Kathryn Tschiegg, RN, Founder/Executive Director
of CAMO USA and Fundacion CAMO Honduras. Kathryn Tschiegg, RN
joined the United States  Peace
Corps in 1979 and was sent to Honduras to serve in a 202-bed hospital in
the mountain community of Santa Rosa de Copán. Kathy was one of
four RN supervisors at the hospital and was responsible for both patient
care and training her auxiliary personnel. During her two years of service,
she was greatly affected by the abysmal lack of equipment and supplies
at the hospital and frustrated by the lack of continuing education for
hospital staff. Kathy saw people die everyday for lack of something as
simple as a suction catheter or other basic equipment or supplies.
Kathy returned to the States and worked for five years in a surgical
Intensive Care Unit before moving on to work in an emergency department
for ten years. During this time she received her Bachelor's in Business
Administration at Kent State University. After an eight-year absence Kathy
returned to her Peace Corps site to visit her co-workers at the Hospital
Regional de Occidente and found that conditions had, incredibly, worsened.
With this in mind she returned and worked for three years on bylaws and
researched how best to create an organization that is founded on the integration
of medical equipment and education within the public health system in Central
America. Thus Central American Medical Outreach was founded in 1993. Kathy
has since left nursing to pursue her work in Central America full-time.
Dona
Alvarez, MD is an orthopedic surgeon in private practice in her hometown
of Oakland, MD. She has been in private practice for eleven years.
Dona helped bring injured friends and CAMO volunteers home from Honduras
in 1994 after a terrible bus accident and has been an active volunteer
ever since. Dona has also been an important speaker and fundraiser
for CAMO's programs. She hopes to develop the orthopedic capacity
in Central America through personal work and recruiting usable equipment
for CAMO's transports.
Shelly Bigelow is a Commercial Sales Representative
and works with an Independent Rep Group. She has been involved in many
community activities and served on the boards of Orrville Boys and Girls
Club and the Trinity United Methodist Pre-school. She was also involved
with the Interval Brother Home. Shelly lives in Orrville, Ohio, with her
husband and five children. She became involved with CAMO in 1997 helping
to train instructors for the CAMO community gym in Santa Rosa de Copan,
Honduras. She has been on the Board since December 2004.
Ted Crawford, D.D.S., retired from
dentistry in 1998 after nearly 38 years of general practice in Wooster,
Ohio. Ted received a B.S. degree from Ohio University and a D.D.S.
from Ohio State University College of Dentistry, then spent two years in
the US Air Force as a dentist. He has been married to his high school
sweetheart, Sue, for 42 years. They have three children and eight
grandchildren. Ted is a golfer, plays competitive volleyball and
his new occupation is building decks. He has been to Honduras with
CAMO three times and expects to go again.
Cari DeSantis, M.A.L.S., is serving as cabinet
secretary for the state of Delaware for the Department of Services for
children, youth and their families since January 2001. She is owner/principal
of Cari DeSantis Consultants, a business consulting firm that specializes
in strategic planning and communications for non-profit organizations.
Cari is also an award-winning writer and editor. She co-authored (with
Mike Billington) the book Faith In Action: Medical Missionaries in Central
America. a photo-documentary of CAMO's work in Honduras. Cari has been
associated with CAMO since early 1995, and has been on its Board of Directors
since 1996. Cari lives in Hockessin, Delaware with her two children, Cory
and Anna Rose.
Bruce Robeson, D.D.S. is a graduate of
Bethany College and Ohio State University. After receiving his BS in Physics,
Bruce served for three years as an officer in the U.S. Navy aboard a destroyer.
He graduated from OSU's School of Dentistry and has had a general practice
in Canton for over 35 years. He specializes in reconstructive, cosmetic
and implant dentistry. Bruce initiated the CAMO Dental Program in 1993
and currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors. His wife, Pat,
and he have two children who are both practicing dentists. His outside
interests include amateur (Ham) radio, organic gardening, piano and tennis.
Mary J. Boylan, MD. I am a cardiothoracic
surgeon in practice in Minnesota. An interest in developing countries
was born when I spent a month in Kenya as a medical student. My involvement
with CAMO started when I joined a CAMO team in 1994 and participated in
teaching nurses and working with Honduran physicians. I have an interest
in health in the broader picture outside the operating room and have initiated
community-based cardiovascular prevention programs.
Robert Gandy, R.F., a native of Alabama and
a graduate of Auburn University, is a registered forester and Spanish health
care interpreter. He has been involved in Honduras since 1975, when he
first lived there as a Peace Corps Volunteer, working on forest portection
and regeneration. Since then, he has lived, worked and traveled in Honduras
and other Central American countries on a regular basis. Robert first became
aware of CAMO in 1998 and has been involved at various levels since that
time.
Jonathan "Jack" Wright Sr. is a graduate
of the University of Akron with an M.A. in secondary school administration.
Since 1979 he has been President of Business Underwriters Associates, a
brokerage house for life and health insurance products. He resides
in Fairlawn, OH. Jack became interested in CAMO after a newspaper
article in 1996. This is his second term on the board.
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