Dr. Rodney L. Bollie, PhD
Co-Founder & Executive Director
Rodney is a Lead Communications & Systems Architect with extensive experience spanning defense, commercial satellite, and telecommunications sectors. A Liberian-American who escaped the civil war in 1992, he holds a Ph.D. in Information Systems and Communications from Robert Morris University, alongside degrees from Montgomery College, George Washington University, and the University of Maryland. At MITRE, he researches and designs secure 5G communications networks. He co-founded IBT with his wife Sylvia to give Liberian students the kind of STEAM access he never had — and today leads IBT's vision to scale that work through the Teacher Pehpeh AI platform. In 2023 he received the BEYA Science Spectrum Trailblazer award in recognition of IBT's impact.
Dr. Sylvia G. Bollie, MD
Co-Founder & Director
Dr. Sylvia Bollie is a double board-certified physician and a first-generation American with deep roots in Liberia. In 2007, as a medical student at George Washington University, she volunteered teaching Biology at the University of Liberia and led a successful campaign to ship thousands of textbooks to the country. She holds degrees in Biology and Doctor of Medicine. Her conviction that healthcare and education are inseparable drives IBT's holistic approach to student development — and her passion for getting more girls into STEAM fields is woven into everything IBT does.
