Directors
The Board of Directors establishes policy for Rotary International and provides guidance that helps our clubs thrive. Clubs elect the members of the Board every year at the Rotary International Convention, and each director serves for two years.
Read the latest Board decisions and minutes
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Olayinka H. Babalola
President 2026-27
Rotary Club of Trans Amadi
Rivers State, NigeriaBorn in the city of Ibadan, Nigeria, Olayinka H. Babalola received his engineering degree in 1988. He worked for 25 years in the oil and gas industry, holding senior positions at Shell PLC. He is the founder of two companies: an oil and gas infrastructure delivery company and an executive coaching and organizational performance advisory group.
Babalola’s professional affiliations include the Institute of Directors, the Nigerian Society of Engineers, the Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria, and the Association of Change Management Professionals. He is a member of Jericho Businessmen Club, an organization in Ibadan that governments on economic and social policy.
His first experience of Rotary was through a decade of service in Rotaract. Babalola was the charter president of his university Rotaract club and participated in cultural exchanges and twinning with clubs in Japan and Côte d’Ivoire. During his Rotaract days, he also organized extramural classes for disabled children at a Cheshire Home supported by local clubs.
Babalola joined the Rotary Club of Trans Amadi in 1994. He went on to serve on committees including the End Polio Now: Countdown to History Campaign Committee and the Nigeria PolioPlus Committee prior to joining the RI Board as a director and later as vice president.
In the early 2000s, Babalola helped launch the Safe Blood Africa project to improve the availability of safe blood in hospitals in Nigeria and across Africa. The initiative has installed blood banks and donated bloodmobiles that are still operating today.
Babalola provided local Rotary leadership for polio eradication in Nigeria’s conflict-affected northeast. Through unannounced site visits with local officials that ensured accountability in vaccine distribution, Babalola made his own contribution to helping eradicate polio in Nigeria, and by extension in Africa, in 2020.
An adult literacy project led by his club profoundly changed Babalola’s perspective. When people his own age appeared for classes, he was shocked to learn that they couldn’t read or write. At graduation, a mother shared how she could now read pharmacy labels for her children’s medicine. “That grounded me,” Babalola says. “It took my feet and properly planted me in my community.”
As RI president, Babalola wants to help restore members’ emotional connection to the organization and their sense of belonging.
“We do things for others, but Rotary is also our own,” he says. “When something is your own, you want to fight for it. ‘It is my duty to help it thrive.’ When you see how Rotary has made a lasting impact on your life, then you can tell that story.”
Babalola enjoys golf, swimming, forest walking, and photographing cloud formations. He hopes to someday exhibit his photos or publish them in a book.
He has received the Africa Centennial Heroes Award, the Regional Service Award for a Polio-Free World, the RI Service Above Self Award, and The Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service.
Babalola and his wife, Precy, a Rotary member, live in Port Harcourt. They support The Rotary Foundation through a named endowment and as Arch Klumph Society members.
Read the president’s full biography
Read the president’s monthly message
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Larry A. Lunsford
President-elect 2026-27
Rotary Club of Kansas City-Plaza
Missouri, USALarry A. Lunsford, a certified public accountant, serves as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Bernstein-Rein Advertising Inc. in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. A recipient of bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from Truman State University, he has served his alma mater on its Alumni Association Board and its Foundation Board.
Lunsford is a board member of Global Ties KC, part of Global Ties U.S., a nonprofit network that advances international understanding through citizen diplomacy, and his local church’s foundation.
His passion for Rotary service began during his college years. In 1981-82, he traveled to Australia as a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar, which he called a “nine-month daily immersion in Rotary.”
Lunsford joined Rotary in 1991 and has held numerous global leadership roles, including RI director, aide to RI President Mark Daniel Maloney, and Rotary Foundation trustee and vice chair. He has served on RI and Rotary Foundation committees, including the RI and Foundation finance and executive committees, and chaired the RI Membership Growth Committee and Rotary Peace Centers Committee.
During a morning walk in Evanston in August 2023, while he was serving as a Rotary Foundation trustee, Lunsford developed the idea to mirror the Foundation’s successful US$2.025 billion by 2025 Endowment fundraising campaign with a membership goal: 1,250,000 Rotarians by Rotary’s 125th anniversary in 2030. The RI Board adopted the goal in October 2023.
For the past 25 years, Lunsford has served as the “shoes cheerleader” for the signature service project of District 6040 (Missouri), which has donated nearly 500,000 pairs of shoes through the Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls project in partnership with Buckner International. He has traveled to the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Kenya, and Russia to deliver new shoes to orphaned children.
During a delivery trip to Russia, Lunsford gave a pair of boots to a boy whose name was Victor. About a year later in Guatemala, he discovered that another child he had helped shared that name.
“Two years, two trips, two countries, two Victors,” Lunsford says. “It was a complete reinforcement that I was on the right track. In Rotary, we just need to be in the right place at the right time."
Lunsford is a former college baseball and basketball player and all-around sports fan.
His honors include The Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service, The Rotary Foundation Distinguished Service Award, and the RI Service Above Self Award.
He and his wife, Jill, have two children and one grandchild. Larry and Jill support The Rotary Foundation as Major Donors, Benefactors, and members of the Paul Harris Society, PolioPlus Society, and Bequest Society.
