Sofi Seck - Founder

Karen Butterfield - Grant and Logistics Chair

A newspaper editor, Karen lives just west of St. Louis. Prior to becoming an editor, Karen was an intern and staff writer for the same paper. Her passion for education and literacy ignited her desire to be involved with Expedition Subsahara. Karen is married and she and her husband have one amazing son.

Adia Ndor - Merchandising and curator 

Adia is the heart of Expedition Subsahara. A native of Dakar and Sofi’s aunt, Adia finds artists and collections consistent with Espedition Subsahara’s standards that are uniform and that serve the mission of helping women. Adia has a bachelor’s degree in business and manages a small shop in Dakar. 

Our Artists - Natti, Ami, Fatou, & Sofi.

Almost every basket on planet earth, is made completely by hand. Think about that for a second... Baskery is most definitely an art. It’s a skill that is passed down from  generation to generation. Each basket, no matter how big or small — somebody sat there and carefully, skillfully wove those fibers together by hand. They made sure it was the right shape, size and that the lid fit tight and wouldn’t fall off.

Building a school in Senegal, our mission, isn’t just about young women learning a technical so they can have day jobs. It’s about women learning modern skills so they can have enterprises of their own that sustain their families. The skills they learn at a technical school will help them develop and grow a business doing something they love. It gives them choices and opens an entire new world to them.