OUR TEAM
Pastor Jean Claude
Board of Trustees
Pastor Jean Claude grew up in Haiti and developed a deep passion to see his people thrive. After a near death experience in a car accident, he committed his life to Christ and has never turned back. He founded multiple churches across Haiti, as well as an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, and an orphanage and school in Fond Blanc. To say he’s busy is a huge understatement. You can frequently find him flying to and from the US to help raise support and awareness for his various charitable efforts. In 2010 he began to work alongside Paul Young, and eventually Next Step Ministries, to further provide for the children at the Fond Blanc orphanage. His spiritual leadership and vision is at the center of the Fond Blanc Foundation.
Theodore
Orphanage Director
Theodore is a close friend of Pastor Jean Claude and has been humbly managing the day-to-date operations of the Fond Blanc Orphanage since it opened. He works with Mommy Dieula and Jetha to make sure the children are regularly fed and their clothes and bedding are washed. He also works with Pastor Ishmael making sure the children go to school and church. Theodore has a huge heart for the children and the missionaries who come to serve, and can often be found selling them sodas to help pay for orphanage expenses.
Pastor Smail
Orphanage Church Pastor
Pastor Ishmael is a close confidant of Pastor Jean Claude and has been placed in charge of the Fond Blanc Orphanage Church. He runs 3 services a week for the children and the surrounding community. The services are filled with singing, dancing and praising the Lord, and are known for lasting as long as 3 hours. Pastor Ishmael also helps to oversee the education of the children and the many building projects at the Fond Blanc Orphanage.
Pastor Son
Orphanage Logistics
Son is a close friend of Pastor Jean Claude and pastors one of his churches outside Port-au-Prince. When he’s not pastoring, he often travels with Pastor Jean Claude and helps him manage the orphanage logistics and construction. He is a skilled welder and fabricates much of the metal work at the orphanage and other buildings. He is the father of Tide and Swenson, as well as 3 other children. He is an extremely hard worker and dedicated to providing for his family and the children at the Fond Blanc Orpahange.
Fabo
Orphanage Logistics
Fabo is a member of Pastor Jean Claude’s church in Port-au-Prince and assists him in managing the orphanage logistics and construction. His plumbing and electrician skills have been put to good use with all the orphanage expansion. He also works closely with Son to make sure all food and supplies are transported to the orphanage on a weekly basis. He is happily married with two children in college in Haiti. He is a true servant with a warm laugh and humble heart, always willing to help Pastor Jean Claude carry out his vision.
Isaac
On-site Operations
Bio to come…
Tia Bunz
President, Board of Trustees
Tia is a Middleton Wisconsin native and currently lives there with her husband Garry, where they also raised their four children, Olivia, Jake, Davis, Victoria. Tia graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and has worked with the Ministry of Social Services in British Columbia, as a teacher in the Madison School district, as a Child Advocate and a Youth Minister. She traveled to Haiti for the first time in 2012, leading a mission team of 22 students, where her life was permanently changed. She continues to lead mission teams to Fond Blanc, as well as serving as the Executive Director of the Fond Blanc Foundation.
Olivia Riggs
Vice President, Board of Trustees
Olivia Riggs will be serving as our foundation’s Vice President. Olivia first went to Fond Blanc with the original mission team back in 2012. Since then, Olivia has visited Fond Blanc countless times, and in 2016 moved there, with Director of Project Operations Spencer Pursley, for the year. In 2017, Olivia partnered with NextStep Ministries, and returned to help run 3 months of summer missions to the orphanage. Olivia is a graduate of Edgewood College, with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, and her certificate in Emergency Medicine & Paramedicine. Olivia currently lives in Wisconsin with her husband Dustin & their son, Theodore.
