About Us

Dean has had a varied career from the early days of being an Operating Room Nurse on Professor Christiaan Barnard’s first heart transplant team to running a Nursery School in Malawi. She, her husband Rhino and their three children emigrated to Canada from South Africa in 1991. Dean grew up in Zambia and after marrying Rhino lived in Malawi, Namibia and South Africa. Dean was born into a Rotary family and when Rhino joined Rotary in 1986 became an active Rotary Ann until she joined Rotary in 1989. On arriving in Vancouver both Dean and Rhino joined the Rotary Club of West Vancouver and at present are members of the Rotary Club of Langley Central in District 5050. Together with Rhino they now own and manage a company that is involved in soil stabilization during road construction. Some years ago Dean realized a lifelong ambition by receiving her qualifications in Game Guiding and Game Management. She is also an accomplished artist and professional ceramicist.

Since joining Rotary in 1992, Joan has served in many leadership roles at the club, district, and zone level. She is a past director of The Rotary Foundation Canada and Chair of the RFHA Board of Directors from 2012 to 2016. Joan is passionate about community health and polio eradication and participated in Rotary Family Health Days in Uganda in 2012. She has made four trips to Ethiopia to participate in National Immunization Days by immunizing children with the polio vaccine.

Brad is president of Howard Tours and managing director of Howard Properties. He has dedicated much of his time and talents to the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, as a board member, fundraiser, and trustee of the Berkeley Foundation. He is a past district governor of District 5170, and a past member of the Board of Directors of Rotary International’s and he served as Chairman of the Board’s Executive Committee. Currently, he is serving a three-year term as Chairman of Rotary’s Communication Committee and has been appointed as aide to Rotary President-Elect Jennifer Jones, who will be the first woman president of Rotary International. The eradication of polio has been a significant part of Brad’s Rotary experience. He served 10 years as the Zone 26 End Polio Now Coordinator, and has led 33 Rotarian groups, with a combined total of over 1,500 people, to participate in polio national immunization days in West Africa and India.

Olajide graduated from the University of Ibadan Medical School with a MBBS in 1979. He served as a medical officer and surgeon at various hospitals in Nigeria and in 1987, moved to the UK for advanced plastic surgery training. Olajide became a Fellow of the Nigerian Postgraduate Medical College in Surgery (FMCS) in 1988 and served as a registrar in plastic surgery, regional clinical fellow in plastic surgery, senior registrar, and clinical instructor in plastic surgery. He returned to Nigeria in 1990 and joined the Lagos State Government Health Service. In 1994 Olajide entered private practice, establishing the Inland Specialist Hospital group. He is a charter member and past president of the Rotary Club of Ogudu G.R.A, District 9110, and has served on many district, regional, and international committees.

Greg is a CPA (Certified Public Accountant Retired - AZ) and a PFS (Personal Financial Specialist) having operated his own practice from June 1979 to retirement in January 2000. He has written four professional continuing education courses and has been a keynote speaker at five national conferences. Greg was a regular guest professor at Arizona State University in the Master of Taxation program. He was also the President and owner of a very large metal fabrication firm for the telecommunication industry and a healthcare software development firm. Greg has been a Rotary Club member since 1982 and has served in a number of district, regional and international roles.

Greg has been involved in the Property Development market for the past 30 years, having originally trained and studied in the engineering field. He joined Rotary 25 years ago and was involved in chartering three Rotary clubs and a probus club. He has served as club president, assistant governor and on various zone and district committees. Greg was intimately involved in the merging of Districts 9270 and 9320 into the new District 9370 and served as the first District Governor of D9370 in 2013/14.

Safak Alpay is a physicist who until he retired in 2015, served as board member and shareholder of INTERPRO Holding. He also worked for, managed, and owned several companies. Safak has worked as a university lecturer and been a leader in the Turkish Boy Scout Association. He joined Rotary in 1974 and served as district governor (1990/91). His other positions within Rotary have included Rotary International Director, Chair of the Executive Committee of the Rotary Board, and the Rotary International President Special representative to establish Rotary in Iraq.

Bharat Pandya is a practicing general and laparoscopic surgeon. He and his wife, Madhavi, a gynecologist, own a private hospital in Mumbai. He is a fellow of the International College of Surgeons and has served on the board of the Jan Shikshan Sansthan vocational training institute, sponsored by the Indian government. Pandya joined Rotary in 1989 as a charter member of the Rotary Club of Borivali. During his year as governor of District 3140, his district contributed over $2 million to The Rotary Foundation, making it the top contributor worldwide for 2006/07. He has led numerous projects, including water and sanitation projects funded by Foundation grants that installed check dams so that villagers no longer needed to walk up to four miles per day to collect water.

