Board

Dave has been involved in agriculture his entire life.  He grew up working on the family vegetable farm, was the Farm Production Manager for an Ag-Biotechnology Company after graduating from college, and is currently the Assistant Director at the Rutgers University EcoComplex. At Rutgers’ clean energy research and commercialization center, he focuses on sustainable energy production and utilization for farms.

Dave holds a BS in Horticulture, and an MS in Plant Science, from Rutgers University. He is Chairman of the Rutgers Agrivoltaic Program. This program was formed for the science-based implementation of economical, farmer-friendly photovoltaic systems that combine renewable energy production with improved farm viability. He also works on controlled environment agriculture, hydroponics, aquaponics, biogas production, and cover crops for soil health.

Dave, his wife Lisa, and their two sons operate Specca Farms, a 250-acre u-pick and direct market farm in Burlington County, New Jersey. They grow over 100 different types and varieties of fruits and vegetables that are sold year-round. In 2020, they received the NJ Vegetable Grower of the Year Award.

Dave is a member of the Jacksonville, New Jersey Presbyterian Church.  He sees the VIP Demonstration Farm as an opportunity to teach the people of Malawi new methods of producing nutritious food in a sustainable and economical way by using the knowledge, experience, and resourcefulness that God has blessed him with.

Annie has worked as a Human Resource professional since 2019 and recently transitioned to a Senior Program Management role for Amazon Logistics. Throughout Annie’s life, she has seen her mother, Lucy Goeke–as well as her aunt Liz Heinzel-Nelson–impact the lives of countless people in Malawi.

Annie joined her mother on her first medical mission trip in 2016 and has since returned to Malawi for a total of five medical mission trips, supporting the Khanda outreach clinic on each trip.

On the first trip, everything Annie saw her parents and Liz work through came to life. Watching Annie’s mother and Liz interact with the Malawians and the lasting impact that Villages in Partnership had on the communities in the Sakata region was a life-changing experience for her. Annie is honored to serve on the board of Villages in Partnership to share her passion, skills, and faith to support the continued mission and vision of Villages in Partnership.

Marissa is a member of Valley Presbyterian Church in Scottsdale, AZ, where she volunteers with the children’s ministry and is also a member of the missions committee. 

She takes all the knowledge she has gained from working in the school districts and applies it to her ministry work. Her goal is to travel to Malawi and, eventually, her husband and daughter will join her as well.

Gillian Kachikondo graduated from the University of Malawi with a Bachelor of Accounting in 2000. Since then, she has worked in fund management, audit, finance and operations for over 20 years. Currently, she works as the CEO for Continental Asset Management. She has also served on several governance committees, including chair of the board for Actionaid International Malawi. Gillian is also an upcoming fruit and vegetable farmer. Her wealth of experience both in finance but also as governance for development agencies allows Gillian to advise and lead VIP Malawi with a lot of wisdom. Gillian is excited to be joining the board and helping to serve the people of the Sakata region.

Bob is an ordained Elder in the Allentown Presbyterian Church in New Jersey, and a partner in the international law firm Dechert LLP, specializing in intellectual property litigation. Born and raised in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, he is a graduate of the College of William and Mary and Harvard Law School. He and his wife, Audrey, have three grown children—Ethan, Sarah and Alek.

[Read more…] about Bob Rhoad

Betsy has held senior executive responsibilities in the areas of finance, operations, administration and mergers and acquisitions.  She was the managing general partner of a number of limited partnerships formed to acquire, operate and sell underperforming and undervalued media properties.  At its height, the companies she ran owned 60 radio stations, 12 television stations, several technical journals and business publications and was the 25^th largest cable system in the country with more than 650,000 subscribers.

Betsy is currently providing consulting services to c-level management with respect to operations, litigation strategy and management, capital raising and readying companies for both private and public sale.   

Betsy is excited to be able to work alongside those who share her faith and make an impact on the lives of her brothers and sisters in Malawai. 

Betsy graduated from Wellesley College with a BA in Economics and Political Science.

Lucy has worked as a nurse and a Nurse Practitioner for the past 36 years and currently works at Xavier University and as a home care nurse practitioner. She became interested in VIP 9 years ago after listening to the passion Liz and Stephen have for Malawi. Lucy is Liz’s younger sister, a mother to 4 children, a wife, daughter and friend. She has worked in many areas and served many different populations. None of that prepared her, however, for the experiences she had when she first traveled to Malawi with her daughter, who is also a nurse, and a friend who later became a nurse. The brief time she spent there gave her a glimpse of the life that VIP has chosen to be part of. She has returned 11 times with her children and husband to work as a Nurse Practitioner in the clinics, lead medical trips and foster the health improvements of these remote villages. Every year she learns so much from the practitioners, nurses, VIP staff and villagers about life. She feels honored to bring teams over and work with the committed teams in both America and Malawi to help foster growth and health in the communities VIP serves.