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M. Muruganandam (MMM)
Vice President 2026-27
Rotary Club of Bhel City Tiruchirapalli
Tamil Nadu, IndiaM. Muruganandam, widely known as “MMM” or “Triple M,” is an entrepreneur and philanthropist with more than 30 years of expertise in supply chain management. As the founder and chair of Excel Maritime, he has expanded operations across 18 cities in India and in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Today, the Excel Group of Companies spans various markets, including logistics, human resources, renewable energy, health care, and agriculture.
MMM holds degrees from the Indian Institution of Industrial Engineering in Mumbai and is a chartered engineer. He also holds a Master of Science from Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, India; a Master of Business Administration in finance from Indira Gandhi National Open University; and a Master of Foreign Trade from Pondicherry University.
He began his Rotary journey at age 16 with Rotaract. One of his first service projects involved administering drops of polio vaccine in remote villages, including a river community not far from his home. “Whenever I pass by that community, I still get goosebumps thinking of what we did there,” he says.
MMM became a Major Donor to The Rotary Foundation while still a Rotaractor. In 2016-17, as one of the youngest governors of District 3000, he led several initiatives to commemorate the Foundation’s centennial. These efforts raised awareness about literacy, road safety, blood and organ donation, and self-defense training for girls. He also played a pivotal role in establishing 99 Rotaract clubs, 250 Interact clubs, and 100 Rotary Community Corps in his district.
Outside of Rotary, MMM leads the Excel Foundation, which champions education, health care, sports programs, and skill development for marginalized communities. Its cornerstone project is opening a 75-bed comprehensive cancer hospital to make basic treatment accessible to rural communities.
He has served in numerous Rotary positions, including as Rotary public image coordinator for Zone 5 and RI president’s representative. He has received RI’s highest honor, the Service Above Self Award, and the RI Vocational Service Leadership Award, as well as The Rotary Foundation’s Citation for Meritorious Service. MMM was an early contributor to the Paul and Jean Harris Home Foundation, marking a historic commitment to preserving the legacy and home of Rotary founder Paul Harris.
MMM and his wife, Sumathi, a member of the same Rotary club, support The Rotary Foundation as members of the Arch Klumph Society.
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César Luis Scherer
Treasurer 2026-27
Rotary Club of Marechal Cândido Rondon-Beira Lago
Paraná, BrazilCésar Luis Scherer is an entrepreneur and accountant with extensive experience in financial management, strategic planning, and administration. He is the founder and director of a thriving accounting firm and served as a professor of accounting for 29 years at the State University of Western Paraná (Unioeste) in Brazil. While at Unioeste, he also served as vice rector of administration and development and on the board of trustees.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Faculty of Human Sciences of Marechal Cândido Rondon in Paraná, Brazil, and he completed postgraduate and doctoral studies in auditing and financial management at Unioeste and Universidad del Museo Social Argentino in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
A Rotarian since 2003, Scherer learned the true meaning of Rotary early in his career when he went to another state to pursue his doctorate. He had arrived in the city and begun trying to rent an apartment when he realized he had misplaced his checkbook. He went to the local bank branch and discovered the manager was a Rotarian. The manager, who was going on vacation, offered his house for Scherer to stay in.
When Scherer asked the manager why he was entrusting his house to someone he had just met, he replied, “You are a Rotarian. That means to me that many people trust in you, and that’s enough for me.”
Scherer says, “This selflessness deeply moved me and shaped my Rotary journey.”
As governor of District 4640 in 2009-10, Scherer led a membership expansion strategy that resulted in the formation of a number of new clubs. His efforts helped District 4640 become the largest Rotary district in the Southern Hemisphere. Scherer is also dedicated to leadership development, having served as a learning facilitator at the International Assembly and lead instructor at governors-elect and governors-nominee learning seminars. He has also served as Rotary membership coordinator and chair of the Rotary Institute of Brazil.
As an accountant, Scherer brings an analytical and strategic approach to the RI Board. He believes successful clubs thrive on purpose and mission. He says, “Clubs that function well are those that have a clear goal and are actively working toward it. Strategic planning and continuity are of utmost importance.”
Scherer has received the RI Service Above Self Award and the Citation for Meritorious Service from The Rotary Foundation. He is also an honorary citizen of the city of Marechal Cândido Rondon in the state of Paraná, where he resides. His wife, Sônia, is a member of the same Rotary club. They support The Rotary Foundation as Major Donors.
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Massimo Ballotta
Director 2026-28
Rotary Club of Feltre
ItalyMassimo Ballotta earned a degree in medicine and surgery with specializations in sports medicine and rehabilitative medicine from the University of Padua in Italy, which was founded in 1222. As director of a large hospital rehabilitation department in the province of Belluno for more than 20 years, he treated patients with neurological and orthopedic disabilities. Although he retired, he continues to work as a consulting physician and volunteers with associations for disabled and disadvantaged people.
Ballotta joined Rotary in 2009 when he moved to Feltre, a city in the foothills of the Dolomites mountain range. The club had been experiencing a steady decline in membership, but with a well-defined three-year plan, Ballotta helped the club nearly double its size to around 62 members.
One of the hallmark projects of the club is a social inclusion project. Members take people with disabilities on mountain excursions using special wheelchairs. More than 500 people have participated in 10 years. Ballotta says, “We take them to about 1,500 to 2,000 meters above sea level so that they can see the mountains from above, which they were not able to do before. This showed me how we can change people’s lives.”
During a presidents-elect learning seminar, Ballotta organized an event with the organization Rise Against Hunger to have seminar participants package meals for schoolchildren in Zimbabwe. He says, “By myself, I could prepare 100 meals. But we got 150 people, and in two hours we prepared 35,000 meals, which will feed 100 children school lunches for a whole year.” Ballotta says the event demonstrated the importance of the first two words of Rotary’s vision statement, “Together, we,” and inspired similar projects throughout Italy.
