HELP LESOTHO - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Director
• Member of the Board

Bill Austin held various senior executive positions in the Government of Canada including Assistant Secretary at the Treasury Board Secretariat and Assistant Deputy Minister, Claims and Indian Government at Indian and Northern Affairs. Since his retirement the Public Service in 2006, Bill was appointed Chair of two Departmental Audit Committees at Natural Resources Canada and Public Safety Canada. He was Executive Director for the taskforce examining Governance and Cultural Change in the RCMP and participated in two OECD missions examining governance in Poland and the UAE. Bill holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Ottawa. His volunteer activities include being a board member of an organization supporting second stage housing for battered women and their children. He is keen to be involved with Help Lesotho and to contribute to the organization.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board
• Chairman of Finance & Audit Committee

Dave is a retired Chartered Accountant living in Ottawa. His professional career was largely in the private sector helping business's meet and exceed their financial goals and supporting and mentoring global business leaders and multinational finance teams. His latter career branched into business development, marketing and sales positions. Dave served six years as Director of Finance and Auditing on the Board of the Ottawa Hunt Club. After learning of the impressive work of Help Lesotho and its positive impact for the Basotho people, Dave was delighted to join the Help Lesotho Board as Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee. He very much enjoys meeting our donors and engaging in ever more ways to contribute.

Job Titles:

• Director
• Member of the Board

David Hallman is an accomplished executive mentor and family mediator with a robust background in public administration and program management. He mentors executives at Employment Services Development Canada and has extensive experience in economic development for Aboriginal communities and Aboriginal policing. Hallman holds a Master's in Public Administration from Queen's University, along with multiple certifications in mediation, leadership, and human resources.

Job Titles:

• Director
• Family Physician
• Member of the Board

Dr. Amy Weber is a family physician and health advocate based in North Vancouver, BC. She earned her medical degree from the University of British Columbia in 2006. Prior to medical school, she worked as an epidemiologist in the field of HIV prevention. Amy is a strong advocate for health equity. She believes the social determinants of health are driving forces in determining health outcomes. Amy has worked in both Canada and internationally including South Africa. Amy has travelled to Lesotho numerous times and is the proud parent of two Basotho children. On a recent trip to Lesotho, she had the opportunity to visit the Help Lesotho Hlotse site with her children. This visit solidified her appreciation of the life-changing work being done through Help Lesotho. Participating on the board and contributing to the vital work being done is a privilege.

Job Titles:

• Chairman of the Governance Committee
• Member of the Board

Jennifer Parr is a wife, a mother, an avid world traveller, and an Executive Leadership Coach who, for the last twenty years, has had the privilege of walking with leaders, in all sectors. She is passionate about inspiring and supporting her clients to achieve both success and significance through their leadership. Jennifer has served on the Boards of a number of organizations whose mission it is to empower marginalized people groups to change the trajectory of their lives. Jennifer was a founding member of the Help Lesotho Board and previously served nine years on the Board. She has been to Lesotho nine times and understands firsthand the life changing work of the Help Lesotho approach and programs. She brings this wealth of experience to her second term on the board. Jennifer has an M.B.A from the University of Western Ontario. Previous to becoming an executive coach, she was a Vice President of Human Resources in two large Canadian corporations.

Job Titles:

• Executive Director

Kate brings 14 years of experience with Help Lesotho. She joined the organization in 2009 to support Canadian activities connected to hosting Lesotho's King Letsie III in honour of Help Lesotho's 5th anniversary. Kate's educational background in International Development and Project Management are the foundation for her work to support program development, monitoring and evaluation, and impact reporting. Kate works closely with the Canada team to manage fundraising and communication strategies while overseeing organizational operations. Kate has travelled to Lesotho numerous times to support partnerships and local staff development. Kate lives in Ottawa with her husband and son.

Job Titles:

• Chairman
• Member of the Board

Kathleen Lauder is now retired and living in the Gatineau Hills, 30 minutes from Ottawa, Canada. Kathleen's career has been primarily in the area of Governance and International Development. She has worked for consulting firms and international development organizations, but the majority of her career was spent as a Director responsible for International Development with the Institute On Governance, based in Ottawa, Canada. Kathleen lived and worked in Malaysia for 7 years where she led a project aimed at strengthening governance in the ASEAN countries. Most recently she was the Country Director for World Renew based in Cambodia. During her 6 years in Cambodia Kathleen provided leadership to local staff and local partners to empower poor and vulnerable populations in rural communities to manage their social and economic development. Kathleen has been involved as a donor and volunteer with Help Lesotho since its inception. This brought her to Lesotho twice in its early years. She has great admiration for Help Lesotho's sustainable, relevant and effective approaches to meeting the development challenges in Lesotho.

Job Titles:

• Chairman of the HR Committee
• Member of the Board

Susan has extensive senior executive experience with over 30 years experience in the information technology, insurance, finance and software industries. Her diverse areas of focus include; sales, operations, professional services, business development and customer service. She also brings extensive coaching experience in Financial Services, Capital Markets and advancement of women. Susan's career is built with a strong people and management foundation with 14 years experience at IBM. She has applied this to the fast paced world of two start-up organizations which culminated in the executive position of a North American Professional Services and Customer Care organization at a large software firm. In addition to her business interests, Susan is active in the not-for profit community. She has vast board experience in the areas of strategic planning, communications, governance, development, leadership and fund raising.