STAFF:
Julie Veroff, Executive Director
Julie joined FACE AIDS in July 2009 as the Executive Director. She has an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Oxford, a degree she earned as a Rhodes Scholar. She was awarded distinction for her dissertation on refugees' access to justice, based on fieldwork conducted with Angolan, Rwandan, and Congolese refugees in Zambia. While in Oxford, Julie volunteered as a rape crisis counselor and was the convenor of the Rhodes Scholars' Southern African Forum. Julie earned her B.A. in International Relations with Honors and Distinction from Stanford University in 2007. She has worked as a Project Facilitator with FORGE in Mwange Refugee Camp in Zambia, where she created a women's leadership center, and has served as FORGE's Northern California Hub Coordinator. Julie has also interned with the U.S. Department of State, Human Rights First, UNHCR, and Girls For A Change; volunteered in Ghana, Nicaragua, and Israel; and served as a counselor and coordinator at Camp Kesem, a week-long free summer camp for children with a parent affected by cancer.
Margo Watson, Programs and Operations Director
Margo joined FACE AIDS as the Programs and Operations Director in May 2012. She has a B.A. in Slavic Languages and Literatures with Honors from Stanford University, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. During her time at Stanford she supported students as a staff member at the LGBT Community Resources Center, organized peer health education trainings for at-risk LGBT youth in Boston, and spent a year studying abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia. After graduating from Stanford in 2009, she worked as a legal assistant at Altshuler Berzon, LLP, a public-interest law firm focused on employment and civil rights law. In 2011, as an AIDS/LifeCycle participant, she biked from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and individually raised over $11,000 for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. She speaks Russian, American Sign Language, and French, and enjoys cycling, hiking, social dance, and storytelling.
Eve Fine, Chapter Support Director
Eve joined FACE AIDS in August 2011 as the Chapter Support Director. She studied History at Yale University, where she also served as a Community Health Educator in New Haven high schools. Upon graduation, Eve moved to California to work in online advertising at Google. She then joined Peer Health Exchange, where she trained college students to teach a comprehensive health curriculum in Bay Area high schools. Most recently, Eve took time off to pursue a lifelong dream of backpacking solo around Europe and the Middle East. In her spare time, Eve enjoys kickboxing, seeing live music, and exploring San Francisco.
Austin Carroll Keeley, Recruitment and Partnerships Director
Originally from Worcester, MA, Austin Carroll Keeley graduated from Stanford in 2011 with a major in International Relations and a minor in Classical Studies. During his time at Stanford, he served as a Resident Assistant in Roble Hall, studied abroad in Paris, taught an African Studies course called "Development Issues in Rwanda," and rowed for four years on the men's varsity rowing team. His involvement with FACE AIDS grew out of the conviction that the values instilled in an oarsman on the waters of the San Francisco Bay — those of teamwork, dedication, hard work, and relentless pursuit of excellence — were only meaningful if applied to real world problems. In 2009 he combined his love of physical activity with his passion for social justice and joined the 2nd annual Ride Against AIDS team. He then served as the Ride Against AIDS Director in 2010 and again in 2011. Austin's interests include reading, cycling, Bruce Springsteen, and all things Boston sports.
Cher-Wen DeWitt, Rwanda Program Director
Cher-Wen DeWitt graduated from Oberlin College in 2010 with a degree in Neuroscience. During her undergraduate studies, she spent time volunteering as a community HIV educator in Northwestern Kenya and with the nonprofit One Heartland, which provides support services to children and families affected by HIV in the United States. During her time at Oberlin, she served as Class President and President of HIV Educators. In 2008, Cher-Wen took a year off from school to return to Kenya as an intern for the Foundation for Sustainable Development, working with the Mtongwe Community Initiative, outside of Mombasa. While there, she worked as a tuberculosis and HIV counselor and began a cloth sanitary pad initiative with young girls to improve their school attendance and reduce dropout rates. Cher-Wen calls the Big Island of Hawaii home and enjoys painting, good food, and the seaside.
Jean d'Amour Mutoni, Rwanda Program Manager
Jean d'Amour Mutoni was born in the southern province of Rwanda. He is a fresh graduate of Kigali Health Institute with a B.Sc. with honor in Biomedical Laboratory Sciences. Apart from academics, he has been a leader and founder of many associations while at school. He has been the Minister of Sports and Information in the students' union committee, and he co-founded and is currently the Chairman of the Health Promotion Union that provides the grassroots community with basic health information and small interventions. Jean d'Amour is particularly concerned with changing the lives in his community at large. In that context, he has pioneered a philanthropic organization called Saved to Save Initiative, which is made up of people who benefited from charity in the past and strive to help the poor as they have been assisted. Before joining FACE AIDS, he was working as a Tutorial Assistant at Kigali Health Institute and lived in Kigali. He likes traveling and reading.
