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Our Team

Staff

CWB could not reach children and families in crisis without its staff’s hard work and dedication. In addition, talented artists, partners, and tour managers come together seasonally to make each tour possible.

Frankie Thompkins, CWB Executive Director
Frankie Thompkins Executive Director
Frankie Thompkins joined Clowns Without Borders in 2024, bringing over 15 years of experience in leadership across nonprofit and corporate sectors. Her passion for using the power...
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Staff member
Maggie Cunha Director of Communications
At Clowns Without Borders, Maggie (she/her) has gotten better acquainted with her inner clown. She’s also created a communications program that raises awareness...
More about Maggie
Headshot of Rachel Wansker
Rachel Wansker Program Manager
Rachel Wansker is an actor, puppeteer, clown, and educator from Atlanta, Georgia, USA. She earned her BA in Theatre and Performance Studies from Kennesaw State...
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Frankie Thompkins, CWB Executive Director
Frankie Thompkins Executive Director

Frankie Thompkins joined Clowns Without Borders in 2024, bringing over 15 years of experience in leadership across nonprofit and corporate sectors. Her passion for using the power of laughter to uplift underserved communities aligns perfectly with CWB’s mission. Frankie is known for her strategic vision and dedication to building inclusive, equitable communities.

Before joining CWB, she led initiatives at Advent NYC, where she significantly increased revenue and corporate partnerships. She has also held key roles at KPMG and Escalon, driving corporate citizenship and leading through change. Frankie is honored to continue CWB’s work, spreading joy and laughter to children and families around the world.

Staff member
Maggie Cunha Director of Communications

At Clowns Without Borders, Maggie (she/her) has gotten better acquainted with her inner clown. She’s also created a communications program that raises awareness about the need for laughter, especially for people in crisis. By implementing a series of new campaigns, and revamping others, she’s helped grow a supportive and sustaining community of believers. Prior to CWB, Maggie was a Program Officer with AIDS United. Please check out her blog posts on the Stories page.

Headshot of Rachel Wansker
Rachel Wansker Program Manager

Rachel Wansker is an actor, puppeteer, clown, and educator from Atlanta, Georgia, USA. She earned her BA in Theatre and Performance Studies from Kennesaw State University. Rachel also has a Professional Training Certificate in Physical Theatre from Dell’Arte International. She’s has performed with seventeen professional theatre and film companies in four countries.

In addition to performing, she’s worked as a teaching artist for the last ten years. Rachel is TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language) certified and works with children worldwide. She is newly based in London, where she continues to make art, tell stories, and empower voices.

Board of Directors

Our directors have diverse professional backgrounds to support the long-term vision of CWB.

Man playing ukulele for kid
Moshe Cohen Board Member Emeritus, Founder
Moshe Cohen, aka Mr. YooWho, is the founder of Clowns Without Borders – USA. Since 1987, he has performed in Burma, Kosovo, South Africa, Nepal, Guatemala, Haiti,...
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Headshot of Tim Cunningham
Tim Cunningham Board Chair
Tim joined Clowns Without Borders in 2003 when he was lassoed by an audience member during a CWB performance in a rural town. A graduate of...
More about Tim
Amrita smiling
Amrita Dhaliwal Board Member
Amrita Dhaliwal (she/her) is an award-winning Punjabi American comedian, arts leader, educator and devising artist based in Los Angeles, whose work spans multiple mediums,...
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David smiling
David Rosenthal Board Member
David M. Rosenthal has worked as a Family Therapist, Faculty member and Executive Director of a harm reduction center. He’s given academic presentations all...
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Headshot of Marisol Rosa-Shapiro (she/her)
Marisol Rosa-Shapiro (she/her) Board Member
Marisol is a theater artist, educator, facilitator, and creator of performance-fueled experiences for people of all ages. Her acting, directing, writing, and devising work have...
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Meredith smiling
Meredith Gordon Board Member
Meredith Gordon is an artist working with live performance, clowning, theater, and music. He worked as a medical clown for 20 years, first with the Big...
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Michael "Michi" Jakob Treasurer
Michi Jakob was born in Germany and, after stops around the globe, he settled in Manhattan in 1997 where he lives with his wife, three children...
More about Michael "Michi"
Victoria smiling
Victoria Te You Moore Board Member
Victoria is a psychotherapist in private practice specializing in trauma, immigration/displacement, loneliness, and group dynamics. She also co-facilitates training groups for MBA students at...
More about Victoria
Man playing ukulele for kid
Moshe Cohen Board Member Emeritus, Founder

Moshe Cohen, aka Mr. YooWho, is the founder of Clowns Without Borders – USA. Since 1987, he has performed in Burma, Kosovo, South Africa, Nepal, Guatemala, Haiti, Croatia, Chiapas (Mexico), South Sudan, and Baton Rouge, LA. Moshe continues to perform and teach internationally. Over the past 25 years, he’s given over 2000 performances in over 30 countries. He continues to teach workshops exploring the expression of personal humor through physical theater and contemporary clown.

