Global Volunteers Board of Trustees and Board of Directors

Bud Philbrook, JD

Bud Philbrook, JD
St. Paul, MN

Trustee, Co-founder, President and CEO

Bud leads the organization‘s internal and external business affairs. He has served as Deputy Undersecretary for USDA, as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, Assistant Commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and was in private law practice for 12 years. Bud has led dozens of Global Volunteers teams over 35 years, and has traveled to more than 50 countries. He earned a Juris Doctor (Law) degree, a Master’s in Public Affairs concentrating on international development, and a Bachelor’s in Political Science. Bud authored Global Volunteers "Philosophy of Service - A Strategy for Development" and the "Essential Services Prospectus". He also wrote "Conclave Conspiracy." Bud chairs the Board of Trustees, the Board of Directors and the Executive and Finance committees.

Michele Gran

Michele Gran
St. Paul, MN

Trustee, Co-founder, Senior Vice President

Michele manages the organization‘s marketing strategy and external messages, and directs the marketing staff on volunteer relations, media strategies and website development. She earned a Master’s Degree in Liberal Studies/International Communications and a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism. Before joining the staff in 1990, she served in a volunteer capacity building the organization’s image and visibility while she worked as a public relations consultant. She held communications manager positions at various departments in Minnesota State Government, and in non-profit organizations. Michele also has led over 50 Global Volunteers teams worldwide. She chairs the Board Succession Planning Committee and serves on the Board Marketing Committee.

Sam Hanson, JD

Sam Hanson, JD
Minneapolis, MN

Trustee, Co-Founder

Sam is a shareholder in the law firm of Briggs and Morgan, Professional Association, and a member of the firm‘s board of directors. Sam served on the Minnesota Court of Appeals and the Minnesota Supreme Court before rejoining Briggs™ Business Litigation Section and Energy Law Group, and is a member of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group. He is a former litigation section head and firm president. Sam practices principally in the areas of arbitration and mediation, complex civil litigation, appellate law and public utility regulation. Sam has led and participated on Global Volunteers Service Programs in China,and the US, and led an exploratory trip to India.

Todd Lefko

Todd Lefko
Elk River, MN

Trustee

Todd is President of International Business Development Company, an import-export firm. He has led and participated on Global Volunteers Service Programs in Jamaica, Russia, and China, and participated on exploratory trips to Mexico and Guatemala. Todd has taught urban affairs, political science, international relations, political philosophy, political campaign management, leadership, organizational development, public administration and sociology at the university level, and has lectured at universities in Russia, China, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Todd writes for Rossiske Vesti, a Russian political newspaper and offers commentary for Rusya-Al Youm, the Russian Arabic Television channel for the Middle East.

Stefanie Johnson

Stefanie Johnson
Minneapolis, MN

Director

Stefanie earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from the College of St. Scholastica. She currently manages the quality assurance department at a medical device and bio-pharmaceutical testing facility specializing in pre-clinical safety testing. For many years, Stefanie has volunteered at a youth crisis shelter in Minneapolis as a youth crisis counselor and has a certificate in Youth Intervention. As a 16-year-old, she joined her grandparents on her first Global Volunteers service program in Italy.

Keith Kresge, JD

Keith Kresge, JD
Los Angeles, CA

Director

Keith is an attorney currently working as a part-time Administrative Hearing Officer for the City of Santa Monica, California. He retired in 2010 from full-time work with the City after 25 years with it’s Rent Control Board. He received a Bachelor’s degree in political science at SUNY College at Buffalo and completed law school in Fullerton, California. Keith began his association with Global Volunteers in 1998 as a volunteer on a team in Puglia, Italy. Since then he has participated in 15 other Global Volunteer programs all over the world, most of them with his partner of 25 years, Timothy Cunniff.

Gail Kulick, JD

Gail Kulick, JD
Milaca, MN

Director

Gail has worked 37 years in the legal community. She graduated Summa Cum Laude in classical music from St. Cloud University in Minnesota. She earned her J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1985, and was an associate attorney with Gunderson and Swanson Law Firm until 1986, when she formed Kulick Law Office in Milaca. She was a public defender in Mille Lacs County, and city attorney for the cities of Foreston, Onamia and Milaca.