As 2019-20 governor of District 2060, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ballotta coordinated a global grant project with other district governors that equipped hospitals with state-of-the-art equipment. And under his leadership, his district more than doubled the number of Benefactors and quadrupled its Major Donors.
Ballotta served as Rotary membership coordinator for Zone 14 from 2022 to 2025, helping Italy achieve 2.8% dramatic membership growth. He also served as co-chair of a Rotary International presidential conference in Venice, the city where he was born.
An expert sommelier, Ballotta teaches food and wine pairing in national courses.
Ballotta and his wife, Rossella, are Major Donors and Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation.
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Christine Buering
Director 2025-27
Rotary Club of Altenburg
GermanyFostering international connections and increasing opportunities for women are central to the work Christine Buering has been doing for nearly three decades. She believes that Rotary is the most amazing platform. “In Rotary, you can bring together people who have never spoken before, and a fruitful conversation begins.”
Born in southern Germany, Buering pursued tourism studies at the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland, followed by additional studies in Mexico and Spain. She worked in public relations and marketing in London and Paris before returning to the newly reunified Germany in the early 1990s. Moving to Altenburg, a 1,000-year-old city in former East Germany, she fell in love with both the region and her husband, Alexander, a lawyer.
In 1994, Buering founded Altenburger Tourismus GmbH, helping to build and promote regional tourism in eastern Germany after decades of closed borders. Her company offers immersive tours showcasing Altenburg’s history, culture, and traditions.
Buering joined Rotary in 1995 when she co-founded her club with her husband and others.
“We were a young club, most of us in our early 30s, who wanted to bring the East and West together,” she says. “In East Germany, if you wanted leaders, they were often women, so it felt natural to have women join Rotary. Rotary, for us, was a link to the world.”
Passionate about gender equality, Buering became part of the group that started the Sylvia Whitlock Leadership Award in 2017. The award, adopted by Rotary International in 2021, honors one Rotary member each year who has actively worked to advance women in Rotary. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she helped found the Rotary Action Group for Menstrual Health and Hygiene. She loves to mentor young women because she has been the “first woman” in many of her endeavors.
Buering has served as a learning facilitator, Council on Legislation representative, and RI president’s representative, among other roles. She is the first woman from a German-speaking country to be elected to the RI Board and hopes to help shape the perception of Rotary in society. “I am a woman from the east, from a small town, who owns a small business,” she says with pride.
Outside Rotary, Buering serves as vice president of the regional chamber of commerce. She chaired the tourism council of the German chambers of commerce, breaking barriers as its first female chair.
Buering supports The Rotary Foundation as a Major Donor.
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Marshall Butler
Director 2026-28
Rotary Club of West Jacksonville
Florida, USAMarshall Butler is the marketing director for Pragmatic Works, which offers software training, and has more than 30 years of experience in marketing and technology. A graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in advertising, he began his career by writing television commercials before joining the internet revolution at its inception.
Butler joined the Rotary Club of West Jacksonville in 2002 and served as governor of District 6970 in 2016-17. From 2020 to 2023, he was the Rotary public image coordinator for Zone 34, and he developed a structured approach of monthly webinars and strategic action items that helped lay the foundation for a regional membership action plan.
“Every opportunity I’ve had to serve in Rotary, I’ve tried to bring a mindset of doing things just a little differently to leave them better than I found them,” Butler says.
As a marketing professional, Butler is deeply passionate about Rotary’s public image. “We need to add more sizzle to the Rotary story,” he says. “We have an amazing product.”
To help engage younger audiences and inform them about the opportunities available through Rotary, Butler used artificial intelligence (AI) and other tools to create several outreach videos, including a popular hip-hop video that went viral across the Rotary world. Butler is also known for his khaki pants covered with Rotary logos, which spark conversations about Rotary wherever he goes.
An avid endurance athlete, Butler has completed 18 marathons and numerous triathlons, including Ironman. He has nearly finished a project to run all the streets in Jacksonville, covering thousands of streets and thousands of miles. The effort has given him insight into community needs and Rotary’s role in serving them.
Butler has received The Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service. He and his wife, Karen, support the Foundation as Major Donors and members of the Bequest Society, Paul Harris Society, and PolioPlus Society. They have two grown daughters, Emily and Maggie. Emily recently joined her father’s club, continuing the family’s legacy of service.
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Soffía Gísladóttir
Director 2026-28
Rotary Club of Húsavík Norðurþing
IcelandSoffía Gísladóttir, whose name means Soffía, daughter of Gísla, is a labor market specialist at Iceland’s Directorate of Labour, where she connects entrepreneurs and startups with potential employees across Iceland and Europe. She previously served as a deputy member of Parliament.
Soffía is from Húsavík, a northeastern coastal town and the site of an early Viking settlement. She holds a master’s degree in education from the University of Akureyri.
She spent a decade as director of social services in northeastern Iceland, focusing on child welfare and disability services. She established a center in northern Iceland using the Social Return model, a holistic rehabilitation and vocational model that promotes equal opportunities for disadvantaged people. She later held several national government roles, including project management with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing, helping establish rehabilitation and vocational centers nationwide for people with disabilities.
“Taking care of vulnerable people has always been my focus because I believe that every individual is important,” she says. “If people are given a chance, they can flourish and become strong contributors to society.”
