Our Board

Simon is Chair of ChildFund New Zealand. He is also Chair of The Lion Foundation and Auckland Basketball Services Limited, which manages basketball operations over much of greater Auckland. Originally a commercial lawyer with major law firms in New Zealand and London, Simon had a successful corporate career across several sectors with leadership roles at Enerco New Zealand, SkyCity, United Networks and SKF New Zealand. More recently he was a Director of AA Smartfuel Limited and helped establish The Coaching Collective which specialises in providing Executive Coaching and Leadership Development programmes.

Isam Ghanim returned to ChildFund as its ninth president and CEO in March 2022, most recently having served for three years as president of Search for Common Ground, a $60 million organization focused on transforming how the world deals with conflict. His career in international development began at CARE Sudan, just after he completed his master's degree at Sudan's University of Khartoum. In his 21 years with CARE, Ghanim held various roles in Sudan, Somalia, India and at the regional level before 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. Isam would later assume responsibility for the Asia and Americas regions as VP of Global Operations, and then, with his promotion to Executive Vice President for Programs in 2011, for program development, the role he held until his departure to SFCG in 2018.

Imma joined Educo’s Board of Trustees in September 2013. A lawyer and tenured professor of Civil Law at the University of Barcelona, she has coordinated the publication of legislative texts for the Official Journal and Publications Bureau of the Catalonian Government. She is Chair of the Arbitral Tribunal of the Consumer Arbitration Board of Catalonia. Imma is the author of several books and articles on legislation and new technologies and has presented on these two areas of expertise in diverse forums. She has also been a visiting scholar at research institutions in the United States, Canada and France.

Tamar Manuelyan Atinc is a development professional with over 30 years of experience in the analysis and implementation of development policies and programs. She is currently a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution where she has worked since 2013.  During her long career at the World Bank, Ms. Manuelyan Atinc was Vice President for Human Development and served in three regions, including Europe and Central Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, and Africa working to advance country policy and programs to foster human development, reduce poverty and improve economic management. Her recent research has focused primarily on scaling up early childhood development, social impact bonds, and data and accountability for better education outcomes.  

Ms Manuelyan Atinc is a member of the Board of the Geneva Graduate Institute of International Relations and Development since October 2017 and is also Vice-Chair of the Board of ChildFund International since February 2019.  She started her career working in Geneva at the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.  A Turkish and American national, Ms. Manuelyan Atinc has undergraduate and graduate degrees from Harvard University and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

Marco is a lawyer in Milan. In particular, he is working in the labor law field and he is a consultant in the tertiary sector. He has been working in the non-profit sector for some years, at first as a director of the foundation Arché, an organization which takes care of mothers and their children suffering from psychic and social troubles. In particular, during that period, he was involved in helping HIV positive children and their families, and later on he was in charge of activities for the Italian NGO COOPI. In 2006, he was a charter member of the Parada Association that is supporting projects in favor of children and youths living in the streets in Bucharest. Since 2007, he is the President of WeWorld ONLUS and since December 2018 he is the President of WeWorld-GVC ONLUS.

Since 2010, Alain has volunteered and sponsored the organization Un Enfant par la Main. He became a member of the Board in 2016 and was appointed as President in January 2020. An engineer by training and a graduate in Risk Management, Alain began his career as a works engineer and project manager within the Bouygues offshore company. He then joined the company Veolia Water Technologies, where he worked as Director of Operations, Director of Zones and Business Units and Director of Projects. His activities led him to work in many parts of the world. Director of Operational Performance, Safety and Security from 2014 to 2019, he recently retired from working life and now devotes himself to the presidency of Un Enfant par la Main.

Hans-Juergen became President of the Board of ChildFund Deutschland in November 2022. He studied Business Administration in Stuttgart and had a long career as a member of the management board and CFO of different international companies before becoming a freelance business consultant focused on assisting companies during difficult phases of restructuring. He has long been familiar with ChildFund, starting with when he became a child sponsor in 1979. In 2012, Hans-Juergen and his wife established a trust foundation under the roof of ChildFund Deutschland that has supported several projects in Africa, predominantly in Ethiopia.

