People
Kent Annan, co-director
is co-founder of Haiti Partners and an author. He began working in Haiti in 2003. His book is titled Following Jesus through the Eye of the Needle (InterVarsity Press) and comes out in December 2009. He started Beyond Borders’ Living Words Christian Education program. He has written for national journals and magazines. After living in Haiti for two and a half years, he now travels there regularly from Florida. He worked for almost three years with refugee ministries in Western Europe, Albania, and Kosovo. He holds a bachelor’s in business from Palm Beach Atlantic University and a master of divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. Kent is married to Shelly, who is associate pastor at Our Savior Lutheran Church, Vero Beach. They have a young daughter and son. More about Kent’s writing at www.kentannan.com.
John Engle, co-director
John Engle is a co-founder of Haiti Partners. John also co-founded Beyond Borders and its Haiti-based partner organization, Limyè Lavi Foundation, in 1993. He first moved to Haiti in 1991 to work with Tony Campolo’s organization (EAPE) in support of education for Haiti’s children and adults. John moved to Vero Beach in 2007 to establish with Kent Annan, Haiti Partners’ Florida office but moved back to Haiti with his family after the January earthquake. Although he has been coordinating the building of Learning Centers and other earthquake response projects since January, his focus during the last two decades has been on participatory leadership and discussion-based education in Haiti. He has been a consultant with organizations including World Bank, Amnesty International, and United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He serves on the missions board of Community Church of Vero Beach where he attends with his wife Merline, who is a native of Haiti, and their two children when they are in Vero Beach.
Benaja Antoine, program coordinator
is from Pointe Latanier, La Gonâve, Haiti. He has been a primary school teacher since 1995, 8 years of which was at Lekòl Kominote Matènwa. During this time he taught 4th grade, was the school librarian, office manager and project manager. Benaja also spent 5 years as a literacy monitor with AAPLAG (The Association of Peasant Organizers of La Gonâve) and 4 years as a Sunday school teacher. He has received substantial training in participatory and alternative education methods, administration, library science, and computers. He has visited the US extensively, speaks fluent english, and has collaborated with such organizations as World Vision, Concern WorldWide and Rotary International. As an educator, Benaja’s goal is to help kids in Haiti find the best practical education possible as well as to cultivate leadership skills. He is an expert on Reflection Circles, Open Space and Living Words.
David Jones, partnership director
started Strive LLC, a Colorado based consultancy, in 2009. After senior posts in politics and business, David served as president of Scripture Union for ten years, starting in 1988. He then helped launch John Stott Ministries in 1997, serving as its first president. During this same time, David started Geneva Global, a philanthropic advisory firm that has arranged over $85 million in funding for 1600 projects in the Global South.
Erik Badger, program coordinator
lived in Haiti from 1999 to 2001. He played a key role in developing and implementing our Reflection Circle Project. His work was focused on the island of La Gonâve working with a local association of peasant organizers training literacy teachers how to cultivate leadership and democratic participation through discussion. Before leaving Haiti, he co-authored the first Reflection Circle teacher’s guide in Haitian Creole. Since returning to the U.S., Erik has earned a master’s degree in education from DePaul University, Chicago. His most recent position was at Shimer College where he was an administrator of both public and private grants.
Kim Montroll, director of INTERNS pilot project
first visited Haiti in 1997. She holds a BA from the University of Rochester and a law degree from Vermont Law School. She practiced law, then from 1996-2006 coordinated volunteers/programming and served as Executive Director for a faith-based organization for low-income children and youth. In 2006-2007, she lived with a rural Haitian family through Beyond Borders’ Apprenticeship in Shared Living Program, later serving as a Beyond Borders Co-Director. Kim leads retreats and workshops with groups seeking to bridge gaps of wealth and poverty, and consults with non-profits in organizational/resources development. She has taught for over 12 years in DC’s Servant Leadership School.
Board of Directors
Adam Bolinger, board president
is a banker with over 20 years experience in the industry. He has been actively volunteering in Indian River County for years with organizations such as United Way, Kiwanis, and Youth in Action. He also served on the board of the Indian River County Land Acquisition Committee and most currently The Homeless Family Center. Adam is a member of Our Savior Lutheran Church. He is married to Suzanne and has raised 2 sons and a daughter in Vero Beach.
Johanna Jones, board treasurer
writes documentation for the SpectorSoft Corp. Her career path has brought her to Unisyn Voting Systems, Encyclopedia Britannica, Computer Associates, Harcourt Brace, and many other companies. She volunteered in California as a Rolling Reader, Art Corps teacher, and PTA Board member. She has degrees from St. Olaf and San Francisco State University. The Jones family left San Diego by RV and arrived in Vero Beach by boat. They have two wonderful teenage boys and a great dog.
