Staff and Board of Directors
Haiti Outreach Board, Staff and Associates September, 2010
Operations
We maintain a headquarters building in Pignon, Haiti that includes offices and areas for mechanical repairs and storage. We have three well drilling rigs, two water trucks, a variety of pick up trucks, motorcycles, and other vehicles that are used by our staff in our community development work. Nearly all of our employees in Haiti are citizens of that country. In the U.S., the office is located in Minnetonka, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. We have a staff of 4 in Minnetonka and 41 in Haiti.
Key Staff
Jeffrey D. Brown, President: Jeff joined Haiti Outreach in the newly created position of President in April, 2011. He has a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Cornell and an M.S. in Ocean Systems Management from M.I.T. Jeff comes to Haiti Outreach after a career in international operations, business management, and consulting. As President he is responsible for managing the entire operation of Haiti Outreach in both Haiti and the U.S.
Dalencier Dalegrand, Haiti Office Manager: Dalencier was born in Pignon, Haiti where Haiti Outreach’s headquarters is located. He joined Haiti Outreach in 2009 and is the Office Manager in Pignon, supervising the office personnel. He is responsible for the organization’s finances in Haiti and financial reporting to the US office. He received a degree in Administrative Services at the University of Notre Dame in Cap-Haitian, Haiti and worked several years as a volunteer at another non-profit before working with the Customs Office in Cap-Haitian.
Diane Koepke, Director of Finance and Administration: Diane joined Haiti Outreach in May, 2010. Originally from California, Diane obtained her BS in Business Administration from the University of California at Berkeley. She brings extensive experience managing the finances and business office staff for nonprofit organizations. She has responsibility for accounting and personnel systems for both the operations in Haiti and in the U.S.
Roge Michel, Director of Community Development: Roge was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and grew up in the town of Hinche, where he still resides. Before working for Haiti Outreach, Roge worked as an animator for ADRA, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency in Haiti. Roge has been working as an animator (the Haitian name for project manager) and Project Supervisor for Haiti Outreach since 1999. He supervises the other Haiti Outreach animators, who work directly with community members to organize them as partners to help build the project and maintain it after it is completed.
Jim Scheller, Director of Operations: Jim re-joined Haiti Outreach in October, 2011. He had previously worked for us from 2001- 2005, supervising our well drilling, construction and equipment maintenance. Originally from Minnesota, Jim has more than 32 years experience in building trades, power generation, underground utilities, plumbing, well drilling, road construction and electrical installation and management. He has managed large construction projects in the U.S., Iraq, Afghanistan, and Haiti, and has lived mostly in Haiti since 1994. Jim manages our operations department, overseeing the well drilling, mechanics, and facilities.
Dale Snyder, Director of Development: Dale has been involved in Haiti since 1990. He helped found the nonprofit organization in 1990 that was renamed and reorganized as Haiti Outreach in 1997. A former business owner, Dale has a B.A. in political science from American University in Washington, D.C. and an MBA in marketing from the Carlson School of Business at the University of Minnesota. He develops and manages the fundraising, marketing and communications activities from the office in Minnetonka, MN. He also leads groups of people to Haiti.
Neil Van Dine, Director of New Program Development: Neil was one of the founders of Haiti Outreach in 1997. Originally from New York state with a B.A. in mathematics and a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering with a concentration on water, he has lived in Haiti for over 20 years. Before working for Haiti Outreach, he was managing projects for the World Christian Relief Fund and the U.N.’s International Office of Migration in Haiti. Neil is responsible for creating new programs for Haiti Outreach that would assist in the developing of the country.
Haiti Outreach Board of Directors
The work of Haiti Outreach is overseen by its Board of Directors, currently consisting of eleven people, with a variety of backgrounds and skills. Our current board members are:
Lin Branson – Attorney-Gray, Plant, Mooty
Brenda Beniek Fagley – Attorney, Retired
Wally Faster – Retired VP General Mills Inc., Board of Directors Volunteers of America MN, American Dehydrated Foods Inc, Past Board Chair Volunteers of America Inc.
Jim Gresham - Owner – Blackfin Marketing Company
Mark Hoiseth – Owner-Stonehouse Designs
Kevin Keenan – Owner – Keenan and Sveiven, Landscape Architects
Peg Keenan – Retired Operations Manager – Gelco Payment Systems: Board Member of Teens Alone for homeless teens, Tonka Cares, and WCA Foundation
Jim Kirzeder – Owner – Kirzeder Construction
Lyle Meyer – Retired Civil Engineer – Opus Corp.; Board of Directors for Volunteers of America – MN, Division of Indian Work, Mpls., and Oglala Sioux Tribe: Partnership for Housing, Pine Ridge, SD.
Pam Prosser – Private Practice – Homeopathic Services
Rachel Thibault – Office Manager-Decorators Service Company
