MISSION STATEMENT

Dr. David Angwenyi, our founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), grew up in the village of Nyanchonori, Kenya. In 1994, David emigrated to the U.S.  He has his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Administration.  Dr. Angwenyi currently teaches Biology at Hopewell Valley Regional School in New Jersey. 

David's passion for inspiring and empowering others led him to start diplomacy programs in the U.S. in 2007. 

As is custom, David inherited land from his father in his hometown of Nyanchonori, Kenya and has been committed to using the property to enhance his village. He has successfully built an access road and a high functioning well. The next project is to build the Global Connections Center!

Awards:

• Brazil Educators Cohort - 2012
• Entrepreneurship of the Year Award by StartUpAfrica - 2018
• Excellence in Education Award by Committee Teaching About United Nations (CTAUN) - 2010
• Fullbright - Teachers for Global Classrooms by United States Department of State - 2012
• George Washington Leadership Award by Cyrus-Lodge of Trenton, NJ - 2014
• Global Teacher Prize Award Nominee - 2016
• Kiongozi Award by Hopewell-Keroaka Alliance - 2017
• Life Changer Honor Roll by National Life Group - 2018
• Top 100 Visionaries in Education Award - GFEL - 2021

Steve Haines Chief Operations Officer (COO) In addition to his work with GCF, Steve is an entrepreneur and author with many pursuits and passions all aimed at providing memorable & meaningful experiences for children and teachers. Steve is the President and CEO of Advantage-USA, an International Educational Consulting Company dedicated to global education and language immersion experiences. Steve spent 20 years as a teacher, and collectively has more than 30 years in the field of education.  

Steve has written and delivered his unique, interactive teacher/leader training course that has taken him to more than 80 cities in China, training close to 4,000 teachers. His goal is to empower teachers to embrace the leadership role as facilitator and to help them forge deeper and more meaningful connections with their students. 

 Steve is also the founder and Executive Director of Camp Concepts, Inc. where he designs and directs a 9 week long summer day camp program for children ages 2-16. He has been a camp industry leader and entrepreneur for over 30 years

Ruth Haines is our Administrative Director, currently managing all aspects of our foundation from being a liaison to our Kenyan staff, web development, directing our agendas, event planning, bookkeeping, managing the donor program and assisting in board development, just to name a few! 

 Ruth's experience and passion has been 40 years of involvement in non-profits relating to missions in Haiti, prison ministries, private school fundraising & events, chaplaincy, trauma recovery and inner city homelessness and substance addiction volunteerism.  She is a TedX speaker on the subject of seeing the value in ALL people. 

Ruth has been an executive administrator and project manager in the corporate world and an entrepreneur that has forged many businesses empowering and supporting women and children. 

Ruth has been married to Steve Haines for over 30 years and is the proud mother of 5, now adult, children and 4 grandchildren!

DIRECTOR OF BRANDING & MARKETING FOR GLOBAL CONNECTIONS FOOTBALL CLUB.

Football aka American Soccer has been an important part of Steven's life. He grew up playing a lot of different sports, soccer, basketball, baseball and track and field, but soccer was his favorite sport from an early age. Steven played soccer throughout high school and eventually went on to play at the NCAA Division 3 level at Waynesburg University in Pennsylvania. After graduation, Steven moved into the role of the assistant men's soccer coach at the university and is entering his second season with the Waynesburg Yellow Jackets. Steven is excited to combine his love for soccer with Digital media and is helping the Global Connections Foundation and the Global Connections Football Club build a successful brand that will be recognized around the world.

DIRECTOR OF FIELD OPERATIONS IN KENYA.

Enock was born and raised in Nyanchonori, and still lives there with his wife and 3 yr old twins. After his 0-level was completed, he proceeded to Kisii National Polytechnic in September 2011 to study Telecommunication Engineering and he graduated in 2013.

Enock has dedicated his whole adult life as a volunteer in trying to educate his peers in Kenya to maximize their free time to get busy doing something constructive rather than involving themselves in drug abuse, crime, etc... These struggles are a result of frustrations due to lack of  job opportunities.

Enock is delighted that GCF introduced him to opportunities such as the Football Club/Soccer Team and the upcoming GCC facility that will empower his fellow youth and the elderly as well.

David is currently the founder and CEO of a multi-million dollar company, an industry leader by the name of Asphalt Care Equipment, Inc. David started the company as he was working his way through Wharton Business Program. David has a strong aptitude towards business development, finance planning along with setting best practices in policies and procedures. Over his 42 year career, David has been involved in building businesses in the areas of retail, construction services and real estate investing. He currently serves on the Board of several local committees including; the Economic 

Development Corporation and the Bensalem Impact Group. David is active with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and is part of their Founders Society.  David is also involved in supporting several Prison Ministries. 

