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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  R. Gordon R. McInally

  President 2023-24
  Rotary Club of South Queensferry
  West Lothian, Scotland

  R. Gordon R. McInally is president of Rotary International. He was educated at the Royal High School in Edinburgh and at the University of Dundee, where he earned his graduate degree in dental surgery. He operated his own dental practice in Edinburgh until 2016. Gordon was chair of the East of Scotland branch of the British Paedodontic Society and has held various academic positions. He has also served as a presbytery elder, chair of the Queensferry parish congregational board, and commissioner to the general assembly of the Church of Scotland.

  McInally joined Rotary in 1984 at age 26. A member of the Rotary Club of South Queensferry, he has served as president and vice president of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland. He has also served RI as a director and on several committees, most recently as an adviser to the 2022 Houston Convention Committee and chair of the Operations Review Committee.

  McInally says he looks forward to working with members to build new Rotary clubs and groups. “My vision is that Rotary should exist everywhere in a style to suit everyone who has the desire to be part of us and to help us do good in the world,” he says.

  McInally is a patron of the UK-based nonprofit Hope and Homes for Children and led a partnership between that organization and RIBI to support children in Rwanda who had been orphaned in the genocide there. He is a patron of Trade-Aid, an initiative of the Rotary Club of Grantham Kesteven, England, that provides sustainable humanitarian aid to individuals, families, and businesses in the developing world. He is also an ambassador for Bipolar UK, a national mental health organization. In August 2022, he was made a laureate of the Sino Phil Asia International Peace Awards Foundation.

  In his free time, McInally enjoys rugby, good food and wine, and stick dressing, the traditional Scottish craft of making walking sticks.

  McInally describes The Rotary Foundation as “the engine that provides the energy to do Rotary service.” He and his spouse, Heather, also a Rotarian, are Paul Harris Fellows, Major Donors, Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation, and members of the Bequest Society.

  McInally wishes to dedicate his presidency to making the world a better place for his granddaughters, Ivy and Florence, and all the children of the world, to live and thrive.

  Read the president’s full biography

  Read the president’s monthly message

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  Stephanie A. Urchick

  President-elect 2023-24
  Rotary Club of McMurray
  Pennsylvania, USA

  Stephanie Urchick is a member of the Rotary Club of McMurray, Pennsylvania, USA. She will serve RI as president in 2024-25. She has been an RI director and Rotary Foundation trustee. She has served RI in numerous capacities, including as training leader, regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, and RI president's representative. In addition, Stephanie was a representative and member-at-large to three sessions of the Council on Legislation.

  Stephanie has also served as chair of the Rotary Strategic Planning Committee and The Rotary Foundation's Centennial Celebration Committee, as well as a member of various Rotary committees, including the Election Review Committee and Operational Review Committee.

  A Rotary member since 1991, Stephanie has participated in a variety of international service projects, including National Immunization Days in India and Nigeria. In Vietnam, she worked with clubs to help build a primary school and traveled to the Dominican Republic to install water filters. A student of several Slavic languages, she has mentored new Rotary members in Ukraine and coordinated a Rotary Foundation grant for a mammography equipment and a biopsy unit for a hospital in Poland. In its commemorative book, the Rotary Club of Krakow, Poland, noted Stephanie as a key figure for helping the re-birth of Rotary in post-Communist Poland.

  Currently, Stephanie is helping to partner clubs and districts in the U.S. with Rotary clubs in Albania, Kosovo, and Ukraine for humanitarian and educational services.

  Stephanie's professional background is in the higher education, consulting, and entertainment industries. She received her doctorate degree in Leadership Studies from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and has been recognized and awarded by The Rotary Foundation and numerous community and international organizations.

  Read the president-elect’s full biography

• 

  Pat Merryweather-Arges

  Vice President 2023-24
  Rotary Club of Naperville
  Illinois, USA

  Pat Merryweather-Arges is the executive director of Project Patient Care, a nonprofit that brings together patients, families, and caregivers to improve health care. In that role, she has led nationwide patient and family engagement initiatives with 140,000 clinicians as well as an 18-month project to bring patient concerns into diagnostic research. She helped develop a guide to elective services during the COVID-19 pandemic that was highlighted in The New York Times and more than a dozen health journals.

