About us

Our people

The board directors, mentor, school leaders and school team behind Spectrum XLabs Alliance and Spectrum Secondary School.

Governance

Board of directors

A board of six directors governs Spectrum XLabs Alliance (SXLA).

  • Brainy Swaibu

    Brainy Swaibu

    Founder and President, Spectrum XLabs Alliance; Co-founder, Spectrum TechLabs Alliance (USA)

    Brainy Swaibu is the Founder and President of Spectrum XLabs Alliance and Co-founder of Spectrum TechLabs Alliance in the United States.

    Read more about Brainy Swaibu

    He went to school in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement and taught there and in Hoima before founding SXLA in 2020, after seeing a widening gap between what schools teach and what young people need in a world shaped by AI and emerging technologies. He leads SXLA's work to help learners use technology as a thinking and creative partner, while staying grounded in curiosity, human judgement and the real needs of their communities. He is a Singularity University Global Ambassador and 2022 award winner, and an ALA for Education CEO Fellow in Cohort 6. His long-term ambition is for young people to build solutions and enterprises that bring clean water, food, shelter and energy to their communities, guided by his belief that the best way to predict the future is to create it.

    LinkedIn profile

  • Nick Arden

    Nick Arden

    Board director, innovation and strategy; JEP mentor

    Nick Arden serves on the SXLA board with a focus on innovation and strategy, and mentors participants in the Junior Entrepreneurs Program.

    Read more about Nick Arden

    Based in Vancouver, Canada, he runs Arden Business Consulting and has worked as an entrepreneur, career counsellor, business consultant, software developer, guest speaker and university lecturer; he studied at St Catharine's College, Cambridge. His work helps people prepare for AI-driven change at work, and he argues that as AI and robotics take on more tasks, the human contribution rests on curiosity, creativity and compassion. That perspective shapes how he mentors JEP learners as they explore enterprise, careers and their place in a changing world of work.

    LinkedIn profile

  • Achiro Stella

    Achiro Stella

    Board Secretary; Director of Studies, Spectrum Secondary School

    Achiro Stella is a trained secondary school teacher and the Director of Studies at Spectrum Secondary School, a role she has held since 2024.

    Read more about Achiro Stella

    She also serves as Board Secretary of Spectrum XLabs Alliance, with a board focus on education and learning. As Director of Studies she coordinates teaching and academic planning across the school, and as Board Secretary she keeps the board's records and decisions in order. She studied at Kumi University.

    LinkedIn profile

  • Mpfitumukiza (Nsengiyunva) Daniel

    Mpfitumukiza (Nsengiyunva) Daniel

    Board director and Chief Technology Officer

    Mpfitumukiza (Nsengiyunva) Daniel is a board director and the Chief Technology Officer of Spectrum XLabs Alliance, with a board focus on ICT and media.

    Read more about Mpfitumukiza (Nsengiyunva) Daniel

    A refugee youth leader, humanitarian practitioner and social entrepreneur, he is the Founder and Executive Director of JOCE-NET, which works with refugees and host communities on education, livelihoods, financial inclusion and community resilience, and the CEO of FF Softech Company Ltd. He serves as a Youth Representative on the Refugee Welfare Council, where he advocates for youth participation, accountability and inclusive development. He believes refugees are not only recipients of aid but leaders and innovators who can shape solutions for their own communities.

    LinkedIn profile

  • Sonia Glorone

    Sonia Glorone

    Board director, finance oversight

    Sonia Glorone is a board director of Spectrum XLabs Alliance with a focus on finance oversight.

    Read more about Sonia Glorone

    A Mastercard Foundation Scholar and Next Generation Leaders Fellow, she brings a strong interest in statistics, data and ethical entrepreneurship, and is an alumna of the Aspire programme. Her commitment to social impact and careful use of evidence helps the board keep SXLA's decisions grounded in good stewardship.

    LinkedIn profile

  • Turyakyira Silver

    Turyakyira Silver

    Board director, secondary education; Operations Manager, Spectrum Secondary School

    Turyakyira Silver is the Operations Manager of Spectrum Secondary School and a board director of Spectrum XLabs Alliance, with a focus on secondary education.

