HFC-US is entirely volunteer run. Virtually every dollar we raise goes directly to helping children. Every year, at least one Board member travels to Ethiopia, meets with the staff at HFC-Ethiopia, and visits with each of our sponsored children. Our Board members receive no compensation and pay their own travel expenses.
Carol A. Rhees, President, JD (University of Virginia)
Carol practiced law with Steptoe & Johnson LLP in Washington, DC, for more than 20 years and has extensive experience in tax planning for charitable organizations and individuals. Since leaving the practice of law, she has taught U.S. and World History at the Maret School in Washington where she has designed and taught a service learning curriculum focused on domestic and global hunger, with particular emphasis on Ethiopia. Carol’s leadership and inspiration guide the Board and our many partners in developing programs to help meet the needs of children and families affected by HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia, and in raising funds to support the programs. She has volunteered at Hope for Children in Ethiopia every summer since 2005 and has been instrumental in establishing the Youth Center there.
Freda Temple, Vice President, MLS (University of Michigan)
Freda has over 30 years of professional experience in the fields of health education, information management and communication. As a senior manager for Aspen Systems Corporation, she managed large, multi-faceted AIDS and cancer education programs for U.S. federal agencies. She is currently an independent consultant providing information management and editorial services for commercial and nonprofit clients. Recent work includes the development of training materials to help health care workers in Africa learn how to use health information technology. She has traveled to Ethiopia where she met HFC program managers and spent time with many of the children sponsored by U.S. families.
Ruthann Bates, Treasurer and Director, MA, Chemistry (Columbia University)
Ruthann handles sponsorship finances for Hope for Children-US. She currently consults with Federal contracting firms in the Washington, D.C. area. Ruthann retired in 2009 from Lockheed Martin Corporation where she was a Vice President. Previously, for 20 years, she was Vice President of Health Programs for Aspen Systems Corporation, managing programs focusing on HIV/AIDS prevention, research and clinical trials. She has extensive experience in business management, financial systems, and forecasting. She and her family have traveled to Ethiopia, and she has been involved with Hope for Children since 2005.
Barbara Brown, Secretary and Director, MS, Management (Johns Hopkins University)
Barbara has more than 25 years of experience in program management and information dissemination. She currently manages an information clearinghouse contract at Circle Solutions, Inc. for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. From 2008 to 2011, Barbara served as Deputy Director of the Global Health Informatics Partnership for the American Medical Informatics Association, focusing on improving access to health care in low income settings around the world by increasing capacity to implement eHealth systems. Previous clients include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. During a site visit to HFC-Ethiopia in 2010, Barbara met with the program managers, visited the Youth Center, and interviewed many of the sponsored children, including the 13-year girl she and her husband have sponsored since 2006.
Gary Temple, Director, MD, (Oregon Health & Science University)
Dr. Temple retired in 2011 from his position as a Program Director at the National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, where he was responsible for designing and managing research programs that investigate the role of genetics in human health and development. Previously, Dr. Temple conducted molecular biology and genetics research for more than 25 years in labs in academia and industry. Currently, he mentors students and teachers in bioscience classes in Montgomery County, MD. His interest in the plight of AIDS orphans led him to travel to Ethiopia in the summer of 2008 to gain a first-hand view of the HFC-Ethiopia program, meet the staff and get to know the sponsored children.
