Delaware County Commission for Immigrant Affairs

Dahn Kepayea Dennis - Chair

Dahn Kepayea Dennis was born in Liberia West Africa. He migrated to the United States in 1992, attended Philadelphia Community College and after 2 years transferred to Mansfield University. He graduated with a degree in Biology, from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. He later graduated from Lincoln University with a degree in Human services Counseling in 2015. Dahn currently lives in Darby borough in Delaware County and is happily married with eight children. He speaks the Liberian English, and Dan (Gio) dialect.

In 1996, he organized Nimba County Youth to help decrease the youth violence in the school district and is the former President of the Liberian Association of Pennsylvania Inc. This organization served Liberians in Pennsylvania and as President, he served as a spokesperson for over thirty thousand Liberians in Pennsylvania. Dahn also served as national President of United Nimba Citizens’ Council (UNICCO) which is an organization that was established to serve the tribal group from Nimba County, Republic of Liberia in 1979.

Dahn has formerly taught with the Philadelphia School District as a long-term teacher and in 2005 left the school district to work with the Nationalities Service Center as a case manager to serve the refugees from Liberia and other countries around the world. He left the school district because he believed immigrants were not applying for their families because of cultural misunderstandings. They were not seeing familiar faces to answer their questions and/or address their concerns. This motivated Dahn to seek a case manager position which allowed him to interpret for immigrants from Liberia. During the anchor relative application process, Liberians were able to come out in numbers to file for relatives in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Nigeria, etc.

Ann Kariuki, Esq. - Vice Chair

Ann Kariuki a native of Kenya and long-term resident of Delaware County is the Executive Director of International Center for Alleviation of Poverty Inc. A holder of MPA from Cheyney University, LLM degree from Temple University Law School and LLB (Hons) from the University of Nairobi. Ms. Kariuki has served as a Director of Human Resources, Women Against Abuse Inc., in Philadelphia, as Executive Director of the Center for Public Law and Policy in Nairobi and Deputy Director, Public Law Institute in Kenya specializing in public interest litigation and related issues. She is a founding member and past Vice President of International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA Kenya), which is a leading women’s rights organization and as Past Chair of Public Policy Committee of the American Association of University Women, Philadelphia to mention a few. She has also served as the chief Legal Officer and deputy to company secretary at Kenya Airways. Schooled as an attorney, her legal career started at the reputable law firm Hamilton Harrison and Mathews Co. Advocates. She left the corporate sector to pursue her passion in human rights, gender equality and women empowerment, democracy and social justice issues that include poverty and economic inequality. She undertook further studies in Strasbourg France, Germany and the Philippines. She has served in various boards and leadership positions and is a recipient of several awards and recognitions. She is also a founding member of Delaware County Immigration Coalition (DCIC) a success story that was formed during the covid period to tackle the challenges and needs of the DELCO immigrant community arising from the pandemic.

Gbolo Ashia Kowou-Howard - Treasurer

Originally from Liberia, West Africa Gbolo Ashia Kowou-Howard has lived in Delaware County, Upper Darby for more than 23 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and master’s degree in social work from Widener University. She is also a licensed social worker and a licensed Behavior Specialist Consultant. She is the founder of the All Liberian Diaspora Women Organization, member of the DCIC and current board member of the ULAA. She developed a summer adventure camp for adolescence and is the international coordinator of her church Victory Harvest Fellowship International in Philadelphia. She actively volunteers with international organizations and has built a school and health center in Liberia, West Africa. She is actively involved in multiple community activities and is a strong advocator for women and children. She is married with three biological and five adopted children and is very excited to serve on the Immigrant Affairs Commission.

Portia Kamara - Secretary

Portia is an African immigrant from Liberia, West Africa and serves as the co-founder and Executive Director of the Multicultural Community Family Services in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. Portia holds a master’s degree in Social Work from Temple University, a graduate diploma with a specialization in Child Welfare from the University of Pittsburgh, and post graduate certificates in Trauma from Bryn Mawr College, and Equitable Community Change from Cornell University.

Portia is a cultural broker consultant, presenter, facilitator and community researcher. Over the last thirty-five years, Portia has enjoyed working collaboratively with immigrant led organizations, governmental institutions, legislative stakeholders, philanthropic foundations and community members to create opportunity pathways that produce equitable and healthy outcomes for underserved and marginalized individuals and communities.

Portia serves as a member of several organizations, collaboratives, commissions, and coalitions, including the African Immigrant Health Research Collaborative, the Delaware County Immigrant Affairs Commission, the Delaware County Immigrant Coalition, the Delaware County Opioids Settlement Taskforce and the Liberian Association of Pennsylvania, among others.

Portia is a twenty-two-year resident of Delaware County and resides in Upper Darby with her family.