Peter has worked for 30 years as a barrister and for the past 20 years was an senior immigration judge at the Upper Tribunal Judge for Immigration, Asylum and Human Rights. Recently retired from judicial appointment he has been accredited as a mediator with CEDR. He is currently undergoing training for certification as an International Peace Mediator with Oxford Process. Peter is a liveryman and court assistant of the Worshipful Company of Arbitrators, a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a Freeman of the City of London. He also served the army for five years as a lawyer and 25 years in the Territorial Army in transport and logistics, thereafter as a Deputy Judge Advocate involved in military trials. He was awarded the Territorial Decoration and Bar. He is a founder member of the Rotary Club of Kew Gardens, having joined in 1984.

Ginger A. Eads is a Certified Public Accountant in Flower Mound, Texas. She owns her accounting firm and enjoys taking care of her small business and individual clients through bookkeeping, consulting and tax services. She also manages the day-to-day financial operations of a non-profit organization and prepares non-profit tax returns for several entities. Ginger is married to Andy Eads, a Rotarian since 2001, and they have three children. Ginger joined Rotary in 2015 as one of six founding members of the Rotary Club of Cross Timbers, a club that quickly grew to 120 members that it maintains to this day. She was the Charter Treasurer of her club serving in that position for two years before proceeding to the offices of Vice-President, President-Elect and President of the Rotary Club of Cross Timbers in 2019-2020. Ginger also served as Treasurer of District 5790 in 2018-2019. She currently serves on the Rotary International Finance Committee and the Rotary International Investment Committee. She is a Paul Harris Fellow. Ginger has also served as Chairman of the Board for Medical City Lewisville for several years.

Victor Barnes recently retired from Rotary International, where he was the Director of Programs and Grants, In that capacity, he oversaw the management and implementation of the Rotary Foundation grant-making portfolio, including District Grants, Global Grants, Programs of Scale, Strategic Partnerships with USAID, The Global Partnership for Education, and the Institute for Economics and Peace, as well Rotary's Peace Centers and Disaster Response grants. He supervised the subject matter experts, Area of Focus Managers, in each of the foundation's causes, including Basic Education, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Peace and Conflict Prevention, the Environment, Community and Economic Development, Disease Prevention and Treatment, and Maternal and Child Health. He also managed two program teams, Service and Member Engagement, including Rotary Action Groups and Fellowships, Inter-Country Committees, Service and Project Partnerships, and a number of other activities and communication efforts supporting Rotary membership and Presidential Initiatives. The other program portfolio, Youth and Alumni Engagement, includes support for Rotary Youth programs and Rotary's program alumni relations/activities. Prior to joining Rotary, Victor began his career as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development focused on education and public health including managing USAID's first global HIV/AIDS prevention programs. He served as the Deputy Director of the Office of HIV/AIDS Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before retiring from the federal government to work with the Corporate Council on Africa on the implementation of a BMGF-funded program to invest in healthcare infrastructure in African countries with significant US private sector investment. Victor returned to domestic HIV/AIDS program activities with AIDS United, as Senior VP of this public sector foundation supporting access to HIV/AIDS prevention,care and treatment. He joined Rotary International in 2013.

Sandra Thurman is a renowned global advocate for key and vulnerable populations. While she is known most for her focus on HIV prevention, care and treatment, and policy, Sandra has made important contributions to polio eradication, women’s health, children’s health, and cancer prevention and treatment. Currently, she serves as the Chief Strategy Officer in the United States Department of State’s Office of the US Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplomacy. Throughout her career, Ms. Thurman has held important leadership positions, including leading the Office of National AIDS Policy under President Bill Clinton.

