Welcome New Board Members
By Anna Mercer
It takes good people to do good work. Our board members not only do good in their industries but also help create good in Springfield and in cocoa farmer communities. We hope you will join us in welcoming two new members to our board: Kristen Wannenmacher Bright and Maliq Hill. Both native Ozarkians, they bring their professional expertise and perspective to our board, and we feel very fortunate to work with them.
Kristen Wannenmacher Bright
Wannenmacher Bright joins the board with nearly 20 years of accounting experience as a Partner at Forvis Mazars. A graduate of Drury University, she primarily provides audit and consulting services to real estate developers with historic and low-income housing tax credit properties. She provides audit services to universities and other nonprofit organizations. Wannenmacher Bright also joins the board with nonprofit experience, as a former treasurer on the board of directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks and former treasurer for the Junior League of Springfield, Inc.
“While serving as a board member, I am excited to for an opportunity to learn about the global communities that TAF works with,” Wannesnmacher Bright said. “As a busy working parent, I have had noticed that I have had my own head down and focusing only on my little bubble. I think working with TAF is an opportunity for me to lift my head, look around and learn more about these communities and most importantly how I can help.”
Maliq Hill
Hill has firsthand experience with Chocolate University. After traveling to Tanzania as a part of the CU class of 2012, he attended Yale University, where he studied psychology, behavioral economics, and consumer decision-making. After graduating, he began his career at Meta, and now serves as Head of Industry for Beauty & Personal Care at TikTok. While at TikTok, Hill founded and served as co-president of Bytedance and TikTok’s Global Black Employee Resource Group (ERG), BLXCK.
“I am a Chocolate University Alum, so this is a very humbling and full-circle moment for me,” Maliq said. “Learning about the Askinosie Foundation, their mission, and the company – then traveling to Tanzania completely changed my life. It was the first time I ever traveled outside of the country, and growing up with a single mother in a low-income household, I would never have had the opportunity to expand my horizons and experience the transformation I felt without the generosity of donors and the work of the organization to provide me a scholarship to attend. Since that trip, I have hoped for a chance like this to work to provide this opportunity to the next generation of Chocolate University students.”