Caitlin Snyder, Rwanda Program Manager
A New Jersey native, Caitlin received her B.A. from Wellesley College, where she combined a French major with interdisciplinary studies examining women and development in Africa. As an undergraduate, Caitlin taught self-defense and conflict resolution classes to pre-teen girls in Boston. Her interest in development began to take form following internships with the United States Mission to the United Nations and Women for Women International, after which she initiated a student fundraising campaign for survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Caitlin moved to Senegal after graduation to serve with the human rights non-profit Tostan. As a rural programs assistant, she reported on project activities and conducted follow-ups with program participants. Difficulties of access and affordability impressed on Caitlin the critical need for adequate health care among vulnerable populations and stoked her interest in public health, leading her to FACE AIDS.
Madden Rowell, Rwanda Program Associate
Madden graduated from Scripps College with a degree in Human Biology. While at Scripps, Madden was involved with community food justice issues, including coordinating a cooking and gardening program for women on parole and establishing Food Rescue, a program that transports dining hall leftovers to a local homeless shelter. During her junior year, Madden studied international health systems and development policy in Geneva. While in Switzerland, she interned at the World Health Organization and assisted with a pilot project to address maternal mental health in Nigeria and Ethiopia, and also sated her love of cheese! Madden first became involved with FACE AIDS in high school and is excited to be continuing her work in Rwanda.
Jean Bosco Bamuririmbe, Rwanda Program Assistant
Jean Bosco graduated from secondary school in December 2009 as one of the highest ranked students in his class. Head boy of his dormitory and president of the Boy Scout club and anti-AIDS club, he is a natural leader. He participated in the FACE AIDS World AIDS Day Youth Forum in Kayonza District in 2009 and was elected the president of the cooperative for Partners In Health school fees program graduates. Jean Bosco joined the FACE AIDS team as the Program Assistant in Rwanda in April 2010.
Theophile Karanguza, Rwanda Program Assistant
Theophile Karanguza was born in Butare and now lives in Kirehe, Rwanda. The youngest of three children, he is the first in his family to pursue a formal education, and graduated from Kigugu secondary school in 2010, where he served as his class monitor for several years. He hopes in the next few years to continue his education at a private university. Theo joined the FACE AIDS team as a Program Assistant in Rwanda in June 2010.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Brenda Freiberg, Chair
Brenda has been a leader in the fight against AIDS for over 20 years. Her commitment to AIDS began when her two sons were diagnosed with HIV in the 1980s. They later passed away. Brenda has served as the Chair of the Board of AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), and as a Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles under Mayor Richard Riordan. She has also served on the boards of Project Inform, Mothers' Voices, the Foundation for AIDS and Immune Research, and the honorary board of The Trevor Project. She has been heavily involved in the fight against AIDS in India, recently founding the Women's and Families' Program at Y.R. G. CARE in Chennai. Currently, she also serves on the Health and Human Rights committee of Human Rights Watch and is an advisor to the Art and Global Health Center at UCLA. In addition, Brenda has been an executive in international satellite communications as well as an executive in healthcare management and strategic planning.
John Goldman
John is a distinguished philanthropist and business leader. He is the former Chairman of Willis Insurance Services of California, Inc. Previously, he was Chief Executive Officer of Richard N. Goldman & Co., an insurance brokerage firm. Prior to joining Goldman Insurance Services in 1986, John served in the Office of Legislative Analyst for the State of California from 1975 to 1978, as Assistant Secretary of Transportation for the State of California from 1978 to 1981, and was the owner of a regional chain of children's clothing stores from 1982 to 1985.
He is the President of the San Francisco Symphony, Past President of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin, and Sonoma Counties, and a former member of the Board of Managers of Swarthmore College. He serves on the Stanford University Athletic Board and is a trustee of several family foundations and an advisor to many non-profits. John received a B.A. from Swarthmore College and a Masters in Business Administration from Stanford University.
Dr. Basil Stamos
Basil was the chairman of Sterling Stamos Corporate Philanthropy. He is heavily involved in the fight against AIDS in Cambodia, serving on the Board of Directors of Friends Without a Border and working with the Clinton Health Access Initiative to fund children's hospitals. A licensed general internist, Basil worked for 10 years as a doctor at the Tom Waddell Clinic in San Francisco, serving a predominantly homeless population.
Suzanne Battit
Suzanne is the former Director of Development for Partners In Health. In this role, Suzanne was responsible for overall management of the individual giving office, which accounts for over fifty percent of PIH's funding. She helped to organize, manage, and streamline development efforts with a focus on development strategy, prospect management, building and expanding the annual fund, regional outreach, donor relations, and fundraising events. Prior to joining PIH, Suzanne served as the Executive Director for the Harvard College Fund, and also was a Senior Vice President and Director of Marketing Strategy for Putnam Investments. Suzanne graduated from Colby College with a bachelor of arts in mathematics and then earned an MBA at Harvard Business School.
