supports Leaders ...to develop sustainable villages
Supports leaders to Develop sustainable villages
Supports leaders to develop Sustainable villages
Joseph Barrett has built a life-long career in management consulting serving global corporations, organizations and family enterprises. He is passionate about economic development for the underprivileged. Joseph is the founder of Lift Kids, Inc., a global non-profit which supports leaders in the business planning process to develop sustainable villages. Previously, Joseph held senior corporate and investment banking positions at Citigroup, Société Générale and GE Capital. Prior to creating Lift Kids in 2007, Joseph worked in over 20 countries as a consultant, business owner and entrepreneur. Upon completing his degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and his Masters Degree in International Affairs from the University of Aix-Marseille, Joseph's global career included 2-3 year assignments in New York, London, Toronto, Brussels, Dallas, Houston, Athens, Paris and Jakarta. As he traveled and worked around the world, one over-arching theme was always present: the millions of children, hungry, homeless and begging in the streets. Lift Kids was founded for the purpose of creating a scalable model for sustainable villages that would finally provide all children with basic living conditions and establish education, healthcare and economic viability. Joseph was previously a part-time professor of Strategy and International Business at the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management and at a number of other MBA Programs in Minnesota.
Linda J. Javurek / General Management and Board Secretary
Linda Javurek is a Communications Consultant and has a B.A.in writing from Metropolitan State University. Her career includes work at companies such as Pearson, Xiotech, Seagate, Datacard, and many others. Her writing background includes Technical, Marketing, and Grant writing work. Linda uses her skills to build Lift Kids' community involvement, raise awareness and mentor volunteers. In addition to work at Lift Kids, Linda has extensive volunteer experience at several other organizations including Meals on Wheels, Interfaith Outreach, St. Bartholomew’s Social Justice Committee, Women’s Prison Outreach and several area schools.
Tim Torok / Board Member
Tim Torok has over 25 years of Product Engineering Manager experience. Tim has worked for and with major Telecommunications and Computers companies throughout the world as a Senior Field Application Engineer, Senior Technical Service Engineer and as a Product Engineering Manager working in Product Develop groups, Marketing groups and in Sales groups. Tim is best when working with and interacting with customers and management at all levels. Tim has provided increasingly difficult Root cause analyses and has recommended solutions to those problems. Tim earned an Electrical Engineering degree, a Bachelor of Science degree in Management and a MBA. With his experience and education, Tim is ideally suited to help people solve their technical, management and product issues.
Pierce A. McNally/ Board Adviser and Attorney
Pierce McNally is a senior attorney at Gray Plant Mooty practicing in the areas of business law and entrepreneurial services.
In December 1983, Pierce was elected to the Board of Directors of his family company, Midwest Communications, Inc., owner of numerous broadcast properties including WCCO-TV, WCCO-AM and WLTE in the Twin Cities. In 1989, he was subsequently also elected an officer of the company and he served in both capacities until the company merged with CBS, Inc. in 1992.
Pierce also began investing in start-up and early-stage companies with which he would also develop an advisory or management relationship. He has written and lectured on numerous topics pertaining to corporate governance issues including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Twenty eight years in the architectural profession, Duane has developed a variety of building types such a office/warehouses, car dealerships, hazardous waste facilities, science labs, grocery stores, office buildings, post offices, airport retail, housing, casinos, and restaurants. In addition to architecture Duane has worked as a designer for a scenic art studio creating sets, displays and props for casinos, restaurants, retail and filming, also worked as a creative director for an international company that designed and manufactured display booths for trade shows.
Duane's volunteer work includes overseas assignments and planning for several villages within the Lift Kids Planning Process. Duane is one of the primary creators and founders of the Lift Kids Village Model. His architectual designs are transnational and replicable in nature. Duane has supported leaders in the development of palns for Ethiopia, Tanzania, Somalia, Uganda and Laos. His work at Lift Kids is on-going.
Registered Architect:, Certified Interior Designer, American Institute of Architects (AIA)
Ram Krishnan is a 1967 graduate of IIT Madras. When the campus decided to take an extended summer vacation due to severe water shortage, he arrived in the campus 4 days after hearing about the water crisis. Prof. P.V. Indiersan, a past Director of IIT Madras and his wife Jaya, had visited Ram in Minneapolis (USA) 1 year earlier and introduced him to the concept of Rain water harvesting (RWH). Ram is an active member of India's Development Coalition of America (IDCA). As a volunteer with CARE International, Ram supports various Global Poverty issues by CARE. Ram and his wife, Nayana, have lived in the US for over 35 years. He founded and operated a Logistics Consulting company for 15 years in the US. Born in Trivandrum, schooled in Madras, Delhi and Bombay, he completed his Engineering studies in IIT Madras. He is quite active in the IIT alumni activities and is the past President of IITM alumni group in the USA. Ram Krishnan is committing his next 4+ years to work for sustainable and scalable projects in the villages of India, where about 800million people live and earn less than Rs 100per day. Ram is the India country leader for Lift Kids and Lift Kids' global water harvesting expert.
Brianna Zeigler is a community development practitioner with 8 years of experience. She has spent time working with and organizing underserved communities to take actions that improve their well-being and make their voices heard. She received her Bachelor's degree in Cultural Studies from Wartburg College. Highly passionate about immigrant and refugee rights, she has spent time on the Arizona/Mexico border as a Humanitarian Aid Search and Rescue Volunteer. Her Master's of Science at Michigan State University was uniquely interdisciplinary and intertwined with her Peace Corps Service in Tanzania. Her thesis research focused on identifying and fostering participation in marginalized groups in rural communities. Brianna is a Minnesota native committed to holistic wellness. She is a 200 hour level yoga instructor, working towards her 500 hour level training.
