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Joseph Bartolis a practicing attorney in Madison, Wisconsin. Joe graduated from Cornell Law School in 1990 and is a partner with the law firm of Stroud, Willink & Howard (www.stroudlaw.com). As a lawyer, Joe enjoys helping people solve problems so that they can obtain their business objectives and/or personal goals. Joe was initially drawn to Kidlinks World because he saw an opportunity to use his legal training to help overcome the challenges facing a fledging charity seeking exemption status under Section 501(c)(3).As he learned more about the living circumstances that the impoverished and often orphaned children around the world face on a daily basis, Joe readily agreed to serve on the Board of Directors. He is thankful now for the opportunity to help create a better future for children while he broadens his personal horizons. Joe has never traveled to Africa, but hopes to soon visit the projects that Kidlinks World currently supports in South Africa. |
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Liza LightfootLightfoot Liza grew up in Apartheid South Africa. She saw and lived the devastating effects of oppression on a divided population. Through years of witnessing the injustices of oppression, she, at a young age, realized how much difference a little compassion can make in the life of a disadvantage child.Kidlinks World is the culmination of her desire to make a difference in the lives of underserved children, who have the will to help themselves. Liza brings to Kidlinks World, 22 years of experience running a gardening and landscaping business (www.avantgardening.com). She also has several years in planning fundraising events for non-profit organizations and as president of a production company. |
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Francis Lukheleis currently a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It was home visits through his church in Swaziland that opened his eyes to the possibility of touching lives through volunteer activities. Also, as a graduate student with a large family and limited resources in the U.S., he has been the beneficiary of so much kindness through the church and dear friends. He has experienced how one person or more can make a difference in another person’s life. His wife's training as a social worker has also contributed to this desire to help. Thus as a family they see their stay in the U.S. as preparation for what they look forward to doing on their return to Swaziland - invest in the lives of others.Francis is passionate about helping bring change in the lives of people living in underserved communities. Kidlinks World affords him the opportunity. |
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Wilson Majeeis a Zimbabwean who started volunteering with Kidlinks World during its inception. He holds a PhD in Development from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Masters and Bachelors in Economics from the University of Zimbabwe.In addition to his academic training, Wilson has a strong background in internal auditing, university teaching, research, and in care giving. Having grown up in rural Zimbabwe, lost brothers and sisters to HIV/AIDS, and currently caring for orphans in his family, Wilson has a heart for children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. |
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Cristianne WendlerMany people search their whole lives to discover what they are passionate about--to find what moves them, but Cristianne was blessed to find her calling when she was only 15 years old; that is when she joined the fight against HIV/AIDS. Yet, she didn’t fully discover her place until she went to South Africa as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in 2003. It was through that experience that she helped form Ikageng Itireleng AIDS Ministry in Soweto, South Africa. Touched by the lives of 1,700 children orphaned by HIV/AIDS at Ikageng, Cristianne committed her life to helping orphans.Moved by her determination and back in the US, she continued to support Ikageng at a personal level. In 2005 she joined Kidlinks World and brought the Ikageng project along. Since then she has been a member of Kidlinks World becoming Board Member at the beginning of 2006. Cristianne makes regular trips back to South Africa and plans to move there permanently in the near future. |
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Dawn CasperDawn is self employed, running her commercial real estate development and management company out of her home, so she is more accessible to her family and community. She was asked to join the Kidlinks board, as treasurer in 2009 because of her background in accounting and business management. Dawn has believed in volunteer service to improve the lives of those less fortunate, since her high school years in the 1960’s when she worked with the Freedom from Hunger Foundation, a division of the United Nations, raising money for farm cooperatives in Mississippi. She was drawn to the Kidlinks organization because of their focus on connecting children / young people to make the world a better place. Investing in children, not by giving them a hand out, but a hand up. Feeding the body and spirit with education, food and peace gardens, dance and song. Volunteering as a high school student changed her view of the world. She hopes to connect local high school students with the Kidlink's projects to give local youth the opportunity to volunteer and expand their horizons, while helping the less fortunate in South Africa. |
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