Marissa Coutinho-Samake holds a Bachelor’s in Information Systems from Brigham Young University. She is married to Niankoro Yeah Samake, the Ambassador of Mali to India and they have two children. Since 2011, she has lived in Mali to support her husband’s ambition to become President of Mali. She has supported projects that address severe malnutrition issues among children in Mali as well as projects that teach women job skills. Marissa continues to help raise awareness about sustainable development projects in the fields of education, healthcare, clean water and clean energy. Empower Mali is a non profit foundation founded to partner with Malians in overcoming education and health challenges. Empower Mali (EM) works with local leaders in Mali in the fields of education, healthcare, clean water and energy.