ServeHAITI Board of Directors

Luanne Smith

Chairperson

Luanne is a graduate of the University of Dubuque. She went on to earn her Chartered Property
Casualty Underwriter professional designation, and is a Senior Workers’ Compensation Claim Adjuster with Encova Insurance…

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Luanne first heard about ServeHAITI from members of her community who were involved with the organization. In 2013 she was fortunate to travel to Haiti with a team led by Cindy Broders, a long time volunteer with ServeHAITI, where they worked on Restore our School projects. From that trip grew a passion to continue to work with ServeHAITI and support their goal of providing health and development opportunities for the residents of Grand-Bois. She returned to Haiti each year until 2020, and was able to share the experience several times with one of her daughters. She hopes to return to Haiti soon.

During her time in Grand-Bois, Luanne has worked to create a program where men from Grand-Bois were hired and taught how to build school desks and chalkboards for use at the area schools. Also important to her were the creation of feminine hygiene Girls’ Kits, which allowed girls to continue to attend school while they had their periods. Women from Grand-Bois were hired to sew reusable menstrual pads, which were then combined with underwear and some other small personal hygiene items in a fabric bag that could be taken to and from school.

She resides in DeWitt, Iowa and is an active member of First Congregational United Church of Christ. She has three grown daughters who are all married and live nearby, so she is blessed to be able to spend time with her five grandchildren. Luanne is a member of the DeWitt City Council, where she enjoys being able to give back to her community.

Gregory Amoroso

Treasurer

Greg graduated from Clarion University of Pennsylvania in 1986 with a BS in Finance. In 2020, he founded Amoroso Compliance Consulting LLC, which provides securities related compliance consulting services to legal and compliance groups in the financial services sector…

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Greg took his first trip to Haiti with his oldest son in 2012. Both were struck by how much ServeHAITI does for the community of Grand-Bois and how much more there is to do. Greg has since worked to raise awareness of the needs in Grand-Bois through his parish and the greater Atlanta community. He has taken additional trips to Grand-Bois, including one with his other son, and enjoys being able to help and interact with the wonderful people of the area. His goal for his involvement with ServeHAITI is to, in some small way, help improve the lives of the people in Grand-Bois.

As the Treasurer of ServeHAITI since 2018, Greg has a greater appreciation for what it takes to run the organization and a profound respect to all of the donors who help improve the lives for those in Grand Bois despite the fact that many of them have never visited.

Greg resides in Atlanta and is married to his wife Lynn. They have two now grown children. Greg volunteers with other non-profit agencies, and is active in his Church community at St. Thomas More and is also on the Board of Corry Area Memorial Charities.

Sabine Apollon-Lopez

Secretary

Sabine is a native of Haiti and is the Founder and CEO of ENIBAS Consulting, a design and construction project management company. Sabine has more than 25 years of extensive background experience in corporations, institutions, private and public-sector clients…

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Throughout her career she has worked for several global companies and commercial real estate firms, as well as Fortune 100 companies.

Sabine has a calling to support the community on humanitarian, diversity, and equity efforts. Sabine is involved in various causes for Haiti, her place of birth. Her mission is to directly assist the natives of Haiti in impoverished areas with jobs, health services, food, financial means and much more. Sabine joined the ServeHAITI Board in 2022. She is encouraged and inspired to be part of an organization providing health services and development for the natives of Grand-Bois, Haiti.

Additionally, Sabine started Sabine’s Hot Sauce, more than 15 years ago from the joy of cooking and her appreciation for her Haitian culture. Sabine’s Hot Sauce’s mission is to turn a longtime passion for home cooking into an opportunity to acquire and cultivate land throughout Haiti for climate-controlled greenhouses for her Hot Sauce recipe base. This would provide an opportunity for local farmers to become entrepreneurs, and a sustainable avenue to provide food and alleviate economic disparities. Sabine also serves on the Board of the Caribbean American Society of New York (CASONY) focusing on the Haiti causes in the area.

Dr. Matt Downen

US Medical Director

Matt received his Medical Doctorate from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine where he developed his interest in global health.

His first work in Haiti was between his third and fourth year of medical school when he helped with a community needs assessment in
Arcahaie, Ouest, Haiti. It was a life-changing three months.

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After his graduation he completed residency in Family Medicine through the University of Kansas. During residency he was able to travel to Haiti with ServeHAITI and work at the St. Vincent de Paul Health Center alongside Dr. Leo.

He helped lead several team trips to the Health Center, and even to surrounding outposts, to ensure that all residents of Grand-Bois felt the presence and support of ServeHAITI. He has served as the US based Medical Director for ServeHAITI since 2015 and joined the board of directors a few years later.

During that time we have navigated hurricanes, cholera outbreaks, COVID and worsening
political unrest.

