Staff

Glenn Fawcett - Executive Director of Field Operations
An Australian native, Glenn came to live in India in 1995 where he worked for almost two years as a volunteer before becoming the Director of the White Lotus Sponsorship Program in 1997. For the next seven years, he created and implemented educational and social programs for Tibetan refugees and underserved Indian communities. Lotus Outreach was established almost entirely on the platform of programs and partnerships he developed during that time. Twelve years later, Glenn spends his time equally between India and Cambodia and continues to live his commitment to social development and justice.

Erika Keaveney - Executive Director
Erika was first exposed to both the beauty and tragedy of Cambodia during a trip to Southeast Asia in the Summer of 2007. After visiting the Killing Fields of Cheong Ek to the orphanages of Phnom Penh, Erika was moved to find a way to help the people of Cambodia escape their untold and prolonged suffering. Upon her return, Erika began volunteering with Lotus Outreach and shortly thereafter joined the organization as Development Manager. Erika began her professional career as Administrative Services Manager with multiple career consulting firms in Southern California. Erika received her Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude in 2008 from the University of California-San Diego, where she completed an honors thesis on international education policy. She has a deep interest in human rights, global development and international education.

Raksmey Var - Partners and Projects Liaison, Cambodia
Raksmey first began her community work in 2001 when she organized a group of secondary school children to participate in Environment Day. She went on to volunteer as a teacher and mentor for a youth group that provided social services to poor children, where she taught kids about children’s rights and dental hygiene and encouraged them to become involved in recreational games. At the same time she was working as a part-time English teacher at a private school which allowed her to interact with young people every day. Though Raksmey loved working with children, she wanted to do more to help them. Raksmey received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting in 2004 from National University of Management in Cambodia. In 2007, she completed her Master’s in Gender and Development Studies as the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, where she completed her thesis on "Gender Differentiated Issues in Balancing Work and Education for Working Children in the Context of the Tourist Boom: A Case Study of Angkor Park, Siem Reap, Cambodia.” Raksmey’s areas of interest include children's education, child and youth mobility and employment, livelihood development, child labor, human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Suraj Kumar - Project Manager, India
Suraj is a Delhi native who began working with Lotus Outreach in 2005 as a member of the Social Jurists of Delhi as a part of the Right to Education Task Force (RETF). Following the success of RETF, Suraj was invited to join Lotus Outreach as Project Manager for our new Lotus Education as a Right Network (LEARN) program, which is applying the lessons learned from the highly successful RETF to the rural state of Haryana. As RETF program manager, Suraj was responsible for surveying the conditions of Delhi schools, mobilizing local volunteers, managing a help line and coordinating with a myriad of government and municipal departments. Suraj's previous work involved collaborating with local and international NGOs to build Children's Right Networks as well as providing computer training to children in slums and urban villages.

Board

Khyentse Norbu - Chairman
Khyentse Norbu, also known in the Buddhist world as Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, is trained as a philosophy teacher and attended university in London. He is a student of important Tibetan Buddhist lamas including Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Kyabje Sakya Trizin, Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche, and the16th Karmapa. He is the head of the renowned Dzongsar Monastery and Dzongsar College and is currently responsible for the care and education of approximately 1,600 monks distributed between six monasteries and institutes in Asia. Khyentse Norbu also oversees six branches of Siddhartha’s Intent, contemporary teaching and practice centers distributed over several continents, as well as the non-profit organizations Khyentse Foundation and Lotus Outreach.

A position as technical advisor to the film “Little Buddha” in 1994 served as Khyentse Norbu’s introduction to film. He has since directed two feature length productions, “The Cup” in 1999 and “Travellers and Magicians” in 2003. “The Cup” was a surprise hit at the Cannes Film Festival and received numerous awards, including the 1999 Munich Film Festival One Future Award,1999 Pusan International Film Festival FPRESCI Award, 1999 Noosa Film Festival Golden Boomerang Trophy, 1999 Toronto Film Festival “Runner Up” People’s Choice Award, and the 1999 European Film Awards Nominated Five Continents Award.

