  It only took one time for the children of Haiti to capture the heart and soul of Naples, FL resident and humanitarian, JoAnne Kuehner. Wanting to make a difference through focusing on education, she put her trust and support into “people” who were already striving for success. Joining forces with Dr. Keith Hussey in 1997, the focus to make a difference expanded to nutrition and healthcare. Now nearly 20 years later,  prides its long-term success of our mission on the foundation on which it was built. continues to believe in “people” and therefore partners with those in Haiti who are doing an excellent job and supporting them in furthering their work. We do not build and run our own schools. Rather than reinvent the wheel, we work directly with those who are successfully ministering to the poor and who will be there for the long term. In this way, we make sure that over 95 cents of every dollar donated is used for programs that can help create a better future for the children of Haiti. has held the vision from the very beginning that the people of Haiti are the ones who take control of their future and we are here to lend a needed hand along the difficult path.
What was once only a vision has now become a reality. The over 500,000 children and adults we touch each year THANK YOU FOR BELIEVING IN US!
is President of which she founded to help Haitian children have a more meaningful life. For 19 years, she has devoted her life to helping the “poorest of the poor” by connecting one of the wealthiest communities in the U.S. (Naples, Florida) to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. JoAnne travels several times a year to Haiti to check on progress of the projects and to spread love and compassion to the Haitian people. She, along with Dr. Keith Hussey, formed , a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for the Haitian people through education, nutrition and healthcare. In recognition of the work she is doing in Haiti, JoAnne has been awarded an honorary Doctorate degree from the University of Scranton, named Woman of the Year by Gulfshore Life and in 2008 was granted both the Woman of Style award by n Magazine and named a Woman of Achievement by the AAUW. JoAnne and her husband, Carl, live in Naples, Florida.
After a 25-year career with the United States Department of State in the Diplomatic Corps, serving in U.S. Embassies around the world (Germany, Pakistan, France, Thailand, the Sinai, and Dominican Republic), Lacey retired to Naples, Florida in 1995. She immediately became an active volunteer in her new community, beginning as Vice President of Friends of the Library, and followed by board positions of Greater Naples Leadership, La Chaine des Rotisseurs and the Shelter for Abused Women and Children. Lacey King became a member of the board of in 1999 and serves as its Secretary. She attended the College of William and Mary and the Foreign Service Institute where she studied political and cultural subjects relative to countries in which she served.
worked in excess of twenty five years for Borden, Inc. headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Upon leaving the company in 2000 he was the Chief Financial Officer of Borden Chemicals & Plastics Limited Partnership. He then worked as Chief Financial Officer/Chief Administrative Officer for E-Z Serve Convenience Stores, Inc. Upon graduating from Fordham University Frank served in the U.S. Army, then went on to work first for Mobil Oil Corporation and then W.R. Grace in financial functions having to do with mergers and acquisitions, systems design and implementation, and internal audit. He joined the Board of Directors of in 2004, and is currently the Treasurer.
is the President of Strateca, a Division of the Lutgert Companies. He is the former President of Premier Properties for 10 years and has been a board member of the Advisory Board for The Children’s Hospital of SW Florida. In 2001 Todd became a board member of . He currently also serves as a Board member of the Naples Chamber of Commerce and in 2008 was chosen as their “Volunteer of the Year” after guiding the build-out of the half-million dollar visitors Information Center at the Chamber’s Headquarters off of US41, and in recognition of his organizing a group climb of Mt. Killimanjaro which raised over $750,000 for the Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida. Born in Syracuse, NY, Todd graduated from Florida International University, is married to his wife, Noreen, and has three children, Jen, Julia and Christian.
is a retired U.S. Federal Government Senior Executive. He served as the Associate Director for Administration, U.S. Office of Personnel Management; Senior International Affairs Officer and Foreign Service Reserve Officer U.S. Department of State, Agency for International Development (USAID); Assistant Director for Administration and Finance ACTION/Peace Corps; Senior Management Analyst, Executive Office of the President of the United States, Office of Management and Budget (OMB); and Senior Budget Analyst, House Budget Committee, U.S. Congress. Jim also has a varied private sector background including organizations in Paris, France, Ankara, Turkey, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland and Ghana, West Africa. Founded in 2002, Jim is the President of the African Literacy, Art and Development Association in Naples, Florida (ALAD). Jim joined the board in 2008 and has been married for the past 43 years to Harriet Levine Lancaster and has three adult children.
