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OUR TEAM

JOE KNITTIG, CEO

A trial lawyer by background, Joe co-founded a national labor and employment litigation firm. In 2005, Joe joined the board of directors of C3 Missions International, a small ministry started by Mike and Beth Fox to serve orphaned and abandoned children. In January of 2007, Joe became the CEO of C3 Missions serving as a volunteer, while also continuing his law practice. In November of 2008, Joe exited his business to become the full-time CEO of C3 Missions, which has become The Global Orphan Project. Joe oversees the whole of the organization and its international and domestic platforms in ministry and marketplace, including CarePortal and GOEX.

JAKE BARRETH, COO & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY

When he was four years old, Jake and his family moved from Missouri to Cardiff, Wales to help plant a church and establish a Christian publishing company. Jake returned to the U.S. when he was 20, eventually working as a representative for a multi-billion-dollar real estate project that was transforming the downtown Miami, Florida skyline. One investor meeting shifted Jake’s focus from the beautiful ocean views to the harsh realities of the city, and a few months later, he left his job and joined a small church plant in an underprivileged part of the city. In 2010, he joined Adrien Lewis on a trip to Haiti, and three months later, he joined the GO Project team. Jake has brought tremendous growth to our international ministry, adding GO Africa, GO India, and GO MENA, and spreading our model of Prevention – Care – Transition to other parts of the world.

ADRIEN LEWIS, CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER

Adrien spent the first 10 years of his professional career as a business development professional. He led organizations in sectors from healthcare, technology and education. In 2007, God turned Adrien’s life right side up on a mission trip to Haiti. In 2010, God led Adrien to leave his company and apply his business skills to advocate for the orphan, which ultimately led to him become a foster parent and develop CarePortal, a technology platform facilitating the cooperation of local churches and agencies for local children and families in crisis.

BETHANY BEZANSON, CFO & CHIEF OF STAFF
Bethany1 (1) (1)

Like many accounting professionals, Bethany cut her teeth at a Big Four accounting firm before transitioning to the corporate side where she focused on technical accounting, external reporting, and internal controls. In 2023, after spending nearly a year dismantling a large technology start-up, Bethany had a cup of coffee with Trace Thurlby. After a few more cups of coffee, God opened the door for her to join The Global Orphan Project. Outside work, Bethany and her husband spend their time chasing kids, renovating an old Victorian in the Historic Northeast of Kansas City, and building relationships in their neighborhood.

DEBBIE MCMULLIN, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE

A graduate of William Jewell College with a dual degree in Business Administration and Accounting, Debbie applied her skills at a leading Kansas City investment management firm for the first 28 years of her career. After the Haitian earthquake in 2010, Debbie began investing in the lives of orphaned and abandoned children through her service at The Global Orphan Project. In 2012, Debbie took over as Controller, assuming responsibility for all financial operations as the senior member of our finance team and the foundation of our team’s commitment to financial transparency and accountability.

JESSICA RAY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF GOEX APPAREL
Jessica Ray

Jessica spent a significant part of her childhood on the production floor of her family’s toy manufacturing plant. That auspicious business beginning led her to a career in high end retail, first at Neiman Marcus and later at Halls (Hallmark) in Kansas City. Jessica brings over 15 years of proven experience in sales, merchandising, supply chain, planning/inventory management, and manufacturing. Those skills provide the insight and oversight necessary to ensure success in our apparel manufacturing operations which, in turn, is the catalyst for changing lives in Haiti through the dignity of work.

SCOTT PLATTER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF NORTH AMERICA MINISTRY
Scott Platter

Scott has served on The Global Orphan Project team since 2016. Scott’s current role provides him the opportunity to build relationships with a wide range of ministry partners across the U.S. and Canada, while helping them expand their work through the use of the CarePortal platform. Scott’s passion and skills for managing relationships and improving operations were honed in two prior chapters of his career, spent leading organizations in telecom and financial services. Both of these marketplace experiences can now be seen as divine preparation for his current ministry work, where he is called to navigate the intersection of church, state and business. Scott also enjoys the privilege of serving his local church by leading local and global missions activities. Scott and his wife, Lynn, have been married for over 25 years and have two teenage sons through the grace of adoption. They have also become mom and dad to two international students — young men from China and Malawi — who have been engrafted into their family for the high school years and into their hearts forever.

International Partners
REV. CANON DR. ALISON L. BARFOOT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF GO AFRICA
Alison_Barfoot_Global_Orphan_Project

After earning a Doctor of Ministry from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and after several years as Co-Rector of Christ Church, Overland Park, Kansas, Alison went to Africa to serve as the Archbishop’s Assistant for International Relations in the Church of Uganda. Alison’s relationships within the Church of Uganda help launch GO Africa, where she now also serves as Executive Director.  Under Alison’s leadership, GO Africa helps local church partners in South Sudan, Ethiopia, the Congo, and Uganda strengthen their ministries to local children and families in crisis in their own communities.

MARY PRISCILLA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF GO INDIA

With a background in accounting and finance, as well as direct ministry experience with YWAM and the local church, Mary brings a business mind and ministry heart to her work for GO India. Mary, and her husband, Paul, helped found GO India through a flagship relationship with Bethel Gospel Church in Hyderabad, where her father has served as Senior Pastor since 1985. God has used Mary to help local church ministries serve orphaned and vulnerable children in Hyderabad, Sarampet, NTR Nagar, and other parts of India.

