Chief Executive Officer

Aaron C. Caldwell

United States of America Staff

Kim Lankford

Claire Duncan 

Gwyndolyn McClellan, Ph.D.

Australian Staff

Jacqueline Furtado

Glenn Harvey

Kate Mullany

Aaron’s deep passion is for social change in the field of child slavery. 

At age 31, Aaron is currently a Doctor of Creative Industries candidate in a pioneering doctoral program in the world’s first Creative Industries Faculty, located at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.  He was one of only 4 students admitted into the program in 2007 and presently he is on scholarship. Aaron also teaches at the university.

In 2006, Aaron had already completed 3.5 years of international postgraduate study. Aaron has a Masters of Arts from the Department of Education at Western Michigan University. During his degree entitled, Socio-Cultural Studies and Educational Thought, he concentrated in Leadership, Third World Development and Child Labor. During his time at Western Michigan, he was invited to serve as a Teaching Assistant at Charles University in Prague. He also worked as a Research Assistant for the Political Science Department and as the Graduate Assistant for the Office of Study Abroad. Additionally, Aaron worked for Kalamazoo County Community Mental Health as a Self-Determination Specialist.  Currently Aaron is awaiting his second Masters in International Relations from Macquarie University,  located in Sydney,  New South Wales, Australia. Aaron undertook the program on a prestigious Presidential Scholarship. The emphasis of this degree was in child’s rights, child labor, child trafficking and globalization.

Prior to commencing his Masters work, Aaron taught English as a Second Language at institutions in Taiwan and South Korea. He also worked as First Mate, sailing the Caribbean for nearly a year, aboard a leisure charter. Recently, Aaron took a marketing job with a Maltese company in the Mediterranean. He quickly realized corporate-life did not compliment his dreams. Aaron has since worked with foreign human rights organizations such as Amnesty International.

During his undergraduate studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, Aaron was employed as a Resident Assistant for incoming freshman; served as a guest speaker at various leadership conferences on topics such as, ‘How Shall We Respond to the Dreams of Our Youth;” was one of three students nominated by the Office of Student Services to serve on the college Assessment Committee and, wrote as a guest columnist for the local newspapers on topics ranging from community development, to higher education policy implementation, and good-and-bad so to speak, of pop culture.

Aaron has presented at major child advocacy conferences such as Childhoods in Norway on the complex issue of child labor. He has also given several keynote presentations around the world at venues such as World Leadership Day.
 

Good Deeds International, USA – Board President

Kim Lankford

Kim received a BSE in Chemical Engineering from Arizona State University, then moved to Austin Texas to work for National Instruments. During her stay at National Instruments, Kim began to focus on business and marketing and moved into a marketing role.  During this time, she served on a nonprofit advisory board within National Instruments and her interests in the nonprofit world grew.  In 2006, she started working for Convio, a software company that supplies internet solutions to the nonprofit industry and joined the Good Deeds International board as president.  Kim is currently running her own bakery business out of Austin, but continues to be heavily involved in Good Deeds International and volunteers on a part-time basis at other local nonprofits.
 

Good Deeds International, USA – Board Secretary

Claire M. Duncan

Claire received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Marketing from Fort Lewis College, in Durango Colorado. She has spent her professional career in the oil & gas, hospitality, and beverage industries.  She has demonstrated a commitment to impacting positive change in the community and has spent the past ten years involved in charitable endeavors in the United States and abroad. 

Claire is a long standing member and a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International.  Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help to build goodwill and peace in the world.  Claire spent seven years on the Rotary board directing the community service and fundraising efforts for the Kruse Way/Lake Oswego Rotary Club.  Claire traveled on a discovery grant to Tegucigalpa, Honduras to research water projects and school funding initiatives and to evaluate hospital care practices. 

Claire was a Board Member and Development Chair for Candlelighters.  Candlelighters is a nonprofit organization that provides support, education and advocacy to families whose lives have been affected by childhood cancer.  Claire assisted with the charity’s fundraising efforts and its nearly $1 million budget.
 

Good Deeds International, USA - Board At-Large Director

Gwyndolyn McClellan, Ph.D. 

Senior Consultant:  Malian Foundation  

Gwyn has over twenty years management experience in both for-profit and nonprofit environments. Her areas of expertise include public relations, fundraising and development, general operations and financial management. Her previous roles include being Public Relations manager for the National Association of State School Boards School Educators, Assistant Dean of Students at the University of Kansas and President of WIMAC. Her qualifications include a Bachelor and Master of Arts majoring in speech pathology and a minor in special education from the University of Kansas. She also holds a Ph.D. majoring in education administration and minoring in higher education administration from Witchita State University.

