CHRISTINE SCHUTZ

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND FOUNDER

Christine started supporting children for education and housing in 2002 while visiting friends and trekking in Nepal. She officially established Mitrata Nepal Foundation for Children as a 501C3 nonprofit organization in 2005. Now she travels to Nepal to oversee program development, take groups of sponsors/donors on cultural tours and serves as the volunteer Executive Director for Mitrata-Nepal Foundation for Children, Inc. in the USA. She has a Doctorate in Applied Psychology and is a Licensed Psychologist in private practice.

ANNA WERTMAN

COMMUNICATIONS/DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR

Anna joined Mitrata in 2022 as the first full-time staff member. She is passionate about building strong relationships between Mitrata and its supporters and sponsors. Anna loves being able to share why Mitrata’s mission is so important and the difference it makes every single day. She graduated from Olivet Nazarene University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and Public Relations along with a minor in Leadership Studies. Anna is excited to travel to Nepal to meet the children and the NGO partners at BSF. She serves as staff liaison to the Fundraising and Digital Media Board Committees and Young Professional Board.

JACKIE SCHMITT

ADMINISTRATION COORDINATOR

Jackie has a Master’s Degree in Education. After retiring from a long career as a middle school math teacher, she continued to have a desire for service work where she could have a positive impact. In 2022, she found such a position with Mitrata. Jackie thoroughly enjoys the Mitrata community in St. Louis and looks forward to a greater connection with those in Nepal. Since her Mitrata role is part-time, she is happy to spend more time gardening, dog training, and being with family. Jackie is the staff liaison to the Board Development, Finance, and Sponsorship committees.

AMBROSE BITTNER

TREASURER

Ambrose has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Washington and is the founder and CEO of Red Lantern Journeys (www.redlanternjourneys.com), a Seattle-based travel company that arranges cultural tours and adventure travel packages to Asian countries. He has trekked and climbed in Nepal, including an attempt on Mt. Everest in 2005. He's been on Mitrata's board since 2006, after he founded and led the Climb for Himalaya Children to raise money for Mitrata programs. His connections in Nepal and Seattle have resulted in some of our strongest partnerships. He is currently treasurer, chair of the Finance Committee, and serves on the Executive Committee.

JAMES CRAIG

PAST PRESIDENT

Jim, his wife Lynn, and twin daughters Danielle and Samantha live in Wildwood with two cats and a dog named Maggie. Jim has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and is VP of Project Management for Health Payer Consortium. His wife is a technology architect for the Sisters of Mercy. The Craig family have been long-time child sponsors of a girl in the boarding school program and a boy in the school program. Jim is the Past President of the Board of Directors and previously served as President, President Elect and Secretary. He is a member of the Fundraising, Board Development, and Finance Committees and Executive Committee.

SANDRA HOFFMANN

Sandra has a Doctoral degree in Medicine with a specialty in rheumatology (arthritis and autoimmune diseases), practices in the South County area and lives in Kirkwood, Missouri. She operates rural clinics in Louisiana, St. Genevieve and Fredericktown, Missouri. She serves as a member of the Executive and Sponsorship Committees. She sponsors five children (two boarding school, two school, one university). In addition to one biological child, she has adopted three children (from Korea, Russia, and Ukraine). Her role is to facilitate communications with sponsors and the general public.

TRACY LEDERMAN

Tracy is the Senior Interactive Developer and Photographer at the Loft, a design firm that specializes in the marketing/branding of small to medium sized businesses. Her talents lie in visual storytelling and working with brands to communicate through meaningful user experiences. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics. She has been volunteering with Mitrata since 2011 by creating various promotional materials. She serves on the Fundraising Committee and is Chair of the Digital Marketing Committee.

URMILA PANTHI

Urmila worked in Nepal for the NBA Legal Aid Project for nine years. As an advocate and women's activist, she developed and implemented programs for free legal aid to vulnerable women and children in various parts of Nepal. For 22 years, she has worked as a social worker in a domestic violence shelter and with the Missouri Department of Mental Health after receiving the Dalai Lama scholarship to study and obtain a Master of Social Work degree from Washington University in St. Louis. Urmila joined the board in 2017 to assist with board development and serves on the Sponsorship Committee. Urmila received The President’s Lifetime Award in 2023.

NANCY WILLIGER

Nancy has a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Social Work. She is retired from private practice as a Licensed Psychologist providing psychotherapy, divorce mediation and counseling, and child custody evaluations.  She has been involved with Mitrata from the beginning and has traveled to Nepal five times. She sponsored Ishwori, the first Mitrata child until Ishwori graduated from the program. She now sponsors two children in educational programs that enable them to be financially independent.  She previously served as the Board President, Past President of the Board, and Chair of the Executive and Sponsorship Committees. Nancy is now a member of the Board of Directors and serves on the Sponsorship Committee.

