Our Team

Bea Covington

GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS DIRECTOR

A data-driven leader, Bea is a natural resource economist with 20+ years of experience launching and scaling initiatives that bring together sustainability and economic viability with the needs of NGOs, governments, and the private sector. Bea worked for USAID, International Finance Corporation, and private sector clients. In the Peace Corps, she taught and developed teacher training programs in Morocco and Togo. Bea has designed participatory engagement methodologies to engage communities in conflict areas. For her work in Afghanistan, she received US Department of State and USAID awards. Prior to joining Amplio, she helped farmers and landowners adopt conservation practices in Washington State. She earned her master's degree in natural resource economics and agricultural education and communication at the University of Florida.

Lindsay Dakan

GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM MANAGER

Lindsay is an international development professional with experience living and working in Asia and Africa. As a Peace Corps volunteer, she taught English at a university in Nanchong, Sichuan Province, China. She then worked with NGOs in Uganda for four years. She has expertise in program monitoring and evaluation and is passionate about women’s empowerment and gender equity. She earned her master's degree in sustainable international development at Brandeis University and a bachelor's degree in philosophy and human rights at Trinity College. 

Toffic Dapilaah

MEAL/PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

Toffic conducts partnership development for Amplio Ghana and supports monitoring and evaluation for Talking Book programs. He joined our Ghana team in 2013 and served as a field coordinator and a field manager prior to his current role. Toffic has worked on all aspects of the Talking Book program life cycle, from planning, training, and content production to community entry and participatory M&E. Toffic is a graduate of USAID’s Young African Leadership Initiative program in public sector management. He earned his master's degree in project management from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and a  bachelor's degree in business management from Zenith University College. 

Michael Dakura

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

Michael has supported technology for Talking Book programs since 2016. Prior to joining Amplio, he worked on community research and data collection in Northern Ghana with a focus on socio-economic and health issues, local resources, and community needs. Previously, he worked as a data officer for Sinapi Aba Savings and Loans and a systems/network administrator for St. Joseph Knowledge Centre,  one of the first ICT centers in the Upper West Region. Michael holds a bachelor's degree in commerce from the University of Cape Coast, a higher national diploma in accounting from Sunyani Polytechnic, and an advanced diploma in computing from IPMC Ghana. 

Fidelis Awonodomo Da-uri

SENIOR CONTENT MANAGER

Fidelis volunteered for the first Talking Book pilot project in Jirapa District in 2008 and later joined the Amplio Ghana as a full-time staff member. As the senior content manager, he designs and produces engaging, locally relevant content for Talking Book programs. Fidelis has produced songs, dramas, and interviews in over a dozen languages. He partners with local stakeholders and subject experts to produce content across many sectors, including agriculture, health, gender, finance, and more. A skilled musician, he composes music and plays the xylophone. He holds a master's degree in communication for development from the University of Development Studies and a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Education, Winneba.

Bill Evans

SENIOR SOFTWARE DESIGN ENGINEER

Bill is a veteran of the software industry. He started out supporting room-sized mainframe systems for the healthcare industry. At Microsoft, Bill was a founding member of the team that created the .NET development environment, and he later worked on the Kindle reader at Amazon. From large mainframe computers to the smallest embedded processor, Bill has programmed professionally in more than a dozen computer languages and dabbled in many more. He has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University. When not programming, or reading about programming, Bill enjoys hiking, gardening, and reading science fiction.

Erin Gould Inclan

COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

Erin has 20+ years of experience leading storytelling and strategic communication for mission-driven causes. Prior to joining Amplio, she consulted on marketing, branding, and development initiatives for higher education and nonprofit organizations. As marketing editor for Simmons College in Boston, she developed the voice and messaging for a $1.2M branding campaign that resulted in university-wide enrollment increases and the highest GPAs in Simmons's history. She has worked for Microsoft, Group Health, Tibet Fund/Office of Tibet, creative agencies, and a diversity consulting firm. She earned her bachelor's degree in multi/cultural studies and communication from The Evergreen State College.

