Who We Are

We are people from all walks of life, across all orientations, faiths and politics — from teenagers to retirees — who share the simple conviction that all children deserve a happy future. 

We are people who want to make a difference at a grassroots level. 

Are you ready to join us?

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Martin Peter – Project Manager, Northern Nigeria

Martin Peter is an engineer currently working in the development industry. His goal is to use technology in the development world to bring about social change. After working in the tech sector in the early part of his career, Martin moved to the humanitarian and development industry, responding to the ongoing humanitarian crises in Nigeria where he has lived for most of his life. He has worked with several organizations such as Action Against Hunger and, most recently, Mercy Corps. Martin believes in using technology to better the lives of others and has taken a conscious effort in making sure that technology plays a major role in his work. One of the major influences in his life has been Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs). Martin’s most recent work is a resilience assessment highlighting the major challenges and coping strategies of some of the most vulnerable and marginalized people of Borno state, Nigeria.

When not working, Martin enjoys a good game of football (FC Barcelona), a good book, a good movie (anything from Christopher Nolan is fine) or a road trip. Martin holds a B.Eng. in computing.

Gregor Elgee – Global Roots Global Operations Deputy

Gregor is interested in all things related to storytelling. His goal is to become the world’s greatest cause marketer. After interning as a photojournalist in Nepal, he decided to start a photography business which soon evolved to offer content marketing services. Having had the opportunity to listen to Rick speak about Global Roots at a publishing house in Seattle, Gregor saw an opportunity to extend Global Roots’ mission to northern Nigeria, a country both him and Rick knew people who could help make it happen.

Rick Montgomery – Founder, Executive Director and Board member

Rick graduated with a degree in International Studies at the University of Washington in the late ’80’s before beginning a career in travel writing and expedition leading that would take him to more than 75 countries. A chance encounter with a Tibetan woman who had adopted more than 250 orphaned children in Gyalzang, Tibet, prompted Rick to change his focus and dial into a higher passion.

Rick started to support Tendol and other local humanitarians like her in 2001, finally founding Global Roots in 2007. With a few carefully chosen coworkers (including Patrick Firouzian and USAF Colonel John Oly Holm) Rick put Global Roots on the aid-giving map when he traveled to Afghanistan in 2010 to launch the Baharak Children’s Garden. NATO Air Command supported Global Roots by providing helicopters for its first few Afghan missions.

Global Roots is now 16 years old and Rick has helped it achieve the highest rating possible at Guidestar.com, the world’s largest watchdog of grassroots charity.

Anthony Kikondu-Country Director, Kenya 

An accomplished photographer, Anthony has shot photos all over the world — but mostly in his native Kenya. Anthony joined Global Roots in 2012 and has since led supply and oversight trips all over Kenya. His main role, however, is to make sure that every dollar we wire to our partners is spent on target. Anthony once served as a photographer for the global NGO, Transparency International and he also spent 15 years managing safaris for CC Africa — one of the world’s top safari companies.

 

Clint Montague — Secretary/Treasurer

Clint developed a love of rugged places in Alaska’s Chugach mountains, where he was born and raised, and also in native arctic villages where he developed a love for cultures different than his own.

Clint graduated with an AB in economics from Princeton University, where he developed his interest in Central Asia after taking a class on the history of the expansive region. After Princeton, he spent 6 months on a cattle ranch in California, then worked as a staffer for his US Congressman, before starting a career in management consulting.

His initial post was in Dubai, where he helped banks investigate money laundering and terrorist financing. Here, he worked with a Pashtun man who shared enchanting tales of the beauty and culture of Northern Pakistan and Eastern Afghanistan, and also stories of the ongoing struggles that the region. While in Dubai, Clint saw a television show about an orphan that that made him make a promise to himself to do whatever he could to help orphans when he had the means to do so.

He returned to DC with his company, and then helped start and manage an office in Denver, CO that grew to 800 people. Exhausted by four years of non-stop travel, Clint decided to enroll in business school at MIT Sloan to facilitate a switch in his career path from consulting to private equity.

Before starting his career, Clint spent several weeks in Northern Pakistan climbing and trekking in the Himalayas and Karakoram, traveling through the Hunza valley, and meeting people from many languages and cultures, and he fell in love with the region.

Through this process, Clint decided that he felt a particular calling to help orphaned children in Central Asia and the Near East, particularly in areas devastated by conflict. Clint completed his MBA at MIT, then took a job on the investment team of a private equity firm that invests in lower middle market businesses.

Clint sits on the board of a food flavoring company that his firm established through the acquisition of two flavor companies. Finally feeling that life had stabilized some, Clint spent several months trying to find an organization to help orphaned children in Afghanistan or Northern Pakistan, but had trouble finding a group whose mission aligned with his and was also active, legitimate, transparent, and had US management.

Clint reached out to Global Roots as its mission in Afghanistan seemed to be in perfect alignment with his goals. He started out helping GR founder Rick Montgomery analyze and improve oversight and transparency issues and remote project management. Recently, Clint agreed to step into the role of secretary/treasurer for Global Roots.

Clint and his wife Catie live in Weston, CT, where they enjoy hiking, gardening, fishing, maple sugaring, and raising chickens with their two young children. While time is a scarce resource between raising children and a demanding job, Clint continues to do whatever he can to help advance Global Roots’ mission.

Sheila Capastany has worked extensively with diverse communities and with government, social services, public health and education. She provides strategic direction and project management for Best Starts for Kids, an initiative that would provide funding for prevention and early intervention programs, starting with prenatal services through age 24. Sheila most recently served as executive director of Open Arms Perinatal Services, a human services agency assisting low-income women and families. Under her leadership, Open Arms became nationally recognized as a model for community-based services and was the first doula program to become accredited in the United States. Her work experience includes strategic planning, budgeting, policy development, and health and human services outcomes design. She has worked with infants and toddlers as well as with teens and young adult

Jim Gearhart has worked at Quorum Review since 2005. Quorum Review provides ethical reviews of medical research. Jim was a Director of Study Management and Customer Relations. He now sits on the Board of Directors andcontributes to the Knowledge Center, Quorum’s award-winning blog about ethics and policy in medical research. Prior to Quorum, Jim served as a Foreign Service Officer with the United States Department of State. He served in a variety of positions, including as a political officer and in administration, during assignments in Thailand, Hong Kong, Uzbekistan, Washington, D.C., Malta, and Panama. Jim graduated from the University of Washington’s Henry Jackson School of International Studies with a concentration in East Asian Affairs.  

Mark Buchanan has spent the last 5 years on the Cisco Global Brand team. He brings an outside-in view to find root causes to complex problems then develops and delivers solutions that drive meaningful results. At Cisco, he helps uncover opportunities then designs, tests, implements, and operationalizes programs that transform the Cisco experience, drive revenue, reduce costs, and shape perceptions of the $31 billion Cisco brand. He is currently leading a program to change the way the people of Cisco communicate, so that they work together better, stand out in the market, and sell more in 96 countries around the world. Prior to Cisco, Mark was Creative Director at Oregon Public Broadcasting and a member of the PBS brand leadership team. Mark graduated with Dean’s honors from the University of California at Berkeley and has won the prestigious Gold Quill Award and the CXPA Global Innovation Award for improving customer experience at Cisco.

New to the board:

John Holm — Col US Air Force retired, now Life Flight pilot