School Board

 

The AISOY Board consists of seven voting members, six of whom are elected and one of whom is appointed (the Ambassador’s Representative). (The Board may also include up to four ex officio, non-voting members.) The term of service for elected members is two years; the Ambassador determines the term of the appointed Ambassador’s Representative. Three Board members are elected in odd-numbered years, and three are elected in even-numbered years.

In even-numbered years, two of the elected board members must be American citizens employed at the U.S. Embassy, and the other elected board member must be a Cameroonian national. In odd-numbered years, two elected board members must be American citizens employed at the U.S. Embassy, and the other must be a non-American citizen. 

Please meet our 2025-2026 Board members below:

Christen Machak - Chair

Political-Economic Section Chief at the U.S. Embassy in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

She has served in the Netherlands, Bangladesh, Trinidad and Tobago, and Germany. She has also held several positions in Washington, including in the Bureau of Counterterrorism and on the Kosovo Desk. From 2021 to 2023, Ms. Machak served as an elected State Representative on the Governing Board of the American Foreign Service Association, the professional association for the U.S. Foreign Service.

 

 

Rigobert H. Kilu - Vice Chair

Rigobert is a German National and a Civil Engineer by profession. He has served as board chair at two schools, where he led initiatives focused on academic excellence, fiscal responsibility, and community engagement. He has two daughters at AISOY (Grades 6 and 11). He believes that his combined technical and leadership background makes him uniquely equipped to contribute meaningfully to the board, supporting the school’s mission and ensuring a high standard of education for all students.  

Alain Desire ABEGA - Treasurer

He has been a civil engineer at The National Advanced School of Engineering of Yaounde since 2004. He worked in a private society, specialising in building, for one year after he joined the Yaounde City Council in 2005. Alain Desire ABEGA has spent 16.5 years in this local administration, where he occupied many posts of responsibility, such as project manager, head of urban roads and various networks, and member of the Internal Procurement Commission.

 

 

Benoit Ollevier - Member at Large

Benoit is a Belgian citizen with a Master’s degree in Political Science and a teaching certification in Social Sciences. His professional journey has spanned multiple sectors—including education, construction, and public service—with roles such as teacher, construction contractor, and protection officer for the Belgian Ministry of Internal Affairs in the field of asylum. Since November 2022, he has been living in Cameroon with his wife, Deborah, who works for the EU Delegation, and their two daughters, Anaïs (Grade 4) and Elsa (Grade 9), both proud students at AISOY. He is committed to contributing to a school environment where all voices are heard and every child can thrive. He believes that diversity in learning is an asset to the whole school community, and he would advocate for continued efforts in accessibility and inclusion.

 

Rob Barney - U.S. Ambassador's Representative

Rob Barney is the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission to the U.S. Embassy in Cameroon.   His prior posts include U.S. embassies in Singapore, Guatemala, Kabul, and Vienna and U.S. consulates in Dubai and Karachi. 

Prior to joining the State Department, Rob received a B.A. in Economics from Brigham Young University and an M.B.A. from the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University.  After graduating from business school, Rob worked for 13 years in the high-tech industry in various management roles.   He served previously on school boards in Arizona and Guatemala and comes from a multi-generational family of teachers.

Rob is an Arizona native and is married with four adult children and two grandchildren.

 

 

Joseph Love - Member at Large

He currently serves as the Regional Security Officer since August 26, 2023, at the U.S. Embassy in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Since October 2022, he served as the Deputy Regional Security Officer (DRSO) in Lima Peru, and arrived at Post on 10/18/2022 with my wife, Tia, and son Joseph Love 3rd. From 2020 until 2022, he served as the Regional Security Officer (RSO) in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. He served as the chairman for Post’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. From 2017 until 2019, he was assigned as an Assistant Regional Security Officer (ARSO) in La Paz, Bolivia, where he managed personnel assigned to the Chief of Mission protective security detail and personnel assigned to the residential security program, and he also spearheaded enhanced security and law enforcement cooperation with the Bolivian National Police.

 

Mathieu Ebanda Enyegue - Member at Large 

A distinguished professional in the banking and finance sector, Mr. Ebanda brings over 10 years of expertise as the former Head of Treasury for both UBA Congo and Banque Atlantique Cameroon. A proud alumnus of the International Relations Institute of Cameroon, where he specialised in Banking and Finance, he has honed a profound understanding of financial markets and treasury management. Leveraging his extensive experience, he founded Elite Capital Group SA, where he currently serves as the General Administrator. The firm is a prominent player in the financial markets of the CEMAC Region, with a strong focus on asset management and investment services. Under Mathieu's visionary leadership, Elite Capital Group SA has earned memberships in notable organisations such as AmCham and GECAM, reinforcing its commitment to excellence and industry standards.