  Previously, Pat served as executive director of a company contracted by the U.S. government to improve the quality of Medicare in several Midwestern states. She was also a senior vice president at the Illinois Health and Hospital Association, where she advocated legislation on infection screening and engaged hospitals in reporting health care outcomes to the public. She serves on a nominating committee for the American Red Cross' Heroes awards , two nonprofit hospital boards in Chicago, and state committees for infection control and prevention and health care reporting. She was named woman of the year by the MRSA Survivors Network and has received a number of awards for her civic engagement.

  Pat joined Rotary in 2002. She has served on Rotary's COVID-19 task force, as a representative for the Council on Legislation and Council on Resolutions, and as a regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, RI president's representative, and chair of the 2018 presidential peace conference in Chicago. She's also held numerous district and zone appointments. She is on the board of the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Rotary Action Group and chairs the health outcomes and patient safety committee of the International Fellowship of Healthcare Professionals.

  Pat, who has been involved in more than 20 Rotary Foundation grant projects focused on health care and water, sanitation, and hygiene, says that Rotary's expansive network is the secret to its success.

  "No one goes at it alone in Rotary. It's all of us together bringing our expertise and leveraging resources, knowledge, and experience," she says.

  Pat has received the Service Above Self Award, the Avenues of Service Award, and The Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service. She and her spouse, George, who is also a Rotary member, are members of the Paul Harris Society and are Benefactors and Major Donors.

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  Drew Kessler

  Treasurer 2023-24
  Rotary Club of North Rockland (Haverstraw)
  New York, USA

  Drew Kessler is senior vice president of the commercial real estate division at M&T Bank, where he manages a large loan portfolio of real estate and commercial ventures with major businesses in the New York City area.

  Drew has led numerous professional real estate organizations, serving as president of the Rockland County Board of Realtors and of the 10,000-member Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors (HGAR), and as director of both the New York State Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors. Drew regularly appeared on Fox Business News from 2008 to 2013 because of his expertise on the finance industry and the real estate market.

  While at HGAR, Drew launched the HG Realtor Foundation. A passionate fundraiser, he has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for organizations including The Rotary Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, March of Dimes, and Feeding Westchester.

  Drew joined Rotary in 2001 at age 20. He served as president of the Rotary Club of North Rockland (Haverstraw) at age 25 and was at that time the youngest president in the club's history. At age 32, he served as governor of District 7210. "For anyone who says that you have to be retired to serve in these positions, I'd like to show that there is another path," he says.

  Drew has served RI on the Young Past Governors Committee, as a representative to the Council on Legislation and Council on Resolutions, and as an RI president's representative. He also has held zone leadership positions including chair of the Zone 28/32 Summit, assistant Rotary coordinator for Zone 32, and chair of the Mid-Northeast Presidents-Elect Training Seminar. Committed to continuity and collaboration, he is a member of the District 7210 executive board, a committee he helped establish that is made up of past and current district leaders who work together to lead the district.

  As a husband and a father of five, Drew prioritizes incorporating family into Rotary events, projects, and meetings whenever possible. All of his children have participated in Rotary, including through Interact, RYLA, and Rotary Youth Exchange and other programs. Drew and his spouse, Vicki, also a Rotarian, live in Hopewell Junction, New York.

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  Antônio Henrique Barbosa de Vasconcelos

  Director 2023-25
  Rotary Club of Fortaleza-Alagadiço
  Brazil

  Antônio Henrique Barbosa de Vasconcelos holds a civil engineering degree from the University of Fortaleza. He is the owner of three businesses operating in the construction and engineering business sectors.

  Born in 1969, the same year his Rotary club was chartered, Vasconcelos grew up surrounded by Rotary, inspired by his father who served twice as a district governor. His Rotary Youth Exchange in Pennsylvania created lifelong friendships that run deep in his family: 22 years after his experience, one of his daughters went to live with the same host family during her exchange.

