The Creation of CPAL Georgia
Although there are community organizations for Liberians already active, we recognized that most, if not all, are highly political in nature. We saw a need to transcend politics so that our community can be better, more holistically served. By shifting our focus from a political agenda to a human one, we can focus on what really matters. We are a nonprofit focused on service and community first so that individuals can come together to benefit and prosper to the greatest possible degree.
To that end, the Community Partners Association of Liberia (CPAL) was first formed in 2017 as a 501(c)(3).
The original organization became dormant due to the COVID 19 pandemic. In 2022, upon relocating to Georgia and seeing the same needs continuing to be unmet within the community, the Community Partners Association of Liberia Georgia (CPAL Georgia) was established.
From Our Founder
My name is Nukey which means “Come Here” in Mano, one of the native Liberian languages. An elder from this tribe explained to me that the name more fully means, “Come here and see this situation and fix it. Come here and see how you can help.” Her words always stayed with me as part of my identity and calling, but I never fully understood their meaning. I was always putting myself in situations that needed to be changed and working alone. Thinking I needed to fix everything myself, I misunderstood my gift and became frustrated.
Looking back over my life, I realized that I could not right all the injustice in the world by myself. It is not my calling to change everything, but rather to be an agent of change. I could stand for what is right without standing alone. I decided I could no longer just see what was right and hold others accountable. I needed to create meaningful, lasting change by working with others. By acting as a catalyst to bring members of the community together, my vision is to create a network of people that help to lift each other up, so that we may all realize our full potential.
Nukey Richards
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Mrs. Nukey Richards is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Community Partners Association of Liberia Georgia, a service driven, nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting the Liberian Community in the state of Georgia. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Global Business Management and a master’s degree in Project Management and Information Systems from the Florida Institute of Technology.
She is a longtime resident of Georgia but her roots can be traced back to Liberia, West Africa, her homeland, where she attended high school at St. Teresa’s Convent in Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia. Named after her beloved mother Julia Nukey Andrews, she is the third of four children and is the proud “baby girl” of the family. She is even prouder to be the mother to her only son, Neakontee “Huskey” Arvel Smith.
Born on Saturday, October 24 (United Nations Day), she has always felt called by the Lord to unite people. It is this calling that led her to spearhead the development of CPAL, with the belief that impactful change is possible without the usual politics that interferes. With CPAL, Nukey has a deep desire to partner with the community and to provide genuine community service.
Nukey is not new to running service organizations. She is an expert community leader and a tried and true servant-leader. With roles such as working at the Liberian Embassy, being a member and Assistant Marketing Director of the Africa Diaspora Coalition of North Carolina and officer and member of the North Carolina African Chamber of Commerce. In Georgia, she has served as the President and General Secretary for the Big Brother and Big Sister Organization, and as a foster parent in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with her colleague, she founded an outreach ministry geared towards the Egleston Children Hospital Cancer Unit.
While providing services to her community, Nukey has also skillfully juggled a successful career as a Realtor for over 25 years, receiving numerous awards including, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers Silver Award. The Silver Award recognizes the top associates within the company for attaining $3-5.99 million in sales volume. With more than 2,400 agents in the company, Silver Award recipients are in the top 10%, and are being recognized both locally and at the national level for their performance. “I couldn’t be more proud of Nukey Richards for all she has accomplished in 2020,” said Kevin Levent, President, and CEO of BHGRE Metro Brokers. “In challenging times, she went above and beyond for their customers.”
Nukey received the Cherokee Association of Realtor Top Achiever Gold Award. She is a Member of the Million Dollar Club. Nukey Richards was recipient for other awards including but not limited to Highest Achiever, Top Listing Sales, Top Sales Agent and Outstanding Sales Volume. Because of Nukey’s dedication to her clients she was awarded the Equal Opportunity Achiever Spotlight for Fair Housing by the Portland Metropolitan Board of Realtors. She also received the Most Valuable Associate and Top Sales and top listing awards.