Ingrid was born in the Western Cape, South Africa and her family relocated to Zimbabwe when she was very young. Ingrid had a carefree childhood and spent many hours playing under the African sun. She has lived across a number of continents throughout her career and has gained global experiences and she now resides in Christchurch, New Zealand. Highlights of her career  include four successful businesses built and sold, and a non-profit organization rescued. She has been involved in a multitude of organizations from board involvement and senior executive levels. She enjoys the opportunity to coach women entrepreneurs to build successful businesses whilst ensuring they give their family the love and attention they deserve. She loves the thrill of the business build! Ingrid's family makes her smile and she believes family is not just an important thing - it is everything.

Clay Mason is the owner of East West Group Properties. He is an accomplished entrepreneur with 20 years of experience working in the medical device and real estate industry. His passion for learning new cultures & promoting education stemmed from his first experience living and teaching English in Japan. He believes you can learn a great deal about your own culture when stepping into another. Clay is a Gulf War Veteran served in US Navy as an Operations Specialist. He is an advisory board member for the Center for International Business & Education at Raritan Valley Community College, Board Member of the Rise to Shine Education Foundation, Kenya, Member of Branchburg Rotary Club. He holds a bachelor’s degree in History from William Paterson University and a master’s degrees in International Business & Relations from Seton Hall University.

Utpal Kapadia is an IT executive with over 30 years of global experience working in USA, India, and Japan. He has extensively worked within BFSI domain with fortune 500 clients. He founded SKAPS solutions with a vision to bring all his learnings, experience and network, to serve small-businesses, startups in early stage and nonprofit organizations, with a mission to help them access the same kind of expertise and resources that Fortune 500 companies leverages for success. Utpal is an engineer with a bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communications from University of Mumbai. He is also professionally trained by KMPG for CMM assessment for IT firms and has assessed Patni Computers (Capgemini), a global IT services firm at CMM level IV. Utpal's mantra for success is to always find solutions that are win-win for everyone involved. He has been actively involved in charity and volunteer work within local communities and global initiatives. He currently serves on the board of a couple non-profits and is a technology advisor to a non-profit association serving members in PA, DE and MD region. 

Debbie has been teaching 4th grade in the School District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for 22 years.  She sat on the Building Committee and Site Selection Committee at her school as well. Debbie has also been the Director of Expressions Day Camp for nine years. This camp is for children 6 - 18 yrs of age who have social skill deficits such as High Functioning Autism & Asperger's Syndrome.

In 2019, Debbie twice, took 2 groups of students to China with the Global Youth Foundation and can't wait to go back!

Debbie is married with a wonderful son named, Adam!

For over 20 years, Ellyn Ito has used her background in operations, human capital management and business strategy to mitigate risks and enhance operations in organizations experiencing growth and contraction.  Having served in executive roles in both public and private companies, Ms. Ito has had broad operational experience including sales/marketing, business development, mergers and acquisitions, and business restructuring. In 2004, Ellyn founded Sigma Integrated Resources, an Advisory firm focused on serving the unique needs of start-up and mid-sized businesses. In the Fall of 2018, Ellyn joined her client, Helius Medical, Inc, a purpose-driven organization that she has served since its inception in 2014. In May 2021, Ms. Ito co-founded Within Health, LLC, a medical technology company focused on mental health wellness. Ms. Ito is also Founder of Seeds to Sew International, a non-profit organization committed to improving the lives of women and girls in compromised communities. Ellyn's social justice focus fuels her passion to create opportunities for those less fortunate -- whether this is access to health care, technology, education or skilled jobs. 

Romy Toussaint also known as: “The Energy Queen.” helps people  transform their lives through habits that give them abundant physical, mental, emotional and spiritual energy so they can show up fully present, in integrity, and on purpose so they can do their unique work in the world.

She is a certified transformational conscious leadership life coach, a certified Yoga Health Coach.

She is a professional speaker and presenter on the benefits of conscious leadership, mindfulness, yoga and wellness. She is an expert at customizing and facilitating physical activity breaks and mindfulness sessions at conferences and workshops for all types of groups and organizations.

Romy has introduced hundreds of people to the benefits of yoga and mindfulness for over 25 years. She owned a successful private yoga studio and yoga school for 10 years, and managed another thriving studio of 12 plus teachers. She studied alignment-based yoga, Kundalini, Hatha, Vinyasa yoga and meditation with a variety of teachers.

Romy is married to her life partner for 35 years and is the mother of 4 amazing sons and a grandmother.  Nature is her favorite playground and she is committed to living the kind of life where she has the flexibility to do her work wherever she is or wants to be; set her own schedule; have time and energy to be of service to her family and friends and be able to travel and experience the world.  Romy graduated from the University of Rochester with a B. A. in International Relations and Third World Studies.  Look for  Romy roaming in a trail somewhere out there!