iLEAP Board of Directors

J.B. Hoover, President

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J. B. was born and raised in Kentucky at a time when kids actually played outside, walked to school and ate home cooked food with their families every night. Raised in the Episcopal church, he graduated from a Catholic all boys high school and attended Earlham College, a Quaker institution. He has lived and worked overseas for the majority of his adult life. Most of this has been in three stints. First, he spent a year in Japan, volunteering at a non-profit organization in Yamanashi prefecture called KEEP and studying Japanese. Second, he spent four years in the Philippines in the Philippine Refugee Processing Center, primarily working with Indo-Chinese youth to prepare them for entry into secondary schools in the United States. During those years he also worked with KEEP to establish an integrated rural development project in the northern Philippines province of Kalinga. The third, and most recent stint, covered the last 12 years through work at the Asian Rural Institute in Tochigi prefecture, Japan.

In between these periods of working overseas, he studied in the U.S. and acquired a Masters of Public Administration (M.P.A.) from the University of Louisville, and a Master of Science (M.S.) in International Agricultural Development from the University of California at Davis. He is married to Adeline and has a son, Ashley, and daughter, Barbara Rose. All of them now live in Seattle.

Tom Furtwangler, Vice President

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Tom was raised in New Brunswick, Canada and grew up to become the Director of Communications and Instructional Design at the International Training and Education Center on HIV (I-TECH), a University of Washington program working in 25 countries to improve the capacity of healthcare workers in the developing world to provide care for HIV/AIDS. A media producer by training, Tom is also the Director of the Cascade Health Communication Group in the UW School of Public Health.  His films have received numerous awards including a CINE Special Jury Prize. Citing a collection of belly button lint and his sole academic publication in the International Journal of Comic Art as two peak experiences, his life was given true meaning when he discovered a Hershey's Kiss in the shape of the Virgin Mary. Tom is a proud graduate of Vassar College and has a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Media Studies from The New School. He currently lives in a restored farmhouse in West Seattle with a wife of superior talent and an 8 year old.

Betsy Hale

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The two values that Betsy feels most passionate about are stewardship for the environment and cultural competence – the curiosity and ability to understand cultural differences and to move adeptly in cross-cultural situations. She is deeply concerned about how we as North Americans can be better global citizens. She is excited by iLEAP’s mission and is eager to make a contribution as a board member to building its programs. Betsy has lived and traveled extensively in Latin America and Europe and has a love of languages.

Betsy has enjoyed a 25 year career in the Seattle Community College district.  Most recently she is involved in professional-technical education that is tied to our region’s economic development. Her current position involves following trends in the labor market and building training programs and career pathways that respond to needs in the community and which provide the opportunity for underrepresented students to earn a living wage. She is an active member of Plymouth Congregational Church and the longtime Chair of the Crossing Borders Ministry Team. She has led several delegations to Nicaragua where Plymouth has a twenty year relationship with the primary Moravian Congregation in Managua that serves a multi-ethnic population of Miskitos, Creoles, and Hispanics. Betsy has a Master’s degree in Social Work and a Bachelor’s degree in French.

These days simple things excite Betsy the most: riding her bike instead of using the car, swimming at sunrise in Lake Washington, and eating organic vegetables from Seattle Market Gardens.

Kelly Ward

Kelly Ward, a Seattle native, is excited to strengthen relationships with international communities around issues of social justice.  Community service has always had a significant presence in her life and now as Volunteer Coordinator of Solid Ground she can facilitate the same experience for others.  She has been lucky enough to be able to spend time in Central America and West Africa and cherishes the life lessons learned while abroad.  She is looking forward to receiving her Master's of Public Administration from the University of Washington in a couple years.  Kelly spends a lot of time with family, friends and her badly behaved dog.

Deborah Streeter

Deborah Streeter's expertise is in helping non-profits to become more effective by identifying and recognizing their own unique strengths.  Her work style is collaborative, in order to nourish the culture and dynamics of an organization.  When working as a consultant or as a board member, she focuses on building structures for effective board development and intelligent growth. She engages the creative side of the mind to enable leaders to reach inside themselves and discover their full capabilities.  She fosters communication as a tool to develop and implement strategies to engage donors and increase giving.

Deborah earned her M.A. in Organizational Psychology from Antioch University, Seattle, and her B.A. in Psychology from Whitman College.  Her service on the board of iLEAP connects her with her personal goal to create and nurture partnerships with local and international organizations that benefit children in need.

Francis Janes

Francis was born in Canada and grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. After studying electrical engineering, Francis worked in the information technology industry for many years. Currently, he serves as a Vice President for ShoreBank Pacific, a community development financial institution governed by a triple bottom line. Francis is attracted to iLEAP’s mission because of the organizational vision to foster a globally connected community of social innovators and leaders. He believes passionately that those of us who have been given so much have an obligation to do our part to help those in need. He believes that it is always important to ask how can we  work collaboratively to improve the human condition and build a sustainable world.
 
Francis has served on the boards of Pigs Peace Sanctuary, ToastMasters and EarthSave International. He volunteers for organizations such as the YMCA, Washington CASH, New Horizons Ministries, Habitat for Humanity and Food Lifeline. Francis is also passionate about helping people understand the importance of transitioning to a plant-based diet. He believes that a plant-based diet is the basis for improved human health, restoration of our environment and a declaration of compassion for all sentient beings. Francis lives in Seattle with his wife Carol Sue and their rescued shelter dog and house rabbit.