Swenson Blanchard
Director of Operations, Board of Trustees
Swenson is a native of Haiti, currently living in Middleton, WI through the support of the Bunz Family. He’s a student at Madison College, working towards his Associates Degree in Business Management. Swenson was raised in a Christian family, where he was able to spend a lot of his childhood around Pastor Jean Claude. Through PJC, he also spent significant time with the kids in Fond Blanc. His dream is to be able to help the kids of Fond Blanc get the support they need to be successful.
Cindy LaFarga
Treasurer, Board of Trustees
Cindy lives in Middleton, Wisconsin with her husband John and their Golden Retriever, she is a mother of two. Cindy graduated with an MBA from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and has a background in accounting and finance. Cindy is always happiest surrounded by children. After visiting Haiti on a mission trip in 2013, she was inspired to help the children and community of Fond Blanc.
Jake Bunz
Chief Financial Officer, Board of Trustees
Jake is currently Development Manager for T. Wall Enterprises, a Madison based real estate development firm. He is a graduate of UW-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in Business, majoring in Real Estate and Urban Land Economics while playing Division 1 Hockey for the Badgers. Jake has been to Haiti over 13 times and led missionary trips to Fond Blanc. He has coordinated missionaries and fundraising for the Foundation via UW-Madison’s athletic department and Phi Gamma Delta fraternity as well as the Foundation’s annual Rally on the Runway event. Jake has created lasting relationships with the children of Fond Blanc Orphanage and is always eager for the next opportunity to serve in Haiti.
Molly Hessel
Director of Communication, Board of Trustees
Molly is an Operations Manager with First Choice Dental, and currently resides in Oconomowoc, WI with her husband, Henry. Molly graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2015 and spent 5 months post-graduation, living in Fond Blanc and supporting the foundation in an on-site operations role. This extended stay, as well as countless other trips to Haiti, have cemented the community and children of Fond Blanc in her heart forever. She has been honored to support the Fond Blanc Foundation since its inception, with particular involvement in communication efforts.
Spencer Pursley
Director of Project Operations, Board of Trustees
Spencer is an Atlanta native currently living in Chicago with his wife Mary, their two dogs and a baby on the way. Spencer graduated from Auburn University (War Eagle!) with degrees in Building Science and Integrated Design and Construction, and from Georgia Tech with a degree in Building Construction and Facilities Management. Spencer has worked as a Project Manager, Estimator, Preconstruction Manager and Field Engineer across the construction industry. When he is not building things for work, he enjoys building things for fun as an amateur woodworker or playing lacrosse. Spencer first visited Haiti in 2014 as a guest of the Tia Bunz led mission group from Middleton after meeting them the previous summer while serving as the Construction Team Leader for the Next Step Ministries site in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Since then, he has made numerous return trips to Fond Blanc, including an almost year long stint in 2015 where he and Olivia Bunz served as the on-site representatives of the foundation and helped lead construction initiatives including work on the library, the chicken coops and sustainability gardens, the repair work to the road that was damaged by hurricanes and flooding, as well as countless day-to-day maintenance tasks and repairs to the orphanage itself. He is beyond excited to become more involved with the foundation and cannot wait to get back down to Haiti!
Emily Krueger
Director of Medical Operations, Board of Trustees
Emily is a Middleton native that currently lives in Milwaukee for medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She first visited Fond Blanc with this group in 2014 and was forever changed. She lived there for two summers through Next Step Ministries and has visited over ten times. She is currently getting a Masters of Science in Global Health Equity which is a beautiful bridge of her two passions – medicine and working sustainably in communities such as Fond Blanc. She plans to pursue a residency in general surgery and is determined to increase access to basic surgical care in this community – no matter how long it takes.
Molly Bakker
Social Media & Marketing, Board of Trustees
Molly was born and raised in Madison Wisconsin, and now resides in Cross Plains with her husband Carl and their two children, Isabella and Rebekah. Molly graduated from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee with a degree in Educational Studies and has served as Club Director for Middleton United Soccer Club in Middleton, Wisconsin for the past 12 years. During the summer of 2012, Molly ventured to Haiti for what turned out to be a life altering mission trip. She has been called to serve for a lifetime of dedication and compassion in hopes of changing the lives of the children and community of Fond Blanc.
