GSC Team

GSC Administration

Rick Lathrop

GSC International President; GSC Founder, Executive Director

Prior to forming Global Service Corps (GSC), Rick had experience as a high school teacher, a Navy Officer, a print advertising account representative, a nonprofit administrator, and an adult holistic educator and leadership trainer. Rick’s graduate studies were part of the Human and Organization Development PhD program at The Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California. At Fielding, Rick became interested in global studies, particularly in the area of sustainable development, and discovered that there were few educational programs available for adults to gain firsthand experience in the field of international development. With the assistance of a small startup grant from Fielding, he began the development of a program of short-term, “mini-Peace Corps” types of experiences to provide Fielding students and others international grass roots exposure to global issues. The concept soon expanded to include participation of adults from all walks of life interested in this kind of experience. Rick continued developing the GSC program part time while completing his studies and finished his master’s degree in Organization Development in August of 1994. With the pause of GSC programs due to Covid in March 2020, Rick has been applying GSC lessons learned to the CoGenerations Project and the Ukraine Refugee Support Service-Learning Program.

Maxine Lathrop

GSC International Secretary/Treasurer; GSC Associate Director, Administration & Cambodia Program Director

Following four years studying liberal arts at California State University-Fullerton, Maxine worked in the food service industry that lead to a career including menu design, consulting, event planning, cooking for internationally known leaders and managing the food service operation at a wellness conference center on an organic farm. From 1992 to 2006, Maxine embarked on a property management career that included managing a 73-unit property in San Francisco. During this time she also acted as a consultant and supporter of Global Service Corps and became a full-time GSC staff member in 2007.

Pat Malone

GSC International Board Member, GSC Finance Officer

Pat is a retired financial executive with more than 35 years of experience in a range of industries including banking, technology, manufacturing and non-profits. A native Oregonian, Pat lives in Beaverton Oregon with his wife Nan and enjoys hiking, sports, singing, volunteering and spending time with his six grandchildren. Pat has been advising and assisting GSC with financial and strategic planning since 2017.

Board of Directors

Rich Appelbaum, PhD

Rich retired from UCSB in 2014, where he co-founded the Global & International Studies Program, which sent M.A. students abroad for six months to work with organizations concerned with social justice and ecological sustainability. He serves on the Boards of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, the Fund for Refugee Initiatives/Chad Relief Foundation, and the Santa Barbara Gray Panther Network. He is a faculty member at Fielding Graduate University, where he chairs the PhD concentration in Sustainability Leadership.

Pat Malone, MBA (see above)

Rick Lathrop, MA (see above)

Maxine Lathrop (see above)

Advisory Group

Don Bushnell, PhD – Past Director Emeritus

Founding dean of the School of Human & Organizational Development (HOD), Fielding Graduate University, mentoring faculty for many years, and a co-creator of the Center for Innovation in the Nonprofit Sector. He is now a distinguished faculty emeritus and an active contributor to Fielding’s Institute for Social Innovation. Don was a founding GSC Advisory Board member in 1993 and has since served on the GSC Tanzania Board of Trustees as well as the GSC International Board of Directors. Don has been a trusted mentor and advisor throughout the Global Service Corps history.

Deborah Wafer, MD, MSPH – Past Director Emeritus

Deborah has devoted her life to addressing global health issues including women’s health, nutrition, care of HIV patients, and the provision of low-risk obstetrical care. In addition to building a successful family medical practice, Deborah has worked and traveled extensively throughout Africa. She has also traveled to Haiti, China, Brazil, Senegal, Cuba, and Ivory Coast. Deborah first joined GSC in December, 2005 as the SOS Program Coordinator Fellow.  Following her stint as the SOS Program Coordinator Fellow, Dr. Wafer remained with GSC in Tanzania until mid-2007 acting as the SOS Program Director.

Joseph Hafey, MPA – Past Director Emeritus

Joseph (Joe) was named President Emeritus of Public Health Institute (PHI) after serving as PHI’s President and C.E.O. for twenty years. Under Joe’s direction, PHI grew into an organization with over $80 million in annual revenue, 600 employees, 20 centers and over 250 distinct projects. He holds a Master of Public Administration degree from U.C.L.A. and has served as a lecturer at U.C.L.A., U.C. Berkeley, and Harvard University. Joe has served as an Advisor to GSC since 1995.

Chhoun  Borith, MA

Borith is the Founder and President of Modern Youth Cambodia (MY Cambodia) and Executive Director of KYSD Cambodia. Borith works closely with GSC to provide internships for our program participants in Cambodia in the areas of youth and community leadership training. Borith has 10 years of experience in youth and community development and empowerment and has traveled widely internationally. He has a Masters in Law Degree from the City University of Cambodia.