Inderjit Bains

Inderjit Bains was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Upper Darby. He attended Temple University where he studied finance and accounting. His professional background consists of working in the banking industry with employers that include HSBC, Bank of America, BMT and WSFS. Currently, Inderjit has been an emergency management specialist with the Department of Emergency Services with Delaware County for 5 years and enjoys being involved in the communities. He served on the Upper Darby Library Board from 2012 – 2019 and currently serves on the Delaware County Library board of which he has been a member since 2016. He is also serving as a trustee at the Philadelphia Sikh Society. In his spare time, he enjoys playing soccer and spending time with my family.

Marisabel Isel

Marisabel Isel is a Student Support Specialist for Chester County Intermediate Unit’s Migrant Education Program. Marisabel has been a fierce advocate of immigrant’s rights in Delaware and Philadelphia County. She is a founding board member of Centro de Apoyo Comunitario, a Latino women lead organization, that has provided services to the immigrant community since 2004. In her previous role of President of Centro de Apoyo Comunitario, she served as an EL teacher, manager of the IRS Vita Site, coordinated volunteers and established partnerships with other organizations and universities to serve the immigrant community in Delaware County. She was also the Former Co-Chair of the Coalition of Latin American Migrants and Immigrants.

In her professional life, Marisabel worked as a Systems Programmer for SunGard Higher Ed, and for Lutheran Children and Family Services as an Intake Coordinator recruiting foster parents for refugees and undocumented unaccompanied minors. She worked for Northeast Treatment Center, Community Umbrella Agency (CUA) 1, as Strengthening Family Coordinator and a Resource Home Coordinator, for Eat Right Now as a Bilingual Nutrition Educator-Outreach Coordinator. She has also worked as an interpreter for Upper Darby School District and other agencies and organizations in PA, NJ and DE.

Marisabel graduated from Neumann University with a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies and is an IFP Certified Trauma Competent Professional. She has attained her certificate in Bridge the Gap Medical Interpretation, a certificate from the Latino Partnership Leadership Program and she is an active member of Delaware Valley Translators Association.

Roger M. Jack, EdD

Roger is part of the administrative team at Maple Shade High School and the assistant principal in charge of the school’s Junior High. He actively participates in his church and serves as a volunteer on the Teacher Leader Committee (TLC) of the Association of Middle Level Educators (AMLE). He graduated from CUNY, Brooklyn College with a bachelor’s degree in Film, from the University of Southern Maine with an MS in Literacy Education with an emphasis on ESL, and from the University of New England with an EdD in Educational Leadership. His career began more than 15 years ago as a teacher of refugee kids from Somalia and Kenya. He has a deep love for immigrant pupils and their families. Roger is originally from Trinidad and Tobago but moved to the US over 20 years ago. He lives in Delaware County with his wife and three sons.

Siddiq Kamara

Siddiq Kamara is a dedicated community organizer with a passion for providing opportunities to protect residents, children, and families. Kamara is a first-generation immigrant whose parents fled from war-torn Liberia and brought him to the United States as a young child in search of better opportunities.

Kamara was raised in Delaware County. After graduating from Upper Darby High School, he joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, where he served for six years. During that time, he earned the Army Achievement Medal for outstanding leadership while also completing his Bachelor of Science degree in Emergency Planning & Management at Immaculata University. His military and leadership experience has equipped him with the ability to connect positively and bridge the gap between the immigrant community, youth, and local police in Lansdowne and Delaware County.

As a Veteran, service is a personal value that Kamara strives to uphold daily. He served as a Yeadon Borough Police Officer, where he first joined the union and has been a card-carrying member ever since. As a police officer, he established a community policing unit within the Yeadon department, in addition to his primary role of protecting and serving the community. In 2017, Kamara was handpicked to join the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General as a Special Agent, given his service history and ability to speak three languages. Kamara served in the narcotics unit, which operated under the mission of removing illegal drugs and guns from the streets to make our commonwealth safer. Additionally, he assisted law enforcement agencies across multiple counties in executing search warrants and providing those agencies with additional resources when needed. Most recently, Kamara was assigned to the Department of Homeland Security (HSI), where he served on a specialized team focused on war crimes investigations.

Due to Kamara’s unique skill set and professional background, he was chosen to be part of the security detail for former Attorney General and now-elected Governor Josh Shapiro.

In his spare time, Kamara volunteers with multiple non-profits, including Men of Action Brothers in Faith and his personal non-profit, the Fanta Bility Foundation, where he serves as Founder and President.

Alascal Y. Wisner, BA, MSW, CADC

Mr. Alascal Y. Wisner Sr. is a resident of Lansdowne Pennsylvania, originally from the Republic of Liberia, West Africa. He has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Liberia, a master’s degree in social work from Temple University in Pennsylvania, and a Drug and Alcohol Counseling Certification (CADC) from Villanova University. He is a father, and a husband. Mr. Wisner is well seasoned community activist and Social Worker with more than 30 years of experience working with disadvantaged people and communities in Africa and the United States. He currently serves as a member of the Delaware County Black Caucus, a former member of the Board of the Directors of the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas, and the founder and Executive Director of the Minority Center for Participation and Empowerment, a non-profit organization working with minority folk and government to help reduce crime in America and improve the living conditions of disadvantaged minorities.