Board Of Directors
Cyril D. Lurlay
CHAIR
Cyril D. Lurlay is a Liberian who has lived in the United States for many years. He received his post-secondary education at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska and Golden Gate University in San Francisco, California. He worked in corporate America for numerous years and is semi-retired.
Cyril has been active in his church and several civic groups including nonprofit organizations and alumni associations. He has held senior positions in many of these groups and served in one as a board chairman for six consecutive years.
He has a strong passion for community volunteerism, and this drove him to enroll in nonprofit management studies at American Public University in Virginia. Cyril believes in the famous quote by Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Siahyonkron Jglay Kpa-kay Nyanseor, Sr.
Director, Senior Representative
Eminent Elder Siahyonkron Jglay Kpa-kay Nyanseor, Sr. has a combined thirty plus years of experience in the public and private sector performing administrative and managerial responsibilities in health and human service delivery, quality improvement, staff development, behavior improvement, research, and teaching. He has conducted international trade throughout Asia, Latin America, Caribbean countries, and Africa.
Elder Siah, as he is affectionately called, was born in Monrovia, Liberia. He is a retired Mental Health/Developmental Challenges Professional and an Ordained Minister of the Gospel. He is a Historian, Chair and Minister of the Culture Ministry of the International Christian Fellowship Ministries (ICF), Inc., located in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the Chairman as well as the Publisher of the Liberian Democratic Future (LDF), Inc., a non-profit think-tank democratic and research organization, and its internet Newsmagazine, The Perspective.
Furthermore, Elder Siah is a Founding Member and the 11th National President of the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas (ULAA); former Secretary, Vice & Chair of the ULAA Council of Eminent Persons (UCEP), Inc. He is a poet, griot, journalist, and a cultural and political activist. In 2012, he co-authored Djogbachiachuwa: The Liberian Literature Anthology and is the author of the book of poems: “TIPOSAH: Message from the Palava Hut.” He is married and lives in Hampton, Georgia.
Jennifer Legay
Co-Founder and Director
Jennifer Yah Legay is originally from Liberia, West Africa. She is a Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She received her bachelor of science degree in Nursing and master of science degree in Nursing with a concentration in Family Medicine from East Tennessee State University (ETSU). She currently works at Northside Gwinnett Hospital in the Gastrointestinal/Pulmonary Department.
Dr. Clarice Ford-Kulah
Director
Dr. Clarice Ford-Kulah is an early childhood educator, philanthropist, college professor, writer, and producer in Atlanta, Georgia. She is originally from Liberia, West Africa.
Dr. Ford-Kulah has spent over 25 years of her life dedicated to educating children and youth. She served as a professor at a local Georgia college where she taught and oversaw teachers in training. Here, she ensured that she passed on the torch to future teachers, with a message of being a light in every classroom and investing in the lives of every child who crosses her path.
Dr. Ford-Kulah owns a preschool in Lawrenceville, Georgia, as well as a performing arts school in Liberia (with a partner) that caters to children with special needs and kids from lower socio-economic areas, giving them opportunities to participate in dance, music, acting, and film making courses that they would not have otherwise had the opportunity to be a part of. She also taught at a Georgia public school for over 14 years and serves as Youth Director and Dance Instructor at her church.
Currently, Dr. Ford-Kulah is serving as the US coordinator for Health Page Liberia Inc, an organization run by Charlesetta Williams that airlifts medically ill children and flies them to other countries to receive medical care and surgeries. As of 2020, Dr. Ford-Kulah serves as co-President of the PTA at a prestigious Georgia high school.
Dr. Ford-Kulah holds as her goal in life to educate as many students in the performing arts and save as many fragile and vulnerable children as possible. Thus, she is striving for sponsorship that will continue her free program initiatives in West Africa.
Anthony J Hunter
Director
Anthony J. “The Wolf '' is a graduating senior Finance major and Blackstone Lauchpad Entrepreneur Fellow at Morehouse College. He is the 2022-’23 President of Counseling Humans in Life Lessons (C.H.I.L.L.), a mental health organization active in the Atlanta University Consortium. Anthony has worked on marketing strategies for several organizations, including UniTalent Show in Tanzania, and serves non profit organizations that work for community development, such as Mission Machangulo, which operates in Mozambique. As a Board Member he hopes to inspire young African leaders to build strong relationships with the community and follow their dreams towards prosperity.