Laura Kann is a second-generation Rotarian. She joined the Rotary Club of Dunwoody, Georgia in 2004 and held many leadership positions in that Club including President in 2011-2012. During her Presidential year, the Rotary Club of Dunwoody participated in five Future Vision Global Grants totaling nearly $600,000, conducted more than 53 service projects, honored 58 new Paul Harris Fellows, had a membership retention rate of 90%, and inducted 19 new members. In addition, during Laura’s Presidential year, Rotary International and RI President Kalyan Banerjee recognized the Rotary Club of Dunwoody as one of the top three Rotary Clubs (in their membership category) in the world for achievements in Membership and the Rotary Foundation. In addition, District 6900 recognized the Rotary Club of Dunwoody as the Level 3 Best All-Around Club and the Best Overall for Public Relations, the Rotary Foundation, Technology, Family of Rotary, and Club Year Book. District 6900 also honored Laura with the Sheffield Leadership Award as the best Club President during the 2011-2012 Rotary year. At the District level, Laura served Rotary District 6900 as an Assistant Governor during the 2013-2014 Rotary year. She also was a trainer at Georgia PETS and District Training Assembly from 2012-2018 and conducted membership-focused webinars for Zone 34 during 2013 and 2014. In addition, she served on District 6900’s Global Grant Scholar Committee and the District Grant Committee. She also served during 2016-2018 as District 6900’s Peace Fellow Coordinator. In 2010, Laura participated in a 3-day Polio Eradication National Immunization Day campaign in Chandigarh, India as part of a Rotary International delegation. In 2013, she received the Rotary International Avenues of Service Citation for Individual Rotarians for outstanding efforts in each of the Avenues of Service. Laura and her husband, Wick Warren, are Paul Harris Fellows and Major Donors – Level III. Laura is now a very active member of the Princeton Rotary Club which she joined in 2018. She serves on the Board of Directors and was also chair of the annual Rotary Auction for the club’s centennial year in 2020. In addition, she serves on the 100th Anniversary Committee, the Community Service Committee, and the Foundation Committee. At the District level, Laura currently serves District 6420 as the District Governor Elect and will be District Governor during the 2022-2023 Rotary year. She is also the Global Grant and District Grant Subcommittee Chair. Laura was born and raised in Princeton and graduated from Princeton High School. She went on to receive a bachelors and master’s degree from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. from Indiana University. From 1987-2017, she worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia where she served as a global expert in school-based survey research focused on the health behaviors of adolescents, in general, and sexual minority youth, specifically. During her time at CDC, Laura collaborated with international organizations and governmental agencies in all 50 states plus more than 100 developing countries. She managed four large surveillance systems, a staff of 25 scientists, and an extramural research budget of about $12 million annually. In addition, Laura authored more than 200 peer-reviewed scientific publications and made more than 160 national and international peer-reviewed presentations. Laura returned to Princeton in 2014, is now retired from CDC, and lives in the historic “Purple House” on East Peru Street. She works two days a week as a World Health Organization (WHO) expert consultant. In addition to her service as a Rotarian, she is also a member of Friends in Council and serves on the Board of Directors for the Bureau County Historical Society and Freedom House. Laura spends much of her free time quilting and gardening. Her husband also worked at the CDC in international public health for his entire 36-year career and is now the Varsity Baseball Coach at Princeton High School.

Marion Bunch, a member of the Rotary Club of Dunwoody, Atlanta, Georgia, lost her son to AIDS in 1994. Motivated by her grief and determined to make a difference, Marion set out on a mission to fight HIV/AIDS and reduce the stigma around it. She asked her Rotary club to join her and so, the seed for the Rotary Action Group for Family Health and AIDS Prevention (RFHA) was sown. Successful HIV/AIDS programs were started at schools in Georgia and then in Africa. In 2004, the Rotary International Board of Directors approved an application from Marion for RFFA (Rotarians for Fighting AIDS) to become an independent non-profit Rotarian Action Group focusing on mobilizing Rotarians in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Stella is an MD, PhD, medical doctor, epidemiologist and global health expert and was an honorary professor at the School of Health Systems and Public Health at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She has lectured on Disaster Risk Management, Neglected Tropical Diseases and Social Determinants of Health. Stella retired from the World Health Organization in April 2013 after serving WHO in various capacities, including WHO Country Representative in four African countries and as the Programme Area Coordinator for Disaster Preparedness and Response in the African Region. She has also served as Senior Lecturer in Epidemiology and Community Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Yaounde, in Cameroon.

Sarah is the editor of the Rotary Regional Magazine, Rotary Africa: South. She is a former newspaper journalist and the founder/Doodler-In-Chief of MacDoodle, a marketing, design and publishing agency that networks teams of highly-skilled freelancers into phenomenal marketing, design, publishing and branding projects. As a ‘bookworm’, she is passionate about the print and digital publishing services provided to independent authors who work with MacDoodle. Sarah served two terms as Rotary District 9370 (eastern South Africa and Lesotho) Public Image committee Chair, where she guided more than 1600 Rotarians as they strove to improve the perception of Rotary in their communities and the region.