Liz received her BA in Psychology from LaSalle University and MS in Education from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a mother of four, an entrepreneur and a visionary leader. Her expertise is start-up ministries and mission enterprises. She has been a stay-at-home mom, classroom teacher, consultant to classroom teachers, community developer, youth ministry director, and now serves as International Director of Villages in Partnership. Her passion to serve the poor began at a young age and led to the decision to live in Malawi for one year. She travels to Malawi several times a year, leading teams and guiding the work of VIP. While in Malawi she enjoys living in the village and reaching across cultural barriers where she encounters the Kingdom of God.

Jonathan is an early career development consultant with 5 years’ experience in project management and community engagement in southern Africa. He applies logical and creative thinking to his work with a meticulous and task-driven approach. As an introduction to his professional career, Jonathan’s workstream has focused on projects seeking win-win outcomes for people and conservation through community engagement, monitoring, evaluation and learning. Jonathan aims to contribute towards positive social and environmental impact in both his personal and professional capacities. Additionally, he works as a freelance multimedia artist in illustration, graphic design and photographic work. Jonathan joined VIPs International Board in 2018. 

Steven Mauluka has worked in airfreight for over 37 years, currently performing as Director of Operations with Air Cargo Malawi. With many years heading a division of over 50 staff, including 6 departmental managers, Steven brings to the board of VIP a wealth of experience in administration and project management. He initially joined the international board of VIP in 2015. As he nears the end of his regular employment life with Air Cargo, he has plans to go into farming.
Steven is the current Deputy Session Clerk at Kaning’a congregation of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian in the capital city of Malawi, Lilongwe. He is married to Lucy and they have three children: Zizwa James (25), Tadala Yvette (22) and Constance Thembi (16). They have also adopted a daughter Ebenezer (6).

Melton Richard Luhanga is the Executive Director of a locally-based organization in Malawi, Churches Action in Relief and Development. Luhanga is also chair of the Membership and Nominations Committee for ACT Alliance, a globally funded body with about 140 agencies working in over 100 countries doing development, humanitarian, and advocacy work. He holds a Masters of Arts in Rural Social Development from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. Luhanga brings a wealth of experience in development work, having worked in the field for over 25 years. He loves to be and interact with people of different backgrounds. He is forward-looking and desires that all people enjoy their lives with a sense of dignity.

Jennie Garst is a mom living in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband Jim and their two school-aged children.  She will be the first to tell you that she was one of the least likely people to visit Malawi, but she and Jim did just that in the summer of 2017 when they felt called to join a friendship trip through their church, Christ Church of Oak Brook.  The people of Malawi quickly cemented a place in Jennie’s heart with their strength, determination, and inspiring love of God.  Jennie feels particularly devoted to the women of Malawi.  She loves sharing the stories of the amazing women who have improved their lives, and the lives of other women in their village, by starting Village Savings and Loan associations (VSLs).  Jennie is looking forward to the day she can lead a women’s friendship trip, hopefully one including her own daughter.  

David retired in 2017 from a career with Firmenich North America where, among other responsibilities, he served as the President of Firmenich Charitable Foundation.
He is an active member and Elder of The Presbyterian Church of Toms River, one of Villages In Partnership’s very first partner churches.
He visited Malawi in 2011 and has been an active supporter of the families there ever since.

Chris Ebling holds a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from the School of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan and a Master’s in Resource Interpretation from the Arthur Templeton School of Forestry at Stephen F. Austin State University. Chris applies his formal training through a wide variety of volunteer, civic, and educational programs. Chris and his wife Karen are active together as Texas Master Naturalists, a corps of volunteers who provide education, outreach, and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas. He teaches courses covering forest ecology, forest management, dendrology, tree identification techniques, and entomology to other master naturalist groups throughout Texas and to other civic and educational organizations. Chris has served as the land committee chair of the Connemara Conservancy Foundation, a land trust focused on preserving critical landscapes across North Texas.

Chris worked professionally in the telecommunications, computer, and defense industries over a 35-year career, with leadership positions in product management and marketing, engineering, operations management, and customer support. A native of Michigan, he and Karen live in Plano, a northern suburb of Dallas TX, and they enjoy projects at their recreational farm in nearby Fannin County. Notable projects include the management of a 15-acre seasonal wetland, built in cooperation with the State of Texas and the US National Resource Conservation Service, to benefit migratory waterfowl and ancillary species as well as native prairie restoration. They have five adult children, who have added beloved spouses and precious grandchildren to their extended family.