Line (“Lynne”) Nya Ngatchou 

CHIEF OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

Prior to joining Amplio, Line worked with rural women’s associations in Burkina Faso, where she implemented a strategic model to monitor and evaluate the shea butter trademark and product quality certification. Her research data is referenced in published articles on “Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP)” in Africa. In 2016, Line received the InsideNGO Excellence Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions as an operations professional. Line holds a master's degree in sustainable development from Montpellier-France, a bachelor's degree in tropical agronomy from the University of Florence-Italy, and an MBA in financial management. She is fluent in English, French, and Italian.

Dorcas Sarpoma

FINANCE OFFICER

Dorcas worked with Ga West Municipal Assembly and the National Health Insurance Scheme before joining the Amplio Ghana team in 2016. She is currently continuing her education at the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana. Dorcas is proficient in English, Twi, Ga, and Hausa, and she is learning French. Dorcas earned her bachelor of commerce degree with a specialization in accounting from the University for Development Studies, Tamale.

Cliff Schmidt

FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Cliff founded Amplio (as Literacy Bridge) in 2007 to address global poverty through innovative technology. He developed the Talking Book, a battery-powered audio device designed for people with low literacy skills. Cliff is a two-time recipient of the Microsoft Integral Fellows Award (2010, 2014) and has won many awards for Talking Book programs, including a WISE award (2015), Computerworld Honors 21st Century Achievement Award  (2013), and The Tech Awards Education Laureate (2012). He was selected for the Clinton Global Initiative and featured as a PBS Newshour Agent of Change. Prior to founding Amplio, Cliff was a software developer for Microsoft and a nuclear engineering officer for the U.S. Navy Submarine Force. He holds a master's degree in computer science and engineering from the University of Washington and a bachelor's degree in cognitive science from MIT.

Simon Tang

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

Simon works on business development for Amplio Ghana. He joined Amplio in 2016 as the MEDA GROW program officer and has expertise in content creation and management, survey design and implementation, community mobilization, and animation. Prior to joining Amplio, he served as officer-in-charge for the implementation of the live drama phase of UNICEF’s Communication for Development program. He also worked as a cultural officer for the National Commission on Culture in the Upper East Region. Simon earned his bachelor's degree in integrated development studies from the University for Development Studies.

Gumah Aloysius Tiah

GHANA COUNTRY DIRECTOR

Gumah leads the Amplio Ghana. He has over 10 years of experience in emergency and development work across diverse fields, including climate change, disaster management, food security, health, WASH, livelihoods, gender, and governance. A leader in program development, management, and monitoring and evaluation strategy, Gumah has worked in Ghana and internationally. He previously led and coordinated programs for the Swiss Red Cross in South Sudan, British Red Cross in Sierra Leone, SEND Foundation of West Africa, Population Services International, Ghana's Environmental Protection Agency, and the Community-Driven Initiatives for Food Security (CIFS) project funded by Global Affairs Canada. Gumah earned his master's degree in development management from the University for Development Studies, Ghana. 

Lisa Zook

MONITORING, EVALUATION, AND LEARNING ADVISOR

Lisa oversees monitoring and evaluation for Talking Book programs and contributes to R&D for Amplio products and services. Over the last 10 years, Lisa has designed and implemented monitoring and evaluation systems that break down the complexities of the contexts in which we work and amplify the voices of local communities in development decision-making. She splits her time between Amplio and her consulting firm, InformEd International, that specializes in M&E and program design for early grade education projects. Lisa has worked with Save the Children, RTI, World Vision, UNICEF, World Bank, and Right To Play. She is a co-founder of Seattle Evaluation Association and enjoys translating data into action through effective data visualizations and communication.  She has an MPH from University of Michigan and is a graduate of Davidson College.