  Vasconcelos joined Rotary in 1996, seeking an opportunity to give back and to see his father more regularly. At 38, he served as governor of District 4490. Since then, he has taken on many roles for RI, including training leader, Rotary coordinator, regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, Council on Legislation representative, Rotary zone institute chair, RI president’s representative, and member of the 2020 RI Convention Promotion Committee. He has supported The Rotary Foundation as regional coordinator and endowment/major gifts adviser. In Brazil, he has served as a board member of the Brazilian association of The Rotary Foundation since 2009 and was a columnist for Rotary Brasil magazine for six years.

  One of his most memorable moments in Rotary was when he and his club traveled in four-wheel-drive cars to a remote area in the state of Ceará to deliver goods and services. There, his club presented a wheelchair to a polio survivor who had wanted one for 40 years. He coordinated the delivery of 2,000 ShelterBoxes in the aftermath of massive mudslides and floods in the state of Rio de Janeiro in 2010. Vasconcelos, who lost his mother to COVID-19, also led the Information Saves Lives campaign, engaging Rotary and Rotaract clubs throughout Brazil to promote the importance of vaccinations through social media, traditional media, outdoor ads, and more.

  “Rotary’s greatest challenge now is for us to be more active in our communities,” says Vasconcelos. “When we have greater projects in our communities, we will add more members to our ranks, our public image will grow, and donations to The Rotary Foundation will increase.”

  Vasconcelos holds the title of Honorary Consul of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in Ceará. In his spare time, he enjoys riding a motorcycle throughout Brazil and the U.S.; he was director of the Fortaleza chapter of the Brazilian Harley-Davidson owners group in Ceará.

  A Paul Harris Fellow, he supports The Rotary Foundation with his wife, Renata Macedo, as Benefactor, Bequest Society member, and Major Donor. Vasconcelos is a recipient of the Service Above Self Award.

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  Alberto Cecchini

  Director 2022-24
  Rotary Club of Roma Nord-Est
  Italy

  Alberto Cecchini is the sole administrator and technical director of Idroesse Engineering, one of the oldest firms of its kind in Italy. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering at Sapienza University of Rome in 1988. He also served as a partner, board member, and technical director of 3TI Progetti Italia, an engineering firm with offices in cities including Rome and Milan, Italy; Muscat, Oman; and Hong Kong. Among the many projects he has led or designed are the rehabilitation of a water and sanitation system in Kenya, the construction of a new military air base in Oman, and the rebuilding of panoramic Provincial Road 28 in Sicily.

  Alberto's first experience with Rotary was in 1988, when he became a founding member of the Rotaract Club of Anzio-Nettuno. He joined his first Rotary club in 1994. Alberto has served RI at the zone and international levels, including as a committee member, Rotary public image coordinator, training leader, regional coordinator and adviser, governors-elect training seminar facilitator, and International Assembly speaker. Drawing on his experience in Rotary's youth programs, he served as chair and vice chair of the Rotaract-Interact Committee and chaired the Rotaract preconvention meeting in Sydney in 2014. In addition, he has served as the primary RI representative to numerous Rome-based organizations, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the World Food Programme. He is also the RI representative to the Holy See in Vatican City.

  Alberto got the idea and organized a polio eradication fundraiser at the Colosseum in Rome in June 2018 that featured actors from the film "Gladiator," including Russell Crowe and Connie Nielsen, as well as a projection of the movie within the Colosseum with a live orchestra. The event raised $500,000. Alberto has also volunteered during a National Immunization Day in Delhi, India, and has delivered bed nets in Guinea Bissau.

  Alberto divides his time between Padua and Rome. In his spare time, he enjoys exercising, traveling, golf, and reading.

  Alberto has received the Service Above Self Award and The Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service. He supports the Foundation as a multiple Paul Harris Fellow and Benefactor.