Traci Schmidt

Traci has been at Amazon for 10 years and before Amazon she was a leader at Dell Technologies for 13 years. Traci has spent her entire career in the Retail space, both Brick and Mortar and E-commerce, owning P&Ls and driving Supply Chain optimization. Traci is passionate about leading and developing large teams, working with partners to drive growth, and solving complex problems. Traci has a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and an MBA from the McCombs Business School at the University of Texas at Austin. Traci lives in North Bend Washington with her Rhodesian Ridgeback Murphy and enjoys hot yoga, hiking and fly fishing.

TERRA BARNES

Terra has a Doctorate in Neuroscience and is the owner and founder of Open Arms Wellness, LLC. She first heard about Mitrata through Alexis Mead, Director of Development and Operations. Terra was impressed with how much of the money donated really ends up going to help the children. She, her husband Andy Young, and their three children Brayden, Audrey, and Zoey sponsor 2 children and put together a few small fundraisers each year. Terra is also a member of the Fundraising Committee.

AMY BENSON

Amy owns Nonfiction Media, a production company based in Seattle, where she produces, shoots, and edits films telling the stories of organizations around the globe. Since 2008, Amy has been working on a documentary trilogy about one family from central Nepal, the Darnals. Drawing the Tiger, the first film, was a granted project of the Sundance Institute, Fork Films, and recipient of the UNICEF award at Film South Asia. It premiered at Hot Docs in April 2015 and screened in over 40 festivals worldwide. The sequel, The Eldest Son, premiered at the Kathmandu Mountain Film Festival in 2017. Amy is in production for the third film in the series, Literate, focusing on the first educated generation in the family and filmed by the subjects themselves. Amy and her husband, Scott, are proud Mitrata sponsors of four of the Darnal children.

BETH BOYD

Beth is a CPA and owns a tax, accounting, and QuickBooks consulting company in Creve Coeur. She sponsors a child and hopes to travel to Nepal one of these years to meet him. She is a former board member, served on the Fundraising Committee, and has been volunteering her services to Mitrata since 2006. She is recent empty nester and is enjoying grandchildren, more traveling and less working. Current interests include playing the piano and guitar, yoga, and swimming.

STEPHANIE RECHT

Stephanie has been the Visitor Experience Manager at the Saint Louis Art Museum for 16 years. and has a Bachelor’s Degree. She sponsored a girl from 2003 until 2014, when her sponsored child graduated from 12th grade. This child, now an adult,  runs a successful event photography and video business with her husband in Kathmandu. Stephanie generously transferred her sponsorship to a young boy living and studying in the boarding school program. Stephanie served on the Mitrata board from 2004 to 2014 and continues her work with the Fundraising Committee.

JULIETTE SCHMIDT

Juliette has more than 10 years of experience in marketing with a focus in website optimization, social media marketing, email marketing, and digital advertising. She discovered Mitrata through her husband who has participated in the fundraising climb, Climb for Himalaya Children, of Mt. Rainier twice. Juliette served on the board from 2017 to 2021.

TONI SCHMIDT

Toni is a retired Certified Healing Touch Practitioner who practiced in Clayton and Webster Groves, MO. She also has an Associates Degree in Horticulture. She was introduced to Mitrata when her friend asked if she would be interested in co-sponsoring a child with her back in 2002. In 2011, she went to Nepal to meet that child, Pawan, who is now a young man who graduated and is now independent and working. The experience of meeting all of the children changed her forever. Toni served on the Mitrata board from 2011 to 2016. She is a currently a member of the Sponsorship Committee.

CINDY WHITNEY

Cindy became involved with Mitrata through her association with Karma Thalo Foundation (KTF). Cindy travels to Nepal each year with KTF to help the poor and needy achieve a lasting difference in their lives through better health, ultimately enabling their own self-sufficiency.  Recently, she had the opportunity to meet some of the Mitrata students and their families during the KTF-Mitrata health clinic. Cindy has worked for more than a decade in Human Resources for the School District of Clayton. She is an avid hiker who loves to ski, bike, and swim. Cindy has two daughters and a son, all independent adults who live east of the Mississippi.

MEGAN MANN

CHAIR

Megan is a Sales Development Representative at Balto Software. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Saint Louis University(SLU) and a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from Arizona State University. After graduating from SLU, she lived in Chiang Mai, Thailand, teaching first grade English for over two years. During her time in Asia, Megan travelled to Nepal and was touched by the beauty of the country and the generosity of the Nepali people. After learning about Mitrata in 2020, she immediately knew she wanted to get involved. Megan is most looking forward to using her experience and knowledge of early childhood education to further Mitrata’s incredible mission. Megan currently serves on the Fundraising Committee and as the Young Professional Board leader.

ASHISH SHRESTHA

Ashish is from Nepal and is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree n Public Health at Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice. Before coming to the U.S. in August 2018, he worked as a Teach For Nepal Fellow and served as a secondary level science teacher in a rural public school for two years. In the future, he wants to work in the field of public health research back in Nepal focusing on social determinants of health and health behaviors, sanitation, and personal hygiene.

Ashish learned about Mitrata through a classmate and is excited to contribute to Mitrata’s mission in many ways while pursuing his education here in the U.S. Ashish currently serves on the Sponsorship committee.