A Ruling Elder and Deacon at Canyon Creek Presbyterian in Richardson, Texas, Chris serves as the chair of the Environmental Committee, which has resulted in PC(USA) recognition of CCPC as an Earthcare Congregation since 2015. Chris is known for his passion for missions and justice issues. As past Chair of the church Mission Committee, he has participated in a variety of local and international mission efforts. Together with his wife Karen, Chris has taught an adult Sunday School class since 2005, focusing a large and lively group of adults on the Christian response to contemporary social and environmental justice issues.

Chris made his first trip to Malawi in February of 2018 and immediately felt a connection to the Malawian people and a strong call to serve. Since April of 2018, Chris has served as the forestry advisor to Villages in Partnership. In order to leverage the strengths of past VIP trip participants from North Texas, Chris has established the Tejas Friends of VIP organization to expand awareness of VIP within the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.

Tim retired in 2017 as the Tax Planning Manager for Syngenta Corporation in Wilmington DE and has shifted his focus to volunteering.  Tim participated in VIP Medical Missions in 2018 and 2019, bringing an eye glasses kit on the later mission which provided custom goggles to assess and determine the correction required and a supply of various lenses and frames.  Many villagers received their first set of eye glasses on that trip.  Tim has recently been appointed Treasurer and has been learning the ropes for managing that function for VIP.  Tim also volunteers with his county medical reserve corps, participating in flu vaccine clinics, Covid testing, and Covid vaccine clinics.  Tim is also on the Advisory Board for his regional Catholic grade school.  Tim has a BS in Accounting from the University of Scranton, and a JD, and an MBA,  from Villanova University

Tom is a veteran of the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserves.  His military service brought to Haiti and Guatemala for humanitarian missions.  He has worked for the U.S. Government for over 13 years and has recently become the co-owner for Wakefield Biochar. He received B.A.  in Chemistry from Texas Christian University and Doctor of Philosophy in Analytical Chemistry from University of Missouri-Columbia.  Some of his research focused on remediation of hazardous waste and understanding how pesticides negatively impact children’s health.  Tom spent most of his youth living in Columbia, Missouri and currently resides outside of Chicago, Illinois. He is a busy husband and father of four children. Tom visited Malawi in July 2017 where he was actively involved in a Friendship Trip. His passion to serve has kept him active in raising funds and awareness of the importance of clean water in Malawi.

It took just one trip to Malawi to utterly transform a suburban working mom’s impression of religion. Best reflected in her favorite Scripture, her philosophy is incorporated into VIP’s Mission statement, “Religion that is pure and faultless before God is this: to care for widows and orphans in their distress.” (James 1:27)

Randa Nelson returned from Malawi a passionate champion and cheerleader, a light and spokeswoman for VIP sharing their exciting work with church friends, family and perfect strangers.

She returns to the VIP board having now completed three excursions to Malawi – an experience she happily shared with her eldest daughter in 2012. Randa leads her first group the Summer of 2018.

Between trips to Africa, Randa works as an administrative assistant in the Financial field, roots for her beloved Red Raiders, and continues to launch three children into adulthood.

 

Bob is an ordained Elder in the Allentown Presbyterian Church in New Jersey, and a partner in the international law firm Dechert LLP, specializing in intellectual property litigation. Born and raised in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, he is a graduate of the College of William and Mary and Harvard Law School. He and his wife, Audrey, have three grown children—Ethan, Sarah and Alek.

[Read more…] about Bob Rhoad

Liz received her BA in Psychology from LaSalle University and MS in Education from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a mother of four, an entrepreneur and a visionary leader. Her expertise is start-up ministries and mission enterprises. She has been a stay-at-home mom, classroom teacher, consultant to classroom teachers, community developer, youth ministry director, and now serves as International Director of Villages in Partnership. Her passion to serve the poor began at a young age and led to the decision to live in Malawi for one year. She travels to Malawi several times a year, leading teams and guiding the work of VIP. While in Malawi she enjoys living in the village and reaching across cultural barriers where she encounters the Kingdom of God.

Stephen is the Pastor of Allentown Presbyterian Church, New Jersey and co-founder of VIP. He is the secretary of VIP, but his primary role is supporting the Executive Director.  Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, he graduated from Cornell University, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Columbia Theological Seminary. He is married to Liz and they have four children Jem, Clay, Terra, and Jordan.

