Meet the Team
Who We Are
Solomon and Jessie first met over a decade ago in Kigali, Rwanda, when we were working together to build and scale Gardens for Health International (GHI). In the intervening years our careers diverged, with Solomon stepping up as GHI’s first Rwandan Executive Director and Jessie pivoting to the funder side, serving first as the Executive Director of Child Relief International and then as the Executive Director of Social Venture Partners Boston.
Daraja Partners was born out of our shared passion to use our lived experience to bridge gaps between donors and nonprofit leaders, and to work together to advance locally led development.
Solomon Makuza
Co-Founder Solomon Makuza is an experienced global development leader with a deep commitment to advancing meaningful social change, strengthening organizations, and connecting communities. Over the past fifteen years, he has held leadership roles across East Africa and the United States, with expertise spanning program development, strategy, fundraising, and organizational development.
Solomon began his career with AVSI International and later served as Programs Manager at Partners In Health before joining Gardens for Health International (GHI) in 2014. Over nearly a decade in senior leadership roles, including five years as Executive Director, he led the organization through a period of significant growth, building lasting partnerships with local and global stakeholders, increasing funding, and contributing to the integration of GHI’s model into national strategy and policy. He has also provided strategic and fundraising coaching to organizations across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Solomon holds a BSc in Environmental Health Sciences and a Master of Public Health. He is an East Africa Acumen Fellow, Aspen Health Scholar, Skoll World Forum Fellow, and African Visionary Fellow. He also holds certificates in Fundraising Management from Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership and Management from Harvard Kennedy School. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Public Health at the University of Toronto.
Jessie Cronan
Co-FounderJessie Cronan is an experienced nonprofit leader with a passion for strengthening organizations, advancing locally led development, and building more effective partnerships across philanthropy and the social sector. Over the past fifteen years, she has held leadership roles across nonprofit organizations working in global health, education, philanthropy, and social impact, with expertise spanning organizational strategy, fundraising, leadership development, and systems change.
Jessie began her career as a Princeton in Africa Fellow with the Tanzanian Children’s Fund, and also worked with TechnoServe Swaziland, before joining the team at Gardens for Health International (GHI) as the nonprofit’s first Executive Director. Jessie led GHI through a period of exponential growth, going from a team of 12 to a staff of over 150, and taking their innovative integrated health and agriculture program to national scale. She later served as Executive Director of Social Venture Partners Boston and Senior Director of the CVI Center at Perkins School for the Blind, where she led strategic initiatives, built cross-sector partnerships, and supported organizational growth and innovation. Throughout her career, Jessie has spoken and written extensively on topics including localization, philanthropy, and the future of development.
Jessie holds a BA from Princeton University and a Master in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School. She has spoken at institutions and convenings including Princeton University, Yale University, Women Deliver, the Clinton Global Initiative, and the Aspen Institute and written for publications including the Huffington Post, FoodTank, and Alliance Magazine.