Executive Director: Therese Thompson
Therese comes to us from Summit Cancer Solutions, where she is also Executive Director. She has a B.S. in biology, a M.S. in wildlife biology and 15 years of experience working in the public sector in policy analysis, strategic planning, fundraising, and event management. Therese is currently working on a Master’s degree in public administration with a concentration in nonprofit management through the University of Colorado.
PR & Marketing Director: Lizzy Scully
Lizzy Scully is a professional writer/editor with a master's degree incommunications from Utah State University. She founded and published
She Sends, the first and only women's climbing magazine, and she has managed online and print publications, including FindYourSpot.com and the
Berthoud Recorder. In her free time, she travels the world on rock climbing expeditions, climbing big rock walls such as 19,700-foot Shipton Spire in Pakistan, and she regularly volunteers for nonprofit organizations such as the HERA Foundation and now Girls Education International. Her life's goal isto empower women and girls with education and opportunities. She hopesto accomplish this through her work with Girls Education International.To read more about Lizzy, visit her
blog.
Board Member: Amanda Padoan
President of Board of Directors: Heidi Wirtz
Heidi Wirtz is a North Face athlete who has traveled extensively around the world on climbing expeditions, from Canada to the big walls of Morocco. While continually raising the bar for her personal performance and for women's climbing in general, Heidi's vision for a broader view for her role in the sport in years ahead led her to co-found Girls Education International. She's now able to work with people in need around the world. She's also raised money and worked on projects for organizations such as the HERA Foundation and the dZi Foundation, and she regularly teaches Sherpas at the Khumbu Climbing School in Nepal. To read more about Heidi, please visit The North Face, Black Diamond, or La Sportiva websites.
A climber and attorney, Amanda Padoan specializes in boulders and international law . She earned her B.A. from Harvard and J.D. from Pepperdine School of Law. As legal advisor to GEI, Amanda is committed to promoting girls’ education in the developing world and is working to establish our school program in rural Pakistan. She also serves as the Pakistan Program Director for the Mountain Fund.
Board Member: Carolyn McHale
Carolyn McHale serves GEI by helping with marketing and providing graphic & web design assistance. She has owned design and web firm Boldface Design, Inc., since 1996, creating for nonprofits and Fortune 100 companies. Carolyn moved to Colorado in 2005 to climb, snowboard and mountain bike. Her love of climbing found her as a member, and later President of womens' climbing nonprofit sheclimbs, inc. Carolyn also serves as PR/Marketing Coordinator for HERA Colorado's Climb4Life events, which raise money for ovarian cancer research, education and awareness.
Board Member: Roshan Jihan Roghani
Roshan Jihan Roghani is currently a student at CU Boulder majoring in International Affairs and Economics with an emphasis in Latina countries. Climbing for Evolv and Muscle Milk, Roshan can be found out climbing almost everyday. Her other hobbies include yoga, cooking, traveling, and learning. She is the owner of start-up salve company, "Boulder Balm" as well as a summer painting business. She is on the board for the Camille Beckman Foundation as well as Girls Education International. Her mission in life is to promote confidence and achievement in the youth, especially young girls, as well as to create awareness of the beauty of her regularly misjudged country of Iran.
CFO: Justin Voorhees
Most recently, Justin Voorhees was a business analyst for Gaiam, Inc. He has a bachelor's degree in finance from Susquehanna University. Justin's love for the mountains moved him from his home in Pennsylvania to the foothills of the Rockies in 2005. Since then, he has enjoyed rock climbing up and down the Front Range. When he is not climbing,Justin enjoys mountain biking, skiing, playing music and spending time with friends and family. Justin's passion for GEI is driven by a desire to help those less fortunate and to strive towards making the world a better place.