Lucy has worked as a nurse and a Nurse Practitioner for the past 36 years and currently works at Xavier University and as a home care nurse practitioner. She became interested in VIP 9 years ago after listening to the passion Liz and Stephen have for Malawi. Lucy is Liz’s younger sister, a mother to 4 children, a wife, daughter and friend. She has worked in many areas and served many different populations. None of that prepared her, however, for the experiences she had when she first traveled to Malawi with her daughter, who is also a nurse, and a friend who later became a nurse. The brief time she spent there gave her a glimpse of the life that VIP has chosen to be part of. She has returned 11 times with her children and husband to work as a Nurse Practitioner in the clinics, lead medical trips and foster the health improvements of these remote villages. Every year she learns so much from the practitioners, nurses, VIP staff and villagers about life. She feels honored to bring teams over and work with the committed teams in both America and Malawi to help foster growth and health in the communities VIP serves.

Greg is currently the Director of Missions at Swift Creek Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Virginia and has led two trips to Haiti. He has also served as an Elder responsible for Finance/Accounting. He currently works as a fractional CFO for multiple companies in different industries. He was formerly the CEO of Kloke Group, a moving, storage, and logistics company with four locations in the state of Virginia, from 2004 to 2016. Prior to Kloke Group, Greg ran an $80 million division of Honeywell that develops and manufactures high-performance synthetic fibers and composites. He is a graduate of the College of William and Mary and holds an MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. He and his wife, Kathy, have three teenage sons. Greg visited Malawi in August 2012 and was inspired by the faith, resilience, and smiles of the villagers. He hopes to return again to continue alongside VIP in its effort toward helping our partners achieve self-sustenance.

Gayle currently serves as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Business Administration for Dallas Zoo Management. Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a better world for animals. Previously she held the positions of Executive Vice President of Corporate Development and Chief Financial Officer for Match.com, a subsidiary of IAC (Nasdaq: IACI), and Vice President of Studio Planning for The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS). Gayle earned her CPA license in the State of California and received her MBA from UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Management. Her philanthropic work includes serving as Board Chair for A Small Miracle Foundation, a Dallas nonprofit that provides childcare for families who are battling cancer. Additionally, she serves on the Board Executive Committee for the Richardson Symphony Orchestra. Along with her career and non-profit work, she is a Managing Director of Golden Seeds, a nationwide angel investing network focused on women-led businesses.  She and her husband Phil enjoy raising their two children in Richardson, Texas.  Their son John attends college at UT Austin and daughter Nicole is in high school.  Gayle and her family visited Malawi for the first time in the summer of 2013. After witnessing firsthand the incredible work being done by Villages in Partnership, and their powerful and effective partnership with the village chiefs, local churches and the villagers themselves, she was eager to throw her full support behind the VIP mission, and looks forward to another Friendship Trip to Malawi in the future.

Eileen is a Senior Director at Biogen Idec, a biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, MA. She has worked in clinical operations for the past 14+ years, supporting the quality delivery of clinical research trials. She has a MS, Health Services Administration from the University of St. Francis in Joliet, IL and a BS in Nursing from Albright College in Reading, PA having worked as a critical care nurse before entering industry. She has three grown children, Ashley, Sean, and Lauren. Eileen and Lauren traveled to Malawi in the summer of 2014, along with Scott Gradwell, DMD. They ran Villages in Partnership’s first dental clinic. It was there, serving in these communities that Villages in Partnership truly came to life. Watching VIP in action and seeing the impact this organization has had for the people and villages in the Sakata region were truly life changing. She is excited to share her skills, faith, and passion for giving to support the continued mission and vision of VIP.

Tim Schuler started keeping bees as a young boy with his dad and brother. John P. Schuler kept honey bees in Prospect Park Pennsylvania a small suburb of Philadelphia. Tim graduated in 1982 from Delaware Valley College, Doylestown Pa with a BS in Animal Husbandry. He began his career helping to manage a large cattle and hog feed lot in central NJ. In 1986 He began working for the New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA) as an Animal Health Technician inspecting and testing livestock for disease control. In 1989 and 90 Tim served a short time as a bee inspector for the NJDA.

In 1991 Tim started Schuler’s Bees a sideline business managing 300 colonies of honey bees providing pollination services to South Jersey farmers and producing honey in Warren County NJ. In 2007 he took the position of State Apiarist with the NJDA Division of Plant Industry.

Tim has taught beekeeping to Beekeepers, non-beekeepers, Rutgers university undergraduates and subsistence farmers in poor countries. He inspects colonies throughout the State for diseases and pests helping beekeepers keep strong healthy colonies of Honey bees. He promotes New Jersey’s beekeeping industry in any way he can.

In 2009 Tim spent two weeks evaluating the beekeeping industry of Haiti for Farmer to Farmer a program of USAID. He has also worked several times with beekeepers and livestock growers in Sakata Malawi and Naming’azi farm with North Star Vets to Malawi and VIP.