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  Ghim Bok Chew

  Director 2023-25
  Rotary Club of Bugis Junction
  Singapore

  Born in Singapore, Ghim Bok “G.B.” Chew graduated in 1981 with an honors degree in computer science from the University of Liverpool, England, before returning to his home country to launch a career as a serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and private equities fund manager. After opening his first business, an IT systems integrator, he took a bankrupt food processing company to an initial public offering after turning it around. Now semiretired, Chew maintains real estate and real estate management companies in Singapore, in addition to his fund management holding company.

  Chew joined Rotary in 1996. Immediately after serving as district governor in 2013, he took on several zone and international roles, including assistant regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, assistant Rotary public image coordinator, Rotary coordinator, and chair of the zone institute committee. He is the Host Organization Committee chair for the Rotary International Convention in Singapore in 2024.

  Outside of Rotary, Chew is active as a local volunteer, having served for nearly three decades with Singapore’s People's Association, a government organization that uses a grassroots approach to promote racial and social harmony among Singapore’s diverse population. Chew created synergy between People’s Association youth groups and Rotary when he helped start community-based Interact and Rotaract clubs that are still active today. For his contributions to Singapore’s communities, Chew was awarded the Public Service Award Medal in 2005 and Public Service Star Medal in 2012 by Singapore’s president. He also serves as a justice of the peace who volunteers in local prisons, chair of two religious organizations, trustee of three national trust organizations, and honorary consul for the Republic of Slovakia in Singapore.

  Chew, who decided to join the Bugis Junction club after reading about the global polio eradication effort in a local newspaper, advocates for the power of partnering to accomplish great things. “As a business person, I strongly believe in creating synergy and leveraging partnerships,” he says. “One plus one can be more than two — it can be 11.”

  Chew has applied this approach by partnering with Rotary clubs and outside organizations to support cleft palate surgeries in Indonesia and prosthetic limb fittings in Malaysia. In another project coordinated by his club, he helped raise funds for doctors in Indonesia who donate their time to provide cataract surgeries, implanting lenses for only about $50 each. “Imagine an older person who has never seen their grandchildren suddenly seeing them for the first time,” says Chew. “These are some of the life-changing experiences I have been able to witness through Rotary.”

  Chew is a recipient of the Service Above Self Award. With his wife, Phyllis, he is a member of the Arch Klumph Society Chair’s Circle.

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  Patrick Daniel Chisanga

  Director 2022-24
  Rotary Club of Nkwazi
  Zambia

  Patrick Daniel Chisanga, a chartered governance professional, is a fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute (UK) from the London School of Accountancy and a fellow of the Institute of Directors of Zambia. He has advised the World Bank on corporate governance and has served as president of the Institute of Directors of Zambia and the African Corporate Governance Network.

  Working for nearly 20 years in the public and corporate sectors of Zambia, Patrick served as chief executive officer and chair of numerous companies and organizations before taking early retirement in 1994 to focus on running a family owned group of companies, Muchanga Investments Ltd., which he founded in 1987 and serves as chair. He is also chair and lead consultant of Dynamic Concepts Ltd., a consulting firm dedicated to corporate governance and leadership development across Africa, and he serves on the boards of several other local and international companies.

  Patrick first joined the family of Rotary as a member of Interact. As a high school student in 1968, he was selected to go on a short-term interclub exchange to Kenya, where he stayed with the then district governor in Mombasa. "I was so impressed with this man's dedication to humankind that I decided there and then that I would serve as a district governor in Rotary one day," Patrick says.

  In 1986, he became a charter member of the Rotary Club of Nkwazi, and in 1998, he realized his goal of becoming governor of District 9210. He was the first nonwhite person to hold that position. "It was a turning point for me and my district," he says.

  As governor, Patrick focused on supporting communities in need in his district with projects dedicated to health, hygiene, and clean water, and to building safe bridges in rural areas. Later, while serving as RI president's representative at a district event in Bremerhaven, Germany, he lent his networking skills to help start a project to improve infrastructure in Zambian schools that later received several Rotary Foundation grants. The project is still ongoing.