In 2011, Soffía was invited by UK Prime Minister David Cameron to speak about the award-winning Social Return model at the Nordic Baltic Summit in London.
She joined Rotary in 2012 and has served in numerous leadership roles, including district governor, assistant Rotary membership coordinator, RI president’s representative, and learning facilitator. Through Rotary, she has volunteered on projects that support immigrant and refugee integration in Iceland and with her club is currently developing the Skúlagata walking trail, which will link historic sites across the northeast.
In 2022, Soffía chaired the Rotary institute in Reykjavík, welcoming 500 Rotarians for a summit that included a keynote address by the president of Iceland and paired learning with service projects across Rotary’s areas of focus. Beyond Rotary, she has served on multiple boards, including as chair of the Akureyri Theater Company during its merger with a new cultural center, as a member of the Húsavík town council, and as a board member of Vatnajökull National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A runner, Soffía has completed a 160-kilometer (99-mile) ultramarathon across Iceland’s rugged terrain of glaciers and volcanoes. She and her husband, Guðmundur Baldvin Guðmundsson, are Major Donors to The Rotary Foundation.
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Thomas Anthony Gump
Director 2026-28
Rotary Club of Edina/Morningside
Minnesota, USATom Gump says the best part of Rotary is the friends you make. He has traveled the Rotary world, becoming an honorary member in numerous clubs.
Gump strives to embody the first two words of Rotary’s vision statement: “Together, we.” He has brought in many members and has helped form numerous new clubs, including clubs to serve veterans and seek an end to human trafficking, both of which are the first of their kind in the world. He united five clubs to form a Rotary Community Corps to serve hundreds of refugees, led his district to become the fourth globally to achieve 100% Paul Harris Fellow status, and brought together multiple districts to secure the bid for Minneapolis, Minnesota, to host the 2028 Rotary International Convention.
Gump serves as chair of the Host Organization Committee for the 2028 convention. He previously served as aide to the RI president, an International Assembly learning facilitator, and president’s representative. He chaired RI’s Membership Growth Committee and the MDP Alliance, a consortium of multidistrict presidents-elect learning events.
Gump is committed to The Rotary Foundation, his club’s foundation, and the service projects they fund. He has worked on or led more than 20 global, district and club grants totaling more than US$4 million. He is also committed to Rotary’s fight to eradicate polio. After meeting frontline polio workers in Pakistan, he says, “It’s not an if, it’s when.”
Gump and his wife have provided for an endowment gift through their estate that will establish the Thomas and Catherine Gump Family Peace Fund. They support The Rotary Foundation as Major Donors, Bequest Society members, multiple Paul Harris Fellows, Benefactors, Sustaining Members, and PolioPlus Society members.
The Gump family has hosted seven long-term Rotary Youth Exchange students. Outside Rotary, Gump is active in his church, has served as Edina Community Foundation president, and has carried the Olympic torch in two Olympic Games.
Gump received RI’s Service Above Self Award and is a Gold Member of its Membership Society for New Member Sponsors. The Rotary Foundation has awarded Gump its Citation for Meritorious Service and Regional Service Award for a Polio-Free World.
Since 2013, Gump has been the owner and managing broker of A-1 Asset Management LLC, a commercial real estate firm in Minneapolis. He is an attorney licensed in four states and holds a commercial broker's license.
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Brian Hall
Director 2025-27
Rotary Club of Covington
Louisiana, USABrian Hall is director of development at Attivo ERP, where he specializes in integrating business systems. After earning his accounting degree from Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi, he set out to become a certified public accountant (CPA) but later transitioned into computer programming and enterprise resource planning, eventually co-founding AIM Technologies in 2000.
After a personal health scare, Hall was driven by a desire to make a greater impact. He traveled to Russia, where he volunteered in orphanages, and returned home with a deepened commitment to service. It was while he was establishing a nonprofit to support humanitarian efforts that he connected with members of the Rotary Club of Covington, and he joined the club in 2007.
His first leadership role in Rotary was chairing a circus fundraiser. Since then, Hall has participated in and helped lead numerous initiatives. One of the most notable projects of his club is an annual holiday meal program that provides fully cooked turkey dinners for more than 6,000 people each Christmas.
Hall has been an active leader in the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Rotary Action Group for nearly a decade. “Bringing clean water to a village is something that creates generational change,” he says. “If you do the project correctly so that it is sustainable, you affect the trajectory of that village for generations.”
Since serving as governor of District 6840 in 2014-15, Hall has taken on multiple leadership roles, including as an RI president’s representative, a learning facilitator at the International Assembly, and a member of The Rotary Foundation Cadre of Technical Advisers. One of his favorite assignments was serving as sergeant-at-arms at five Rotary International Conventions.
“That’s one of the hardest, most physically demanding jobs, because it is from morning to night,” he says. “But you get to help people have an amazing convention.”
Hall has served on the Joint Technology Committee of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation, with a focus on strengthening Rotary’s information technology infrastructure and digital strategy.
“The real story of your time as a leader is not told while you’re in that position,” he says. “The story is told afterwards, in the results, and it’s told in the people that follow you who say, ‘You inspired me.’”
Hall is a recipient of Rotary’s Service Above Self Award. He has also received The Rotary Foundation’s Citation for Meritorious Service, and he and his wife, Lynn, are Major Donors.
