Chairman of REI’s Board of Directors
Priscilla Sparks has been in and around REI for over 17 years. She currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors because she was drawn to REI’s vision of building people so that they may, in turn, build the heart of their country. She taught informally for many years, and now she enjoys being involved in the lives of her two married children and driving her ATV in the back roads of the Rocky Mountains.
Chief Executive Officer, President, and Coordinator of REI’s Laos Program
Roderick Beidler was first attracted to REI because of REI’s authentic and sustainable approach to development as a means to help improve the quality of human life in emerging nations. He appreciates that REI’s work is also relational, creating an opportunity for long-term relationships. As President and CEO of REI, his passion is to cast vision, build teams, and grow and develop REI into an organization that makes a lasting difference in the lives, the families, the communities, and the nations of the people among whom REI works. He brings 31 years of experience in not-for-profit leadership to REI.
Dr. Linda B. Bruce currently works as a teacher educator for Regis University and the University of Colorado, Denver. She received her degrees from The Colorado College, CO and The Fielding Graduate University, CA. Earlier in her career, Dr. Bruce served as a classroom teacher, instructing Foreign Language students of all ages. She has made repeated trips to Uzbekistan to train foreign language and English teachers at the college and grade school levels. Linda is married to Karl N. Bruce, principal of EnTech Solutions; together they have two grown children and five grandchildren.
Ken Gray is a Colorado Springs attorney, having practiced law since 1989. An experienced litigator, he has handled a wide range of criminal cases, and real estate and contract disputes, as well as appellate cases before the Colorado Court of Appeals, and various U.S. Courts of Appeal. Ken recently became interested in mediation, with a desire to help people move toward reconciliation and conflict resolution outside the courtroom. Ken received a BS degree from the University of Maryland, and a Juris Doctor from Regent University. Ken has served on the boards of various non-profit organizations and became interested in the work of REI when REI leaders asked him to assist in the REI Fellows Program that brought a Lao Supreme Court Justice to Colorado Springs for an introduction to the US legal system. Ken and his wife Debbie have been married since 1985 and have five children ranging in age from 16 to 22.
Craig Hedges has been a private practice ENT surgeon in South Dakota since 1992 and is on the clinical faculty of the University of South Dakota Medical School. He first became acquainted with REI in 1994 when he participated in REI’s first medical program in Vietnam, and since then, he has been able to work with REI in Cuba and Djibouti. He sees serving with REI as a way of fulfilling his purpose and calling in life. He has been married to Rebecca for just over 30 years and has two children in their 20s.
REI Co-President
Rick Heupel spent 20 years with Seagate Technology before retiring, the last 11 of which were on international assignment in Singapore where Rick held the position of Vice President/ General Manager of their Southeast Asia Division. As an experienced business man, he has served on various local Boards of Directors, including his current service on REI’s board. Rick and his wife Mavis have a passion for people and for serving. They have four children.
David Lyons serves as an International Vice President for another non-profit organization in Colorado Springs. One of his primary responsibilities includes serving their international leadership community of 200 leaders by helping shape breakthrough solutions to strategic problems. David’s heart for REI is rooted in his desire to respond to the needs of the vulnerable and marginalized around the world.
Thomas C. Parrish joined the REI board in 2010 to serve as a consultant in legal, business, and resource development in international fields because of his extensive experience in these areas. He studied political science at St. Olaf College for his undergraduate degree and then completed his graduate education by studying at Texas Tech University School of Law. He served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, and then worked in international business for 25 years, serving as the Chief Legal Counsel for a leading multinational corporation. Currently he serves as an Associate Professor in a School of Business and Law.
Kay J. Parrish served with REI long before she became a board member, developing an English proficiency assessment for use overseas and teaching ESL in Southeast Asia on three short-term REI trips. She joined the REI board in 2010 with a special interest in these programs. She completed her undergraduate and graduate work in English education from St. Olaf College and Texas Tech University, and then later taught language arts and reading in secondary schools. She and Thomas C. Parrish have three children.
Former REI President and current Director of New Program Development
With over 30 years of international non-profit management experience, Paul Ronka is currently REI’s Director of New Program Development. He served as REI’s president for 12 years from 1992-2004 and has served as a board member since 1992. Paul loves REI’s vision of building people in a way that develops the whole person while strengthening strategic sectors of their country. Paul and his wife Beth have four adult children and three grandchildren who they love to spend time with.
Vice President for REI’s Cuba Program
Louis Shomette brings many years of experience to REI: he managed a law firm, conducted extensive business overseas, and helped healthcare professionals with comprehensive health planning. He is now an administrative law specialist in Washington, DC and also serves as the Director of REI’s program in Cuba. He was first drawn to REI 15 years ago by REI’s unique ability and commitment to serve challenged individuals in emerging nations during turbulent times.
Vice President for REI’s Vietnam Program
Empowering future generations has compelled Brian Teel for the past four decades. Add to this the conviction that life is an integrated, purposeful, prized, and powerful gift, and his roles as REI Vietnam Program Director and board member are a natural fit for Brian. In Brian’s words, investing in Vietnamese people stirs his very being, for as they work with skill, they are also relentless for their nation’s welfare, including those who are most in need.
Dr. Robert Lawrence Telander, M.D. studied medicine at the University of Minnesota starting in 1955. Intrigued by surgery, he pursued subsequent surgical training and a residency in Minneapolis and then focused on pediatric surgery and the care of children at Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital. Following this training, he taught and performed surgery at various hospitals and universities including Mayo Clinic and Medical School as professor and head of pediatric surgery from 1974-1990 (returning again from 2005-2009), St. Paul’s Children’s Hospital, and the Children’s Hospital in Colorado Springs, CO, where he served as medical director. He has recently retired but continues to participate in medical service trips to Vietnam, Honduras, Guatemala, and Siberia. He is happily married to Peggy Telander, R.N., and together they have four sons and 13 grandchildren.
W. Andrew Weeks, Jr. pursued a career in business from 1974 – 1978, and in 1978, he moved to Memphis to be the CFO of a mid-sized business. However, he felt a desire to be more involved in relationship, and changed careers, choosing to work at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he mentored students for the next 14 years. He currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer/Senior Vice President of another local nonprofit organization and is responsible for Accounting, Treasury, Legal, and Risk Management. Andy, his wife Maryanna currently live in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