Samantha Sixto-Rumley
Director
Samantha Sixto-Rumley was born the youngest of nine children, a native of the beautiful twin island of Trinidad & Tobago, and has been a proud Georgia resident for 30 years. Samantha is married to Corey Rumley and together they share two beautiful children.
Samantha holds a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Nutrition Science from Kaplan University; a Master of Science degree (M.S.) in Public Health from Purdue Global University and a Master of Science (M.S.) in Health Education from Purdue Global University.
Samantha’s commitment to community service and public health extends over two decades. In her twenties, Samantha began preparing and distributing
hundreds of nutritionally balanced meals on weekends, to people without homes, via her automobile.
In May of 2022, Samantha began her most recent community service endeavor.
She is the co-founder of Agatha & Martha’s Children’s Loving Hands, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering disenfranchised communities through elevated nutrition provisions and educational services. Since conception, Agatha & Martha’s Children’s Loving Hands have served 2000 meals and counting within Liberia.
Samantha’s motto is simple – Together we aspire, and Together we achieve.
Committee Officers
Alfreda Chea
Executive Membership Officer
Alfreda is the Executive Membership Officer who brings vast experience in recruiting, welcoming new members and assisting with effective communication of the benefits of membership for CPAL Georgia members.
Alfred’s love and passion for caring and serving others enabled her to be the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Alfreda Car Home. In 2009, Alfreda earned her Bachelor of Business degree in Public Administration from the University of Liberia. She is married to Mr. Nathaniel Chea whose union was blessed with three beautiful children.
Stephanie Logan-Settro
Executive Chief of Staff
Stephanie Logan-Settro is the Executive Chief of Staff of CPAL Georgia. For over 35 years, Stephanie Logan-Settro has been a noteworthy community servant. Some may know Stephanie’s current work as Founder and Executive Director of the Liberia Chamber of Commerce in the Americas, but Stephanie is also credited with contributions to many individuals in her community by assisting them with legal, business, or personal needs. Stephanie has been honored with many organizational awards for her dedication to the community. Stephanie holds a master’s degree in Legal Studies from Hunter College.
Nathaniel Chea
Chief Operating Officer
Nathaniel is the Chief Operating Officer of the Community Partners Association of Liberia Georgia, Inc. (CPAL Georgia). Prior to assuming this role, Nat served as the Head of the Microfinance Department for Ecobank Liberia Limited for seven years. Nat currently works with the Hartsfield Jackson International airport.
A native Liberian, National received his bachelor’s degree at the University of Liberia in Management/Economics. In 2016, Nat received his MBA in Finance at Strayer University, Atlanta, Georgia, and in 2019, he received another MA degree in Practical Theology from Ohio Christian University, Atlanta, GA.
Nathaniel Chea brings his financing experience, as a strong believer in transparency and accountability. Nat also brings his love to care for CPAL Georgia’s financial health and service for his Liberian Community.
JoAnn Siebo
Executive Financial Secretary
JoAnn Siebo is a sophomore at Archer High School. Her passion for community service informed her decision to join CPAL Georgia. She currently volunteers with H&R Block and will major in Economics after graduation. Ms. Siebo is excited to serve as the Financial Secretary for CPAL Georgia.
Berta Kai
chaplain
Berta brings serve years of Spiritual guidance to CPAL Georgia as the Chaplain and Outreach Officer. She is an ordained minister of the gospel, a prayer worrier, and the children's ministry leader at Harvest.
She is a graduate of CHARIS Bible college Atlanta. Berta holds a Master of Science in Nursing from Boston University in Massachusetts. She is a graduate of CHARIS Bible college Atlanta.
She is the mother of two children, Sam and Weata, and five grandchildren. She loves to do events deco and design.
Advisory Board of Directors
Miyesha Cheeks
Mr. Ray Jackson
Meatta Armstrong