About Us  Board of Directors
Deborah Johnson, Ph.D. Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Johnson has spent 25 years designing, managing and evaluating child-related social service, medical and health programs. From 2002 to 2006, Dr. Johnson was the International Director for Children’s Programs for Feed The Children. In addition to launching school-based feeding programs that now serve 122,000 children, she ran a large center for abandoned babies and for children with disabilities. Dr. Johnson consults with a number of child-focused nonprofit organizations and school districts throughout the U.S.. Her Ph.D. is from Stanford University. Email: djohnson@giveachildlife.org.

Bethany Nicoson. Marketing Director. Nicoson has worked and studied overseas in Spain, Costa Rica and Kenya. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania' s Wharton School, she has a dual concentration in Marketing and Management. Nicoson previously worked at Deloitte, the major international accounting and consulting firm. She focused on the health sciences marketing with a particular focus on project management, web content and event planning.
Email: bnicoson@giveachildlife.org.
Emma Emma Olson. Director of Development and Child Sponsorship. Olson is a graduate of the University of California Berkeley who has traveled extensively. Most recently, she volunteered at an orphanage in India. Olson has worked with several nonprofits, low-income families in the U.S. and street children overseas. She founded a biannual publication advocating sustainability in food economy and she has published in the California Literary Arts Magazine, Berkeley Poetry Review and Featuring America. Email: eolson@giveachildlife.org
Laura and Alex Bennett. Creative Directors. The Bennetts are graphic designers and artists who have created printing and web-based marketing materials for clients such as Levis, Disney, Adidas, Sony, Sears, Warner Brothers, Speedo, Feed The Children, Quicksilver, MTV and others. Laura Bennett volunteers 250 to 400 hours annually in the classroom and has started Mommy and Me Groups. Both have degrees from California State University Fullerton.
Charity Mbugua. Health Coordinator, Kiandutu. A registered nurse, Mbugua has worked in community health and services in Kenya for more than 10 years. She has been in charge of the maternal child health department at Kikuyu Hospital and supervised community-based health care. Currently she is a program officer working with HIV clinics for a nonprofit organization. She has won a number of professional awards and conducts dozens of trainings each year.

Carlos Diaz. Project Coordinator, El Zaite. One of the founding members of the El Zaite community. Formerly a brother with the Missionaries of Charity, he studied theology for three years at the Universidad Jose Simeon Canas in El Salvador and he taught for three years at the Pedagogical University. He has a master’s degree in social science. A highly skilled community organizer and administrator, he has worked with a number of international organizations including IPM, the Episcopal Church, Terre Des Hommes, World Vision and Plan International.
Board of Directors

Deborah Johnson, Ph.D. Board President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Johnson has been instrumental in creating, managing and evaluating school reform, parent education, literacy, feeding, social service, health, academic, and technology projects around the globe. She founded GCL because children from 0 to 5 are frequently overlooked by traditional aid programs; yet this age group is when assistance could have the greatest impact. Dr. Johnson is a hands-on administrator and experienced fundraiser. She has degrees from Stanford University, Northwestern University and Swarthmore College.

Charmaine Alvarado. Board Secretary. Alvarado is a licensed clinical social worker with a Pupil Personnel Services Credential. A consultant and the mother of two small children, she manages evaluation projects for social service programs delivered in school settings. She also is the CEO of Bundles of Books, a nonprofit dedicated to children’s literacy around the world. For three years, she managed Central Healthy Start, a state-funded program providing multi-disciplinary services to low-income families in Long Beach. Alvarado has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Southern California.

Frances Williams. Board Treasurer. Williams is a retired social worker with the Orange County Dept. of Social Services with over 25 years experience in children’s services, employment services, family services and refugee services. Since her retirement, Williams has been on the boards of a number of nonprofit organizations. Currently she serves as treasurer for two nonprofit groups. She has helped manage a number of large federal and state grants.

Melody McWilliams. Board member. McWilliams is Vice President of Operations for Prudential Real Estate. She is responsible for providing large-scale, strategic project management, business direction for technical developments, overseeing compliance and risk management processes and managing the customer call center. Prior to joining Prudential 23 years ago, she worked with Coldwell Banker, Tungsten Carbide and other service and manufacturing companies. McWilliams has a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California with certificates in Finance and Real Estate.

Kenya Board of Directors

Catherine Karugu. Board President. With a master’s degree from the University of Nairobi and a bachelor’s degree in social work from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Karugu has worked as a social worker and program manager for a number of nonprofit organizations in Kenya. Currently she works with the Africa Inland Mission.

Carol Mbugua. Board Treasurer. Mbugua has years of experience working in human relations, public relations, and administration in nonprofit organizations in Kenya. She also has started several small businesses.