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Martha Peak Helman
Director 2026-28
Rotary Club of Boothbay Harbor
Maine, USAMarty Helman spent her career as a writer for business executives and as a magazine editor at McGraw Hill and the American Management Association. Later, she served as president of the Otto and Fran Walter Foundation, a nonprofit that has helped build schools in developing nations, provided scholarships for at-risk youth, and supplied humanitarian aid to Holocaust survivors, among other initiatives. The Walter Foundation partnered with The Rotary Foundation to fund the Rotary Peace Center at Bahçeşehir University in Istanbul, Türkiye, which opened in 2025.
Marty and her late spouse, Frank, joined the Rotary Club of Boothbay Harbor in 2003. She has served Rotary as Rotary Foundation trustee and as chair of the Fund Development and Peace Major Gifts Initiative committees. She chaired a working group designed to increase corporate gifts to The Rotary Foundation, and she served on a task force with a goal to better align Foundation grant policies with 21st century needs. She was a member of the teams that selected the sites for the Rotary Peace Centers at Bahçeşehir University and at Symbiosis International University in Pune, India.
Marty is a popular speaker on the topics of the Rotary Peace Centers, The Rotary Foundation, and growth. She is a recipient of The Rotary Foundation's Distinguished Service Award.
A keen fundraiser for The Rotary Foundation, Helman initiated an effort to support the Sakuji Tanaka Rotary Peace Fellowship, which raised US$1 million for the Rotary Peace Centers.
Marty is a member of the Arch Klumph Society, the Paul Harris Society, and PolioPlus Society. She and Frank were charter members of the Legacy Society of The Rotary Foundation.
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Jung-Hyun Lee
Director 2025-27
Rotary Club of Hwasung Taean
Gyeonggi, KoreaJung-Hyun Lee has dedicated his life to education, beginning his career as a high school teacher. He went on to become an instructor at prestigious preparatory schools for college entrance exams, playing a pivotal role in shaping Seoul’s renowned Noryangjin school district.
As part of this effort, Lee founded his own institution, the Hwaseong Hanssem Academy, where he continues to serve as chair of the board. His passion for empowering youth and expanding educational access led him to establish California University of Management and Sciences in San Diego, California, USA. This institution, designed with affordability in mind, offers scholarships and low tuition to provide opportunities for students from developing regions, including Central and South America, the Middle East, and Africa.
Lee has been a Rotary member since 2003. An avid supporter of and fundraiser for The Rotary Foundation, he has served as assistant regional Rotary Foundation coordinator. During his tenure as governor of District 3750 in 2014-15, he led a fundraising campaign, setting a record with more than US$1.5 million in contributions, nearly doubling the prior record. That campaign started a powerful philanthropic tradition for the district. Each year since then, its total giving has never fallen below US$1.2 million.
Lee is also a champion of digital literacy. Recognizing the need to bridge the digital divide, he initiated scholarships and launched free computer education programs for underserved populations. He has also extended digital literacy to his volunteering in Rotary. As chair of Rotary Korea’s committee on information technology, he spearheaded digitalization efforts that significantly increased member registrations on My Rotary, growing participation from 15% to 70%, to enhance engagement while improving technological integration and strengthen member communication and networking opportunities.
Another interest of Lee’s is Rotary’s area of focus on the environment. Through Rotary, he has organized tree-planting campaigns, river cleanups, and seminars to promote awareness of sustainability and ecological responsibility.
His wife, Young-Ran Won, is a survivor of ovarian cancer, and they lead a support group for cancer patients and their families to provide guidance and hope to others navigating similar challenges.
Lee further expresses his commitment to The Rotary Foundation through his membership in the Arch Klumph Society, which he joined in 2020.
“To me, Rotary is a blessing and a mission,” says Lee. “It’s also been the greatest reward of my life.”
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Emmanuel Katongole
Director 2026-28
Rotary Club of Muyenga
UgandaEmmanuel Katongole, an entrepreneur, is co-founder and chair of Quality Chemical Industries Ltd., a leading African manufacturer of HIV/AIDS and malaria medicines that keep close to 2 million people alive.
Katongole holds a bachelor’s degree in statistics and a master’s degree in economic policy and planning from Makerere University. He has served as the first chair of the Uganda National Oil Company, chair of the advisory board of TLG Capital Ltd., board chair of Uganda’s Presidential CEO Forum, and chancellor of Nkumba University.
Katongole joined Rotary in 1996 but had his first contact with it at age 14 as a direct beneficiary. Born to illiterate parents, he was four when his father disappeared under Idi Amin’s rule. Later, he lost two siblings to HIV/AIDS and another sister, who died from blood loss while giving birth at age 15.
While selling corn on the street to help support his mother, a housekeeper, Katongole started a conversation with a Rotarian, who asked why Katongole wasn’t in school. After hearing his story, the man adopted Katongole, and he spent his adolescence under the family’s care.
“Rotary is a means of paying back humanity for what I received,” Katongole says. “What happened to my siblings influenced me a lot.”
In remembrance of his sister who died in childbirth, he spearheaded a Rotary project to establish a blood bank at Mengo Hospital in Kampala. The US$1.3 million project is reducing a shortage of blood for transfusions, helping reduce deaths.
“Leaders are dealers in hope. As a leader, you must give hope and let people know the possibilities of life,” Katongole says. “I was in a hopeless situation, and someone gave me hope, so today I’m giving hope to others.”
Katongole serves on the advisory board of the Rotary Peace Center at Makerere University and initiated an annual peace concert that raises funds for The Rotary Foundation. He chaired the Peace-Major Gifts Initiative Committee. He also served as an endowment/major gifts adviser and as assistant regional Rotary Foundation coordinator after serving as governor of District 9211 in 2013-14.
