the gyift foundation

director profiles

Myke Scholl, JD

Founder & CEO  |  Long Beach CA

Founder Myke earned a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology and History and a Juris Doctor (Law Degree) from University of Maryland School of Law where he served on the student bar association council, including two years as President during which time he convinced his fellow officers to devote the SBA annual budget to hands-on programs for homeless and near homeless children. Myke served a few years as a sports representative for several professional athletes, including players from the NBA and NFL as well as professional boxers. In 2000, Myke moved to Johannesburg, South Africa where he joined Miles and Associates as a partner, becoming the Director of Sports and International Programs. During his directorship at Miles and Associates, Myke assisted in the creation and implementation of all grassroots programs for the internationally acclaimed HIV/Aids awareness and prevention program loveLife funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The loveLife campaign was voted the most creative and innovative program in the world by the United Nations.

During his tenure, Myke’s hands-on work took him into the field throughout eastern and southern Africa. Under his guidance, over 300 full service youth centers and clinics were built in South Africa and more than 500 basketball courts were built in South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia. He helped establish the first ever national high school basketball league in South Africa, with 1800 boys and 1800 girl’s teams and more than 42,000 participants. He also helped acquire scholarships for 75 African students to attend high school and /or college in the United States.

Beyond his work as a youth activist, Myke has an extensive professional background in the world of basketball. He has been an international scout in the NBA for the Dallas Mavericks and the Detroit Pistons. He has coached at various levels with the South African, Nigerian and Senegalese national teams and was one of the original coaches during the early development of the NBA Basketball Without Borders Africa program. He has also been a commentator and analyst for numerous international basketball tournament television broadcasts.

In 2008, Myke returned to the United States to become an assistant coach at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles. During his first season at LMU, Myke was promoted to Associate Head Coach where he served for six years. In 2014, Myke joined Coach Dan Monson at Long Beach State as an assistant coach. He specializes in player development, working on the person as well as the athlete.

Luvuyo Madasa, BA

Chair  |  Durban, South Africa

Luvuyo is passionate about Youth Development and Youth Empowerment. A beneficiary of numerous enabling environments, he has worked to build collaborative platforms that enhance beneficiary impact for underserviced communities, various institutions and the business community. Luvuyo believes in the power of collective effort and unlocking synergies through a variety of mediums including intimate engagement platforms.

An Independent Consultant through Tyathumzi Advisory, Luvuyo has designed solutions that transform corporate policy requirements into effective vehicles that drive a range of social imperatives. His client-serving yet community-centric approach embraces client ethos while articulating the needs and identity of the benefiting community. His efforts result in sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives inspired by client value-systems, informed by community-drive and celebrated by all stakeholders.

Luvuyo’s work is an expression of his undergraduate Diploma in Philosophy from Hamilton College. He has experience in a variety of spheres within the transformation and development sectors. Luvuyo gained valuable experience as Account, Sales and Marketing Manager turned Verification Analyst for National Empowerment Rating Agency (NERA) – a leading Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) verification agency. He has intimate experience managing networks as a Search and Selection Associate for Endeavor South Africa – an innovative entrepreneurship development Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) responsible for finding and growing high impact entrepreneurial businesses.

Luvuyo is an ambassador to various organizations whose local and global impact holds true to his passion for youth and social development; each making profound impact by molding young leaders with intimate connections to their local communities while changing our world for the better. He is proud to have his work acknowledged by One Young World; Nelson Mandela Foundation and The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a World Parks Champion. Luvuyo believes we all have our part to play in molding society into the world we want to live in.

Jason Tilton, MA

Vice Chair  |  New York, NY

Jason Tilton has a successful track record of taking a vision and putting it into action through sound strategic development. He offers a unique background of leadership experience through both basketball and corporate finance. Having coached basketball at UCLA, Cal State Fullerton, the Los Angeles Clippers, St. John’s University, Long Beach State, and the Phoenix Suns, Jason also thrived in business development roles for SullivanCurtisMonroe, Indymac Bank, and Wells Fargo. Passionate about working with children, Jason has organized and directed a variety of youth programs such as skills development academies, sports camps, leagues, and tournaments.