Tim Stanton, PhD

Tim Stanton is Senior Engaged Scholar for Ravensong Associates, through which he consults in global service-learning design, development and research in the US, Africa and Asia.  He founded and directed Stanford University’s Overseas Studies Program, Cape Town focused on international service-learning and research, and served as Associate Director and Director of Stanford’s Haas Center for Public Service.  He has published numerous articles and two books in the US, Europe, South Africa and Asia.   

Anna G. Gusewa, PhD

Anna is the Associate Professor (Philology) of V.N. Karazin National University (Kharkiv, Ukraine), and is a member of TESOL International, TESOL-Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Association of Language Assessment. She is Head of the Department of Foreign Languages for Professional Purposes and a coordinator of a volunteer team in Kharkiv, Ukraine assisting people during horrible times of war. Anna assists GSC as a co-facilitator of the Sunday Drop-in Café Conversation Club.

David Blake Willis, PhD

David is professor of anthropology at Fielding Graduate University, California, USA. He taught anthropology at Soai University, Osaka, Japan (1986-2009) and was Senior Associate Professor at the University of Oxford (2006-2007). His publications include Reimagining Japanese Education (2011) and Transcultural Japan: At the Borders of Race, Gender, and Identity (2007). His volunteer work has included disaster relief after earthquakes/tsunamis in Asia as well as being a trainer for “Friendly Water for the World.”  

Sheila Walters Matsuda, MA

Sheila facilitates intercultural understanding, designs and teaches Japanese language and culture curriculum, designs and implements international experiential education, and is a devoted Chado practitioner and awareness trainer.  She is part of the Ukraine Refugee Support Service-Learning Program team that meets with Ukrainian refugees every week to casually converse in English during  Drop-in Café Conversation Club sessions. She also works as an appreciative inquiry-based qualitative evaluator and works joyfully in her permaculture garden.

Oksana Shevchuk, Masters Diplomas (2)

Oksana is a Ukrainian psychologist, mother of three teenagers, experiencing being a refugee in a foreign country, the United Kingdom. She is  learning to speak the English language, experiencing new rules and culture, meeting new people, and exploring roads, shops and pharmacies. Oksana works in a local school providing psychological support to Ukrainian students during their integration into foreign schools. She enjoys practicing conversational English with a GSC tutor in the Ukraine Refugee Support Service-Learning program.

Bill (William) Lightfoot, PhD, MBA

As the Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) Vice President – Office of Product and Program Innovation, Bill assists SNHU in culture change including institutional governance and project management. Bill previously served as business school dean at several universities, helped develop and launch an international MBA program, and was the Managing Director/President of Village Inc. Africa in Arusha, Tanzania. Bill along with his wife and two daughters participated in the GSC Thailand service-learning program in 2005.

Harry (Rick) Moody, PhD

Rick retired as VP for Academic Affairs with AARP and previously served as Chairman of the Board of Elderhostel (now Road Scholar). Rick is the Director of the Institute for Human Values in Aging and author of many scholarly articles, and books including The Five Stages of the Soul and the co-author of Aging: Concepts and Controversies. a gerontology textbook. He is the editor “Human Values in Aging,” with 10,000 subscribers monthly.

Annie Ellicott, MS

Annie is President of LeapUp Marketing Solutions, a marketing strategy and services consultancy which helps consumer branded businesses in travel, retail and consumer services. Annie holds a BA degree in Economics from Princeton University and an Masters of Science degree in Health Policy and Management from the Harvard School of Public Health. In addition to being on the Board of Advisors for GSC, Annie serves on the Honorary Board of Larkin Street Youth Services is an avid regatta sailor, horseback rider and photographer.

Susan Hagadorn, EdD, MPA (see below)

The GSC Team in Cambodia

Ratha Tieng

In-Country Coordinator

Ratha graduated with a Bachelor degree in Business Administration from Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia (PUC) in Phnom Penh and began working as a Faculty Coordinator at PUC in 2012. Ratha has  volunteered teaching children and has been involved in other community service work. Ratha likes to do research on the internet, meet with friends, talk to new people, and travel during his free time. As the GSC Cambodia In-Country Coordinator, Ratha looks forward to providing service to volunteer participants and to sharing all the fantastic things to do in Cambodia.

Koeun Kat

Assistant Program Coordinator

Koeun accompanies volunteer participants during their orientation programs. With his wealth of knowledge as a Phnom Penh long time resident, he provides invaluable cultural and local information along with a welcoming smile and friendship.  Koeun is married with two young children.

Susan Hagadorn

Academic Program Coordinator

Susan is the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Letters and Humanities at Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia and an Assistant to the Minister of Culture and Fine Arts, Royal Government of Cambodia. A resident of Cambodia since 2005, following a 25 year career in public health, Susan provides consulting services to organizations throughout the Asia region. Her experience spans cultural renewal, education, gender, good governance, health and leadership. At the university, Susan teaches research methods, education and management, and established a Center for Executive Leadership.


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