  Patrick has served Rotary International on several committees, including the Membership Committee and the Reach Out to Africa Committee, and as a training leader and Rotary Institute chair. He has also chaired regional Rotary organizations, including the Governors' Council of Southern and Eastern Africa.

  Patrick has received the Service Above Service Award and The Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service. He and his partner, Petronella, are Major Donors.

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  Eve Conway-Ghazi

  Director 2023-25
  Rotary Club of Redbridge
  England

  Eve Conway-Ghazi is a multimedia journalist. After earning her bachelor’s degree in English from Queen Mary University of London, she worked as a newspaper reporter. Her editor, a Rotarian, was pleased when she received a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship to the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism. She returned to London to launch a career in TV and radio journalism that included 20 years at BBC News as a reporter and producer.

  Conway-Ghazi was invited to join Rotary in 2000, after doing a series of speaking engagements at London-area clubs. In 2012, she became the first female district governor for Rotary in London. She organized numerous Rotary activities in connection with the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, including a Rotary reception for the Jamaican Paralympians, all polio survivors. That year, she also worked with her counterpart in Mumbai to start a successful vocational training team project focused on preventing problems during childbirth in a community in rural Jawhar, India.

  Conway-Ghazi served as president of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland in 2016-17. That year, she launched and led the Purple4Polio campaign, engaging Rotarians across Britain and Ireland about polio eradication, one of her passions. The successful campaign had 80 percent of RIBI clubs participating, which yielded a 19 percent increase in giving for polio eradication over the previous year. In addition, it helped raise public awareness, with more than 900 media reports about the campaign. Conway-Ghazi has been a vice chair of the End Polio Now: Countdown to History campaign committee and previously served as director of the Rotary Action Group for Endangered Species.

  She has traveled numerous times with British Rotarians to take part in National Immunization Days in India and has worked with leading journalists from the BBC and The Independent covering the topic. She produced a documentary for the BBC on fighting breast cancer in Pakistan, as well as more than 30 videos that RIBI used for a membership and marketing campaign. “Rotary helped me develop my skills as a journalist and it has been good to give back what Rotary’s given me,” says Conway-Ghazi. “We have to tell the story that what Rotary is all about is projects with impact that save lives.”

  One of her proudest accomplishments was starting the Rotary Young Citizen Awards in association with BBC News in 2007, focusing on helping to promote positive stories about young people. Outside of Rotary, Conway-Ghazi chairs The Media Circle, part of The Circle nongovernmental organization founded by singer-songwriter and activist Annie Lennox to empower women and girls globally.

  She met her husband, Robert Ghazi, through Rotary. They support The Rotary Foundation as Major Donors and members of the Bequest Society.

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  Daniel C. Himelspach

  Director 2023-25
  Rotary Club of Denver Mile High
  Colorado, USA

  Raised on a sheep and cattle ranch in southeastern Montana, Dan Himelspach earned his chemistry degree from the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. He worked briefly at DuPont as a chemical engineer before joining the U.S. Army as an officer with the Army Corps of Engineers. He later earned his law degree from the University of Denver College of Law and a Master Negotiation Certificate from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.

  After working as an attorney at one of Denver’s larger firms and practicing law at a firm he founded with three other attorneys, Himelspach formed Dispute Management Inc., a full-service dispute resolution firm, where he mediated more than 7,000 lawsuits and conducted more than 100 arbitrations.

  Himelspach joined Rotary in 1993 and has served in multiple district and zone leadership positions after serving as district governor, including End Polio Now coordinator, regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, and zone institute education week trainer. Himelspach was instrumental in proposing club flexibility provisions that became Enactment 16-21, adopted at the 2016 Council on Legislation. He also served as a representative to the Council on Legislation from 2017 to 2020.

  Himelspach has been involved in many local and international service projects, including a long-standing partnership with Rotary clubs in Kathmandu to provide water to a mountain community in Nepal. Himelspach says he was amazed during an in-person site visit to see how the initiative had grown to become an economic empowerment project for women, who were freed up from carrying water and are now entrepreneurs. “I realized the magic of The Rotary Foundation is how we work with local Rotary clubs as partners,” says Himelspach. “I don’t know of any other organization that has the global reach, in quality and extent, that is available to Rotarians through Rotary’s club network.”