As Special Assistant for the Long Beach State men’s basketball program, Jason is currently on his second tour of duty at The Beach, where he previously served as Director of Operations between 2014-2016. In his advisory role, Jason supports and counsels the men’s basketball coaches and support staff. Prior to returning to Long Beach, he was most recently a coach for the Phoenix Suns.

Adept at advancing operational directives through institutional development and campaigns, Jason helped the Long Beach State athletic department raise $2.2 million and $2.6 million in donations during consecutive years. He was also a driving force in St. John’s University’s success at raising nearly $15 million in donations over a three-year span for its athletic programs.

Additional community-based volunteer projects Mr. Tilton has been involved with are Dribble for the Cure, The Haynes Memorial Educational Fund, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County, Boys & Girls Club of Irvine, as well as Bread & Life.

Jason holds a master’s in Adolescent Education from St. John’s University and a bachelor’s degree in History from UCLA. He is currently pursuing an additional postgraduate degree in Organizational Leadership.

Caya Lewis Atkins, MPH

Vice Chair  |  Geneva, Switzerland

Caya Lewis is a domestic and global health policy and programming professional with over 20 years of experience providing leadership, program management, advice and analysis in government, NGOs and foundations. She has extensive experience collaborating and negotiating with high-ranking members of governments, multilateral organizations, NGOs and donor entities. Her professional interests and expertise include the Affordable Care Act, domestic and global public health, HIV/AIDS, women’s health and reproductive health, health disparities and community advocacy and capacity building.

Ms. Lewis is the former Deputy Coordinator for Multi-Sector Responsibility and Diplomacy in the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) at the U.S. Department of State. In that role she led the multilateral diplomacy and private sector engagement work of the office including collaboration and negotiation with high-ranking members of governments, multilateral organizations including WHO and UNAIDS, the private-sector and foundations, and NGOs. OGAC oversees the implementation of the $6 billion U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) operating in more than 36 countries through bilateral and regional programs.

Immediately prior to working at OGAC, Ms. Lewis served as the Counselor to the Secretary for Science and Public Health at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). In this role, she directly advised the HHS Secretary on a range of public health and science issues and helped to develop and lead Administration initiatives related to programs administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health Resources and Services Administration, National Institutes of Health, the Indian Health Service, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. Prior to assuming this position, Ms. Lewis was the Chief of Staff for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), an $820 billion federal agency, where she served as primary advisor to the CMS Administrator and as a liaison between the Administrator, CMS staff, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and The White House. Before joining CMS, Ms. Lewis was Director of Outreach and Public Health Policy with the Office of Health Reform at HHS during the year that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was successfully negotiated and passed.

Prior to her work at HHS, Ms. Lewis was the Deputy Staff Director for Health for the Senate HELP committee under the chairmanship of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy. In this role, she drafted and negotiated health legislation pertaining to various clinical issues, public health and preparedness, health professions training, and special and vulnerable populations. Of note, she led the staff work on the drafting of prevention, wellness and public health titles for the ACA. She was also a Senior Policy Analyst and Director of the Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholars Program at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and the Director of the NAACP Health Division.

She has been a member of several advisory committees including the Presidential Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS under the Clinton and Bush administrations and has given frequent presentations and speeches at national and community-level conferences and meetings.

Caya received a BA from Spelman College and a Masters of Public Health from the University of Michigan.

Ayodeji (Deji) Egbeyemi, MBA

Treasurer  |  Agoura Hills, CA

Deji was born and raised in Nigeria. He graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles with a degree in Finance and also an MBA in Marketing. He was a 3-year Captain for the collegiate men’s basketball team. He interned with Sony Finance, working as a financial and marketing analyst, working directly under the head of Sony Finance. As a former member of The Loyola Marymount’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, serving as the sole West Coast Conference liaison, he represented the conference as the national liaison with the NCAA. As an MBA student Deji created a program for the school’s career development services department that still holds today to help student-athletes achieve academic and professional success. He worked with the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2016-2017 season as a Basketball Operations Assistant and Player Development Assistant. Deji is currently a Financial Analyst for Farmers Insurance in the business Insurance unit at the cooperate office. Deji is also the assistant varsity basketball coach at Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village.

