She was already swamped trying to catch up on the very complicated and demanding new rice mill project in Battambang, where we will be training and employing landmine survivors. She was poised to go to Battambang within a few days of my surprise request. It was quiet for a while on the other end of the Internet and I was afraid I had just overwhelmed her. But I had little choice. The report needed to be submitted to the donor within a few days.
Then I received a string of emails from her with great photo portraits of our beneficiaries, their stories and more information on the vocational training program we have just wrapped up in Kampong Cham -- all by her own hand. Unbeknownst to me, she had taken the four-hour ride in a Khmer taxi first on the hairy highways to Kampong Cham city, then on the deeply rutted dirt roads along the Mekong River to Stoeung Trung, the project site.
It took two more hours to stop and interview several of our far-flung beneficiaries who had just participated in a follow-up assistance program to get their home businesses off the ground. And she spoke to Kim Dovorn, the former training center director who conducted the technical and financial assistance in the villages around Stoeung Trung.
She had jumped right in there, taking the initiative without any prompting, producing results beyond my wildest expectations!
Pat is one of several great people who have joined the Clear Path team with a big passion for the cause. Working with her in my new position as the U.S.-based Cambodia program manager will be an awesome experience.
This year marks the biggest addition of staff since James & Martha Hathaway, Kristen Leadem and I started the organization six years ago. Late last year, Lobke Dijkstra, a physical therapist from the Netherlands, joined us as our Thailand representative working along the border with Burma bringing great insight and enthusiasm.
Earlier this year, Diana Cazaudumec from Manchester, Vermont, became our new financial manager at the Dorset office. Mark Kruse was elected as our new board treasurer and Melody Mociulski became our new part-time projects coordinator at the office on Bainbridge Island.
This great new group of people adds to the current team -- equally impressive -- that includes the founders, our other existing board members, Francesca Thompson, Nancy Norton and Lori Trieu, our five fulltime employees in Vietnam -- Tran Thi Thanh Toan, Tran Duc, Le Thi Yen Nhi, Trang Hong Chi & Phang Thi Ai Phuong and our partner organizations in Cambodia and along the Thai-Burma border.
To introduce the new members of our team, I will list their short bios and pictures. I am grateful to each one of them for helping us grow our organization, manage our projects and bring new ideas to our work. I am proud to be working with all of you.
Diana Cazaudumec, Finance Manager (Vermont) Every successful nonprofit needs a good finance manager and in Diana Clear Path has found an excellent one. In addition, Diana has had a strong interest in Southeast Asia for years. A certified public accountant (1991), Diana received a Master's in Accountancy from the University of Denver (1988) and a BA in Business & Economics from Colorado College (1986). She worked for Price Waterhouse in Hong Kong and Vietnam; was involved with development projects in Nha Trang; served as controller for Louis Vuitton's operations in South America and was director of operations at Art & Auction in New York. Since she moved to Vermont in 2004, she is the owner of the Manchester Highlands Inn and business manager at the Long trail School.
Pat Roe, Cambodia Representative (Phnom Penh) Pat already had a strong interest in Cambodia before she joined Clear Path International. She is secretary for the board of Stop Exploitation Now, a Seattle-based nonprofit that fights neglect of women, children and the disabled in the developing world. Most of its projects are in Cambodia and Pat has been actively involved in them. A graduate of Seattle University with a degree in Political Science (1994), Pat worked for most of her career at ATT Wireless Services (now Cingular Wireless) as customer care representative, customer care supervisor and team manager. Her managerial skills are very welcome as CPI and its Khmer partner, Cambodian Volunteers for Community Development start up their rice mill training and employment project for landmine accident survivors in Battambang Province.
Lobke Dijkstra, Thailand Representative, Burmese Refugee Program (Mae Sot) Lobke, born and raised in the Netherlands, has long had a passion for helping persons with disabilities. She received a BA in Physical Therapy from the University of Higher Professional Edcuation in Nijmegen (2002) and went straight to work for Fokus Exploitatie which provides care and nursing to the disabled in that city. After serving as a physiotherapist at a private practice and the Ministry of Defense, she went to work at Groot Klimmendaal, a large rehabilitation center in Arnhem. Lobke joins Clear Path at a time when the organization is expanding its activities producing prostheses, physical therapy and, in some cases, fulltime nursing care to landmine amputees from Burma.
Melody Mociulski, Projects Coordinator (Bainbridge Island)Melody had a long career at the City of Seattle, serving in various functions in finance, human resources, organizational development and communications. Among other positions, she was director of purchasing, procuring $150 million in goods and services for 26 departments annually. She also served as a consultant to Washington State's Department of Transportation, Chugach Electric Utility and Safeco Corp. Her background will help organize procurement and transportation of medical relief goods for Clear Path's hospital consignees overseas and prepare its special fundraising events in the Seattle area. Melody has also offered to help raise money from institutional donors. She received a BA from the University of Washington and has long had an interest in travel and international humanitarian causes.
Mark Kruse, Treasurer (Bainbridge Island) A financial expert for much of his career, Mark joined Clear Path because of a growing passion for humanitarian relief work. For 11 years, he worked as a portfolio manager for a variety of financial firms and independently at to the Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Board Options Exchanges. After he moved to the Seattle area in 2001, he began a financial consulting firm for individual and small-enterprise clients. But his heart was with those in need, volunteering on Habitat for Humanity projects, tutoring inner-city youths and working on Katrina relief. Mark received a BA in History from Southern Methodist University and is currently pursuing a Master's in Theology at Seattle University and Fuller Theological Seminary.
Welcome to the family!!
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