Our Team
Board of Directors
Vincent Ohaju, D.O.,FACOS, FCS
CEO/Chairman
VINCENT U. OHAJU, D.O., FACS, FACOS
FOUNDER/CHAIRMAN
Vincent U. Ohaju is Founder and CEO for VOOM Foundation. Formerly, the Trauma Medical Director at CHI St. Joseph Health Care System, Bryan TX. Prior to that he was the Associate Chief for the Division of Surgery and Neuromuscular Services at Essentia Health (formerly St. Mary’s Medical Center) in Duluth, Minnesota. Dr. Ohaju received his medical degree from the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, Texas. He completed his internship and residency in General Surgery at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, and fellowships in Surgical Critical Care and Trauma Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.
He is board certified in both general surgery and surgical critical care. Dr. Ohaju is a fellow of both the American College of Surgeons and the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons. He has been the principal investigator for several clinical trials. He serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor for the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth MN where he received the honor of Community Physician of the year in 2007 and 2011. Dr. Ohaju has been honored by his peers and received “Top-Doctor” for seven consecutive years prior to his relocation to Texas. This award is presented by Duluth Superior Magazine, local publication. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University since 2015.
Dr. Ohaju is a Paul Harris fellow and past Vice President of the Lake Superior Medical Society. He served on the Minnesota Committee on Trauma, and currently with the Society of Critical Care Medicine, where he serves as a Consultant for Fundamental Critical Care Support (FCCS) course. He is a member of Eastern Association for The Surgery of Trauma and serves on the Board of Trustees at The College of St. Scholastica Duluth, MN. He is a member of several non-profit organizations including Silver Creek Institute and a founding member of VOOM Foundation.
Adanna C. Akujuo, M.D.
Vice-Chair
ADANNA C. AKUJUO, M.D.
Vice-Chair
Adanna C. Akujuo is a professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Virgina Health, in Charlottesville, Virgina. She earned her medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine.
She served residencies in cardiothoracic surgery at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, NY, and in general surgery at Saint Vincent’s Medical Center. After her fellowship, she joined the faculty at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan, where she developed her skills in complex Mitral valve reconstructive surgery.
Board-certified in both general and thoracic surgery, Dr. Akujuo is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
Dr. Akujuo specializes in complex mitral valve repair and minimally invasive approaches to all valve surgery, including Transcatheter Valve replacements. She also treats all adult acquired heart disease.
Michael A. Essien, Esq.
Secretary
MICHAEL A. ESSIEN, ESQ.
SECRETARY
Michael (Mike) Essien is a Principal/Intellectual Property Attorney at Essien Law, PLLC practicing corporate and intellectual property law with a focus on corporate transactions, patents, trademarks, copyrights, non-profits and e-commerce. Mr. Essien’s background includes work as a corporate and intellectual property attorney at law firms, and at 3M Office of Intellectual Property Counsel. Mr. Essien is admitted to practice before the U.S. Patents and Trademark Office, the State of Minnesota and Federal District Court of Minnesota. He is also a member of Ramsey County Bar Association, Hennepin County Bar Association, Minnesota State Bar Association, American Bar Association, American Intellectual Property Law Association, Minnesota Intellectual Property Law Association and the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers.
Prior to entering the practice of law, Mr. Essien worked for several years as a quality, process and new product development engineer at 3M. He is a named inventor on two issued US patents. He has extensive experience in petrochemicals, adhesives, paints, coatings, microprismatic and retroreflective film technology for the transportation safety industry, and process engineering.
Mr. Essien received his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. His J.D. is from William Mitchell College of Law where he was a member of the Law Review. Mr. Essien was the recipient of the William Mitchell Alumni Association Student Award of Merit for exceptional contributions to the College. He volunteers with the VOOM Foundation as Board Secretary, is Nigeria Country Director for Books for Africa, and the President of Association of Nigerian Engineers in Minnesota. He is the Legal Counsel to Nigerians in Diaspora Organization – America (NIDO-A) and Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Association (MFHA). Mr. Essien is also an adjunct professor of Business Law at Concordia University and University of Wisconsin, Stout.