Sheenagh (Litchfield) Scholl, BA

Co-Founder & Secretary  |  Long Beach, CA

Sheenagh was born in the Kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland) and currently resides in Long Beach, California with her husband and GYIFT co-Founder, Myke Scholl along with their son.

Sheenagh graduated from the University of Swaziland with a Bachelors Degree. While pursuing her degree, she simultaneously pursued her passion for fashion and event management. She produced fashion shows, social events and beauty pageants. Proceeds from the events were donated to help feed homeless “street children” in the capital city, Mbabane.

After graduating, Sheenagh traveled to the United States to work as a camp counselor for under-privileged youth and further confirmed her desire to impact youth as a servant leader.

Sheenagh relocated to Johannesburg, South Africa in 2000, where she met and married her soulmate, Myke Scholl. She launched an event management company, BlackRose Entertainment, which she successfully grew into an industry leader. Sheenagh also worked with Myke on several youth development projects in Africa.

Sheenagh then joined Anooraq Resources Corporation, a black economic empowerment (BEE) Platinum Mining company as Investor Relations coordinator. Sheenagh was direct liaison between their international offices and provided assistance with the dual listing of the company on the Johannesburg and New York stock exchanges. Sheenagh served on Anooraq’s Corporate Social Responsibility Committee responsible for community and youth development initiatives operated in and around the mining communities in Rustenburg, South Africa.

In 2008 Sheenagh relocated to Los Angeles with her husband. In 2013 she became a United States citizen.

Jamal K. Atkins, BA

Director  |  Geneva, Switzerland

Jamal is a cultural diversity and youth development specialist with over 20 years of experience designing and implementing youth programs, teaching, coaching and motivating youth. His expertise is in life-skills, sports, health and nutrition programming and technical engineering.

Jamal has worked on the continent of Africa for 13 years in multiple countries with over 10 years in Zambia. Jamal is passionate about the sport of basketball and building the skill sets of African youth using sports related activities. Jamal is the co-founder of the Basketball Academy for Excellence that identifies talented basketball players across the continent and provides rigorous training sessions, mentorship and life skills training to prepare them for opportunities within Africa and abroad. Through the academy, he has helped many Zambian students obtain scholarships to high school and university in the United States and has shepherded 7 young Zambians to the NBA’s exclusive Basketball Without Borders camp.

Throughout his career he has been a leader of youth-focused programs. After being an AmeriCorps volunteer at an elementary school in Florida, Jamal started his work in Africa as a program manager for Peace Player’s international in Durban, South Africa where he designed and facilitated a province-wide basketball league for high school students, reaching over 5,000 students.

He was most recently on the senior management team for a leadership skills development program providing capacity building services for 2,000 young women in Lesotho. He also managed a public-private partnership between Land O’ Lakes and Standard Chartered Bank to facilitate a life skill mentoring and training program for more than 50,000 students in Zambia. As a part of that program over 9,000 students participated in the national school’s basketball league and 27 basketball courts were built at Zambian schools country-wide.

Jamal also helped launch a global service initiative, Project Knapsack, that partners students in the United States with students in Zambia and developing countries in a pen-pal exchange. Jamal has coached basketball teams in several African countries including the Harare International School and the record-breaking Kearsney College Boys basketball team in Botha's Hills, South Africa.

He is also the Technical Director of the Construction and Engineering unit of the Avencion Group, an international ICT consulting firm based in Lusaka, Zambia. He has been instrumental in leading engineering projects for major customers including the MTN Group (one of the largest wireless phone and internet providers in Africa and the Middle East), the University of Zambia, other academic institutions, and international NGOs.

