ServeHAITI Board of Directors

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.

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. Meanwhile, his son has taken a leadership position with his parish at Marquette University which runs a twinning program with a parish in Mon Opital, Haiti. Greg 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.