Jeffrey McNeil, M.D.
Chief Strategic Officer/Medical Director
Jeff McNeil, M.D.
Chief Strategic Officer/Medical Director
Dr. Jeffrey McNeil, Cardiothoracic surgeon from Austin, Texas has an extensive background in surgery having completed his general surgery residency while on active duty with the U.S. Air Force at UTHSCSA and prior to his residency at Wake Forest University and North Carolina Baptist Medical Center. Dr. McNeil deployed twice to the 332ndAir Force Theater Hospital at Balad Air Base, Iraq and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal with one Oak Cluster for his service and outstanding achievements.
Dr. McNeil is a board-certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and specialized in adult cardiac and thoracic surgery. He is currently serving as Chief of Surgical Services at Seton Medical Centre Hays where he was voted the 2018 Physician of the Year.
Jeff will be a huge addition to the VOOM Foundation Board, he brings an extensive set of skills and a high level of passion to spend his time and effort in areas where heart surgery is either non-existent or lacking. Jeff and his wife Shannon who have both attended two missions, continue to lead by example demonstrating their unwavering commitment to assist VOOM Foundation in achieving its vision of creating sustainable high-quality health care in Sub Saharan Africa, especially in cardiac surgery.
Reza Khodaverdian, M.D.
Chief Financial Strategist
REZA KHODAVERDIAN, M.D.
Chief Financial Strategist
Dr. Reza Khodaverdian is a clinical assistant professor of surgery at Stanford University from September 2015 to present. Dr. Khodaverdian was born and raised in Tehran/Iran. He completed his education including medical school, and residencies in Iran. When he moved to the states, he was required to redo most of his training in order to practice medicine in the US. His general surgery internship was at University of Connecticut, Farmington, Connecticut and Hospital of Saint Raphael, New Haven, Connecticut. His cardiothoracic surgery residency was at University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. He did his Fellowship in heart failure/heart transplant at LDS Hospital, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Dr. Khodaverdian is licensed in Utah, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Minnesota and California. He is a fellow of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, American Board of Surgery, Medical Counsel of Iran, Iranian Board of Surgeons and the Iranian College of Surgeons. He is also board certified in surgery and cardiothoracic surgery. Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Khodaverdian has held the position of associate professor of surgery, University of Minnesota, Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Dr. Khodaverdian has led multiple successful medical missions to Nigeria for open heart surgery and serves as the Chief Financial Strategist for VOOM.
Mike Trunnell
Treasurer
Mike Trunnell
Treasurer
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Wande Elam
Board Member
Wande Elam
Board Member
Oluwande "Wande" Elam was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. She moved to the United States for college at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas where she graduated summa cum laude with her Bachelor's degree in international Studies and Spanish. She went on to Washington University in St. Louis School of Law where she completed her law degree on a full tuition scholarship. Wande spent the first ten years of her legal career as a corporate restructuring attorney at international and boutique law firms.
Subsequently, she joined the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, a U.S. Department of Defense entity providing goods and services to soldiers and airmen worldwide, where she served as Associate General Counsel in the Business Law department for three years. In October 2019, Wande joined Toyota Motor North America, Inc. in a newly created role as Senior Counsel for Toyota Connected North America, Inc., the startup at the heart of transforming Toyota to a mobility company through connected intelligence services. She was promoted to Managing Counsel in January 2022 and she continues to serve Toyota by providing advice and counsel to business units in a variety of global and cutting-edge transactions and projects.
Wande is passionate about helping others find their purpose and fulfillment and to that end, she maintains a private executive and professional coaching practice where she holds space for her clients to explore their goals, desires, dreams and visions. In December 2021, Wande completed her Master’s degree in Leadership and Organizational Development with a focus on Executive and Professional Coaching at the University of Texas at Dallas. She recently received her Associate Certified Coach credential from the International Coaching Federation.