Headshot of Tim Cunningham
Tim Cunningham Board Chair

Tim joined Clowns Without Borders in 2003 when he was lassoed by an audience member during a CWB performance in a rural town. A graduate of the Dell’Arte School of Physical Theatre, he has served CWB as a Volunteer, Executive Director, and Board President. CWB’s work in meeting people where they are to share laughter and healing inspired him to become a nurse. He then earned a doctoral degree from Columbia University in public health. He held concurrent roles as VP of Practice and Innovation and Co-Chief Well-Being Officer for Emory Healthcare. Tim has performed with CWB in Kurdistan, Colombia, Haiti, Mexico, Turkey, Sierra Leone, Eswatini, Lesotho, the Philippines, and South Africa.

Amrita smiling
Amrita Dhaliwal Board Member

Amrita Dhaliwal (she/her) is an award-winning Punjabi American comedian, arts leader, educator and devising artist based in Los Angeles, whose work spans multiple mediums, from stage to TV and film. Her work explores the core themes of humanity, like death and love, through a lens of the current social-political climate. For more, go to www.amritadhaliwal.com or IG @amrithatha.

David smiling
David Rosenthal Board Member

David M. Rosenthal has worked as a Family Therapist, Faculty member and Executive Director of a harm reduction center. He’s given academic presentations all over the world and has written a number of professional publications and books. David received his Ph.D. in Counselor Education from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He’s currently an Associate Professor at the Mailman School of Public Health and a behavioral faculty member in the Center for Family and Community Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center. He’s also served on other nonprofit boards.

Headshot of Marisol Rosa-Shapiro (she/her)
Marisol Rosa-Shapiro (she/her) Board Member

Marisol is a theater artist, educator, facilitator, and creator of performance-fueled experiences for people of all ages. Her acting, directing, writing, and devising work have appeared in NYC, Philadelphia, Seattle, Boston, Miami, Maine, Colorado, Alaska, Texas, Italy, and Mexico. Marisol is a tenured member of the teaching artist ensemble at the New Victory Theater in NYC, where she has also developed original work for young audiences as a lead artist in the LabWorks program, and made her Off-Broadway directorial debut with Spellbound Theater’s Wink. Marisol is a graduate of Princeton University and of Helikos International School of Theatre Creation in Florence, Italy. She has participated as a performer and teacher on three CWB-USA tours at the US/Mexico border, and is proud to serve on the boards of CWB-USA and Philadelphia’s Cannonball Festival.

Meredith smiling
Meredith Gordon Board Member

Meredith Gordon is an artist working with live performance, clowning, theater, and music. He worked as a medical clown for 20 years, first with the Big Apple Circus Clown Care and now as one of the founding members of Humorology Atlanta. Since 2001, Meredith has been a social circus coach with Cirque du Monde and now with SoCirque. He is a 2019 recipient of the Tanne Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement by an artist. Meredith performed with CWB in The Bahamas and Turkey.

Michael "Michi" Jakob Treasurer

Michi Jakob was born in Germany and, after stops around the globe, he settled in Manhattan in 1997 where he lives with his wife, three children and two English labs. Following 30 years in banking, he runs his own firm focusing on capital raising in emerging markets. Fluent in German, Spanish and English, he has lived, studied, or worked in Germany, the USA, Canada, England, Costa Rica, Argentina, Indonesia, and Spain. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Trent University and a MPhil from The University of Cambridge.

Victoria smiling
Victoria Te You Moore Board Member

Victoria is a psychotherapist in private practice specializing in trauma, immigration/displacement, loneliness, and group dynamics. She also co-facilitates training groups for MBA students at Chicago Booth and provides consultation to psychotherapists in the U.S. and China. She is also a visual artist, a nerd of long-form improv, and an occasional student of clowning. She has presented numerous workshops nationally and internationally on the intersection of improv and psychotherapy. Victoria holds various volunteer roles in the American Group Psychotherapy Association. She has previously worked in management consulting and nonprofits and has previously lived in China, France, and Japan. She speaks Mandarin (native), French (advanced), and Spanish (intermediate).