OUR TEAM

After you hear about everything Nikki does in a day, you might be surprised to find out that she’s just one person. Her title of Chief Financial Officer would seem like the pinnacle of Things To Be In Charge Of, but she doesn’t stop even close to there. She leads all Outreach operations, oversees long-term financial success, leads Donor Services, and manages our headquarters building. Oh, and she’s the entire Human Resources department. And this is all after a morning rowing workout. And not on a machine, but kayaking on actual water. The cold, wet kind that’s outside.

FUN FACT: Nikki’s dog was awarded the prestigious Cutest Dog in the World Prize by a global panel of experts consisting of Nikki. (Meet our entire Secondary Staff)

A degree in Nonprofit Leadership and study in Central America set Charlotte firmly on the international nonprofit path. As Senior Director of Marketing, she’s our Chief Creative Problem Solver who creates campaigns, drives our social media and website forward (right here!), and creates the conditions for our story to spread far and wide. She’s our ever-energized marketing machine who’s motivated to work every day to communicate that at Outreach, we “empower people living in poverty around the world to solve their own problems and live happier, healthier, more hopeful lives.” And, as you may have guessed by now, she’s kind of a nice person.

FUN FACT: Charlotte prepares to teach her spin class by selecting motivational songs with the right tempo. So she’s not just listening to Justin Bieber for fun. It’s work.

After a few victory laps of the upper management tiers in Big Banking, Amanda’s considerable number-wrangling skills were sharp enough to cut glass. Sensing that her expertise could be employed for the unlimited good of all humankind, she joined Outreach, and has since ascended to Senior Manager of Donor Services, ushering in an era of frictionless, error-free mastery of all possible details.

FUN FACT: She enjoys a game of billiards. And she won’t get all defensive if you say “that’s not even a sport.”

What do you do with over 15 years of experience in community-development programs, non-profit sectors, and rural sociopolitical contexts — work that involves coordinating outreach programs and conducting research on youth culture, and social and political dynamics? And what if you also hold a Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from the University of Kansas and are a research fellow with the University of the Free State’s Center for Gender and African Studies? If you’re Elene Cloete, you combine your empathy and expertise to embody Outreach’s ideal Director of Research and Advocacy, and you do amazing things every dang day.

FUN FACT: Her interest and passion for all manner of dams and dam-related topics exceeds that of even the most fastidious beaver. It’s incredible.

From the moment Chris first read Robert Frost poems as a kid, he knew he’d be a writer for the rest of his life. The world finally agreed with him a couple decades later by giving him a job writing jokes and poems for greeting cards. Then it was on to children’s books, magazine articles and internet gibberish. 2,400 cards, 14 books and ten hundred thousand blog posts later, he finally gets to lay down some work of real value as Content Manager for Outreach.

FUN FACT: Chris has earned two writing awards and one World’s Greatest Dad mug.

Every day, there are more things going on around Outreach HQ than can be counted on all the fingers and toes of all the staff members present. Laura is a beacon of calm amidst the frenzy of inspiration and accountability around her. After 13 years practicing law followed by 13 years perfecting her parenthood of three now-teenagers, her powers of conflict resolution are legendary. Thankfully, her desire to empower others drew her to Outreach, where her world-class efficiency matches our global ambitions.

FUN FACT: Lists “CrossFit” as an occasional hobby, which only confirms our suspicions that she has more energy than anyone we know.

Along with a degree in both Nonprofit Leadership and Applied Critical Thought and Inquiry, Mckenzie has racked up an accomplishment or two, including (deep breath)… New Roots for Refugees, the Alzheimer’s Association, Gateway to Hope, Union Station of Kansas City, an NGO in Spain called ABD, Outreach International internship, volunteering, fundraising, planning awareness events, donor appreciation (inhale!). And before any of that, at age 11, she fundraised thousands of dollars for a trip to six countries as a People to People Student Ambassador. This makes Mckenzie, in all, an inarguable expert in the industry of Helping People.

FUN FACT: Mckenzie figure skated competitively for 12 years. And, she loves a good theme party. This is either the best or the worst intersection of interests we’ve ever heard of.

Some international travel early in life exposed Alex to a variety of cultures, and probably influenced her career path. After grad school and a few years designing and building schools for a nonprofit, she rose to the challenge of Director of Field Finance for Outreach, orchestrating the finances of all our program partners around the world. And as if that wasn’t enough, she also manages field operations in Bolivia and Nicaragua.
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FUN FACT: Alex has probably read more books this week than the rest of us have in the last year or so.

In Casey’s own words, she’s not afraid to speak out against injustices and empower others to do the same. So it comes as no surprise that she created an entirely new field of study at Graceland University where she graduated with a degree in Communications and Social Change. And that massive achievement is the extent of her accomplishments. Except for being Student Government President, a rare recipient of the Student Life Award, a political campaign captain, a national speech and debate qualifier, and a policy-changing advocate for so many causes that she had to come up with some new ones on her own. Now she’s an integral member of our marketing team, where she (surprise) communicates about our work for social change, community development and putting an end to poverty around the world.

FUN FACT: Will work for tacos.

Andrea got an early start on the international stage by spending some of her high school years in China. Later on, she started her career as an architect, where she designed buildings that would rise to be strong and lasting. But as much as she enjoyed helping to build structures, she knew she was meant for a purpose that was higher still. Now she helps build partnerships with community groups around the world where people rise to their full potential into lives that are prosperous, empowered, and full of hope. As Chief Field Operations Officer, Andrea oversees all of Outreach’s operations around the world, working to prioritize new strategies, improve systems, and ensure that all our program partners continue to build solutions to poverty that are strong and lasting.

FUN FACT: Andrea loves creating art, especially painting and mixed media, and throwing pots (but not at you).