Our Story
In Spring 2021, a group of four masters/PhD students from Texas A&M University, including Ryan Staples and Meikah Dado, competed in an international business case competition where they were tasked to pitch innovative solutions to inefficient food systems driving world hunger. The team decided to focus their solution in Uganda, where one-third of the population suffers from chronic malnourishment.
Staples’ and Dado’s team pitched the idea of providing tablets with extension videos uploaded on them to women subsistence farmers in Uganda. The idea led to a top three finish over 65 top business schools from around the world including Harvard, Wharton, NYU, UC-Berkley and London Business School. During the award ceremony, the question was asked, “Ryan, are you disappointed your team placed third?”
His response was, “Absolutely not. This moment is but the springboard from which this idea will become a reality.”
From that moment on, Ryan has been pushing to take the case competition idea and make it become a reality. He has raised thousands of dollars from generous family, friends and A&M professors to fund the pilot project and to establish Her Mighty Hands as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. He secured the partnership of the non-profit Field of Hope, and is now joined by 4 brilliant women, including case competition team member Meikah Dado, to join him on the founding board.
Twenty women participated in the pilot program. Ten had smartphones. Two families sent their children to school for the first time ever. And this is just the beginning.
Her Mighty Hands
Board of Directors
Meet the inaugural members of the Her Mighty Hands Board of Directors. We come from multiple industries and backgrounds-- all pursuing the same passion: empowering women smallholder farmers and their families.
Founder and Board Chair
Ryan Staples
A graduate from Texas A&M’s full-time MBA program, Ryan leveraged his capstone entrepreneurial project to found Her Mighty Hands. He led the efforts to launch the pilot project which tested the business model and set the stage to secure Her Mighty Hands’ 501(c)(3) status. He brings a results-focused, data-driven business skillset to the academic landscape of international development.
Director and Board Member
Alexa Wilcox
With a background rooted in the cattle and western industries across New Mexico and Colorado, Alexa grew up with deep respect and gratitude for agriculture. Living out this gratitude by pursuing an agricultural career, Alexa graduated from Texas Tech with a degree in agricultural communications and received her master’s degree in international agriculture from Oklahoma State University. With six years of experience working in Uganda and as a former Executive Director of our partner organization, Field of Hope, Alexa hopes to use her capabilities to help others elevate their livelihoods and tries daily to love her neighbor through agriculture around the world.
Director and Board Member
Meikah Dado
Meikah Dado, M.S. is motivated by her belief that all individuals should have equitable access to food and education. With a background in dairy science, Meikah is a Ph.D. student in the Texas A&M University Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications (ALEC). She works at the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture and Development on the Africa Team as a program coordinator and research assistant. Meikah specializes in the area of monitoring and evaluation, grant writing and management, and a variety of other research efforts.
Director and Board Member
Anna Mathis
Born and raised in rural Arkansas, Anna has always had an appreciation for communities. She is completing a double major in agricultural communications and agricultural leadership with a minor in global studies from the University of Arkansas, with academic distinctions of GE-Ronald Reagan Scholar and Harry S. Truman Scholar. With her background in agriculture, including extensive involvement in the National FFA Organization, she enjoys promoting community development through agriculture for Her Mighty Hands.
Director and Board Member
Kristen Rees
Kristen Rees, MPH, CPHQ, LSSBB, RHCEOC currently works as the chief quality and compliance officer for SoHum Health. She volunteers as a court appointed special advocate (CASA) for abused foster youth, and volunteers teaching an early morning high school religion class. She has participated in and lead humanitarian projects in Thailand, Uganda, the United States, and elsewhere. Kristen is a passionate advocate for addressing social determinants of health, rural and international health, and empowering individuals to improve their own and others' lives.
References
1- https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/52c3c66390dc436da192ea782a2bdb3d/download/
2- Palocios‐Lopez, A., Christiaensen, L., & Killic, T. (2017). How much of the labour in African agriculture is provided by women? Food Policy, 67, 52–63.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2016.09.017
3- Farnworth, C. R., Baudron, F., Anderson, J. A., Misiko, M., & Stirling, C. M. (2016).
Gender and conservation agriculture in East and South Africa: Towards a
research agenda. International Journal of Agricultural Education and
Sustainability, 14(2), 142–165. https://doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2015.1065602
4- Mpiima, D. M., Manyire, H., Kabonesa, C., and Espiling, M. (2019). [IW1] Gender analysis of agricultural extension policies in Uganda: Informing practice? Gender, Technology and Development, 23:2, p. 187-205, DOI: 10.1080/09718524.2019.1657610
5- https://www.fao.org/3/cb7496en/cb7496en.pdf
6- Denton, F. (2002) Climate change vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation: Why does gender matter? Gender & Development, 10:2, p. 10-20, DOI: 10.1080/13552070215903