Haiti Nursing Foundation (HNF) Board members are involved and talented volunteers. They meet quarterly, with a variety of committee meetings held throughout the year. They are sensitive to the trust our donors place in HNF and the Faculté des Sciences Infirmières de l'Université Episcopale d'Haïti (FSIL).
The Board has overall responsibility for the policies, programs, and direction of HNF. Members are elected for three-year renewable terms and bring a broad range of nursing education, management, and organizational development expertise. Nearly every member has been to FSIL, some multiple times. Each member signs HNF’s conflict of interest policy annually.
The HNF Board reviews requests for funding to select appropriate projects, approves grants for HNF to submit, and monitors the expenditures of FSIL. HNF’s board is committed to best practices in governance, accountability, and transparency at all levels of the organization.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President - Donna Martsolf, PhD, RN, FAAN (PA)
Vice President - Ada Sue Hinshaw, PhD, RN, FAAN (MI)
Treasurer - Stuart Deming, MBA, JD (MI)
Secretary - Patricia Farris, BSN, RN (MI)
Hilda Alcindor, BA, RN, FAAN (Haiti)
Birthale Archie, DNP, MSN, BS, RN (MD)
Thom Bales, MDiv
James Boelkins, PhD (MI)
Richard Candee, MBA (MA)
Jessie Colin, PhD, RN, FRE, FAAN (FL)
Sherry Cogswell, BBA, CPA
James Hall, MD (MI)
Monique Jean-Bart Germain, MS, RN, CTN-A, CNE, APHN-BC (IL)
Eric Lipson, J.D. (MI)
Joanne Pohl, PhD, RN, FAAN, FAANP (MI)
Nancy Rondel, BSN, RN (MI)
Larider Ruffin, DNP, APN, NP-C, RN, ANP-BC, A-GNP, CRNP, CTTS (NJ)
John Sampselle, MBA (MI)
Robert Sloane, Jr., MD (TX)
David Walmer, MD, PhD
Lorna Williams, BSc (PA)
Thom Bales
Thom brings extensive experience from working for diverse nonprofit organizations since 1987. Thom received his BS degree from East Tennessee State University and a Masters of Divinity from Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, GA. As a theological student, Thom interned at Trinity Moravian Church in Kingston, Jamaica, learning about the challenges and opportunities of ministry in a developing country.
He describes growing up in a family that values service as an essential component of a meaningful life. He has been part of the staff leadership team for three organizations, providing guidance and oversight for each agency and helping guide two of these organizations through periods of significant growth. For instance, during his five- year tenure at Hands on Atlanta, he grew the staff from four employees to 15.
Thom brings experience with fundraising, utilizing his skills as a grant writer, project manager and special event coordinator to generate significant agency funding. He has been responsible for organizational communication and marketing activities - inclusive of marketing plan creation, newsletter production, social media marketing and website development.
He has carried out a variety of other management responsibilities and he possesses familiarity with many aspects of the non-profit world and organizational development, including financial, governance, strategic planning and volunteer functions. He recognizes the importance of understanding both the “big picture” of an organization, as well as how to actualize that big picture into the day-to-day administration of varied components.
Thom embraces the mission and work of Haiti Nursing Foundation and is familiar with the healthcare challenges facing many Haitians. "I've been fortunate in my career to gain competence in many areas of successful nonprofit management. Haiti Nursing Foundation offers me a great opportunity to bring all of my experience and skills to bear on the important work of an amazing organization."
Vanessa Chaddic Hess
Vanessa is fully dedicated to HNF as it honors her love of both nursing and international health. Vanessa’s mother was a nurse in the Flying Doctor’s Service headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya in the 1960’s, and nothing could be more exciting than the stories she heard in her childhood (think clearing wildebeest off of the landing strip to set up field surgeries in the Serengeti).
Vanessa has been an advocate for health equity throughout her career with over a decade of experience as a community health educator. She received her Masters of Public Health from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. This makes her part-Hoosier. She received a B.S. in Anthropology from the College of Charleston, which makes her a connoisseur of Lowcountry cuisine.
Growing up, the daughter of a foreign service officer, she was fortunate to live in Europe, Africa, Asia and the United States, developing a deep appreciation for other cultures. She served as a rural health worker in Cote d’Ivoire for two years with the United States Peace Corps, where she learned many valuable life lessons. While there she worked with her new community to organize well-digging teams and to train local health agents to prevent disease, but knows fully well that she is the one who learned the most from that experience.
In 2018, Vanessa moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan from Las Vegas, Nevada, where she served as the program manager for a nonprofit organization working to address food insecurity in Southern Nevada. She feels right at home in the Midwest, where she lives with her husband, Ray and her daughter, Hazel.
Joining the HNF team during a global pandemic has been surprisingly seamless and is a true testament to the good people who make up this wonderful organization.