GLOBAL LEADERSHIP TEAM

Isam Ghanim is the ninth president and CEO of ChildFund International, a leading child-focused organization that has been serving children and their families all over the world for the past 85 years. Most recently, Ghanim served for three years as president of Search for Common Ground (SFCG), the largest dedicated peacebuilding nongovernmental organization in the world, focused on transforming how the world deals with conflicts. His career in international development began at CARE Sudan, just after he completed his postgraduate education at Sudan's University of Khartoum. In his 21 years with CARE, Ghanim held various roles in Sudan, Somalia, India, Kenya, Djibouti and at the regional level in Asia, East Africa and the Middle East, eventually becoming its vice president for Global Program Resources and Learning. He held that position from 2003 until 2007, when he joined ChildFund as vice president for the Africa region. Ghanim would later assume responsibility for the Asia and Americas regions as VP of Global Operations, and next became ChildFund’s executive VP for Programs in 2011, overseeing all ChildFund’s program teams worldwide, the role he held until his departure to SFCG in 2018. Ghanim serves on the boards of InterAction, the leading alliance of NGOs and partners in the United States; the ChildFund Alliance, a network of 11 child-focused development and humanitarian organizations; and the Board of Directors of SFCG.

Meg has over 19 years of experience in international development. She has worked on child development and protection initiatives in Palestine, Sierra Leone, Nicaragua, Cambodia and the Philippines. After spending more than 10 years working for nonprofit organizations, Meg worked for the United Nations and most recently has served as vice president for Project Support Services for ARD, a Tetra Tech Company. Meg holds an M.A. in sustainable development from the SIT Graduate Institute in Vermont and a B.A. in English and history from Wofford College in South Carolina. A member of the Metis Nation, a western Canadian indigenous group, Meg will be working remotely from Vermont, where she lives with her family.

Paul Bode, our vice president for Global Operations, has worked 30 years in child-focused international development organizations, especially in the Latin America in both managerial and technical positions. After joining ChildFund in 2010, he served as our regional director of the Americas, and, beginning in 2017, became our VP of Program Development (2017-2018). Before coming to ChildFund, he worked for Plan International where, among other positions, he was program director at its headquarters and regional director for Latin America. He cofounded the Latin American chapter of the Global Movement for Children. Paul holds a master’s degree in cultural anthropology, with a specialization in rural development of Latin America, from the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Adam has more than 30 years of success in brand building and customer and channel marketing.

Before joining ChildFund, Adam served as the marketing leader at Cross-Cultural Solutions and CARE.

Prior to his nonprofit career, Adam worked at The Coca-Cola Company as their Director, Global Education Market Development Group.

He received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Tennessee.

Adam has also served on the boards for HelpAge, USA and Men of Valor, Inc., and chaired the board at The YMCA Community Action project.

Though he is proud of his professional accomplishments, Adam’s greatest love is for his family: his wife, Gillian, and three sons; twins Noah and Tanner, and Ian.

Erin Kennedy is a leading policy, children’s rights and gender expert with almost 20 years of experience in the field. Ms. Kennedy is responsible for setting strategic direction for the organization’s business development, U.S. advocacy and external engagement portfolio. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Duquesne University and a Master’s in Public Administration from American University.

Mario Lima, ChildFund’s regional director for the Americas, has more than 25 years of international development experience holding different positions at the country, regional and global levels. As a member of the ChildFund leadership team, he has worked on different fronts to improve social impact, local partnerships, internal processes and overall effectiveness. Before coming to ChildFund, he worked for CARE International, where he served as country director in the Dominican Republic and El Salvador, the L&OD director at international headquarters and the deputy regional director for Latin America, among other roles. He was also the co-founder and executive director for Learning for International NGOs (LINGOs).

Laura Meloy oversees global finance and accounting operations at ChildFund, bringing over 25 years of distinguished experience in nonprofit fiscal management to her role. Prior to her tenure at ChildFund, Laura held the position of Chief Financial and Operating Officer at United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg, where she also served on the National Financial Issues Committee for United Way Worldwide.