EDZEL AUGUSTE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF GO HAITI

Edzel Auguste hails from Raymond, Haiti. He pursued education diligently, attending the National School of Arnaud and Lycée Boisrond Tonnerre in Anse-à-Veau. With a Doctorate in Leadership and Ministerial Administration, he’s devoted over a decade to ministry as Senior Pastor at the Evangelical Church Chandelier of Hope. He’s also a seasoned language teacher and holds a Master of Arts & Theological Studies from the Global Action International School of Theology. As President and CEO of the GO-Haiti Foundation since 2023, he continues his mission of service, leveraging his diverse expertise in education, theology, and administration.

SELINA YASMINE MOHAMMAD YAMOUT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF GO MENA
Selina

Selina was born in Beirut and lived through the Hezbollah/Israeli conflicts in 1996, 1998, and 2006. She gave her life to the Lord while attending Sunday school at her home church, Ras Beirut Baptist Church. In 2009, Selina moved with her family to Tyre to plant a church and establish a center for the proclamation of the Gospel and to provide humanitarian aid and relief. Her childhood was marked by service to the poor and destitute in Tyre, and her heart to serve the refugee was established. In 2012, Selina moved to the U.S. in order to study bible at Hannibal La Grange University. She returned to Tyre in 2018 and assumed the role of CarePortal Regional Manager and was later appointed as the Executive Director of GO MENA. Selina is currently enrolled in a Master of Education program at the American University of Beirut.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MIKE FOX, CO-FOUNDER & BOARD CHAIRMAN

After growing up in northwest Missouri, Mike spent the better part of 25 years in various business ventures, mostly in the propane gas industry, including co-founding Kansas City-based Inergy L.P. (now Crestwood Holdings). In 2003, Mike and his wife began helping a handful of orphaned and abandoned children living in refugee camps on the Thailand border. One small group of orphan children led to another, then another. Resolving to make a difference in the lives of children around the world, Mike traded his business suits for a backpack, a mosquito net, and a passport when he founded The Global Orphan Project.

BETH FOX, CO-FOUNDER & VICE-CHAIRMAN
Beth-Fox-The Global-Orphan-Project

Beth left a successful career in pharmaceutical sales to help Mike launch his company and care for their family of five children. For the last 15 years, the two of them have been on a life-giving adventure helping local churches care for thousands of children around the world through The Global Orphan Project and creating hundreds of living wage jobs so other parents can provide for their own through GOEX. Lovingly known as ‘Mama Fox’, Beth’s gifts of hospitality, discernment, and encouragement are a strong tailwind and moral compass for this ministry.

Trace Thurlby, Board Secretary

After serving as an Air Force officer, Trace transitioned to operational roles in financial services and a Christian broadcasting firm before a 2006 missions’ trip pierced his heart for orphaned and abandoned children. Trace served as President of GO Project for 13 years. Trace is Portfolio Specialist at WCM Investment Management.

Ed Barber, Board Treasurer

Ed is the managing principal at CRE Capital Partners, a real estate and investment group based out of Atlanta. Ed’s experience and relationships have made him an invaluable part of GO Project’s relief and response efforts. Ed, and his wife, Lu, live in Atlanta and have one son, Cole.

Bishop Aaron Blake, Board Member

Bishop Blake is the pastor of Greater Faith Community Church and co-founder of Harvest Family Life ministries. He also chaired The Advisory Committee on Promoting Adoption of Minority Children (ACPAMC), a church/state partnership in Texas committed to children in need. His experience and expertise, especially with under-resourced communities, has been formative for GO Project. Bishop and his wife, Mary, live in Brownwood, TX, and have raised six biological and six engrafted children God brought into their lives over the years.

Alan Dietrich, Board Member

Alan is the Chief Operating Officer of Sporting Kansas City, the city’s major league soccer team. Prior to that role, Alan helped launch GO Project’s current ministry structure in Haiti, traveling there often in the past, at times with his three adult children.

Bruce Kusmin, Board Member

Bruce is a co-founder of Mariner Wealth Advisors. He and his wife, Carolyn, live in Leawood, KS, where they’ve raised their three adult children. The Kusmins have been wonderful advocates for the orphan and are regular trip leaders, helping many in their circle experience God’s heart for His children around the world.

John Larimer, Board Member

John is co-founder of the Larimer-Shannon Group, a firm providing complete exterior solutions for commercial buildings with offices in Atlanta and Nashville. John is also very involved in GOEX, the marketplace initiative of The Global Orphan Project. John lives in Atlanta with his wife, Kate, and their daughter, Quinn.

Chris Levy, Board Member

Chris is the CEO at Jamaica Broilers Group, Ltd., a vertically-integrated agribusiness with operations in Jamaica, Haiti, and the United States. Chris and his wife, Sally, have a heart for evangelism, live in their native Jamaica, and have four children.

Jeff Murphy, Board Member

Jeff serves as the Chief Information Officer at Murphy-Hoffman Company, a full service trucking dealership network with more than 100 locations across 16 states. He and his wife, Michelle, are raising their five children in Parkville, MO. Jeff has been a GO Project Men’s Retreat speaker, while Michelle regularly helps with The BIG Event and other outreaches.