

Our people
The board directors, mentors, school leaders and school team behind Spectrum XLabs Alliance and Spectrum Secondary School.
Board of directors
A board of six directors governs Spectrum XLabs Alliance (SXLA).

Brainy Swaibu
Founder and President, Spectrum XLabs Alliance; Co-founder, Spectrum TechLabs Alliance (USA)
Brainy Swaibu is the Founder and President of Spectrum XLabs Alliance and Co-founder of Spectrum TechLabs Alliance in the United States.
Read more about Brainy Swaibu
He studied at Kyangwali Secondary School, in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement, later taught there and in Hoima, and founded SXLA in 2020 after seeing a widening gap between what schools teach and what young people need in a world shaped by AI and emerging technologies. He leads SXLA's work to help learners use technology as a thinking and creative partner, while staying grounded in curiosity, human judgement and the real needs of their communities. He is a Singularity University Global Ambassador and 2022 award winner, and an ALA for Education CEO Fellow in Cohort 6. His long-term ambition is for young people to build solutions and enterprises that bring clean water, food, shelter and energy to their communities, guided by his belief that the best way to predict the future is to create it.

Nick Arden
Board director, innovation and strategy; JEP mentor
Nick Arden serves on the SXLA board with a focus on innovation and strategy, and mentors participants in the Junior Entrepreneurs Program.
Read more about Nick Arden
Based in Vancouver, Canada, he runs Arden Business Consulting and has worked as an entrepreneur, career counsellor, business consultant, software developer, guest speaker and university lecturer; he studied at St Catharine's College, Cambridge. His work helps people prepare for AI-driven change at work, and he argues that as AI and robotics take on more tasks, the human contribution rests on curiosity, creativity and compassion. That perspective shapes how he mentors JEP learners as they explore enterprise, careers and their place in a changing world of work.

Achiro Stella
Board Secretary; Director of Studies, Spectrum Secondary School
Achiro Stella is a trained secondary school teacher and the Director of Studies at Spectrum Secondary School, a role she has held since 2024.
Read more about Achiro Stella
She also serves as Board Secretary of Spectrum XLabs Alliance, with a board focus on education and learning. As Director of Studies she coordinates teaching and academic planning across the school, and as Board Secretary she keeps the board's records and decisions in order. She studied at Kumi University.

Mpfitumukiza (Nsengiyunva) Daniel
Board director and Chief Technology Officer
Mpfitumukiza (Nsengiyunva) Daniel is a board director and the Chief Technology Officer of Spectrum XLabs Alliance, with a board focus on ICT and media.
Read more about Mpfitumukiza (Nsengiyunva) Daniel
A refugee youth leader, humanitarian practitioner and social entrepreneur, he is the Founder and Executive Director of JOCE-NET, which works with refugees and host communities on education, livelihoods, financial inclusion and community resilience, and the CEO of FF Softech Company Ltd. He serves as a Youth Representative on the Refugee Welfare Council, where he advocates for youth participation, accountability and inclusive development. He believes refugees are not only recipients of aid but leaders and innovators who can shape solutions for their own communities.

Sonia Glorone
Board director, finance oversight
Sonia Glorone is a board director of Spectrum XLabs Alliance with a focus on finance oversight.
Read more about Sonia Glorone
A Mastercard Foundation Scholar and Next Generation Leaders Fellow, she brings a strong interest in statistics, data and ethical entrepreneurship, and is an alumna of the Aspire programme. Her commitment to social impact and careful use of evidence helps the board keep SXLA's decisions grounded in good stewardship.

Turyakyira Silver
Board director, secondary education; Operations Manager, Spectrum Secondary School
Turyakyira Silver is the Operations Manager of Spectrum Secondary School and a board director of Spectrum XLabs Alliance, with a focus on secondary education.
Read more about Turyakyira Silver
He holds a diploma in Agribusiness. He coordinates the day-to-day running of the school, working with the support staff who keep classrooms, boarding, meals and school services working, and brings that practical view of the school to the board's decisions.
JEP mentors
Mentors share their experience with participants in the Junior Entrepreneurs Program (JEP) as they explore enterprise, careers and the world of work. Nick Arden, Darlene Damm and Chris Ewald also mentored SXLA's founder, and now pass that experience on to JEP learners alongside him.

Brainy Swaibu
JEP mentor; Founder and President, SXLA
Brainy mentors JEP participants, drawing on his own path from Kyangwali to founding SXLA and Spectrum Secondary School.
Read Brainy's full profile
Nick Arden
JEP mentor
Nick mentors JEP participants, drawing on his work helping people prepare for AI-driven change at work. He also mentored SXLA's founder, Brainy Swaibu.
Read Nick's full profile
Darlene Damm
JEP mentor; Sunnyvale, California, United States
Darlene works with social innovators on some of the world's biggest problems.
Read more about Darlene Damm
She co-founded two early impact technology companies in aerospace and drone transport, and as Faculty Chair and Vice President of Community and Impact at Singularity University she taught and mentored thousands of founders and executives. She has also worked with Ashoka and the World Bank, advises the UN World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator, and studied at Stanford University and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She also mentored SXLA's founder, Brainy Swaibu.

Chris Ewald
JEP mentor; Berkeley, California, United States
Chris works with nonprofit leaders and entrepreneurs around the world, designing practical AI solutions that simplify operations and support their teams.
Read more about Chris Ewald
He was previously Director, Community at Singularity University, working with its global chapters, alumni, experts and start-ups on social impact projects, and he has sixteen years of experience building online communities. He also mentored SXLA's founder, Brainy Swaibu.
School leadership
The headteacher leads Spectrum Secondary School, working with two board directors who also help run the school day to day.

Kyasimiire Christine
Headteacher
Leads Spectrum Secondary School, its teachers and its learners.

Achiro Stella
Director of Studies
Coordinates teaching and academic planning across the school.
Read Stella's full profile
Turyakyira Silver
Operations Manager
Coordinates the day-to-day running of the school with the support team.
Read Silver's full profileThe school team
Spectrum Secondary School runs on the work of 13 teachers and a non-teaching team. A functioning school depends on all of them.
- Teachers13 teachers plan and teach the national curriculum and guide JEP projects.
- Bursar and secretaryKeep the school's finances and records in order.
- CooksKeep learners fed.
- CleanersKeep classrooms and boarding clean.
- SecurityKeep the school safe.

How governance will grow
By 2028 the board plans to grow to seven to nine directors with three committees: finance and audit; programmes and learning; and safeguarding and ethics. The board receives progress reports every quarter. The first external audit is planned for the 2027 accounts.
Legal status
Spectrum XLabs Alliance Ltd was incorporated on 11 March 2025 as a company limited by guarantee (registration number 80034750112386). Registration with the National Bureau for NGOs is planned for 2027. We share our status openly with every funder.
SXLA and STA
Spectrum XLabs Alliance (SXLA) is the Uganda-based organisation that leads the educational work and runs Spectrum Secondary School. Spectrum TechLabs Alliance (STA) is a separate, US-based partner organisation that mobilises funding, talent and partnerships for this work.
Board profiles are published with the directors' agreement. LinkedIn links open the directors' public profiles in a new tab. Our safeguarding commitments
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Founder
How a teacher from Kyangwali taught himself new tools and opened a school in a church.
Find out more

