About Love From America
Tyrie Williams (he/him)
CEO, Founder
Tyrie Williams is a nonprofit leader, storyteller, and global equity advocate. With a background in education and international service, he leads the strategic direction, development efforts, and organizational culture of Love From America. He believes that becoming aware of inequity should not evoke shame or saviorism — but rather a deeper responsibility to ourselves and to one another. Through this lens, LFA approaches development as an opportunity to build and strengthen our connections and the advancement of humanity.
Love From America is a community-led nonprofit dedicated to co-creating sustainable, locally owned development projects with historically marginalized communities—beginning in post-colonial regions like Zimbabwe. Our work is rooted in equity, cultural humility, and deep, collaborative relationships that honor local wisdom and build long-term resilience.
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The organization was founded by Tyrie Williams, a seasoned nonprofit executive with a decade of experience in organizational leadership and social impact. Tyrie was deeply moved during a visit to Zimbabwe—a trip that revealed both the beauty and the burdens carried by communities navigating the legacies of colonization. Inspired to reimagine global partnership through a lens of solidarity and shared power, he launched Love From America as a platform for equity-driven, community-centered change.
Co-founder Lindsey Smaka, an educator and founder of Truffula EdVentures, brings a passion for place-based learning, cultural immersion, and intergenerational empowerment. Her background in educational leadership and community collaboration shapes our commitment to long-term learning, local agency, and cross-cultural understanding.
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Together, Tyrie and Lindsey lead Love From America with the belief that sustainable change grows from the inside out—and that our role is not to lead communities, but to walk with them, build with them, and celebrate the brilliance already within them.
Lindsey Smaka (she/her)
Co-Founder
Lindsey is an educator and co-founder of Love From America, bringing years of experience in place-based education, cultural immersion, and global learning. She is passionate about building authentic relationships across communities and uplifting local narratives. Through her work, Lindsey bridges her background in education with a commitment to reciprocity and shared growth, ensuring that development is guided by the wisdom and vision of those it serves.
Mission
Love From America partners with communities around the world to co-create, fund, and deliver community-driven projects—while helping build sustainable systems rooted in local knowledge, cultural context, and long-term vision.
Vision
Love From America envisions a world where every community—regardless of geography, culture, or history—has not only the essentials to survive, but the autonomy, tools, and collective power to thrive across generations. To LFA, thriving means access to sustainable education, healthcare, and infrastructure—and the local capacity to repair, expand, and reimagine these systems over time.
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LFA aims to foster partnerships grounded in dignity and shaped by its E.C.H.O. values—Equity, Collaboration, Humility, and Ownership. LFA walks alongside communities whether they are just beginning to ask deeper questions or already naming their own path forward. Having questions is not a barrier—it’s a beginning. Through this commitment, LFA aims to cultivate relationships that honor local wisdom, strengthen intergenerational leadership, and lay foundations that grow far beyond any one project or organization.
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LFA believes systems must be shaped by those they serve. Development should be locally led and globally supported. Culture is celebrated, not overwritten. And every step forward belongs to the people who live it.
Our Board of Directors.
Our Board of Directors brings together a passionate group of leaders, educators, and changemakers who guide Love From America with wisdom, integrity, and heart. Rooted in diverse experiences and united by a shared commitment to equity and global connection, they help shape our vision and ensure our mission stays grounded, bold, and community-led.
