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Verification Board Biographies:

Dr. Stephen Ayidiya is a lecturer and researcher of social work. His work over the past seven years focuses on the elimination of child labor. Dr. Ayidiya's UNICEF sponsored study of children in cocoa farms in Ghana makes him an important contributor to the verification board.

Ms. Alice Koiho Kipre has been the General Coordinator of the NGO Afrique Secours et Assistance (A.S.A) in Côte d'Ivoire since 1998. In this capacity she is responsible for all urgent interventions on behalf of trafficked children. Over the years she has worked closely with UN Agencies (UNHCR, ILO, WHO, UNICEF, etc.) as well as other humanitarian NGOs across Africa (Rwanda, Burundi, Mali and the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Her previous work also included assisting refugees and their children. Alice is a member of the National Committee on Child Exploitation and Trafficking, among many others. She also is the Head of RITE (Ivorian network of child trafficking and labour).

Mr. Andrews Addoquaye has technical expertise in plant engineering and agriculture together with education and extensive experience in globalization and labor rights and OSHA. His curriculum vitae marries highly specialized fields in a focused career that has invaluable relevance to dealing with the issues at hand.

Ms. Diane L. Mull is the Executive Director of the International Initiative to End Child Labor (IIECL) and a representative of the U.S. Child Labor Coalition. She is very well published in her work on child labor, agriculture, farming and vocational education. Ms. Mull is also an international consultant for many Africa, Latin America and Asia focused organizations, including the Academy for Educational Development, World Vision and World Cocoa Foundation.

Mr. John Trew is a child labor expert. His work has focused on human rights and labor legislation. He has done extensive research and analysis on child and women worker engagement in the Philippines. Mr. Trew is currently a Senior Technical Advisor, Child Labor & Education for CARE USA. Mr. Trew is also the Co-author of "Caution-Children at Work: Galvanizing Communities to End Child Labor."

Mr. Tony Fofie is the Deputy Chief Executive for the Ghana Cocoa Board. He is in charge of Agronomy and Quality Control (A&QC). Mr. Fofie has 34 years of experience in the cocoa sector.

Mme. Assouan Amouan Acquah is the Special Counselor to the Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire. She is also the Executive Secretary of the Child Labor Monitoring System (CLMS) for cocoa certification, and officially appointed as the focal point for cocoa child labor certification in Côte d'Ivoire. Mrs. Acquah is an Agronomist with over 25 years of experience. She had extensive experience in dealing with agricultural products at the National Agriculture Development Bank and the Cocoa Board in Côte d'Ivoire. Mrs. Acquah received her M.S. in Agricultural Economics at the STORRS University of Connecticut.

Mr. Jeff Morgan is the Director of Global Programs for Mars. He has worked in the Food and Agriculture industry for more than 31 years. He received his Bachelors Degree in Chemistry from Miami of Ohio and his Masters in Food Systems from The Ohio State University. Mr. Morgan has been engaged in finding ways to improve cocoa farming practices since well before the question of farm working conditions became a priority issue in 2001. Following the signing of the Harkin-Engel protocol in 2001 Jeff has focused much of his efforts on its successful implementation. He serves on the Global Industry Group as the coordinator for certification.

Ms. Isabelle Adam is General Secretary for the European Cocoa Association (ECA), based in Brussels. She has worked with a variety of non-profit and trade organizations as a communications specialist. Ms. Adam has extensive experience in the nonprofit sector and co-founded an organization that develops marketing and communications strategies for nonprofits. For the verification board she is representing the European cocoa industry.