  Himelspach serves on the boards of two Denver-based nonprofits: WorldDenver, which promotes greater understanding of world affairs and cultures throughout the community, and BrainWise, which develops curricula to teach critical-thinking skills to youth and adults.

  He and his wife, Leslie, are members of the Paul Harris Society and the Bequest Society and are Major Donors. Himelspach has received several awards for his Rotary service, including The Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service.

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  Jeremy Hurst

  Director 2022-24
  Rotary Club of Grand Cayman
  Cayman Islands

  Born in Rochester, England, Jeremy Hurst relocated to the Cayman Islands in 1988. He owns and operates the IRG group of companies, providing a range of property services to the Cayman Islands and other Caribbean markets.

  A past president of the Cayman Islands Real Estate Brokers Association, Hurst was a founding member of the Cayman Islands Investment Council and currently chairs the Global Advisory Board and sits on the board of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (LeadingRE).

  Hurst says he started intentionally applying The Four-Way Test at his business and saw a positive impact, especially with his employees. "My involvement in Rotary and my businesses have grown together and have always been intertwined," says Hurst. "I've always tried to bring the best of Rotary into my businesses and the best aspects of my businesses into Rotary."

  Hurst joined Rotary in 1988. He has served RI as a member of the RI Membership Development Committee and of the Joint Committee on Partnerships, and has been an RI president's representative multiple times.

  Hurst has been heavily involved in managing Rotary's disaster relief efforts in the Caribbean, chairing its Disaster Committee during the back-to-back hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2018 and organizing the Rotarians Emergency Disaster Initiative (REDI) conference in 2009. A passionate supporter of water, sanitation and hygiene initiatives, Hurst is a founding member and steering committee chair of HANWASH Inc., the Rotary-led partnership to bring clean water, improved sanitation and hygiene to all the citizens of Haiti. "We are applying the high impact and sustainable best practices from The Rotary Foundation, modeled on the concept of scalability," he says.

  As a cartographer, Hurst enjoys collecting antique maps in addition to watching rugby, boating, travelling and being a grandfather. He and his wife, Michelle, are Rotary Foundation Major Donors and members of the Bequest Society, Paul Harris Society, and Polio Plus Society, and he is a recipient of the Rotary Foundation's Citation for Meritorious Service.

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  Hans-Hermann Kasten

  Director 2023-25
  Rotary Club of Aachen-Frankenburg
  Germany

  Hans-Hermann Kasten is a lawyer and businessman. After earning his law degree from the University of Münster, he pursued a career in sales and marketing, working for three major insurance companies — first Allianz, then Generali and Provincial — where he also served on the board of directors of each. He later left insurance to work as a lawyer for eight years before retiring in 2021 to dedicate more time to Rotary.

  Kasten joined Rotary in 2003. He has focused on youth projects throughout his Rotarian life. With his club, he has supported literacy for young children and tree planting projects in Armenia and worked on projects that teach German language, beekeeping, and swimming to young immigrants and refugees in Germany. As district governor in 2016-17, he was already stressing diversity and inclusion with his motto “Rotary is becoming younger, more female, more colorful, and more cheerful.”

  He has served RI as training leader and twice as representative to the Council on Legislation, coordinating the training and proposals of German-speaking districts in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. He authored the 2022 proposal to allow Rotaractors to attend Rotary club meetings, which was successfully adopted. “Rotary and Rotaract should learn much more about each other,” he says.

  Kasten was a member of his local city council and chair of its school committee. He was also an active member in the Young Christian Democratic Union.

  Kasten is a Paul Harris Fellow, and with his partner, Nadja Picard, a Major Donor.

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  Muhammad Faiz Kidwai

  Director 2022-24
  Rotary Club of Karachi Karsaz
  Sind, Pakistan

  Muhammad Faiz Kidwai is the chair of CG Global, a leading architecture, engineering, urban design, real estate development, and hospitality firm. A 1983 architecture graduate of NED University of Engineering and Technology, Muhammad was later awarded a research fellowship in conservation in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, by the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University. A specialist in socially responsive architecture, Muhammad has developed master plans for urban housing projects as well as large urban development and city planning projects.

