Board of Directors

The Marol Academy has a seven-member board of directors, elected in December 2007.

Jok Madut Jok, Executive Director, Founder of the Marol School:
Jok Madut Jok, Ph.D., is a highly respected professor at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles. A native of Marol, South Sudan, he has researched and written extensively on such topics as humanitarian intervention, African and Sudanese political history, slavery, gender based violence, reproductive health, nutrition, and civil conflict. Dr. Jok earned his doctorate in anthropology from UCLA, a Master of Arts degree in Medical Anthropology from the American University in Cairo (Egypt) and a Bachelor of Arts in Arts & Humanities from the University of Alexandria. He is the recipient of several fellowships, has been a research fellow, lecturer and professor at major United States and international institutions, and has published more than two dozen scholarly books and articles

Barbara Mathieu, Incorporator, President:
Education has been a major focus of her professional and personal life. She’s been fortunate to have observed and participated in the education of children and adults in various settings and under varying conditions. As a professor of anthropology, she’s seen the transformative power of education in the lives of people of every age, and has a great desire to participate, along with other board members, in facilitating educational opportunity for children and adolescents of rural Southern Sudan—education being the essential antidote to the hopelessness of violence and war. Having lived and taught in Zambia in the 70s and Lesotho in the 80s, she also plans to visit Marol village and school in the near future.

Richard Sundeen, Treasurer:
Richard has been an educator for his entire career and believes that education is a necessary ingredient in enhancing the quality of personal and societal life. His teaching and research at the University of Southern California has focused on nonprofit organizations and volunteerism which has given him considerable insight into the positive role played by nonprofits as well as the challenges they face in developing resources and effective programs. During his career he has taught and worked occasionally in developing countries, such as Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, and visited nongovernmental programs in Tanzania, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, and has recognized the need for greater access to education for their citizens, especially younger persons in rural areas.

Isaiah Mathieu, Secretary, Webmaster:
Isaiah, a freshman at the University of Washington in Seattle, is the grandson of our incorporator, Barbara Mathieu, and the brother of board member Eli Mathieu. After seeing all that his brother had done to raise money for the school, he became interested and later volunteered to be the secretary of the non-profit that Barbara Mathieu was working to create. Once work on non-profit status was well underway, he built the website and manages all technical aspects of the organization. Elected to serve as treasurer next year, his interests include playing volleyball, producing bio-diesel for the family car, and brewing beer. He is enthusiastic to help the Marol Academy succeed and believes in the strong role that education plays in the betterment of life and society and would one day like to visit the Marol School in South Sudan.

Eli Mathieu, Board Member:
Eli, the grandson of Marol Academy incorporator, Barbara Mathieu, has been interested in Professor Jok’s ideas and stories since he was ten. In 4th grade Eli was assigned a project on refugees and the students were asked to interview a refugee. Knowing his grandparents and their worldly travels, connections, and coworkers, he asked his grandmother to connect him with a refugee. He felt blessed to send a few emails to, and receive some back from Jok Madut Jok of Southern Sudan, and have a small phone interview with him. Little did he know, about 5 years later he would become a board member for his nonprofit. Jok’s work fascinates and intrigues Eli and it is a huge dream of Eli’s to end up working at Jok’s school in Marol, Sudan. Eli is currently a student at Roosevelt High School in Seattle, Washington. He is interested in traveling, music, sports and friends. He has already raised around $1800.00 for the Marol Academy along with efforts from his 8th grade history teacher and fellow board member, Shawn Kenyon. As a board member Eli would love to continuously be chairing fundraisers and other educational and awareness events in Seattle for both youth and adults. He is extremely excited to be a member of the board and expects to continue raising money for this non-profit, with the goal of educating youth who’ve not had the chance to go to school.

Mary Wehbi, Board Member:
Mary was asked to join the Board of the Marol Academy by her friend of long standing, Barbara Mathieu. Currently a professor of Education/Early Education at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, CA, she has just completed her 42nd year in eduction. During that time she has worked with all ages as teacher, program administrator or program designer. As a teacher at Santa Monica High School, Mary developed and administered a program for pregnant and parenting teens, and later as a consultant to the school district she designed, staffed and purchased all equipment for five state funded preschools. At the college she was the founding teacher of the first online course in the Ed/ECE Department working with a consortium of other community colleges in a class to attract returning students into teaching. At the present time, Mary trains teachers to work in the field of early education. With her husband of nearly 48 years and two daughters, they are proudest of their granddaughter who was adopted from China in 2000. Mary is honored to serve on the Board and is looking forward to working with her fellow Board members to bring to fruition this ray of hope in Sudan.

Shawn Kenyon, Board Member:
Shawn is in his 15th year on the staff of Eckstein Middle School in Seattle, Washington, where he teaches 8th grade social studies. He is also the coach of the school’s varsity soccer teams and overall head of the soccer program, in which more than 200 students participate. In fulfillment of the school’s social studies class’ community service requirement, the students unanimously voted to support the work of Dr. Jok to build and support schools in southern Sudan. Mr. Kenyon guided the students’ effort and commitment.