Cathy Lacroix, board vice president
has been actively volunteering for Beyond Borders Florida for over a year. She is currently the director of finance and administration for United Way of St. Lucie County. She is one of the founding members of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Indian River County, and still serves on their board of directors. She is a member of the Holy Cross Community Service Ministry. Cathy is married to William and lives in Vero Beach.
Associates
Suzanne Bolinger, administrative coordinator (volunteer)
has resided in Vero Beach for the past 14 years. She is employed by Hale Construction. Suzanne is a member of Our Savior Lutheran Church and is a Sunday School teacher and Team Leader for the Education Program. Suzanne is married to Adam and mother of three…Josh, Justin, and Brittany.
Merline Engle, Haiti Partners youth choir and dance troupe coordinator (volunteer)
grew up being a part of choirs in Haiti. In addition to extensive choir experience, Merline mentors and coaches a number of Haitians and Haitian-Americans while she and John raise their two children. She is known for her hospitality, which traces back to being raised by and running the household for her grandfather, who was a well-known political figure and who had a steady flow of local and international guests.
Luke and Adrian Renner
Luke’s been traveling to Haiti for over 15 years and recently moved there with Adrian and their 3 children. Luke has worked as a media professional for A&E, Universal, FOX, SPEED, etc. He has filled the director’s chair at venues the likes of Carnegie Hall, Red Rocks Amphitheater, and the world renowned Sydney Opera House. He’s worked alongside numerous recording artists including Paul Simon, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Michael W. Smith, and Andraé Crouch. Learn more about Luke and Adrian’s exciting project.
Haitian co-workers
Enel Angervil
is a pastor, school teacher, and community leader on the Haitian island of Lagonav. He leads a network of churches and schools who have integrated our methods. He’s an active education and leadership trainer all around Haiti.
Joseph Belizaire
is a teacher and church leader in Jacmel. He leads our network in that region.
Fremy Cesar
is co-coordinator of one of our partner organizations Fondasyon Eksperyans la. He is co-founder and active member of a Darbonne based cooperative and a community library. Fremy has a bachelors degree in economics and is currently working on his masters.
Frantzie Cyril
is a teacher, church leader, and choir member at the Baptist church in Okay. She has ten years experience working in education with marginalized children. She is in a college program for business administration.
Ulrick Denis
is a staff member of Limye Lavi Foundation, co-coordinating the Schools Alive program. He has a bachelors degree in sociology and more than 20 years experience in community organizing and teaching literacy.
Edvard Guilloteau
has a degree in computer programming. He’s active in his church in Port-au-Prince, leads education and leadership trainings around the country, and coordinates the Port-au-Prince network of our Living Words program.
Marcorel Lindlor
is a staff member of Limye Lavi Foundation co-coordinating the Schools Alive program. He has a bachelors degree in sociology and has more than 20 years experience in community organizing.
Nellie Norestin
lives in Okap and has helped to establish a vibrant network of churches and schools in that area who are using our education and leadership materials. She is an active leader in her Catholic church.
Paulaine Presendieu
lives in Okap, where she works with an orphanage. She has led numerous trainings and has helped to establish a dynamic network in that area.
Ysmaille Dorsainvil
is a dynamic trainer who has been an active leader in networks both in Lyankou and in Port-au-Prince.
Johny St. Louis
is a staff member of Limye Lavi Foundation co-coordinating the Schools Alive program. He has a bachelors degree in sociology and is a co-founder and active member of a successful cooperative and community library.
Dorelus Uzede
works for Fonkoze, Haiti’s largest microcredit bank. He is also director of an elementary school for poor, marginalized children in Gonaives. He coordinates our large education and leadership network in that region.
Abelard Xavier
Is a member of staff of our partner organizations Fondasyon Eksperyans la and is a leader in his church. He has experience as a teacher and school director.
Advisory Council
Bart Campolo
(www.bartcampolo.com) is a veteran urban minister and activist who speaks and writes about grace, faith, loving relationships, and social justice. He is the leader of The Walnut Hills Fellowship, a ministry in inner city Cincinnati. He is also founder of Mission Year, which recruits young adults to live and work in inner-city neighborhoods across the country, and executive director of EAPE, which develops and supports innovative, cost-effective mission projects around the world. Bart is married and has two teenage children.
Tony Campolo
(www.tonycampolo.org) is a nationally renowned speaker and preacher, a sociologist, and author of 35 books. He is a media commentator on religious, social, and political matters, and has been a guest on TV programs like Nightline, The Charlie Rose Show, Larry King Live, CNN and The Colbert Report. He is founder and president of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education (EAPE), and has worked to create, nurture and support programs for “at-risk” children in cities across North America. He has helped establish schools and universities in several developing countries. Dr. Campolo and his wife, Peggy, live in the Philadelphia area and have two grown children and four grandchildren.