  Muhammad, who joined Rotaract in 1980, is the first Rotary director from Pakistan. In 1986, departing from Karachi on a Rotary Group Study Exchange trip to Canada, Muhammad survived a violent attack during the hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73. "I pledged that, if given another chance to live, I would dedicate my life to the betterment of humanity," he says. "This was the moment that influenced me to join Rotary."

  Muhammad joined Rotary in 1987 and became a charter member of the Rotary Club of Karachi Karsaz in 1993. He has been active in polio eradication efforts since Rotary began its work for the cause in Pakistan. In 1997, he established a Rotary Community Corps (RCC) in the suburbs of Karachi, which continues to work with his club on projects.

  Muhammad is the founder and chair of the Rotary Pakistan Literacy Mission, whose goal is total literacy and quality education in the country. In a project that encompasses all of Rotary's areas of focus, he led the creation of a model sustainable village in Thatta, near Karachi, for 160 families who had been affected by a flood. He has been involved in supporting Afghan refugees in Pakistan, co-chairing an initiative that has assisted more than 50,000 Afghan refugees and working on projects that fight poverty and hunger while promoting the education and empowerment of Afghan girls and women. Muhammad says he would like to see Rotary become the most influential service organization in the region.

  Muhammad has received the Service Above Self Award, The Rotary Foundation Distinguished Service Award, and The Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service. He and his wife, Uzma, are Rotary Foundation Major Donors. 

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  Lena J. Mjerskaug

  Director 2022-24
  Rotary Club of Enebakk
  Norway

  Lena J. Mjerskaug is chief of administrative control at the Norwegian Armed Forces' Defence Staff Norway, where she has worked since 1997. She also owns and operates a farm that has been in her family for generations. Lena holds a master's degree in economics and business administration from the NHH Norwegian School of Economics and a postgraduate certificate in education from the University of Oslo. Before 1997, she served in the Royal Norwegian Air Force with the aim of becoming Norway's first female fighter pilot. She also worked as a teacher and helped local entrepreneurs start their own businesses.

  Lena joined Rotary in 1997 as the first woman in her club and, at the time, its youngest member. She has served Rotary as an End Polio Now zone coordinator, Rotary coordinator, representative to the Council on Legislation, and RI president's representative. She was chair of the Norsk Rotary Forum, a multidistrict administrative group, and she also worked on a national Rotary project, Handicamp Norway, a camp that brings together young adults from around the world who have disabilities with others who don't.

  Lena, who plans to continue working full time while serving as director, says she wants to lend her experience and skills to minimize the gap between clubs and Rotary International. "Rotary is what the club members create themselves," she says. "No two clubs in Rotary are the same — what works in Norway may not work in Bangladesh. So I'm not representing myself or my region on the Board — I am representing the world."

  In addition to her work, her farm, and Rotary, Lena enjoys sports, reading, and learning about the history and culture of the places she visits.

  She supports The Rotary Foundation as a Benefactor and a Major Donor. "I give because, even though my contribution will go to a project I may never hear of and help people I will probably never meet," she says, "I know that gift will definitely change someone's life."

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  Anirudha Roy Chowdhury

  Director 2023-25
  Rotary Club of Calcutta Mega City
  India

  Anirudha Roy Chowdhury is an electrical engineer and first-generation entrepreneur. In 1980, he took out a small loan to form the Zoom 16 Color Film Laboratory. Today, the Zoom enterprise (not related to the online meeting platform) employs more than 250 people and specializes in digital imaging, 3D printing for medical applications, and large-format printing. Roy Chowdhury’s enterprises also span other business segments, including electrical motors and drives, health care diagnostics, and pharmacies.