Kathy Andes
Advisory Board & Fundraising
While not native to the state, after 30 years of living there, Kathy definitely calls Wisconsin “home.” Alongside her husband David, they have enjoyed raising their four children in the Madison community. Kathy begin serving on the board in 2014. As a former classroom teacher, she fully embraces the importance of education as a key factor to a bigger and brighter future for the children of Fond Blanc. In addition to her enthusiasm for education, Kathy looks to the future and welcomes the opportunity to help establish a medical clinic in the community of FB. The generous spirit in our local community inspires Kathy to work harder and “do more” to enrich and elevate the lives of the children living in Fond Blanc.
Maria Meister
Advisory Board & Fundraising
Maria Meister comes to this board inspired by her work on the annual fundraiser benefiting The Fond Blanc Foundation. She has 20 years of experience establishing and running a non for profit in Dane County. Her training and background is in teaching and she has a heart for children of all ages! She is passionate about helping those in need and for serving others
Dr. John Geanon, MD
Advisory Board
John is an ophthalmologist at SSM Health/Davis Duehr Dean in Madison, WI. After serving in the USAF as Chief of the Glaucoma Service and Clinical Director at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio, TX, John and his family moved to Middleton, WI in 2000. He was blessed to make his first trip to Haiti in 2014 to serve and help care for the needs of the children in the orphanage. This experience inspired him to join his wife Letty and volunteer as a medical advisor for the Fond Blanc Foundation, a role that he continues to perform to this day.
Letty Geanon, APN-BC
Advisory Board
Letty is originally from the Chicagoland area and has called Middleton, WI, home since 2000. Letty currently works as an Adult Neurosurgery Nurse Practitioner at University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. She was involved as co-facilitator of the Brain Tumor Support Group, Madison Chapter for 20 years. In addition to her dedication in for taking care of brain tumor patients she discovered a new passion for the children at the orphanage in Fond Blanc, Haiti. Since 2013, Letty has traveled to Haiti nine times serving in her role as medical advisor for the children in the orphanage. Letty and her husband John are parents to 3 young men.
Paul Young
Advisory Board
The children of Fond Blanc and Haiti represent a complete change of direction in my life. In 2009, I left a 30-year career in the marketplace in order to respond to God’s call on my life and create Sure Foundations, an organization that strives to help Haiti build a solid foundation for its future. In January 2010, right after the big earthquake, I felt God tell me to go to Haiti. It was then that I met Pastor Jean Claude Sylvain and was first introduced to the Fond Blanc orphanage. Through a close partnership with Next Step Ministries, we’ve tried to further Pastor Jean Claude’s vision and help provide for the children. The Fond Blanc Foundation is a way for us to connect with others like you – people who are willing to give back.
Andrew Atwell
Advisory Board
Bio to come….
Neil Rowe
Web Developer
Neil is a video producer and web developer, and is happy to support the children and communities in Haiti through the ongoing mission work with the Found Blanc Foundation. ..Just so its clear, he is a web developer for the internet, not a web developer like Spider-Man. Although, that would be pretty awesome.
Sam Robertson
Intern
Bio to come….
Brody Andes
Intern
Brody is a senior at UW-Madison. He will graduate in May 2023 with a degree in Neurobiology and Spanish. Although his planned visit to Fond Blanc was cancelled, he is all the more eager to go there in the future and help plan and fundraise from afar in the meantime. So far, he has been involved in fundraising events and the current planning process for a community clinic in Fond Blanc. Brody will be entering medical school after graduating from Wisconsin and plan on applying my medical knowledge and skills from school to the implementation of a Fond Blanc community clinic. Brody is honored by the opportunity to impact and learn from the people of Fond Blanc alongside the passionate team at the foundation.