Active in the Roman Catholic Church, Katongole is a trustee of a martyrs shrine, chaired the foundation of the Kampala Archdiocese, and was conferred papal knighthood by Pope Francis in 2021. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, swimming, and relaxing at his farm.
Katongole is a recipient of the African Centennial Rotary Heroes Award. He and his spouse, Resty, support The Rotary Foundation as Benefactors and as members of the Arch Klumph Society and Bequest Society.
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K.P. Nagesh
Director 2025-27
Rotary Club of Bangalore Highgrounds
Karnataka, IndiaK.P. Nagesh is an entrepreneur and founder of UNIQ Security Solutions, a company that employs more than 10,000 individuals and serves over 500 clients across southern India. He has also established Uniq Skill Development Academy in Ramanagara district, which provides vocational training to rural youths, helping them secure employment in the uniformed services and the corporate sector.
After earning a degree in mechanical engineering at PES College of Engineering in Mandya, Karnataka, Nagesh served as a short service commissioned officer in the Indian Air Force, gaining valuable experience in leadership, discipline, and time management.
Nagesh joined Rotary in 1995. While serving as governor of District 3190 in 2015-16, he led initiatives that resulted in the addition of about 2,000 members and 52 new clubs while increasing the representation of women. Under his leadership as governor, the district also achieved the highest total contribution to The Rotary Foundation worldwide that year.
He has served Rotary in various leadership roles, including assistant regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, endowment/major gifts adviser, and member of the executive committee of India Water Mission.
Nagesh is passionate about fundraising for The Rotary Foundation. His goal is for India to become a US$100 million-giving country, with every district giving at least US$1 million.
“Rotary made a huge difference to me in my life, and now I want to give back to Rotary and take it to more and more people,” Nagesh says.
Among the numerous national awards and recognitions Nagesh has received are the President’s Medal for Meritorious Service as commandant for Home Guards, the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service as commanding officer and chief warden of civil defense, the Chief Minister’s Medal for Meritorious Service in civil defense, and the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Central Association of Private Security Industry. He was also honored with the Bharat Ratna Sir M. Visvesvaraya Global Leadership Award for excellence in environmental work, social service, and education by the Power Development and Energy Research Institute.
Nagesh is a recipient of RI’s Service Above Self Award. He and his wife, Uma, a computer science engineer, are active supporters of The Rotary Foundation as members of the Arch Klumph Society Chair’s Circle.
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Kenichi Nakaya
Director 2026-28
Rotary Club of Ashikaga East
Tochigi, JapanKenichi Nakaya is a physician focused on internal and cardiovascular health in Ashikaga, Japan. He attended Showa University in Tokyo, earning a degree with a specialization in ischemic heart disease.
Nakaya worked in the medical department at Showa University before his father’s death prompted him to return home to inherit the family clinic. He also chaired and is currently serving as a secretary of the city medical association, and he’s a director for the prefecture’s medical association.
A second-generation Rotarian, Nakaya joined the Rotary Club of Ashikaga East in 1988. He was encouraged by his father, a past club president, and his mentor, past RI Director Toshio Itabashi. “It was a traditional club, and we wanted to expand our activities so that younger people would be attracted to our club,” Nakaya says. Today, the 42-member club has a strong tradition of youth programs and international service.
Nakaya has served as assistant regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, endowment/major gifts adviser, and learning facilitator at the International Assembly in 2023 and 2024. As governor of District 2550 in 2015-16, he coordinated service projects and expanded the district’s international work.
Nakaya began volunteering in the Philippines the year after the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo. While visiting the country for the first time, he saw many street children begging for food and money.
“I was able to see social problems up close,” he says. “I really wanted to help those children so that they could build their own future and become someone who would support their country. That activity really opened my eyes.”
What started as an annual district service activity has since evolved into ongoing work in the Philippines. Nakaya has traveled to the country a few times a year for more than 30 years. There, he established the Mirai-Ni-Kibou Foundation (Hope for the Future Foundation) to ensure continuity of free medical services. The organization also supports Haven, a rehabilitation facility for victims of sexual abuse and implements literacy programs, among other initiatives. In addition, the organization has operated programs for hypertension and diabetes treatment with support from local Rotary clubs.
Nakaya is a recipient of the RI Service Above Self Award and The Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service. He and his wife, Masako, support the Foundation as members of the Arch Klumph Society. They have established named endowments to support the Foundation’s work in five areas of focus.
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Jennifer A. Scott
Director 2025-27
Rotary Club of Greater Blue Mountains
New South Wales, AustraliaJennifer A. Scott is a lawyer, mediator, and conflict resolution specialist with experience in environmental law. She holds a law degree and a Master of Laws in environmental law from Macquarie University, as well as a Master of Dispute Resolution from Western Sydney University, where she is honored as a Community Fellow.
A Rotarian since 1996, Scott has held numerous leadership roles since her term as governor of District 9690 in 2007-08. She served as a learning facilitator, seminar trainer, and moderator at the 2022 International Assembly, a challenging event held both in person and virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She has also been a member of Rotary’s Constitution and Bylaws Committee, Election Review Committee, and 2019 Hamburg Convention Committee. Scott chaired the 2024 Singapore Convention Committee and currently serves as regional vice chair of the End Polio Now: Countdown to History Campaign Committee. She is also a member of The Rotary Foundation Cadre of Technical Advisers.
