Our Team
Lyra UK
Maria Spink, Founder and Executive Director
Maria is a social entrepreneur with a background in the financial sector and carbon finance. After 17 years in senior positions in international banking in London, Maria joined the Executive Board of Green Resources - a tree planting and renewables company, active in East Africa. Working with local labourers and village elders in the Iringa Region, Maria learnt about the acute vulnerability of girls attending schools without safe accommodation and was shocked by the many voiceless women who were child brides or had experienced teenage pregnancies. Maria founded Lyra in 2012 in recognition of the significant impact when investing in girls' and young women's education and entrepreneurship. Maria is dedicated to gaining social and economic equality for girls and women in rural Tanzania. Maria is also a member of the Lyra Board.
Vesal Kuchumov, Global Programs and Compliance Manager
Vesal is a seasoned humanitarian and development professional with over 10 years of experience leading multi-sectoral programs across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
She currently serves as Global Programs and Compliance Manager at Lyra in Africa, where she oversees Lyra’s various programs, while ensuring full compliance with internal policies and international standards. Vesal has held various roles with the red cross red crescent movement, the UN, and other organizations, with a strong focus on program management, emergency response, and CVA. Vesal has a background in public health, epidemiology, and psychology, with ongoing academic training in the latter.
Lyra Tanzania
Gerald Usika, Program Manager and Acting National Director
Gerald Usika is a development professional with over 15 years of experience leading donor-funded programs in education, youth empowerment, digital systems, and capacity building. He has built a strong record of providing strategic vision, operational leadership, and partnership management to strengthen organizations and deliver results that respond to community needs.
Most recently, Gerald served as Acting Chief of Party and Deputy Chief of Party for the $19Milion USAID/Tanzania Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, and Adaptation (TMELA) Activity. In this role, he was responsible for program oversight, organizational strategy, fundraising engagement, and stakeholder coordination. He has directed more than 25 USAID evaluations and assessments across sectors such as basic education, digital learning, youth workforce readiness, and community development, with a focus on rural and underserved populations.
Gerald has also held senior roles with Save the Children, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and Global Affairs Canada (GAC). His work has contributed to improving education quality, expanding digital learning, supporting youth job placement, and advancing skills training programs.
He holds a PhD in Policy Planning and Management from Sokoine University of Agriculture and is passionate about advancing inclusive, evidence-driven approaches to education and youth development in Africa.
Illuminata Kiponda, Construction Coordinator.
Iluminata Stephen Kiponda is a dedicated Quantity Surveyor with 10 years of progressive experience in construction management, project supervision, and cost engineering. She specialises in financial and cost management, comprehensive budget formulation, and pre- and post-tendering contract administration for public institutions and international NGOs. She also has extensive experience working with local communities’ schools and local governments.
Currently, Iluminata serves as the Construction Coordinator for the Lyra in Africa Organisation, where she directed the end-to-end delivery of girls' hostels across rural secondary schools in the Iringa and Dodoma regions, securing safe housing for rural secondary girls. Prior to her work in the NGO sector, she was a Quantity Surveyor for the Tanzania Buildings Agency (TBA), managing strategic cost control and public procurement frameworks for numerous government building and renovation projects,
She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Building Surveying, and her work is defined by a commitment to building safe, inclusive, and climate-resilient spaces that transform the learning environment for rural Tanzanian girls.
Noel Kiula Samwel, Technical Consultant.
Samwel, Noel Kiula. Is a Systems Developer as well as a Technician. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Information Technology and Systems from Mzumbe University. Noel enjoys contributing his skills to the exciting technological advances that occur on a daily basis. Noel previously interned with Tanzania Telecommunication Company Limited (TTCL). Noel is currently working as a technical consultant for Lyra in Africa.
Dorice Kimambo, Gender Equality Officer.
Dorice is a vibrant community practitioner with a background in Economics. She is passionate in promotion of gender equality and equity by empowering girls and women in the community to attain their full potential through promotion of quality education and economic growth.
Previously she worked with National and International organizations such as Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT), Raleigh Tanzania in several projects and UNICEF Tanzania as a Digital business facilitator, project leader, Team leader and Children’s Rights Champion coach.
In these roles she excelled to transform community youth to transform their business from analog to digital while promoting 70 to 30 gender ratio of women to men respectively, Equip youth with entrepreneurial skills enable them to start their business, transformed communities to adopt the use of clean energy sources and also promoted children rights during and post COVID -19 pandemic.
Currently Dorice works with Lyra in Africa as Gender Equality Officer.
Martin Kihumbe, Digital Learning Fellow.
Martin Kihumbe is an education and digital transformation professional with over 15 years of experience leading donor-funded education programmes in Tanzania and across East Africa. He currently serves as Regional and Digital Learning Lead – East Africa at Lyra in Africa, where he leads technology-enabled education initiatives focused on digital learning, curriculum development, instructional improvement, and youth skills development. His expertise spans programme strategy and implementation, digital education, teacher professional development, monitoring and learning, stakeholder engagement, and strategic partnerships. Martine has worked with programmes supported by USAID, GAC, ECHO, BPRM, UNICEF, and UNHCR, among others. He holds a Master of Arts in Education and is passionate about using technology, evidence, and partnerships to strengthen education systems and expand opportunities for young people and educators.
Gift Mafue, Imarika Jamii Program Coordinator.
Gift Mafue is the Imarika Jamii (Livelihoods) Program Coordinator at Lyra, where he has worked since 2018. With ten (10) years of experience in donor projects management, rural community engagement, and front-line training, Gift previously held roles at ANSAF as a Project Officer and at World Vision Tanzania as a Livelihoods Program Facilitator. He is also an entrepreneur running his own poultry farm and is dedicated to helping rural communities acquire new skills that drive lasting change. Gift holds a Bachelor's degree in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness
Alice Kisaka
Alice is a results-driven accountant with hands-on experience in financial operations, budgeting, reporting, and administrative support. With a strong educational background in Accounting and Finance from Mzumbe University, Alice has developed a keen eye for detail and a deep understanding of financial regulations. Her expertise spans preparation of detailed financial reports for management and stakeholders, external audit support, statutory compliances, and payroll. Currently serving in a finance role in Lyra in Africa, she is committed to making a meaningful impact through responsible stewardship and sound financial leadership.
Aquilin Massae, Comms Personnel
Aquilin Massae is a professional Journalist, photographer, videographer, and graphic designer with experience of 6 years in storytelling, visual communication, and digital content production . His work has taken him to collaborate with leading Institutions and Organizations, including the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), Pan African Postal Union (PAPU), the Embassy of Italy in Tanzania, Vodacom Tanzania, and the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB).
Aquilin has also worked as a photographer for major events and campaigns, served as a Brand Ambassador for Bella Esperanza Charity from Italy, and participated in Mastercard Foundation innovation initiatives.
At Lyra in Africa, he brings together journalism, creativity, and visual storytelling to communicate impact, document community transformation, and amplify the voices of the people and communities we serve.