About Us

Demitri Balabanov is the founder of IFGI and currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors. Born in Belarus and educated in the USA, he has had a life-long fascination with technology, the science of invention, and the human mind that makes it all possible.

He has degrees in Physics and Nanoscience and was a researcher at universities in Massachusetts and North Carolina. In addition to academia, Demitri has worked several years in industry as a Research & Development (R&D) leader for a large multinational corporation, happily splitting his time between the Bay Area and the East Coast. He has recently re-focused his attention on his first love, inventing, and is working to develop robotic manufacturing systems for the apparel industry to reduce the negative effects of “fast-fashion” on the developing nations and the environment.

Demitri has traveled the world extensively, and has been deeply affected by the social, cultural, and environmental conditions he observed that are in stark contrast to the high-tech environment he finds at home. He believes that with appropriate cultural sensitivity, much human suffering can be alleviated with technological capacity, infrastructure, resources, and solutions. He created IFGI for this purpose.

Demitri is an integral part of IFGI and our mission as an inventor, entrepreneur, and humanitarian philanthropist. He lives in Boston, MA with his family.

Stephanie Sedberry is IFGI’s Executive Director since 2021. She has a strong commitment to IFGI’s mission of empowering  underserved populations around the world.

Prior to joining IFGI, Stephanie’s career was in higher education, both as a university faculty member in Communication Studies then as an administrator, grant-writer, and project manager for a Physics research group focused on improving educational disparities in STEM fields. She has also served as the director of a childcare nonprofit and spent years volunteering with the Girl Scouts of the USA. She has a Ph.D in Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations from UNC Greensboro and a B.A. and M.A. in Communication Studies from UNC Chapel Hill.

Informed by science and motivated by compassion, Stephanie believes that we all have both the ability and responsibility to create a more humane, just, and compassionate world. In addition, she believes that with the right tools and resources, vulnerable communities can invent and implement solutions to their most pressing problems.

Stephanie loves to travel, solve puzzles, and adores furry creatures big and small. She speaks fluent Portuguese and has two millennial daughters who share her passion for social justice. She lives in Greensboro, NC with her partner, John.

Mauriah “Red” Turner is the newest addition to the team. She joined IFGI as a Social Media Manager Intern in August 2023. Red is a senior a the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), majoring in Communication Studies and English, and minoring in American Sign Language and Creative Writing. 

 Red was drawn to IFGI’s mission of empowering and supporting underserved populations around the world. She has a strong affinity for helping others and is ecstatic about the opportunity to use her skills to benefit the planet and those who inhabit it. Alongside her position with IFGI, she is also a resident advisor, a speaking center consultant, and a writing center consultant at UNCG.

Red loves to read, write, play video games, and play with her cat, Aries. Although originally from Detroit/Flint, Michigan, she now lives in Greensboro, NC, to pursue her degree.