Mike Moorman

Mike Moorman
Newark, DE

Director

Mike has over 45 years as a leader in product development,
healthcare claims, and customer service operations, in senior level positions with major insurance carriers. Prior to his retirement in 2017, Mike led government program operations
nationally. He taught conversational English to students with Global Volunteers in Vietnam in 2018 and in Tanzania in 2019.
He earned a communications degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and is an avid photographer who loves to travel with his camera.

Deborah Pollard, MPP

Deborah Pollard, MPP
Clifton, VA

Director

Deborah Pollard co-founded Arena Technologies LLC and serves as President.

John Taylor

John Taylor
Huntington, NY

Director

John is an independent consultant with a decades-long focus on Healthcare Information Technology. His work experience includes management and executive positions with Deloitte, KPMG, and IBM Watson Health, and he has worked with clients that include Catholic Health, NHS Scotland, Pfizer and Aetna. He has a BS/Econ from Wharton, and also maintains certification as a Project Management Professional.John has volunteered as part of Global Volunteers teams in Peru, India, and twice in Tanzania.

Global Volunteers Tanzania Board of Directors

Bishop Dr. Owdenberg Mdegella

Bishop Dr. Owdenberg Mdegella
Iringa, Tanzania

Board Member

Dr. Owdenberg Mdegella is the retired Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania, (ELCT) who invited Global Volunteers to serve in Tanzania. He earned his PhD in Divinity in the United States, and has degrees in both Theology and Divinity.

Anna J. Msolla

Anna J. Msolla
Iringa, Tanzania

Board Member

The Honorable Anna J. Msolla is a lawyer in practice in Iringa, Tanzania and Chairperson of the Kilolo District Council.

Bud Philbrook, JD

Bud Philbrook, JD
St. Paul, MN

Board Member

Bud Philbrook is Global Volunteers’ Co-Founder and CEO. He has served as Deputy Undersecretary for USDA, as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, Assistant Commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and was in private law practice for 12 years. He earned a Juris Doctor Degree in Law, a Master‘s Degree in International Development, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science.

Michele Gran

Michele Gran
St. Paul, MN

Board Member

Michele Gran is Global Volunteers‘ co-founder and Senior Vice President. She manages the organization’s marketing strategy and external messages, and travels to Tanzania in her official role on the Board of Directors. She earned a Master’s Degree in Liberal Studies/International Communications and a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism.

Andrew Philbrook, JD

Andrew Philbrook, JD
Palm Harbor, FL

Board Member

Andrew is Director of the Reaching Children’s Potential Program (RCP) in Tanzania, and has served as Global Volunteers USA Operations Manager, and Director of International Operations. Andrew earned a Juris Doctor Degree in Law and a Bachelor’s Degree in International Communications, and travels to Tanzania in his official role as RCP Director and Tanzania Board Member.

Global Volunteers Reaching Children’s Potential Program Advisory Committee

Mindy Lull, PhD

Mindy Lull, PhD
Penfield, NY

Director of Domestic Programs and RCP Research

Mindy serves as Global Volunteer’s Director of Domestic Operations and RCP Research, where she manages the U.S. service programs and leads research projects related to the Reaching Children’s Potential program. Mindy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from St. John Fisher University and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Pennsylvania State University, and for many years combined these two fields in her work as a faculty member focusing on global health & service. Before joining Global Volunteers as a staff member in 2023, Mindy served as volunteer on programs to the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, Tanzania, and Peru, served as a Volunteer Team Leader in Montana, and served on both the Global Volunteers Board of Directors and RCP Advisory Committee.

Bud Philbrook, JD

Bud Philbrook, JD
St. Paul, MN

Global Volunteers CEO

Bud Philbrook is Global Volunteers’ Co-Founder and CEO.

Lynette Aytch, PsyD

Lynette Aytch, PsyD
Huntington, NY

Committee Member

Lynette Aytch is the Director of the Leadership Development Institute at Zero To Three in Washington, D.C.

