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Our founder and president, Smith Utubor, has frequented his native Nigeria to visit family for years. When visiting his grandmother in Ewohimi, a remote village west of the sprawling city of Lagos, he often wondered why so many kids were going farming, hunting with their parents in the morning hours, or gallivanting around the streets instead of going to the school steps away from his grandmother’s house. It seemed unimaginable and far removed from the reality he had grown up with where attending school was not an option. Baffled, Smith would return to his residency in the United States, left wondering how he could help.
Back in the US, amongst his various extracurricular activities, Smith was a soccer coach at a prominent soccer club in Boston, Massachusetts. He has played soccer most of his life and is very passionate about the sport. The sport has provided him many opportunities - including playing collegiately at the highest level. No matter the struggles, soccer was his instant happy place. Through coaching, Smith has inspired and mentored hundreds of kids from different backgrounds over the years. A common thread to his coaching tenure has been a focus on the value of education to the kids. Many of the kids he coached would go on and play at some of the top academic universities in the country. He has seen the power soccer has had over many of these kids’ lives. Some parents would pull their kids out of soccer if their grades weren’t being maintained. It wasn’t long before the idea of the Utubor Sports Foundation came to birth in which Smith decided soccer would be the bridge. He thought he could use the same playbook to get kids in the Ewohimi village to attend school. Like the kids he coached in the US, many kids in Nigeria loved soccer too. After all, it is the most popular sport in the world.
So, on his next trip to Nigeria, Smith went to Ewohimi with a few soccer balls and organized pickup soccer at Okaigben Primary School. Dozens of the village folks, young and old, showed up to play or watch. It was a tremendous atmosphere and a chance for many to escape their daily struggles. Seeing how many people came out, Smith seized the opportunity to get to know more of the young people around the village. He finished by telling the kids that he’ll be back with many more soccer balls if they promised to go and stay in school.
Smith came back to the US excited to get to work. He kept his promise to the kids. With the help of many of the parents he coached, the Soccer Club, and some local schools in the US, the Foundation was able to raise and donate hundreds of sports and school supplies to the school over the years. He would return to Nigeria whenever he could, stuffing soccer balls in his luggage, or in cars being shipped from the US. On subsequent trips, he would bring more and more soccer equipment as well (cleats, pinnies, uniforms, etc). During visits, the top students in the class are often recognized and given awards.
Though the Foundation has undergone some iterations over the years, its goal remains the same: Educate and Empower. The foundation prepares, promotes, and directs the youth of Ewohimi in the improvement of their lives. We aim to encourage young children to marvel at the opportunity for growth in their lives. We achieve this through our work in support of our three pillars: Education, Food, and Global Access.
Our Mission
Our Mission
The Utubor Foundation aims to help communities with limited resources realize their potential by investing in their brightest asset, children.
With a commitment to making a direct impact to each child’s well-being, we will deliver educational resources and other support needed to create positive outcomes for themselves and their community.
Our Pillars
Our Pillars
Education
Education
Education is the principal driver behind all we do at the Utubor Foundation. We believe education to be the most democratizing force that can help to put people on track to change their lives.
Food
Food
Many children of Ewohimi face various hardships at home that prevent them from attending school on a consistent basis and deprive them of a sense of stability. We believe that by helping to feed children in an academic environment, we can empower children to become engaged scholastically.
Global Access
Global Access
We believe access to information and capital are keys to being able to thrive and compete in the modern world. Under our global access pillar, we aim to remove computer illiteracy as a barrier to economic opportunity, and seek to come up with creative solutions to put children on a path towards participating in a global economy.
Leadership
Leadership
Smith Utubor has over 15 years of relevant experience in accounting and finance, and is a VP of Finance & Administration at Energetiq Technology Inc. where he has worked for the last nine years. He oversees the entire Finance, Accounting, Human Resource, and IT functions. Prior to Energetiq, Smith worked at KPMG LLP, a Big 4 CPA firm, for five years where he audited some of the largest companies in the world along with state, local and nonprofit entities. After KPMG, Smith worked at small to midsize companies where he always made immediate positive impact.
Smith is passionate about change and working with nonprofits. He has worked at FC Greater Boston Bolts, a nonprofit soccer club, as both a coach and the Treasurer in his spare time. Smith's commitment to providing exceptional training and development to younger generations, and his leadership experiences have helped him enable people to reach their greatest potential, and use their talent as an avenue to higher education and life success.
Smith’s love for soccer, education, and for change is what led him to start the Utubor Foundation, in 2012.
Sebastian serves as a board member and brings to the Utubor Foundation a background in finance, strategic planning and go-to-market strategy. Sebastian is particularly passionate about financial inclusion and increasing access to economic opportunity. He leads the development of the Utubor Foundation's Global Access pillar. In his free time, he enjoys being active, learning languages and exploring new cities and countries.
Susan is a health service manager at Landmark Health. In this role she is responsible for providing quality and operational support. She serves as the subject matter expert within the market to troubleshoot and address any concerns brought forward by ancillary staff.
As a seasoned professional with more than 15 years of healthcare experience, Susan is known for her dedication in providing quality clinical care. She most recently served as the senior clinical manager at Guardian Healthcare, where she led the clinical team for two branches. In that role she led the team in successfully completing a joint commission audit with no condition level deficiency.
Susan holds an MS in nursing leadership from Regis College and a Bachelor’s degree in nursing and psychology.
Quality care for all should not be for a select few; this view point has inspired Susan to dedicate time to volunteering at free clinics, and leading all medical-related research efforts for the Utubor Foundation.
Simeon Utubor
Simeon Utubor
Sally Brown
Sally Brown
Sandra Barrack-Anidi
Sandra Barrack-Anidi
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