Scott became more deeply connected to Rotary’s humanitarian efforts during a National Immunization Day in Chandigarh, India, where she witnessed firsthand the impact of polio eradication efforts. “There were thousands of us out there, immunizing millions of children under the age of five within those couple of weeks, and I was part of it.”
She and her husband, Ian, have also been active in Sustainable Cambodia, both in Cambodia and through Sustainable Cambodia Australia. This Rotary-led initiative empowers communities in rural Cambodia through an integrated approach of education, access to clean water, and sustainable agriculture. “We support the teachers, support the students and their families, and work with the villagers, and the project just keeps expanding,” Scott says.
Scott has also played a key role in advancing legal frameworks in Mongolia, leading a vocational training team to train judges and social workers in family mediation. Her collaboration with Mongolian members of Rotary contributed to the development of a national Family Law Act.
Scott advocates for fostering open dialogue and addressing conflicts before they escalate. “Imagine a world without conflict — there’d be no change,” Scott says. “You need to be able to disagree in a healthy way, listen to other ideas, and have difficult conversations when they matter.”
In 2023, Scott was recognized as a Member of the Order of Australia, an honor her husband, a retired air commodore of the Royal Australian Air Force, also received, in 1996.
Scott and Ian, who is also a Rotarian and past district governor (2014-15), are Major Donors to The Rotary Foundation and members of the Bequest Society. She has been recognized with The Rotary Foundation’s Citation for Meritorious Service.
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Takao Shinomiya
Director 2026-28
Rotary Club of Osaka-Southwest
Osaka, JapanTakao Shinomiya is the CEO of Tatsumi Industry Co. Ltd., an Osaka-based real estate company that his grandfather founded in 1921. The company, which has approximately 400 employees, evolved from sea transportation to real estate development. It has also expanded internationally, developing commercial real estate in Southern California.
A third-generation Rotarian, Shinomiya joined the Rotary Club of Osaka-Southwest in 1993 at age 38, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. “Before I joined Rotary, my circle of friends was small,” Shinomiya says. “Joining Rotary, I was able to meet people from different backgrounds with different vocations and become friends with them, close friends.”
Since serving as governor of District 2660 in 2019-20, Shinomiya served as assistant regional Rotary Foundation coordinator (2020-23) and regional Rotary Foundation coordinator (2024-25). As RI learning facilitator (2020-22), he successfully trained 34 district governors-elect virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating lasting connections despite the challenges.
During his term as club president in 2011-12, Shinomiya mobilized 13 Osaka clubs to support communities after the devastating 2011 tsunami in Japan’s Tōhoku region. “We bought a lot of necessary things, like vehicles, and helped rebuild some of the damaged houses,” Shinomiya says. “We also provided a small library with books so the children could go there to read.”
Shinomiya has also taken his commitment to Service Above Self to the international level. In 1999, his club built a two-story, eight-classroom school with electricity and toilet blocks on the outskirts of Hanoi, Vietnam. Shinomiya returned 20 years later and discovered that a small town had developed around the school, bringing prosperity to the area.
An avid skier who captained his university ski club, Shinomiya also plays the board game Go and studies the music of Noh, a traditional form of Japanese drama.
Shinomiya supports The Rotary Foundation as a Major Donor, Arch Klumph Society member, Benefactor, and Paul Harris Society member. He and his wife, Yoko, have established named endowments for SHARE and the Rotary Peace Centers.
Shinomiya has also been recognized as a Yoneyama Meritorious Person by a project of Rotary districts in Japan that provides scholarships for foreign students. The Shinomiya Scholarship Foundation, established by his grandfather, has supported the education of approximately 2,400 high school students to date.
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Wyn Spiller
Director 2025-27
Rotary Club of Grass Valley
California, USAA Louisiana native and daughter of a Rotarian, Wyn Spiller earned a psychology degree from Louisiana State University before beginning her career as a teacher. After moving to California with her husband, Steve, she co-owned a children’s clothing business before transitioning into the wine industry, leading a small winery whose founders included her family.
As CEO and board chair of Nevada City Winery, she oversaw its consolidation and incorporation as well as a historic restoration and expansion of its processing facility. The project earned the Best New Construction Award in the historic downtown of Nevada City. She retired in 2014.
A dedicated Rotarian since 1994, Spiller has held numerous leadership roles, including endowment/major gifts adviser, regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, RI president’s representative, International Assembly facilitator, and 2022 RI Council on Legislation learning leader.
Passionate about international service, she has participated in National Immunization Days in India, as well as a Rotary Foundation-supported medical training project outside Tijuana, Mexico, where the dedication and appreciation of the doctors and nurses had a profound effect on her.
Working on another Foundation-funded grant project at Bwindi Community Hospital in Uganda, she sat beside a severely malnourished boy and his mother. He was watching Rotarians outside installing solar panels, and he smiled for the first time, which was taken as an indication that he would survive.
“I witnessed the exact moment when someone’s life changed for the better,” Spiller says.
A strong advocate for Rotary Youth Exchange, she has served as district chair, country contact, and host mom. As E/MGA, she encouraged giving to the Zones 26 and 27 Endowed Fund for Peace that resulted in the fund reaching the threshold for sponsoring its first master’s degree Rotary Peace Fellow.
“I believe we as Rotarians have the ability to help create a kinder, more respectful, more compassionate, more peaceful world,” she says. “Peace begins with each of us, and it takes all of us.”
Spiller is active in her community outside of Rotary as treasurer of the North Star Historic Conservancy, which manages and restores the historic North Star House — one of the earliest designs by Julia Morgan, California’s first licensed female architect.
