end, in January 2014, Dr. Steele opened NWIAA’s first Sustainable Agriculture Academy in the United States, located on the Eastside of the Oklahoma City Metro Area, and in close proximity to the city’s largest African American population. It was in the light of this that Dr. Steele was recognized at the White House in February 2014, for leading the country in efforts to save and educate America’s youth using environmental and innovative agriculture-based sustainable best practices, and in the spring of 2013, she was awarded a humanitarian honorary doctorate for exemplary performance as one of the most influential agro-business community developers amongst her generation in the United States.
Chinedu is a native of Ekpiri Ala-Ala from the Royal Aboaja – Onyeike Dynasty is the second son of Late Mazi Chiegeiro and Mrs. Nwaobuka Aboaja.
He had his primary and secondary school education in Festac-Town, Lagos. Thereafter, he moved on to the University of Port Harcourt where he studied Geology and graduated with honours.
He holds certifications in Oil and Gas Processing from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) Canada and is currently a field operations supervisor with ExxonMobil.
Chinedu is the current Director of South East operations of Ariam-Usaka professionals (A.U.P) –A conglomeration of true progressives from clan in Ikwuano, Abia State.
He is also the current Vice President of Ekpiri AutonomousCommunity and inaugural Project committee Chairman of Methodist Church Nigeria, Rumuigbo local church – Port Harcourt.
Chinedu is one of the patrons of the Methodist Youth Fellowship of Rumuigbo local church in Portharcourt, Rivers State.
An avid golfer and a member of the prestigious Python International Golf Club (Air Assault Golf Club) Port Harcourt. He enjoys farming, family travels and leisure reading. Putting “smiles on faces” is his daily commitment and this gives him great joy.
Chinedu is happily married to his angel, Ijeoma and they are blessed with adorable children.
Emmanuel Dumale Opde-Co-Founder & Executive Director, Tammy’s International Women In Agriculture Empowerment Association(TIWAEA)
Founder & President, Centre for Behavioural Change and Public Enlightenment (CEBECPEN)
Emmanuel Opde is a passionate and visionary nonprofit leader committed to driving social change and empowering underprivileged communities across Africa. As the Co-Founder and Executive Director of TIWAEA-Africa, he champions initiatives that uplift women in agriculture, while also leading CEBECPEN to promote public awareness and behavioral transformation across Nigeria.
Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Nonprofit/Public Organizational Management in the USA, Emmanuel leverages his diverse background in psychology, law, and leadership to create impactful programs that address the unique challenges faced by marginalized populations. He is particularly dedicated to fostering community development, with a focus on youth and women’s empowerment, believing that sustainable economic transformation in Africa starts with selfless service and a strong emphasis on agriculture.
As a Youth Coach and Mentor, Emmanuel designs and implements innovative programs that nurture talent, inspire the next generation, and encourage them to think critically and act purposefully. His vision extends beyond individual growth; he seeks to inspire collective action that turns obstacles into opportunities, cultivating a collaborative environment for transformative change.
Emmanuel’s goal is to pave the way for a brighter, sustainable future for women and youth, harnessing the power of community engagement and agricultural empowerment to uplift those in need, reduce poverty and achieve lasting impact.