our leadership

Veleta Jenkins was born in Gary, Indiana. She is a former teacher who taught in public schools, charter schools, and the Dayton Job Corps Center (Ohio). Ms. Jenkins taught American students and African students from Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Sierra Leon, Senegal, Somalia, Cameroon, Uganda, and Liberia. Ms. Jenkins has first-hand experience and understands the importance of promoting equity, inclusion, and embracing diversity in the classroom. Ms. Jenkins is the founder & CEO of Library for Africa. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Indiana University and a master's degree in Educational Leadership from Wright State University.

Darius Ricks was born in Liberia, Africa. He graduated from high school Liberia. In 2016, Ricks joined his family in the United States. He enrolled at Dayton Job Corps Center (Ohio) where he received certification in building construction. He admired kids in the United States as they were able to visit libraries and showcase their reading skills. After seeing this, he was inspired and motivated to want to build a public library in Liberia. Ricks is a humanitarian and believes in inclusion and equality for future generations. Darius is the co-founder of Library for Africa.