Spiller is a recipient of The Rotary Foundation’s Citation for Meritorious Service. She and Steve are Major Donors and members of the Bequest Society, Paul Harris Society, and PolioPlus Society.
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Harriette Florence Verwey
Director 2025-27
Rotary Club of Leiden-AM
The NetherlandsHarriette Florence Verwey, born in Suriname as a Dutch citizen, immigrated to the Netherlands at age 18 to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. She graduated from Leiden University in Leiden, Netherlands, with a medical degree, later earning a PhD, and began a 34-year career cardiology at Leiden University Medical Center.
Verwey pioneered the use of the left ventricular assist device as an alternative treatment for chronic heart failure when transplant is not feasible. The protocol she wrote for the treatment has been incorporated internationally, and her work in cardiology was recognized by the king of the Netherlands when she was appointed Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau in 2017.
Verwey joined Rotary in 2002. Early on, she organized a national music concert for deaf children.
“They experienced music for the first time in their life by gently pressing an air-filled balloon close to their belly” to feel the vibrations of the music, Verwey says. “The joy and excitement was something I could never forget — I became a Rotarian for life.”
Verwey was the first Black district governor in the Netherlands and is the first female director from her zone. As governor of District 1600, she prioritized youth engagement and Rotaract. She also served as regional Rotary Foundation coordinator from 2019 to 2022, and she has volunteered to support the Rotary-IHE Delft Institute for Water Education international student scholarship program.
She says nonmembers can find a sense of belonging in Rotary, too, as she has done while volunteering for organizations such as the advisory board of the Dutch Association of Black Female Entrepreneurs and Professionals in Rotterdam.
“Some think because of their background and skin color that they don’t belong in Rotary, but they do,” Verwey says. “They have a lot of abilities to bring to the table and make Rotary much more than they can ever imagine. I urge people of color to join Rotary because everyone is of value in Rotary.”
Outside of Rotary, Verwey led a campaign for better diagnosis and treatment for women with suspected heart disease. She has She also serves on several boards, including the board of the Leiden University Fund and the advisory board of the Buzz Foundation, which mentors immigrants in Leiden.
Verwey is a member of De Rots Ministries, a Christian church. Verwey supports The Rotary Foundation as a member of the PolioPlus Society, a Major Donor, and a Bequest Society member.
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John Hewko
General Secretary and Chief Executive Officer
Rotary Club of Kyiv
UkraineJohn Hewko is the general secretary and chief executive officer of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation.
From 2004 to 2009, Hewko was vice president for operations and compact development for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. government agency established in 2004 to deliver foreign assistance to the world’s poorest countries. At MCC, he was the principal negotiator for foreign assistance agreements to 26 countries in Africa, Asia, South America, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Union. During his tenure, he completed the negotiation of assistance agreements totaling US$6.3 billion to 18 countries for infrastructure, agriculture, water and sanitation, health, and education projects.
Prior to joining MCC, Hewko was an international partner with the law firm Baker & McKenzie, specializing in international corporate transactions in emerging markets. He helped establish the firm’s Moscow office and was the managing partner of its offices in Kyiv and Prague.
While working in Ukraine in the early 1990s, Hewko assisted the working group that prepared the initial draft of the new Ukrainian post-Soviet constitution and was a charter member of the first Rotary club in Kyiv.
Hewko has been a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University, and a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He has published papers and articles in leading U.S. and international publications, and he has spoken extensively on political and business issues dealing with the former Soviet Union, Central Europe, Africa, and Latin America. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a trustee emeritus of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, Ukraine.
Hewko holds a law degree from Harvard University, a master’s in modern history from Oxford University (where he studied as a Marshall Scholar), and a bachelor’s in government and Soviet studies from Hamilton College in New York.
As general secretary, Hewko leads a diverse staff of 800 at Rotary International’s World Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, USA, and six international offices. He and his partner, Marga, are Major Donors to The Rotary Foundation. They live in Evanston.
Read General Secretary Hewko’s full biography.
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2026-27 RI Board Committees
Executive Committee
Acts on behalf of the Board according to established policy, advises the Board with respect to governance and other significant issues, and reviews recommendations for report to the Board from the RI Finance Committee.
Chair
Harriette Verwey
Members
Olayinka Babalola
Larry Lunsford
M. Muruganandam
César Luis Scherer
Wyn Spiller
Brian Hall
Liaison
Ann-Britt Asebol
Administration Committee
Reviews recommendations for report to the Board from the following committees: Election Review Committee, Districting Committee, Council Operations Committee, and Constitution and Bylaws Committee.
Chair
Wyn Spiller
Vice Chair
Emmanuel Katongole
Members
Thomas Gump
Jung-Hyun Lee
Kenichi Nakaya
Jennifer Scott
Takao Shinomiya
Programs (Participant Experience) Committee
Reviews recommendations for report to the Board from the Membership Growth, RI Programs, Convention, Joint Technology, Joint Communications and Joint Learning Committees and the Joint DEI Task Force.
Chair
Brian Hall
Vice Chair
Soffía Gísladóttir
Members
Massimo Ballotta
Christine Büring
Marshall Butler
Martha Helman
KP Nagesh
Board Council Legislation Advisory Committee
Advises the Board with respect to Council on Resolution and Council on Legislation matters.
Chair
Jennifer Scott
Vice Chair
Thomas Gump
Members
KP Nagesh
Kenichi Nakaya
Wyn Spiller