Our Board Members
|
Mary Sytsma, President
Mary Sytsma has been involved with the Gweimen Centre almost since its beginning, more than 15 years. She is a retired English instructor from Elmhurst University and has visited the centre in Nigeria many times. |
|
Steve Van Zee, Treasurer
Steve VanZee has been a Board Member and the Treasurer of the Gweimen Centre since 2011. He is CFO of a large, multi-national business with many years of experience working with not-for-profit organizations as well. |
|
Richard Johnson, Secretary
Rick Johnson and his family first meet Beatrice at Gospelife Church about twenty years ago. Together they started a care package for the widows and orphans back in Beatrice's home town of Kwoi. From this humble beginning grew the Gweimen Centre, an oasis of hope and empowerment for those same widows and orphans. |
|
Irene De Wolf
Irene DeWolf has been involved with the Gweimen Centre for about 5 or 6 years. She started helping with the auctions before joining the board. She is a retired mortgage underwriter from Chase Bank. |
|
Greg Bendle
Greg has served with Gweimen Centre since its inception. |
|
Kathy Carwell
Kathy Carwell has been a board member for 10 years. She has owned a local bookstore for over 20 years and is a Spiritual Director. She has a heart for widows, orphans and missions. |
|
Rachel Vanderhill
Rachel Vanderhill has been on the US board of the Gweimen Centre since 2012. She is an Associate Professor of International Affairs and Chair of the Department of Government and International Affairs at Wofford College in South Carolina. Joanna Dhanabalan
Joanna Dhanabalan is the Communications Consultant for Gweimen. An Indian Christian, she has a Masters in Humanitarian and Disaster Leadership. She has served cross culturally in East Africa, Southeast Asia, India and is committed to sustainable outcomes for communities. Leah Krol
Leah has a Master's in Public Health from Florida International University and has been a board member since September 2022. Her goal is to enhance the practical impact of the Gweimen Centre in Nigeria. |