Matt lives in Wichita, KS with his growing family. He works as a hospitalist for the group,
Premier Hospitalists of Kansas and spends as much of his free time as he can being active. He
relishes all opportunities to talk about Haiti, the mission and opportunities to improve the lives of the people of Grand-Bois, so feel free to connect!

Karen Chung

Board Member

Karen completed a BS in Nursing at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia. After a few years of nursing ‘down under’, she returned to the US to continue her medical passion closer to home and family…

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Karen was first introduced to the amazing people of Haiti when she joined the Bayada Nurses for one month after the 2010 earthquake. This inaugural trip allowed her to see firsthand the importance of health and medicine in global wellbeing. This experience inspired her to ultimately attain her Masters in Nurse Practitioner degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Visiting nearly every year since her first trip, Karen started a non-profit to give scholarships to children who win an annual art contest where they are tasked to draw and write their vision for the future of Haiti. She also provides academic scholarships to enable young individuals to attain a US based college degree.

In 2017, she met Kazushi through a common friend and attended his NYC fundraiser which inspired her to go with Cindy Broders to Grand-Bois in the Fall 2017. Her second trip with ServeHAITI was in 2019 where she made cycle beads and taught locals how to be more aware of their menstrual cycle. Since her 2019 trip, she has organized an annual SuperBowl pool fundraising event for ServeHAITI and is looking forward to traveling to Haiti again soon.

Karen believes in the strength and resilience of Haitians and is passionate about their empowerment to be a part of the Haiti they deserve which is echoed in the wonderful meaningful work of ServeHAITI.

Fritz Jean-Pierre, MD

Board Member

Fritz Jean-Pierre, MD has served as the Medical Director of Comprehensive Bariatric Services at WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center since 2014. He is a Haitian-American and has traveled to rural areas of Haiti for medical mission trips in the past….

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He is a general and bariatric surgeon who specializes in the treatment of morbid obesity and metabolic disorders. Dr. Jean-Pierre completed his surgical residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago Mount Sinai Hospital and his fellowship in minimally invasive surgery at the Morehouse School of Medicine/Atlanta Medical Center. He served as the Chief of the Department of Surgery at Kennestone from 2019-2021 and remains active in several leadership roles. He is an active member of his church community and spends most of his leisure time with his beautiful wife, Tanicia and their 3 children; Yasmin, Anjali and Dominic.

Bernetta Jones

Board Member

Bernetta currently works as a 5th grade teacher in the Atlanta metropolitan school district. She earned a master’s degree in Education from the University of Illinois, attained certifications in both Math Grades 4-8 and Gifted Education, and is in the process of gaining an endorsement in elementary and middle school mathematics…

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Bernetta served on the Haiti Committee at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church for over 10 years. Through the Parish Twinning Program of the Americas (PTPA), Lourdes partnered with Our Lady of Fatima in La Fossette, Haiti and five schools in the area. Along with her church members, Bernetta traveled to La Fossette on a trip in 2012 to connect with the community and to identify ways in which they could impact positive change. Her passion for the Haitian community inspired her to return to Haiti on a personal exploration to take a deeper dive in experiencing the treasures of the Haiti people and culture.

She believes that each child is a unique individual who needs a secure, nurturing, and stimulating atmosphere to grow and mature holistically- intellectually, physically, and socially. Bernetta’s goal as an educator is to help each student meet his or her fullest potential in these areas by providing a safe, encouraging, inviting, and stimulating environment. She envisions utilizing her expertise in the education realm to support Haitian children in evolving to become their ultimate selves.

Dwight Samuels

Board Member

Dwight earned his MBA in Business Management from the University of the District of Columbia. With over a decade of experience in Financial Crimes across both private and public sector financial institutions, he brings a wealth of expertise to the table.

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Dave Schumacher

Board Member

Dave served as owner/operator of Schumacher Electric Co. in Davenport, Iowa from 1973 to 2005, and then worked with Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) of Iowa until 2015…

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Dave still maintains his Iowa electrical masters license and teaches continuing electrical education classes along with consulting work for several local contractors.

Dave made his first trip to Haiti in 2006, where he installed the first electrical service in the ServeHAITI Health Center in Grand-Bois. Since then, Dave has made many trips to the area to upgrade the electrical system in the Health Center to accommodate the growing needs of the facility, along with being available while not in Haiti to help restore and repair any electrical issues they have. Dave has also rewired the church in San Pierre along with several schools in the area.

Dave served in the United States Air Force from 1966 to 1969, where he got his start in the electrical trade. After the Air Force, Dave completed an apprenticeship in Colorado Springs where he met his wife, Jan. From 1993 to 2014 Dave served on one of twenty technical committees writing the National Electric Code. Dave is a member of the parish council at St Joseph’s church in DeWitt, IA and is a 4th degree member of the Knights of Columbus.