is a principal in the Private Clients Group of Cummings & Lockwood LLC’s Bonita Springs office. He is certified by the Florida Bar as a Specialist in Wills, Trusts and Estates Law. Howard is a member of the board of directors of the Southwest Florida Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals and the Greater Naples Area Planned Giving Counsel. Howard graduated from the University of South Florida and his law degree is from the University of Miami and has a Masters of Laws degree in Taxation from New York University School of Law. Howard is a member of the board of directors of the Southwest Florida Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals and the Greater Naples Area Planned Giving Counsel. Howard has volunteered as both an attorney and board of director with , Care Club of Collier County, the Naples Players and Youth Haven Foundation.
, Broker and Director, John R. Wood, Realtors, moved to Naples, Florida from Maryland in 1984. He has been the top agent at John R. Wood Inc., 18 times over the past 19 years, specializing in Commercial Investment Real Estate and Beachfront Homes and Estates. Two of Mr. Earls’ greatest passions are aviation and helping other people. In 2008, he put those passions to work in support of the people of the Les Cayes District of southern Haiti. Following the devastating storms late that summer and early fall, he piloted his aircraft to the stricken area on two occasions. On each trip, he carried over 1,000 pounds of desperately needed medical supplies and nutrition packets. In 2009 he made another airlift mission with three dentists, who Bill assembled. They helped relieve pain and brought smiles to over 100 patients in three days. He has two sons ages 26 and 28.
heads the Communications practice at República. Representing a variety of clients, Christina serves as their communications consultant on strategic planning, corporate communications, media relations and issues management. She has more than 15 years of experience in management, public relations, marketing and new business development. Ms. Kolbjornsen has served as Senior Vice President of Thorp & Co., Vice President of Wragg & Casas Public Relations, Citigate Dewe Rogerson and Director of Public Affairs for Gordon Sloan, Diaz-Balart and Associate Director of Client Services with The Washington Economics Group. While at Price Waterhouse, she assisted the Financial Sector Development Division in preparing proposals, budgets, project monitoring and publications of newsletters, project updates and French/English translations. Ms. Kolbjornsen served on the board of directors of the Public Relations Society of America, Miami Chapter. She is fluent in French and Haitian Creole and highly proficient in Spanish.
is the Founder and Executive Director of South Florida Community Center, Inc., a non-profit organization in Immokalee. She also manages her own small business based in Immokalee, with an office in West Palm Beach. Ms. Hall has also successfully managed a million-dollar contract portfolio for a non-profit organization funded by the City of Miami, Dade County, SFETC, Federal and private organizations. She has successfully supervised social programs designed for youth and low income families, including Crime Prevention, Juvenile Delinquency, After School Program, Job Training and Placement, Family Preservation and Assistance to the Elderly and has served as the Executive Director of the Haitian American Foundation, Inc. in Miami, FL (before moving to Southwest Florida), Vice President of the Haitian Coalition of Collier County and as a member of the steering committee of “Connect Now” Education Foundation. In 2009 Ms. Hall was awarded the AAUW of Collier County’s Woman of the Year Award.
is a Family Physician at the Naples Medical Center. He also serves as the Medical Director of Arden Court Assisted Living Facility and Encore Senior Village. He has served as the Vice-President of the Board of Directors for the Naples Medical Center since 2004. Dr. Mathieu is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and is currently the Vice-Chairman of the Family Physician Staff for the NCH Health System. Dr. Mathieu was born in Haiti has traveled to Haiti as part of a Hope for Haiti medical mission team recently. He lives in Naples, Florida.
is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. He did his dissertation on The Haitian Community of Miami-Dade County: A Cross-Sectional Study of Needs, Access, and Utilization of Health Services. He is also the Director of the Treatment and Prevention Evaluation Group at the University. Dr. Saint-Jean has written published books, many journal articles, and abstracts on a variety of topics including Cervical and Vaginal Diseases in Developed and Developing Countries, Barriers to Care Among HIV-Positive Haitians, Education in the Prevention of and transmission of HIV, to name a few. He is a member of the American Public Health Association, Association de Sante Publique d’Haiti and the Society for Epidemiologic Research and has been a NIH Health Disparities Scholar since 2006.
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