Good Deeds International, Australia – Board President

Jacqueline Furtado

Jacqueline holds a Bachelor of Arts (English Literature and History) from the University of Wollongong (UoW) and will soon complete a Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary) from Charles Sturt University.

For a number of years Jacqueline has volunteered her time for Children of the Earth (501.3C UN NGO), an international educational nonprofit organization for young people. Jacqueline has been the Youth Chair of the organizing committee for the International Youth Leadership Conference, a leadership development program held in Ghana. More recently she volunteered with the World Spirit Youth Council, a spiritually orientated international network of youth peace activists. As Youth Chair, Jacqueline's main tasks have involved aspects of logistics and program development, with a key responsibility to help establish cooperative and collaborative working groups of young people from different parts of the world.

Closer to home, Jacqueline has been active in a number of projects and programs that connect with young people and inspire them to be more informed and involved citizens. To this end, Jacqueline has served a four year term as a Youth Councilor of Liverpool Youth Council; worked as a Phase 2 program coordinator for the Black Opal Leadership Program at the University of Wollongong; and, along with two friends, started a small leadership network – Raising the Bar - which completed three community development projects in Liverpool (Sydney). The impetus for this work is Jacqueline's firm belief that as inheritors of the earth young people should be active participants in their communities and be involved at every level of decision making.
 

Good Deeds International, Australia – Board Treasurer

Glenn Harvey

Glenn is currently undertaking a Bachelor of Science Education at the University of Wollongong (UoW), Australia. His keen interest in science and his passion for seeing young people develop into their full potential merged into his desire to teach high school science. He has plans to study a Masters in Contemporary Science upon completion of his undergraduate degree.

Glenn has always been involved heavily in his community in a wide range of fields. These include being a committee member, coach, web developer and player for his cricket club, being on the School Representative Council while at school, including positions as prefect and charity officer in senior years and also being president of School Council and vice-president of the P+C Committee after leaving high school. Through his local church, Glenn has also been in youth leadership since 2003.

In 2007, Glenn engaged in volunteer work for the Invisible Children movement, including a presentation he gave at the National Student Leadership Conference held at the University of Wollongong. It was at this conference where he was first introduced to the work of GDI and after discussion with other board members, decided that he would accept the offer to join the board of directors. He has also been appointed treasurer of GDI@UOW where he has played an important role in the legal and financial setup of a Good Deeds student group.

Good Deeds International, Australia – Board Secretary

Kate L. Mullany

Kate is currently completing an Advanced Bachelor of Biotechnology at the University of Wollongong (UOW), Australia. Combining her passion for people and science she intends to further her study with a second degree in Medicine, where she will spend her professional career in the medical field, specifically in community development and rural health care, helping people to help themselves and their planet.

Immersed in University life, Kate has demonstrated a commitment to her community through endeavors in the Black Opal Leadership program of which she is now in her third and final year. The Black Opal program has seen Kate's involvement in community service dinners, the S4S National leadership conference, facilitating freshman leadership activities and sustained environmental advocacy. Her love for the environment has also seen Kate serving her fellow peers as the UOW Environment Officer on the Student Council for 2008.

Kate's current relationship with GDI involves the expansion of the values and vision of the organization. Kate serves both on the Board of Directors and as the President of the GDI@UOW student group. With the creation of the GDI@UOW, Kate has helped bring together committed and passionate students. Currently, their sights are set on uniting child trafficking advocacy and a creative industries model of Big Deeds II – a creative co-collaborative way to make a bold difference in their own community and the rest of the world.

Consultants 

Allison Zelkowitz

Allison Zelkowitz is currently working as a Communications Officer for Project Concern International in Aceh, Indonesia. She graduated from Bowdoin College with a B.A. in English and Theater, and earned her Master’s in International Relations at the University of California, San Diego. Allison has traveled, studied, and worked abroad in Ireland, Mexico, Taiwan, and throughout Southern Africa and Southeast Asia.

Fellows

Lesley Mitchell

Lesley was awarded a Bachelors of Business Administration in International Business by Texas Tech University in 2003 and a Masters of International Relations by Macquarie University in December 2006. During her studies, she developed a strong interest in international human rights in relation to the protection of children's rights and refugee policies.  Her undergraduate study included a minor in French and an emphasis on business management.

Prior to starting her master's work, Lesley worked as a personal banker and volunteered for her local humane society. Like other GDI staff, she quickly realized that corporate-life did not suit her future goals, which led her to Australia and the pursuit of a master's degree in the field of politics. Lesley is now working at a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C. Her time working with Good Deeds inspired her to mold her career and life to affect positive change and increase awareness of children's rights.

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