In September 2014, Andrea Hughes, violin, a Former ROL Advisor, competed in a rigorous music competition, "The 2014 George Enescu International Competition for Violin, Cello, Piano and Composition". More festival info here. The best to you Andrea!!
In January of 2014, David Poulsen, a ROL Advisor, along with his wife, began full-time service as the President of the Temple Square mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
On April 4, 2014, Jared Campbell, a ROL Advisor, was the sole finisher of the Barkley and the only person to finish the Barkley Marathons 3 times! (2012, 2014, and 2016). See Jared's Blog here
Jared Campbell is the Chief Engineer of the Advanced RF and Mechanical Design Group at L-3 Communications in Salt Lake City. With over 10 years of experience at L-3, Jared has acted as a design engineer, team-lead, project lead, Systems Engineer, and Chief Technologist. In 2012, Jared was recognized as an L-3 "Engineer of the Year." Prior to working in industry, Jared attended the University of Utah in the engineering program and working as a research assistant in the computational and physical fluid dynamics laboratories. As avid trail runners, Jared and his wife have traveled the country and world in search of beautiful places, wonderful people, and unique culture. In 2011 they completed their goal of building a net-positive home in Sugarhouse, which has exceeded their performance expectations, producing all of the home's heat, hot water, electricity, and energy for their electric vehicles using basic passive solar design principles and a PhotoVoltaic Array.
Chad Fugate is a co-founder of Reach Out And Learn. His qualifications include serving as a board member of several humanitarian organizations including Chasqui Foundation, Ascend Alliance, and Idaho Condor. He has led more than 70 teams in Peru and Bolivia since 1999. His educational background includes graduation from Westminster College with a BA in liberal arts and a BS in Nursing. He completed Anesthesia Training in Wisconsin and has worked as a CRNA (Nurse Anesthetist) since 1981. He studies Organizational Leadership with Gonzaga University Masters program and has earned a certificate in Servant Leadership. He also enjoys teaching at Idaho State University as affiliate faculty in the PA program. His honors include Humanitarian of the year awarded by the Idaho State Association of Nurse Anesthetists. Chad runs his own anesthesia service business working in 8 hospitals and surgery centers. He is passionate about doing humanitarian work that provides sustainable results long after our carefully directed efforts.
Dr. Dowdle graduated from the University of Utah School of Medicine and did his residency at William Beaumont Hospital - Royal Oak. His primary specialty is Obstetrics & Gynecology, which he has been doing for 26 years. Dr. Dowdle speaks Spanish, and on the Intermountain Healthcare Website, his mission statement is "My goal is to provide caring and quality medical services. I strive to share the goodness of this life and give my patients hope in an atmosphere of kindness and respect. The prevention of disease, minimizing pain, and suffering, protection of the unborn, support for individuals and families are my priorities."
Dr. Esplin has worked at the University of Utah Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division since 2000, after completion of his Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship at the University of Utah. He is board certified in both Obstetrics and Gynecology and the subspecialty of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Dr. Esplin's main areas of interest are the genetic control of term and preterm labor and the role of inflammation in preterm birth. Dr. Esplin is currently involved in several ongoing research projects sponsored by the National Institutes of Health aimed at identifying markers of preterm birth and obstetric complications.
Dr. Erickson currently has a practice in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He is also an instructor and presents at many international conferences. Dr. Erickson has been serving in Peru since 2013 and is a key contributor helping Peruvian doctors, nurses, and midwives learn techniques that will help them save lives as they help women with difficult child deliveries.
Mrs. Johnson is a Course Director for Africa. Her qualifications include graduating from Brigham Young University with a BA in History Teaching and a BS in Special Education with a mild/moderate endorsement. She has been volunteering with Ghana, Africa efforts since 2003 and has been traveling to Ghana since 2005. Her efforts as a teacher in Utah and Ghana won her the Teacher of the Year Award at Wasatch Academy in 2008. She then went on to win Utah Charter School Teacher of the Year 2009, and was featured on the front cover of Wasatch Women magazine, April 2009. Ms. Johnson currently is CEO of Teaching It Right, an education software company that develops social-emotional learning program for children 3-10 years old along with being a Board for Early Light Academy. Mrs. Johnson receives no compensation of any kind, and performs her duties on an “as needed” basis.
Sead Osmani has a BA in Political Science and Italian from Brigham Young University. He has worked for multiple non profit organizations in diplomacy, immigration, and interpretation with people from all over the world. He has served as President of the Young Single Adults of Italy, Vice President of BYU's International Student Association, and as a performer diplomat for Living Legends. He speaks English, Serbo-Croatian, Italian, Spanish, and Romane.
Michael J. Huntsman is our Executive Director, and has served in this position since 2007. He works with the Board of Directors to accomplish the mission, forging self-sustaining paths, internationally, through health, education and humanitarian efforts.
Michael oversees the day-to-day operations of Reach Out And Learn, managing and coordinating all the details to get experienced professionals from the U.S. "learning together" with foreign professionals to improve the work we do to help those in need.
One of his greatest satisfactions is discovering, in the months and years following our training workshops, the effect our efforts have had upon saving lives and improving the lives of individuals, families, and communities.
I recall two very significant moments recently when comments made by two of those who went to China and Cambodia on two of our humanitarian events.
The first was by Scott Waldram. Scott is from Pocatello, Idaho and was a Mission President with his wife in the Congo, Afica. While we were in Jinan, China, and, more specifically, at Qilu University training students on mental health principles to help them establish a mental health clinic at the university. While the multi day training was taking place, Scott and I had the opportunity to go to a village next to the town the University is in. While there we were able to interact with some of the people there, particularly an elderly couple who invited us into their home. This experience combined with the modern and expansive growth that is taking place in China, Scott said, enthusiastically, "Evenyone needs to see this!!"
The second comment was made by Margo Cowley during an annual Board of Directors meeting. Her comment echos my feelings exactly, she said, "I'll never travel as a tourist again". With Reach Out And Learn, we go places tourist will never go and see. We interact with the people and get to know the culture in ways tourists won't experience.
Sheila has served as our Global Education Consultant, Mediator since 2011! She has a Master's Degree in Education Counseling and a bachelor's degree in Psychology. She has also received a State certification in Mediation, studied Art Therapy, Music Therapy, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Brain Gym and many other counseling techniques.
Sheila is enthusiastic about solving problems through education, training, and technologies. She is a practitioner and uses Neurofeedback "brain training" to help those who struggle with symptoms associated with ADHD, anxiety, depression, learning disabilities, and sleep issues. She has many years of experience and now utilizes Neurofeedback, using an FDA approved device, to help people overcome challenges in order to function well.