David Forbes-Nixon
Patron
David is the co-founder and chief executive of global asset management firm Alcentra. He is also the founder and chairman of the DFN Charitable Foundation, which he formed in 2014 to provide healthcare, support and employability training to students with special needs via the MoveForward and Project Search programmes in addition to specific British wildlife conservation campaigns. David has been a loyal supporter of our work thanks to his sponsorship of two children from Kailash Home and his ongoing commitment to many of our initiatives.
Larry Sullivan
Patron
Larry is the chairman and co-founder of Coins Global, a leading construction management software and services company. He established the Coins Foundation to address issues of social justice with the goal of creating a better and more sustainable future. Larry also sits on the board of Habitat for Humanity and is a regular speaker on social enterprise at universities and business schools in the UK and USA. As the sponsor of two children himself, Larry has supported HYF-UK for many years and has been instrumental enhancing the facilities at Kailash Home.
Norman Stromsoy
Chairman
An education specialist, Norman was a Special School headteacher for thirty years working in London, the North-East and South of England as well as acting as a school inspector. Now CEO of a UK charity for disabled children, he has also assisted in educational development work in both the UK and Europe. Enthralled by Nepal and the work of the staff at Kailash Home in particular, Norman has been instrumental in developing programmes to help children of all abilities achieve their best. Dedicated to changing children’s lives for the better, Norman has been a sponsor for many years.
Samantha Michel
Secretary
After an early career in retail management, Samantha worked in finance for more than fifteen years, as both a compliance officer and company secretary in fixed income and corporate finance for firms including Banque Paribas and DLJ amongst others, before co-founding HYF-UK with Gerry Slater in 2007. Now a mother, she works as an education consultant focussing on the independent school sector. Having visited Nepal with her young family on numerous occasions, Samantha sponsors a brother to her own children and has specific responsibility for our older students’ university programme.
Gerry Slater
Trustee
Gerry is a chartered civil engineer, who carved a career in the construction of international infrastructure and industrial projects. His love of Nepal stems from his family connection to Jim Edwards, the "father" of the tourist industry in Nepal. Having visited many times and led trekking expeditions in the remote regions, it was the hardships experienced by young children that led him to co-found HYF-UK with Samantha Michel in 2007. Gerry has been a long-standing sponsor to two children at Kailash Home and played a crucial role in the development of the site and its buildings.
Cathy Kerr
Trustee
Cathy is a qualified social worker with over thirty years’ experience in health and social care, including over eight years as a director of adult social services. It was on a trekking holiday in the Annapurna region in 2014 that she fell in love with the people and scenery of Nepal and not long afterwards she became a sponsor. Cathy has returned to Nepal since and maintains a wonderful relationship with the young woman she sponsors and all the staff and children at Kailash Home.
Koenraad Foulon
Trustee
Now retired, Koenraad was a senior vice president at asset management firm Capital International Group and chairman of its investment committee. Devoted to Bhutan and her people, he has been responsible for guiding the development of the Choki Traditional Arts School (CTAS) and its position as a leading cultural school, where he has worked relentlessly to raise funds and promote the admission of female students.