A Certified Public Accountant affiliated with the Virginia Society of CPAs, Laura holds an undergraduate degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. Her extensive background and expertise in financial leadership contribute significantly to the strategic direction and operational efficiency of ChildFund's global initiatives.

Chege Ngugi has devoted over a decade of his professional life to ChildFund in the Africa Region as a country and regional team leader. Prior to this role, Chege held several executive positions at ChildFund. He served as a Country Director in 3 countries; Mozambique, Ethiopia and Kenya for nearly 10 years, where he championed various innovations in programming, fundraising and partnership building, particularly with corporates. His core competencies include resource mobilization, people management, program design and execution, organizational development, financial management and budgetary control, and partnerships and strategic alliances formation. In addition, he has served in different global taskforces that have been instrumental in developing new ways of doing business especially in the Covid-19 era. Chege holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the United States International University (USIU) - Africa and Columbia Business School.

Hanneke Oudkerk is a seasoned international development professional with over two decades of experience in the field of child rights and public health. Prior to her role as the Regional Director for ChildFund International Asia region, she served as the Country Director for ChildFund International Indonesia. Hanneke is passionate about leading and motivating multidisciplinary teams to achieve outstanding results and helping team members realize their full potential. Innovation, whether from a technological or systems-based perspective, has consistently played a pivotal role in Hanneke's career. She has a profound appreciation for brainstorming, design thinking processes, and the implementation of innovative ideas that facilitate effective and efficient work methods. Hanneke also values collaboration with equally motivated organizations, companies, and individuals to drive positive change. Hanneke had the opportunity to lead development programs in Nepal and Sri Lanka before relocating to Indonesia 11 years ago.

Scott and his team lead the talent management function of ChildFund.

Previously, he worked as Vice President, Human Resources at IntraHealth International; Vice President of Talent Acquisition and Development at PRA Sciences; and Global Director, Human Resources at FHI360.

Scott earned his undergraduate degree in child development and family life with a concentration in human resources management from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, his master’s degree in counseling at Eastern Michigan University and his doctorate in adult education at North Carolina State University.

Scott is married with two children, Jessie and Blake, and enjoys playing golf and taking long walks with the dog.

Sudipto in his role is responsible for planning, sourcing, management, and governance of the information technology function at ChildFund. Ensuring that ChildFund adopt technologies that can be taken to scale, and are practical and cost-effective in advancing the mission and vision of the organization. He come to ChildFund with 20 plus years of experience in the non-profit sector involved in delivering technology solutions geared towards improving the impact of humanitarian projects. Prior to joining ChildFund, Sudipto worked at CRS as Director of Enterprise Architecture overseeing the implementation of global technology projects and managing the technology investment portfolio. He holds a Master’s in Computer Application with certifications in enterprise architecture, project management, service delivery and change management. He lives in Baltimore with his wife and daughter.

Amelia Smith joined ChildFund International in September 2022, as General Counsel. Amelia comes to ChildFund with a strong background in non-profit law and legal risk management, with a particular focus on international operations. Prior to joining ChildFund she spent five years as Senior Attorney for the Nature Conservancy, and nine years as General Counsel at Conservation International. She has an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Texas, and a law degree from the Catholic University of America. She and her husband live in Stafford Virginia and are looking forward to relocating to the Richmond area in the near future.

Mr. Tuite is responsible for the finance, accounting, assurance, treasury, legal, office administration and human resources at ChildFund.

Previously, he worked at the Population Council as Chief Financial Officer and Secretary-Treasurer. Mr. Tuite has also worked as an Auditor/Operations Analyst for Save the Children.

Mr. Tuite is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and former chairman of the board of InsideNGO. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the India Society.

He holds an undergraduate degree in accounting from Northeastern University in Boston and a master’s degree in international educational development from Teachers College, Columbia University.