Atlas Cultural Foundation’s board members are committed to the mission of the organization and perform their duties because of their passion for the work and the people in rural Morocco. They do not earn salaries and all of their expenses including their travel to Morocco are paid for personally. The board runs the nonprofit organization without a paid Executive Director. Therefore, all donations directly support the programming in Morocco and do not pay for western management salaries.
Susi Dokken
President
Mrs. Dokken is ACF’s president. She has believed in the mission of the Atlas Cultural Foundation since its inception in 2009 and has worked closely on the vision and strategy of the foundation as well as fundraising for the past 15 years. Mrs. Dokken travels often to Morocco to visit the programs, projects and people in the Zawiya Ahansal and Ighels communities to assess the progress and success of the different missions. She is a retired international pilot for United Airlinesand currently lives in Bozeman, Montana near her three grown sons and her grandchildren. Mrs. Dokken has traveled the world many times over and holds Morocco in a special place in her heart. She received her degrees in Aviation and Business from the University of North Dakota graduating in 1983. Mrs. Dokken receives no compensation of any kind and enjoys the fact that all funds raised are funneled directly to the communities.
Email: susidokken@gmail.com
Cloe Medina Erickson
Treasurer and Founder
Mrs. Erickson is ACF’s founder and treasurer. Mrs. Erickson lived in Morocco part-time for more than ten years before moving to France in 2015. She speaks French, Modern Standard Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, and Tamazight. Mrs. Erickson oversees ACF’s Morocco team our initiatives on the ground in Morocco and has developed partnerships with the local tribes, authorities, and the Moroccan Ministry of Culture. She has extensive experience in community development and cultural preservation. Holder of a B.A. in Environmental Design and Master of Architecture from Montana State University (2000), she has been deeply involved in the organization’s projects related to the preservation of local historic buildings. Mrs. Erickson receives no compensation of any kind. Mrs. Erickson lives in Chamonix, France with her husband Kris and their daughter Noor.
Email: medinamorocco@gmail.com
Leigh Taggart
Vice President and Public Health Director
Mrs. Taggart is ACF’s public health initiative director bringing over 15 years of global public health experience to the board. She develops and directs our public health program and travels to Morocco each year to implement annual community health awareness days, to meet with the ACF Morocco board and to visit our programs and projects. Mrs. Taggart is a graduate of the University of Montana (UM) MPH program, where she developed the PRESM (poverty reduction empowerment and sustainability) Model as part of her graduate work. Leigh is also a registered nurse, and has worked in a variety of settings including over 20 years in the ICU and Emergency Department setting. Her work has focused on public health program planning, implementation and evaluation in Uganda and Morocco. Currently she works as an adjunct faculty at the University of Montana in the School of Public and Community Health Sciences, where she teaches several courses including Maternal Child Health, the MPH capstone courses, and a Global Public Health course. Mrs. Taggart receives no compensation of any kind.
Email: leightaggart@me.com
Dominique Speekenbrink
Secretary
Ms. Speekenbrink is the foundation’s secretary. She first encountered Atlas Cultural Foundation in 2017 when back country touring the High Atlas mountains and has since been actively involved in its Girl’s and Women’s Education and Empowerment Program. At least once a year Ms. Speekenbrink visits Morocco to meet with the ACF Morocco board and to visit our programs and projects. Born in Argentina to a Dutch diplomat, she has lived in Africa, the United States and Europe. She holds two Master of Laws degrees from the University of Leiden (The Netherlands) and has a post-graduate law degree of the Universität des Saarlandes (Germany). Ms. Speekenbrink has extensive experience working as an attorney and in-house counsel for multinational companies. Ms. Speekenbrink receives no compensation of any kind.
Email: dominique@speekenbrink.eu
Ann Justin
Board Member
Mrs. Justin is an enthusiastic cheerleader for all the various aspects of the ACF mission. She first travelled to Morocco in 2010 and has been involved with the organization since the beginning. She has organized trips for artists to visit the valley and to promote the work there through art shows. She assisted in fundraising for the restoration of the igherms in the valley. Mrs. Justin’s passion for Zawiya Ahansal came from her experiences abroad with her father, Dr. Joe Wray, who was an international leader in public health, specializing in maternal and child health. Mrs. Justin holds a B.A. in Fine Arts. Her career as an artist includes photography, making costumes for the theatre and now she is a fine art pastel painter. Mrs. Justin receives no compensation of any kind.
Email: annjustin17@gmail.com