Stacey Chess
Stacey Chess is a retired investment banker. She started her financial services career in money management with Paine Webber Mitchell Hutchins (now part of UBS) and equity trading at Brokaw Capital Management. Stacey then moved to Merrill Lynch where she was one of the founding members of their worldwide Capital Markets department. During her time at Merrill Lynch, Stacey was the lead manager for over 150 equity offerings and more than 50 convertible debt deals. She brought many companies public including Bennetton, Alza, Jones of New York, 9 West, Wellpoint, and Blockbuster. After 11 years at Merrill Lynch in their New York and London offices, she moved to Montgomery Securities to expand the capabilities of their Capital Markets group. She left Montgomery after two years and took on the most daunting and psychically rewarding challenge of her career — raising triplets. Stacey is active at Eastside Preparatory School, where she has served on the scholarship committee, and at FACE AIDS, where she has helped with the start-up of Camp Kwizera, a social justice summer camp for middle school students. She also has been involved in the various schools attended by her children. Stacey earned her B.A. in History from Boston College.
Ben Abram
Benjamin Abram works for The Westly Group, a clean technology-oriented venture capital firm in Menlo Park, CA. He graduated with honors from Duke University, where he double-majored in Civil & Environmental Engineering and Public Policy Studies. In addition to his role at FACE AIDS, Ben serves as a director of the Chordoma Foundation, and formerly as a trustee of Duke University. He is a board observer of two privately-help companies, Glacier Bay and CleanWell, both in California. He is additionally a member of Class XIV of the Kauffman Fellows Program.
Wende Hutton
Seasoned healthcare investor Wende Hutton is passionate about identifying, investing in and building companies that are revolutionizing the practice of medicine. She is a currently a Senior Partner at Canaan Partners. Over the last 15 years, Wende has facilitated the market entrance of over 11 novel and lifesaving medical devices, new drugs and diagnostics. Wende began her venture career at Mayfield Fund in 1993, where she was a General Partner in the life sciences group until 2001. Earlier in her career, Wende held senior operational management positions at GenPharm International and Nellcor in business development and marketing. Wende holds an AB in human biology from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Katie Bollbach
Katie graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in International Relations and African Studies. In 2005, she took a leave of absence from Stanford to co-found FACE AIDS and serve as the organization's Africa Program Director in Zambia. During her time in Zambia, Katie also served as Project Manager for FORGE in Mwange Refugee Camp. In 2007-08, Katie set up FACE AIDS' operations in Rwanda in collaboration with Partners In Health. Katie also served as Partners In Health's Microfinance Program Coordinator. Katie has previously worked for the Genocide Intervention Network, Ashoka, and AIDS-Free World, and has spent time volunteering in Tanzania, Costa Rica, Thailand, Ecuador, and India. She is currently the Program Director at Global Health Corps.
Jonny Dorsey
Jonny co-founded FACE AIDS in 2005 and took a two year leave of absence from Stanford University after his sophomore year to serve as Executive Director. He returned to Stanford to pursue a B.A. in Human Biology and served as President of the Student Body in 2008-09, during which time he worked to promote a culture of service on campus. Jonny was a leadership fellow at the Haas Center for Public Service, co-organized a retreat for emerging service leaders, and led an alternative spring break called "Changemakers: Perspectives on Public Service Leadership."
Jonny co-founded and serves as the Executive Director of the Global Health Corps, for which he received an Echoing Green Fellowship and a Draper Richards Fellowship.
Lauren Young
Lauren co-founded FACE AIDS and served as Associate Director in 2005-06. She received her B.A. with Honors from Stanford University. Lauren has worked with the American Refugee Committee in Liberia, as a Research Assistant at the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C., and with Innovations for Poverty Action in Cote d'Ivoire. Lauren is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University, with a focus on ethnicity and civil conflict.
STEERING COMMITTEE:
The FACE AIDS Student Steering Committee is a select group of outstanding leaders from chapters across the U.S. The Steering Committee develops and delivers campaigns to chapters across the country and shapes the agenda of the FACE AIDS movement.
Karna Adam, Monte Vista High School '12
Amelia Angevine, Clark University '13
Jared Augenstein, Yale School of Public Health '12
Emily Bartlomiejczuk, Glenwood Springs High School '12
Reba Carethers, University of Texas at Austin '13
Mia Chatterjee, Vassar College '14
Andrew Johnson, University of Texas at Austin '12
Cara Quigley, Hamilton College '13