In 2021, Wande was appointed by the Dean of Washington University in St. Louis School of Law as an inaugural member of the law school’s Dallas Regional Council for a two-year term running from 2021 to 2023.
Wande is married to author Tim Elam, and they have two sons.
Dr. Henry Musoma
Board Member
DR. HENRY MUSOMA
BOARD MEMBER
Dr. Henry Musoma currently serves at the Assistant Director for the Center for International Business Studies at the Mays Business School, Texas A&M University. At the Mays Business School, he works with the Regent Scholar Recruitment & Retention Program, coordinates the development of public/private partnerships to enhance student international experiences, and works with the Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship to facilitate international entrepreneurship initiatives. Since 2014, he has served as the Adjunct Professor at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service.
Aside from his wide array of international business abilities, Dr. Musoma is best known at Texas A&M for his ability to reach, understand, guide and inspire his students. He was recently recognized on the Ellen DeGeneres show for supporting his student by allowing her to bring her son to class so she would not miss. His relationship within Texas A&M will be a huge asset to VOOM Foundation and our reach.
Sheri Boyd, M.D.
Board Member
Sheri Boyd, M.D.
Board Member
Dr. Boyd is a graduate of Creighton University School of Medicine. She completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Madigan Army Medical Center and fellowship in cardiology at Brooke Army Medical Center. Dr. Boyd finished her 28 year Army career as Chief of Cardiology at Brooke Army Medical Center and continued her cardiology medical career in New Braunfels and San Marcos, Texas. She is board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiology, and a Fellow in the American College of Cardiology. Women’s cardiovascular health and disease is a major focus of her practice. Dr. Boyd is committed to the heart health of our communities, for both men and women, partnering with Love Your Heart and Volunteers in Medicine over the last decade.
As a volunteer Cardiologist, Dr. Boyd attends yearly missions with VOOM Foundation. She has played a huge role in improving the VOOM cardiology program in Nigeria by utilizing her skills to improve patient care, recruitment of medical staff and providing financial resources to support indigent care.
Dr. Boyd and her husband love attending college football games, upland bird hunting, fly fishing, and vacationing with their children.
Tosin Adekoya
Board Member
Tosin Adekoya
Board Member
Mr. Tosin Adekoya to the VOOM Foundation board of directors. Tosin works in the Financial Services industry and looks forward to providing ideas and insight to aid VOOM'S growth and mission, while providing the opportunity to give back to people/communities that are dear to his heart in a way that hopefully enables them to forge an even more satisfying life. Tosin believes VOOM'S mission is inspiring, heartfelt and timely.
Tosin is married to Jummy and has two daughters, Abi and Ari and loves to read and hike.
Staff
Shawn Andaya-Pulliam
Executive Director, Foundation Development & Sustainability
SHAWN ANDAYA-PULLIAM
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FOUNDATION DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY
After serving two years as a volunteer fundraiser for VOOM Foundation, the VOOM Foundation Board of Directors hired Shawn Andaya-Pulliam as the first Executive Director, Foundation Development and Sustainability in January of 2017.
A graduate of Texas A&M University, Shawn has spent the past 20 years in non-profit fundraising development and the past 8 years in fundraising for healthcare. Andaya-Pulliam’s experience includes capital campaigns, major gifts, annual giving programs and special events. Recently exceeded capital goal of $8M raising $25M to complete state of the art Emergency & Trauma Center at CHI St. Joseph Health in Bryan, Texas where she met Dr. Vincent Ohaju, D.O.
Ms. Andaya-Pulliam’s assists the board of directors with activities related to strategic planning, donor retention, fund development, corporate partnerships and sustainability to accomplish short and long term organizational goals.
Shawn is married to Al Pulliam and has two son’s AJ and Trey.