Board Of Directors
January 2021-2025
| President | Mariah Voutilainen |
| Vice President | Joanne Ko |
| Treasurer | Ian Morse |
| Vice Treasurer | Michelle Robinson |
| Secretary | Wylma Samaranayake-Robinson |
| Member at Large | Karoliina Kuisma |
| Emeritus | Katrina Hourani |
PRESIDENT: VOUTILAINEN, MARIAH
For almost thirty years (!), Mariah has taken an active role in educating, mentoring and supporting children and young adults. Harvard University and University of Washington educated, she has tutored, mentored, and taught young people aged 6-18. Mariah gained her teaching skills in the Teach for America program (www.teachforamerica.org) and working for Seattle Public Schools.
Living between the USA and Finland for the past eight years, Mariah has taken on many roles, including those of stay-at-home parent, school volunteer and substitute teacher. In early 2023, having just moved back to Finland, she serendipitously landed a research position at Helsinki-based HundrED (www.hundred.org), an organisation that seeks out and freely shares innovations in education. Simultaneously, she has continued to help change the lives of many more children all over the world through her work with NAC, filling several roles on its Board of Directors, including Vice President and Secretary. As President, she continues to be convinced that there is a way to ensure that no child goes without food, shelter and education.
VICE PRESIDENT: KO, JOANNE
Joanne is an attorney in Seattle, Washington. She earned her Bachelor of Arts at The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and her Juris Doctor degree at Lewis and Clark School of Law. She has lived all over the world in Europe, Asia and North America. A member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, she helps people immigrate to the United States. She is honored to serve on the board of Not Another Child.
TREASURER: MORSE, IAN
Ian is the Property Manager for Community Home Trust, a non-profit focused on permanently affordable homeownership in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Ian obtained his Master’s Degree in Sustainability and Environmental Management from the Extension School at Harvard University in 2009, and his BA in Philosophy from Portland State University in 2002. Involvement in local and social causes has included volunteering at the Orange County Literacy Council (Chapel Hill NC), the Interfaith Council Men’s Homeless Shelter (Chapel Hill), Habitat for Humanity (Durham NC and Chapel Hill NC), and serving on the Environmental Advisory Board for the Town of Carrboro, NC (2011 - 2013).
As Treasurer of NAC, Ian hopes to help with fundraising, marketing, and strategic planning. Ian is honored to be a part of the Not Another Child effort.
VICE TREASURER: ROBINSON, MICHELLE
Michelle received her A.B. from Harvard University (2001), completed her M.T.S. at Harvard Divinity School (2004), and earned her Ph.D. in the New England and American Studies Program at Boston University (2010). She is an alumnus of the Ron Brown Scholar Program (www.ronbrown.org), an academic scholarship program inspired by the late Secretary of Commerce’s commitment to public service. Michelle currently is Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where she teaches courses in literature, film, and religious history.
SECRETARY SAMARANAYAKE-ROBINSON, WYLMA
Wylma, NAC Founder, has a Doctor of Philosophy (Political Science/Futures Studies, 2008) from the University of Hawaii-Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii. She has a Master of Arts (Political Science/American Government, 1994) and a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science/American Government, 1991) from The American University, Washington, District of Columbia. She was on the Faculty of the University of Phoenix--Honolulu Campus (2010-2016). A 25-year veteran of the United States Government, she was born in Burma (Myanmar) and has lived in Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Tanzania, and the United States (Wisconsin, Florida, Virginia, Hawaii, and Washington). She was a member of Toastmasters International (1989-2021) and a Hospice volunteer (2010-2015). She has traveled in Australia, Asia, Europe, Canada, Argentina, Mexico, and Africa (Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, Zanzibar). Wylma resides in Honolulu, Hawaii. She has two daughters and three grandchildren.
MEMBER-AT-LARGE: KUISMA, KAROLIINA
Karoliina moved to Seattle in 2004 to teach Finnish language and culture at the University of Washington. Until then she worked in Helsinki, Finland, as a language trainer in adult immigrant education as well as a job coach in an EU funded supported employment research project. She obtained her master's degree from the University of Helsinki in 1999 in Finnish and sociology. Having witnessed first hand, through her career, the life changing impact of learning, she wants to help provide children with opportunities and outlooks that can - even as small and momentary actions - spark positive change and put a smile to a child's face.
MEMBER EMERITUS: HOURANI, KATRINA
Katrina is a retired Executive Assistant in the Foreign Service of the Department of State. She most recently worked at the American Embassy in Nouakchott, Mauritania as Executive and Staff Assistant to the Ambassador. Her career with the Department of State began in 1970 where she received her initial training in Washington, DC. Her first Foreign Service tour was in 1971 in New Delhi, India where she worked at the American Embassy for the Director of Communications. Her Foreign Service career expanded her portfolio to include working in the Transition Office of Secretary Madeleine Albright, Under Secretary Thomas Pickering and five Ambassadors. She has served in American Embassies for 42 years in Singapore, Chad; Syria, Tunisia, Cote d'Ivoire, Burma, Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan, Mauritania and four times in India for a total of 15 years.
Katrina helped to establish a non-government organization for drug abusers and HIV+ friends for men in a village in North India in 2005. A care home was also established where the men live in the home and participate in the program for one to two years. The program provides the clients counseling and solutions to help them to overcome their addiction. Katrina was President of the Board of this organization until 2010. She still works closely with the Director and his staff as an adviser to the operation and its programs.
Katrina studied Interior Design at the University of Texas in Austin in the mid-60's. She has used this knowledge in collecting art, antiques and artifacts from around the world to decorating her home. She is an avid antique glass bead collector and designs necklaces for family and friends. Katrina has three children and two grandchildren.
Past BOD Positions
| August 2015 - December 2020 | President | Ian Morse |
|---|---|
| Vice President | Mariah Voutilainen |
| Secretary | Wylma Robinson |
| Treasurer | Michelle Robinson |
| Member at Large (since 2016) | Joanne Ko |
| Member at Large (since 2019) | Karoliina Kuisma |
| January 2011 - July 2015 | President | Wylma Robinson |
|---|---|
| Vice President | Ian Morse |
| Vice President | Katrina Hourani |
| Secretary | Mariah Voutilainen |
| Treasurer | Michelle Robinson |
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETINGS:
(1) 22 September 2012 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(2) 18 May 2013 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(3) 31 August 2013 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(4) 26 April 2014 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(5) 15 July 2014 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(6) 29 November 2014 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(7) 13 June 2015 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(8) 5 September 2015 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(9) 21 November 2015 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(10) 17 January 2016 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(11) 8 June 2016 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(12) 16 October 2016 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(13) 28 May 2017 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(14) 5 January 2018 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(15) 26 May 2018 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(16) 1 October 2018 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(17) 12 January 2019 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(18) 23 June 2019 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(19) 25 August 2019 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(20) 3 November 2019 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(21) 26 January 2020 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(22) 13 September 2020 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(23) 26 February 2021 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(24) 21 August 2021 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(25) 26 December 2021 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(26) 3 April 2022 - Board Meeting. Minutes on File.
(27) 3 July 2022 - Board Meeting, Minutes on File.
(28) 16 October 2022 - Board Meeting, Minutes on File.
(29) 12 March 2023 - Board Meeting, Minutes on File.
(30) 27 August 2023 - Board Meeting, Minutes on File.
(31) 21 January 2024 - Board Meeting, Minutes on File.