Youngkey Hwang was elected the 10th Executive Chairman of ChildFund Korea by its board of directors in June 2022, bringing to the role over 30 years of extensive experience in corporations, finance, and investment industries. Mr. Hwang had a long career as CEO and Chairman of Samsung Group Companies, Korean financial holdings groups, and advocacy associations. Most recently, he served as Chairman of Korea Financial Investment Association. Previously, he served as Chairman of Korea-America Association and as President of Seoul Scholarship Foundation and Korea Student Aid Foundation. He made significant contributions to expanding learning opportunities of higher education for Korean students and participated in volunteer activities for children with severe disabilities at a special facility operated by ChildFund Korea.

Mr. Hwang currently serves as a senior director and chairman of ESG committee at the board of Hanhwa Life Insurance Company and a member of ESG Practice Group of Shin & Kim, a leading Korean law firm where he serves as a non-standing senior advisor. He earned his bachelor’s degree in International Economics from Seoul National University and completed his postgraduate study at the London School of Economics, where he obtained M.Sc. in Accounting and Finance in 1981.

Dr. Misako Fukushima joined ChildFund Japan in 2009 and has been serving as its Vice President since 2014. She was sent to the parallel event of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women by United Women in Faith, and delivered a keynote speech on Leaders Working in a Grassroots Community in 2016. On that occasion, Secretary General Ms. Meg Gardinier and she paid a courtesy call to the UN Ambassador to Japan, who was instrumental in the adoption of SDGs Target 16.2. Currently, she has been teaching social sciences at several universities in Japan, and is also an active board member of a Christian ecumenical organization, assisting in the management of a residence for international college students.

Misako earned a B.A. in Sociology at Tokyo Women’s Christian University (Tokyo, Japan), pursued a M.A. in Sociology at the American University (Washington, DC, US) where she interned at the US office of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which was established to promoting international cooperation and helping developing countries. She was awarded a Doctor of Policy Sciences at Hosei University (Tokyo, Japan). Her specialty revolves around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Global Society.

Gabriel leads Equus Energy Advisors Inc., a consulting practice based in Calgary, and he is president of the oil company United Hydrocarbon International Corp. The executive is an active volunteer and has previously held Board positions at Habitat for Humanity and The Order of Good Cheer, among others. Gabriel holds a bachelor of commerce and master of economics degree from the University of Calgary. He is also a chartered financial analyst and a chartered professional accountant. Gabriel credits his parents for paving the way to his success. They embodied the strength of the human spirit, the power of prayer and persevered through many challenges while never forgetting to live, laugh and hug.

David is a governance specialist and communication counsel to boards and senior executives. He is a facilitator for the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) in Strategy & Risk and Governance and contributed to AICD’s Good Governance Principles and Guidance for Not-For-Profit Organizations. David is a director of the Heart Foundation (NSW). He joined the ChildFund Australia board in November 2014 and is Chair of the Governance Committee and a member of the Communications and Marketing Committee.

Aaron S. Williams is an international development expert and a former diplomat. He served as the 18th Director of the Peace Corps from 2009 to 2012 under President Barack Obama. Williams grew up in Chicago where he graduated from Chicago State University and became a teacher. He volunteered for the Peace Corps for three years, working in the Dominican Republic to support teacher-training projects. Afterwards, Williams served in the U.S. Agency for International Development (US AID) for 22 years. Before and after his term as Director of the Peace Corps, Williams worked for RTI International.

Lennart is Chairman of Barnfonden’s Nomination Committee and Barnfonden’s board representative on ChildFund Alliance. Lennart is active in the media and has worked as a journalist and in the management of Expressen, as CEO of AB SvenskFilmindustri, and as Deputy CEO of the Bonnier Group. He now runs his own company and is involved in several boards and nomination committees, including SvenskaBio (chairman), the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise (nomination committee) and Almega(chairman of the nomination committee). Lennart is also a volunteer for Min StoraDag.