Patrick J. Gauthier - President
Born in Quebec City, Canada, Patrick is a professional consultant to the healthcare and business operations fields based in Palm Desert, California. Patrick has been working in the healthcare delivery and management fields since 1989. He has served in senior executive positions for twelve years directing marketing and healthcare operations. His expertise in operations is specifically related to quality improvement, care management programs and developing networks of healthcare professionals. His marketing background includes reaching under-served populations and building unique products and strategic partnerships with state and federal public health agencies. His early career involved working with severally emotionally-troubled youth, the juvenile justice system and ensuring the rights of children to receive a public education. He has collaborated with under-served communities and tribal programs to develop innovative approaches to solving social problems and worked closely with the corrections system to help offenders successfully re-enter their communities. Patrick led several boards and committees – all of them concerned with creating access to high-quality services that enable people and communities to help themselves. He served on the Lotus Outreach Executive Committee and as the Board Secretary until 2007 and was elected President of the organization in 2008.

Ed Malley - Treasurer
Ed’s early professional career was in the investment consulting business. Later he was involved in real estate and, more recently, in remodeling houses. He earned his undergraduate degree in Finance from Santa Clara University and his MBA from American University. He has two grown children. Ed makes his home on the Monterey Bay in California's Central Coast where he is an art consultant to interior designers. With previous board experience in both the public and private sectors, Ed has been on the board of Lotus Outreach and has served as its Treasurer since 2004.

Agam Patel – Secretary
Agam was born in Kenya, attended Secondary school in the United Kingdom, and now lives in the United States. He is fluent in English, Swahili and Hindi and has strong connections to India, Africa and the developing world. During his formative years in Kenya, he was involved with social development projects and also worked in the corporate banking sector. Agam has an MBA in International Business with a concentration in Strategic Planning. He is a volunteer consultant to the ‘Strategic Planning’ and the ‘Technology’ Committees for the Desert Sands Unified School District in Coachella Valley, California where he advises, negotiates with and assists in the conceptualization and design of the school district’s strategies and to set priorities in keeping with the government’s education framework and policies. After working in the private sector for over 12 years, Agam now seeks to utilize his entrepreneurial skills, business acumen and strategic thinking in the social and development sectors.

Kathryn Gessner
Kathryn joined the Lotus Outreach board in 2006. She currently serves as the secretary and grants coordinator. Kathryn teaches composition, literature, creative writing and poetry at Shasta College in Redding, California, where she is tenured in the English Department. At Shasta, she serves on curriculum development committees, runs the Distinguished Visiting Author series, advises the creative writing club, and participates on the distance education committee. From 2007-2008, she has served as secretary and contract negotiator for the Faculty Association. Over the years, Kathryn has published poems and essays in many literary magazines and in small presses. She continues to ride her mountain bike and wander in the woods as her sources of renewal and inspiration.

Germaine A. Hoston, Ph.D.
Dr. Germaine A. Hoston is a leading expert on East Asian political philosophy and development, a dedicated teacher and mentor, and an activist promoting peace and social justice for over 20 years. As Professor of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Hoston combines an extraordinary breadth and depth of research and writing with dedicated, enthusiastic, and innovative teaching. Best known for her work on the relationship between Chinese and Japanese thought and political and economic development, Dr. Hoston is now completing a comparative study of Faith, Will, and Revolutionary Change.

An avid student of foreign languages, Dr. Hoston is fluent in Chinese (Mandarin), Japanese, French, and Spanish, uses materials in Russian, Italian, Biblical Greek, and Latin in her research, and is currently studying Arabic for this latest project. An active leader in non-profit groups working on democratization and East Asia, as well as church-related groups, she integrates all aspects of her fulfilling life around a strong spiritual commitment to social justice and global citizenship. Most recently, Dr. Hoston has joined Mark Victor Hansen and others as coauthor of I Am a Miracle, and Deepak Chopra, and Dr. Wayne Dyer as co-author of the best-selling book Wake Up and Live the Life You Love: Seize Your Success.