Jamal has a B.A. in Mass Communications from Shenandoah University and various International Basketball Federation coaching certifications.

Basetsana “Base” Malinga

Director  |  Johannesburg, South Africa

Base is a passionate youth empowerment and community development advocate. He was born and raised in Mpumalanga province, a wealthy coal mining province in South Africa. Mpumalanga, however has had its fair share of several socio-economic challenges, namely high unemployment rates, staggering HIV/AIDS infection rates amongst the youth and successively inadequate funding for youth development initiatives.

As a teenager, Base felt compelled to do something about the predicament of the youth in Mpumalanga. He launched a youth club with a group of friends, however as teenagers, they lacked funding and the skills required to design and develop meaningful programs. Base continued to volunteer and stay actively engaged in the community.

While pursuing studies in electrical engineering, Base decided to change course and pursue his passion for youth development. In 2000, He relocated to Orange Farm, a township south of Johannesburg where he remained active in the community. He joined the local basketball team. Shortly thereafter Base was recruited to join “Love Life” the critically claimed HIV and Aids prevention program funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. A dream come true and turning point for Base. He received skills and development training and attended several youth developmental workshops. He attended the Basketball Coaching Academy of Excellence. He was appointed head coach of the basketball development program and he supervised 10 assistant coaches. The basketball development program incorporated mandatory life skills modules and was implemented in several schools in the community and around the country. The program gained nationwide success. It was hugely impactful in the lives of young people. Thousands of students graduated annually from the program and Love Life was voted most innovative youth development initiative by the United Nations.

In 2002, Base joined Miles and Associates, an international youth development organization focused on life skills, sports and recreation programming. Base was appointed assistant manager for two provincial offices (Limpopo and Mphumalanga). He was responsible for recruitment and development of thousands of young people to the program.

In 2004, Miles and Associates merged with African Youth Development Fund (AYDF) a non-profit organisation, to further the youth agenda and partner with governmental and global agencies. In 2006, the program expanded into Zambia. Base spear-headed the team selected to implement and manage the successful expansion, graduating hundreds of youths through the Life Skills and Basketball program. Local Educators received training on best practices in youth development. In 2007, the program’s success was replicated in Uganda evidenced by hundreds of youths participating in the life skills and basketball youth development initiative.

Base has dedicated his life to youth development, through innovative programming and mentorship. Through hard work and dedication, he earned the title of Associate Director at AYFD. Base is a valued, talented trainer / facilitator who appeals to a diverse audience in both the private and public sector. He has gained global experience from years of travel across Southern Africa and the United States.

In his current role at AYFD, Base is at the fore front of creating and implementing the largest youth substance abuse prevention programme in South Africa, called “Ke Moja” (I’m fine without drugs). One of the key strategies, is to engage and empower local non-profit organizations with key messaging to scale and reach as many young people as possible. It is a huge undertaking as South Africa grapples with substance abuse. The program has currently reached millions of young people through modular and crowd-based interventions. The program has an adjunct element of parenting and outreach carried out at various publicity events aimed to add excitement to the program.

Base recently graduated from a three-year entrepreneurship program focused on cultivating emerging entrepreneurs to establish and develop their own business by supporting areas of finance, sales, marketing, and personal growth.

Base is an inspirational human being, a dedicated husband and father to three beautiful children.

Raymond L. Nix, MA

Director  |  Washington, D.C.

Raymond has national experience transforming distressed neighborhoods into affordable communities of choice. As the founder of Nix Development Company LLC and Urban Matters Development Partners, L.L.C., Raymond has led the strategic planning and development of more than 1,350 affordable units of elderly rental, homeownership and workforce housing located in Columbus, Ohio; Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina; Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. Raymond holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Landscape Architecture and a Master of City and Regional Planning degree, both from The Ohio State University. Raymond is a married father of two teenagers.

Advisory Board

Many thanks to our advisory board for their invaluable assistance in the planning and formation of the GYIFT Foundation.

• Matthew Scholl
• Senque Carey