It is with heartfelt sadness, that Trickle Up bids farewell to Leah Berkowitz Nchabeleng, a beloved member of our staff from 2019 until her passing. Leah served as the Senior Director of Program Quality and brought tremendous experience, expertise, a lifelong conviction to fight against poverty and inequality, and an indelible quest for learning to our community.   

Leah began her career overseas as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone, moving on to South Africa to support the anti-apartheid movement. She held many other positions within South African civil society as well as with international NGOs such as CARE, ChildFund and most recently Trickle Up. Leah was widely known and respected for her brilliance, her humility, her genuine thirst for knowledge, and for her beautiful sharp wit as well as her kindness and generosity among many other qualities that we will all badly miss.  

She was an inspiration, joy and comfort to many of us.

Her very sudden, unexpected demise from a very aggressive cancer leaves us with great sadness and a giant hole in the fabric of the Trickle Up family. Our deepest condolences are shared with her husband Elleck, whom she always called her beloved, her mother Marge, her brother Josh, and countless friends and loved ones around the world. 

May she be at peace and may her light always shine with us.