Carol Conzelman, PhD

Carol Conzelman, PhD
Boulder, CO

Committee Member

Dr. Carol Conzelman teaches cultural anthropology at the University of Colorado at Boulder and serves as the Associate Director of the Global Studies Academic Program.

Ruth Curran, MS

Ruth Curran, MS
Denver, CO

Committee Member

Ruth Curran is an organizational behaviorist, author and speaker, and former Global Volunteers Board Member and former Director of Strategic Partnerships.

Pamela Griffin

Pamela Griffin
Jacksonville, FL

Committee Member

Pamela is a highly experienced Organization Effectiveness Consultant focused on organization strategy and design, effective sourcing and selection, change management, succession planning and developing and implementing broad solutions to more effectively manage human capital. She currently is a Director at SSA & Company. She began her career in IT consulting at Cap Gemini, and then transitioned to Management Consulting in 2003. Pamela enjoys travel and has visited many cities across the U.S., Canada, Europe, Russia, China, Hong Kong, Australia, Tanzania, Mexico and the Caribbean for both business and personal adventures. Pamela’s favorite vacations are those spent with Global Volunteers visiting the village of Ipalamwa Tanzania in 2008, 2009 and 2010; the village of Pommern, Tanzania in 2012; and the St. Lucia program in 2014.

William Goldman, MD

William Goldman, MD
Falls Church, VA

Committee Member

Dr. Goldman practiced pediatric medicine and is the retired Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Georgetown University School of Medicine.

Amanda Hasley, FNP-C

Amanda Hasley, FNP-C
Denver, CO

Committee Member

Amanda Hasley is a certified family nurse practitioner receiving her Master of Science in Nursing at Regis University.

Alyssa Kornowa LSW, MSW

Alyssa Kornowa LSW, MSW
Columbus, OH

Committee Member

Alyssa Kornowa is a Domestic Violence Survivor Advocate at the Center for Family Safety and Healing, Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Robi Kronberg, PhD

Robi Kronberg, PhD
Denver, CO

Committee Member

Robi Kronberg is the retired Coordinator of Special Education Program, Center for Urban Education, University of Northern Colorado.

Diane Marsch, APN, BSN, NNP-BC, HN

Diane Marsch, APN, BSN, NNP-BC, HN
Redmond, OR

Committee Member

Diane Marsch is a neonatal nurse and infant care specialist as well as a neonatal resuscitation program instructor in Oregon.

Barbara Morris, MD

Barbara Morris, MD
Golden, CO

Committee Member

Dr. Barbara Morris is a practicing geriatrician and geriatric advocate in Denver, CO.

Teresa Omeddo, RN, BSN, MPH

Teresa Omeddo, RN, BSN, MPH
Plano, TX

Committee Member

Teresa Omeddo is a Registered Nurse with Baylor Scott and White Hospital in Plano Texas.

Deborah Pollard, MPP

Deborah Pollard, MPP
Clifton, VA

Committee Member

Deborah Pollard co-founded Arena Technologies LLC and serves as President.

Melinda Staveley, RN

Melinda Staveley, RN
Santa Barbara, CA

Committee Member

Melinda Staveley is a retired Registered Nurse who has worked in physical medicine and rehabilitation as well as hospital administration in California.

John Taylor

John Taylor
Huntington, NY

Conmittee Member

John Taylor is an independent consultant with a decades-long focus on Healthcare Information Technology.

Henry Wambuii, PhD

Henry Wambuii, PhD
Warrensburg, MO

Committee Member

Dr. Henry Wambuii is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Central Missouri, teaching and researching in the developing world.

Jacqueline Wilson, MS, RD

Jacqueline Wilson, MS, RD
Philadelphia, PA

Committee Member

Jacqueline Wilson is a Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist and nutrition consultant. She formerly was an extension educator in Chicago through the University of Illinois - Urbana Champagne.

Phil Zeitler, MD

Phil Zeitler, MD
Golden, CO

Committee Member

Dr. Phil Zeitler is a pediatric endocrinologist and Professor of Pediatrics and Clinical Sciences at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus