For the past year and a half, AFJN has been injected with a whirl of energy and passion for Africa in the person of Michael Poffenberger. Michael graduated from Notre Dame University in 2005 where he was the leader of that college’s chapter of AFJN, the first in the country, and one of the founders of the Uganda Conflict Action Network.

On Saturday, September 23, 2006 Carole Collins quietly died at home with her family in Long Beach, California. Carole worked on the staff of AFJN from 2001-2 as a policy analyst but was a kindred spirit for many years before and since her direct involvement on staff. We mourn her passing and the void it leaves in our lives and in the Africa advocacy community. We celebrate her very productive and accomplished life as writer, analyst, administrator and friend. Her funeral will be held today in Long Beach.