Meet our team!

Founder and Chief Executive Officer Kat Slater has been working since she was 18 years old to create a nonprofit that provides local women running orphanages in Africa with what they need, according to them. She began this quest after visiting South Africa for the first time in 2006 on an Exposure Trip. Kat did many different things including food and medication delivery, clinic work, orphan care and hospice care. Upon her return she started working for a U.S. nonprofit called Balance4kids(B4K) where she worked developing curriculum and behavior techniques for children with special needs and developmental disabilities in the school system. During the five years she worked for B4K, she started her own nonprofit: Solid Ground for Africa (SGA). 

Kat returned to Africa in 2009 to interview orphanages all over South Africa and Kenya with the main question “What do you need?” She discovered that the main need was a sustainable and independent income. 

Finding the right partner to create a sustainable system that allowed these women to make money for both themselves and the orphaned children wasn’t easy. However, she was determined to partner with a local woman in order to best respect culture and understanding. Kat was introduced to Karambu Ringera, Founder and President of KACH children’s home and International Peace Initiatives, in 2010. A shared passion to create sustainable development in orphanages made their partnership a natural fit. 

After running the nonprofit SGA for several years, Kat felt that the sector was moving in a more business-like direction. Following her passion for best practices within her nonprofit, she returned to school. She graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in Global Nonprofit Enterprise in 2017 and is now back to running SGA full time. 

Beth Williams believes strongly in community service and giving back. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics with minors in business and philosophy from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College and a Master’s in Publishing from the George Washington University. She has held key roles in research firms working in best corporate practices, as well as energy and the environment. She currently works in childcare and education. 

Beth has volunteered with Therapeutic Riding programs for nearly 20 years, supporting people with disabilities and life-altering medical needs through physical and animal therapy. She is the co-founder of a small independent publishing house that supports artists in accomplishing their dreams. She has also published a children’s book about the positive impacts of therapy animals. 

Colleen Stout is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker practicing in Denver, Colorado. She has over 15 years experience in the mental health field and specializes in severe and persistent mental illness. Currently she works for the State of Colorado at the Mental Health Institute at Fort Logan. As the Director of Quality Management she oversees all regulatory, accreditation, compliance and risk management for the state psychiatric hospital.

Her passion for helping others seemed like a natural fit for Solid Ground for Africa so she was thrilled to join the board and lend her talents to empowering women running orphanages!

Jen Mills

Jen Mills has been a Registered Nurse for 18 years, focused primarily in Orthopedics. She currently works part-time at Ortho Colorado in the pre-op area.

She is new to the non-profit world and was driven by a yearning to fill her spare time with something outside of medicine. As she learned more about Solid Ground for Africa she was motivated by the mission to empower women and give back to the children in their care.

Outside of work and Solid Ground for Africa Jen enjoys being active. She first learned about SGA from other Board Members at Orange Theory, as well as spending time with her 3 pups and husband Mark.