Jean Claude Cerin
serves as Country Representative for TEAR FUND, UK and President of Fondation Entraide et Développement Economique (FON’EDE). He is co-founder and board chair of Beyond Borders Haiti partner organization, Limyè Lavi, and is a thought leader in the NGO and protestant communities in Haiti. Jean Claude has a B.S. in political science (Haitian university), an M.A. in theological studies (Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary), and an M.S. in economic development (Eastern College). He lives with his wife in Petionville, Haiti, and has 5 grown children.
Lunise Cerin
is an economic development expert with twenty-two years of experience working with USAID and other international donors in program evaluation, donor coordination assessments, program management, and governance. With extensive experience in education and microfinance within both the public and private sectors in Haiti, Lunise is very familiar with rural and urban contexts. She is fluent in Haitian Creole, French, and English and reads and writes Spanish well.
Mark Dowds
is CEO of Brainpark and combines communication expertise with over 10 years in the software industry. Mark’s background in organizational development and executive coaching at several of North America’s largest corporations (including American Express, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Royal Bank of Canada, and CIBC) enables him to facilitate learning. He spends a significant amount of his time connecting people to make the world a better place.
Hiram Octave Grandoit
is the owner of Grandoit and Associates in Palm Bay, Florida, offering accounting, tax, and immigration services to businesses and individuals. He is a member and serves in a leadership capacity for a number of organizations advancing the causes of immigration, justice, and improving the quality of life of children. Born in Haiti, Hiram came to the United States in 1988. He has an A.S. in accounting and management and a B.A./B.S. in business administration with a concentration in accounting and taxation from Northeastern University.
Allan Klotsche
is a retired insurance executive with 40 years of experience on boards of churches and non-profit organizations serving people in need. He was awarded Volunteer of the Year award in Vero Beach 2006 and has been the driving force behind creating a Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring program in Indian River County. He has 40 years of mentoring experience with youth and young executives.
Guerda Lexima
is an expert on children’s rights in Haiti and spent eight years researching Haitian street children. She serves as co-director of Limye Lavi Foundation, where she coordinates a campaign to end child servitude. She also serves on boards of Restavek Foundation (Cincinnati) and Women’s Group (Haiti). Guerda holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Institute for Advanced Commercial and International Studies and a bachelor’s degree in special education and clinical psychology from the Universite d’Etat d’Haiti, both in Port-au- Prince.
Louis-Henri Mars
has for the past five years been working full-time to facilitate dialogue, peace, and reconciliation in his home country of Haiti. He brings together people from diverse social sectors for dialogue and for prayer. He is also active in the prayer breakfast movement and annually attends the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. usually in the company of Haitian government and business leaders. Prior to this work, he managed assembly plants in Port-au-Prince for twenty years. He and his wife live in Petionville. They have three children.
Jean Cledor Myril
is a member of Haiti’s Parliament, vice president of the finance committee, and serves on the committees of Public Health, Foreign Affairs, and Anti-Corruption. Prior to this, Mr. Myril served as administrator for the Ministry of Public Health for 11 years and was a public school teacher for three years. He has bachelor’s degrees in accounting and political science. Mr. Myril is married to Irlande Izaac-Myril and they have a 6-year-old daughter.
Bryan Sirchio
(www.bryansirchio.com), is a musician, songwriter, ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, graduate of Princeton Seminary and Duke University, and friend and mentor to dozens of Haitians in Port au Prince and Cite Soleil. Bryan has traveled regularly to Haiti for nearly 20 years. His experiences there inspire his music. He is a co-founder of Harvest Time and continues to visit Haiti, inviting friends to accompany him. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin, and has two grown children.
Charlotte Terry
(www.charlotteterry.com) has been in the real estate business in Vero Beach, Florida, for more than two decades and has owned Charlotte Terry Real Estate for more than ten. She is a fixture in the community’s vibrant cultural and environmental life. She’s founder of the acclaimed Teen Writers Workshop, a choir member and a long-time board member of such organizations as The Laura (Riding) Jackson Home Preservation Foundation, Inc., The Fellowship of Christians in Universities and Schools (FOCUS), and The Indian River Literary Society.
Lorrie Walker
has worked in the field of injury prevention for 23 years. She is currently training manager and technical advisor for Safe Kids Worldwide, a nonprofit dedicated to eradicating preventable injuries to children. She has served on numerous boards and committees and has been a “big sister” to Dion for five years. She has a heart for the many Haitian families she has befriended over the years. She attended Eastern College in St. Davids, Pennsylvania, and St. Josephs University in Philadelphia.
