About Us

History

In 2023, Nadia Jean Charles and Jerry Volcy, two Haitian-American education technologists founded ZanmiLwen to address the technology challenges faced by schools in underserved communities in Haiti. ZanmiLwen is a charity founded on a simple idea: technology can change lives. In the developing world, schools looking to integrate technology into their curricula are faced with many challenges: outdated equipment, limited internet access, lack of IT support, unreliable electric service, prohibitive costs, etc. ZamniLwen addresses many of these challenges by providing schools with affordable, sustainable, networked, hardware and software computing solutions as well as the training and support needed to maintain it. Now in its 3rd year of operation, ZL has set up three networked computer classrooms (56 computers total) with prospects for several more in the near future. The two founders both have deep roots in technology and education. ZanmiLwen turns their expertise and passion into action for making changes in Haiti.

Our Team

Nadia Jean Charles
Executive Director

Nadia is a native of Carrefour, a city south of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She is the co-founder and Executive Director of ZanmiLwen, a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the technological challenges faced by schools in underserved communities across Haiti.

With a background in computer science, Nadia is also a co-founder of Haiti Femmes & TIC, an association that promotes the inclusion of women in the field of information and communication technology (ICT). Through this organization, she helps provide training and workshops that empower girls and women to use technology to strengthen their skills and create opportunities for themselves and their communities.

Passionate about education and technology, Nadia is committed to sharing knowledge and experience, with a particular focus on supporting underserved populations.

Jerry Volcy, Ph.D.
Director of US Operations

Jerry serves as the Director of US operations for ZL. An engineer by education, Jerry is the founding director of the Spelman Innovation Lab, which focuses on infusing technology into the Liberal Arts education of students at the College. Jerry was also the Brown-Simmons professor of Computer Science and served as the interim chair of the Computer Science department for one year. Prior to his work in academia, he was in professional practice for 19 years in multiple roles, beginning as a research engineer at Lucent Bell Labs, and culminating as an engineering consultant. His professional work leaned heavily in developing embedded computer systems for scientific instrumentation. Throughout, he has maintained a love of technology and an affinity for the developing world. Jerry currently leverages his years of experience to bring curriculum and technology infrastructure to schools in Haiti.