Julia Booth – Lotus Outreach Australia
Julia has worked extensively in the private sector with a principal focus on project development and management as well as marketing and communications. Julia’s field of expertise is project creation and management. Over the past five years she has been working with a number of non-profit and international organizations (including the United Nations) to aid development and sustainability. Her two most recent projects include: (1) working with Aboriginal communities in the remote North Western Kimberley region to develop a self-sustaining economy and community infrastructure through their unique art and indigenous culture and (2) working with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and private enterprises to set up a “Travelling Film Show” which provides entertainment to some of the most isolated areas with the long-term aim of creating employment opportunities and developing an income stream. Both of these projects are considered innovative templates for development. Julia has a keen interest in film making and recently wrote and co-produced a documentary called “Bhutan: an Alternative Model for Development.” Julia runs an online business called Mummita which provides products and services for mothers. Julia studied Political Science and French in a combined arts degree and is currently pursuing her MBA. Julia is a keen linguist and is fluent in French and Spanish.

Jacqueline Chow – Lotus Outreach Society Canada
Jacqueline is a freelance senior travel consultant currently under contract with a tour and travel service agency in Richmond, B.C. She acquired her knowledge of the travel industry from over 25 years of past work experience with Pan American Airlines’ Hong Kong station, as well as various travel agencies and tour operators in Vancouver. Between her career in the travel industry and raising her family, she also makes time for volunteer work which includes 4 years as secretary and educational chairperson of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (Vancouver Chapter). She also assisted the Canadian Community Care Foundation with their first and second Annual Youth Awards for outstanding achievements among high school students in Greater Vancouver. Jacqueline’s wish to expand her community service – by helping needy children worldwide – was realized when she joined Lotus Outreach Society Canada.

Penelope Tree – Lotus Outreach United Kingdom
Penelope, born in New York City, attended Dalton School, Concord Academy, The United Nations School, and Sarah Lawrence College. She modeled in the US and the UK from 1966-1971 and travelled extensively during this time and throughout the 1970’s. While living in Sydney in the 1980’s, she was the Australian correspondent for Architectural Digest. Her son, Michael, was born in Sydney in 1989. In the 1990’s, she joined the staff of the Australia Tibet Council, sat on the board of Planet Ark Australia and became a student of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. In 1998, she moved to London with her family. She became a board member and UK representative of Khyentse Foundation in 2001 and joined Lotus Outreach in 2003. She recently became a member of the selection committee for the Khyentse Visitorship at Oxford School of Buddhist Studies. Penelope has had articles published in English Vogue, Harpers Queen.

Valerie Chou – Lotus Outreach Hong Kong
Valerie is currently a Vice President with the Private Wealth Management Group of Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong. She is an integral part of the Morgan Stanley Investment Team and her focus is on managing discretionary and advisory portfolios for wealthy family groups and small to medium-sized companies. Valerie specializes in foreign exchange market products in addition to global equity market products. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 1998, Valerie was with the Investment Management Division of Credit Lyonnais, Aetna Investment Management and Sanford Bernstein Investment Management. Valerie graduated from Barnard College, Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. She joined the Board of Lotus Outreach in 2006.

Regina Kaczmarek – Lotus Outreach Germany
Regina started her career as a stylist, set designer and scout for fashion shows, photo shoots and film production. In 1983, she developed media concepts, handled the public relations and events for the Design Horizonte. On their behalf, she worked on sponsorship for design events and exhibitions for Philipp Starck, Alfredo Arribas and others. In 1993, she opened an agency for casting, location work and photo production. Since 1995, she has volunteered for different projects particularly children’s charities. She was involved in the founding of White Lotus in India. She has traveled many times to Africa, India and Cambodia, and found her passion to help and the support local organizations growing stronger. When her daughter was born in 1998, she knew that she was committed to helping children . In 2007, she founded Lotus Outreach in Germany and became their president.