    Read more about Turyakyira Silver

    He holds a diploma in Agribusiness. He coordinates the day-to-day running of the school, working with the support staff who keep classrooms, boarding, meals and school services working, and brings that practical view of the school to the board's decisions.

Mentoring

JEP mentors

Mentors share their experience with participants in the Junior Entrepreneurs Program (JEP) as they explore enterprise, careers and the world of work. Nick Arden, Darlene Damm and Chris Ewald also mentored SXLA's founder, and now pass that experience on to JEP learners alongside him.

Brainy Swaibu

Brainy Swaibu

JEP mentor; Founder and President, SXLA

Brainy mentors JEP participants, drawing on his own path from Kyangwali to founding SXLA and Spectrum Secondary School.

Read Brainy's full profile
Nick Arden

Nick Arden

JEP mentor

Nick mentors JEP participants, drawing on his work helping people prepare for AI-driven change at work. He also mentored SXLA's founder, Brainy Swaibu.

Read Nick's full profile
Darlene Damm

Darlene Damm

JEP mentor; Sunnyvale, California, United States

Darlene works with social innovators on some of the world's biggest problems.

Read more about Darlene Damm

She co-founded two early impact technology companies in aerospace and drone transport, and as Faculty Chair and Vice President of Community and Impact at Singularity University she taught and mentored thousands of founders and executives. She has also worked with Ashoka and the World Bank, advises the UN World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator, and studied at Stanford University and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She also mentored SXLA's founder, Brainy Swaibu.

LinkedIn profile

Chris Ewald

Chris Ewald

JEP mentor; Berkeley, California, United States

Chris works with nonprofit leaders and entrepreneurs around the world, designing practical AI solutions that simplify operations and support their teams.

Read more about Chris Ewald

He was previously Director, Community at Singularity University, working with its global chapters, alumni, experts and start-ups on social impact projects, and he has sixteen years of experience building online communities. He also mentored SXLA's founder, Brainy Swaibu.

LinkedIn profile

Spectrum Secondary School

School leadership

The headteacher leads Spectrum Secondary School, working with two board directors who also help run the school day to day.

Kyasimiire Christine

Kyasimiire Christine

Headteacher

Leads Spectrum Secondary School, its teachers and its learners.

Achiro Stella

Achiro Stella

Director of Studies

Coordinates teaching and academic planning across the school.

Read Stella's full profile
Turyakyira Silver

Turyakyira Silver

Operations Manager

Coordinates the day-to-day running of the school with the support team.

Read Silver's full profile
Everyone counts

The school team

Spectrum Secondary School runs on the work of 13 teachers and a non-teaching team. A functioning school depends on all of them.

  • Teachers13 teachers plan and teach the national curriculum and guide JEP projects.
  • Bursar and secretaryKeep the school's finances and records in order.
  • CooksKeep learners fed.
  • CleanersKeep classrooms and boarding clean.
  • SecurityKeep the school safe.
Five members of the Spectrum Secondary School team stand together in the school compound, in front of a classroom block and flower beds.
Members of the Spectrum Secondary School team. Photo: SXLA

How governance will grow

By 2028 the board plans to grow to seven to nine directors with three committees: finance and audit; programmes and learning; and safeguarding and ethics. The board receives progress reports every quarter. The first external audit is planned for the 2027 accounts.

Legal status

Spectrum XLabs Alliance Ltd was incorporated on 11 March 2025 as a company limited by guarantee (registration number 80034750112386). Registration with the National Bureau for NGOs is planned for 2027. We share our status openly with every funder.

SXLA and STA

Spectrum XLabs Alliance (SXLA) is the Uganda-based organisation that leads the educational work and runs Spectrum Secondary School. Spectrum TechLabs Alliance (STA) is a separate, US-based partner organisation that mobilises funding, talent and partnerships for this work.

Board profiles are published with the directors' agreement. LinkedIn links open the directors' public profiles in a new tab. Our safeguarding commitments

Keep exploring

Explore more

Our story

Who we are, our mission, vision and values, and how SXLA began.

Find out more

Founder

How a teacher from Kyangwali taught himself new tools and opened a school in a church.

Find out more

Safeguarding

How we protect learners, including online, and how to report a concern.

Find out more