  Roy Chowdhury joined Rotary as a charter member of his club in 1995. During his tenure as district governor, he added 450 members and 11 new clubs and helped raise district contributions to The Rotary Foundation to $613,000. He has since served RI as Rotary public image coordinator, assistant Rotary coordinator, assistant Rotary Foundation coordinator, and a five-time RI president’s representative, and as a member of The Rotary Foundation’s Cadre of Technical Advisers. He also served on the board of trustees of the Eastern India Rotary Welfare Trust.

  During his first years in Rotary, he was involved in social mobilization and working with the Muslim community on National Immunization Days in India. While out in the community, he observed problems such as the lack of potable water and children who were not in school. “That experience transformed me quickly to be a service-oriented person,” says Roy Chowdhury.

  Passionate about promoting literacy through Rotary, he is serving as a member of the executive body of the Rotary India Literacy Mission, which provides free digital content and is targeting 27 million school students. He has also helped lead Rotary Foundation global grant projects to train doctors in Lesotho in orthopedics and eye surgery. Roy Chowdhury says he is eager to take the next step in Rotary leadership as a director, but that it is important to stay humble. “At the end of the day, I am just a Rotarian, and my passion is to serve the community in the capacity I can,” he says. “We are all working with the same objectives in mind.”

  Roy Chowdhury has been active in regional business organizations, including Bengal National Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Small and Medium Industry, and the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce, where he currently serves as a board member. He also established the Zoom Foundation, which promotes health causes such as funding a hematology diagnostic center to treat children with thalassemia.

  Roy Chowdhury is a recipient of the Service Above Self Award as well as The Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service and the Distinguished Service Award. He and his spouse, Shipra, support the Foundation as Level 3 Major Donors and Bequest Society members.

• 

  Yoshio Sato

  Director 2022-24
  Rotary Club of Okayama-South
  Okayama, Japan

  Yoshio Sato is a certified public accountant who has owned his own consulting firm specializing in tax and general consulting services since 1986. He has also served as director of Chugoku Bank Ltd. since 2016.

  After earning his master's degree in accounting from Keio University, Yoshio worked at Arthur Andersen and then at Tohmatsu & Co., now a part of Deloitte, before starting his own firm, Sato Yoshio CPA Firm. He has held leadership roles in regional professional groups including the Certified Tax Public Accountants Association of Chugoku Region and the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants Western Japan Federation Assembly at Okayama.

  Yoshio has actively supported, on his own and with his Rotary club, the local branch of Asahikawa Villa, an organization that helps people with disabilities live independent lives. He has also served as a director of the Kazuko Watanabe Memorial Scholarship Foundation of Notre Dame.

  A member of the Rotary Club of Okayama-South since 1989, Yoshio has been active in numerous district and national committees. He has served Rotary as chair of the District 2690 Rotary Foundation audit committee and as a member of the Rotary Japan Centennial Executive Committee and the Rotary International Japan Youth Exchange Multidistrict. At the zone level, he has served as convener of the nominating committee for RI director and as a training leader, Rotary institute session panelist, and RI president's representative. He is also a contributor to the Rotary Yoneyama Memorial Foundation, a project of Rotary districts in Japan that supports foreign students who are pursuing academic research in Japan.

  In addition to organizing numerous fundraising events, including zone events for Major Donors and Arch Klumph Society ceremonies, Yoshio personally supports The Rotary Foundation as an Arch Klumph Society member, Paul Harris Society member, Benefactor, and Bequest Society member.

• 

  Beth Stubbs

  Director 2023-25
  Rotary Club of Maryville
  Tennessee, USA

  Beth Stubbs is a certified public accountant who earned her degree at Plymouth State College. After working as a CPA at a Maryville firm, she set up her private practice in 1994, focusing on consulting to small-business owners on account management, finances, and exit strategies. She also worked as chief financial officer for her husband’s business, Trinity Benefit Advisors, for 14 years. Stubbs is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Tennessee Society of Public Accountants.

  Stubbs, who first started frequenting Rotary club meetings at age 8 with her father, joined the Rotary Club of Maryville in 1991. She served her district in several capacities, including as chair of its finance, Foundation, and leadership development and education committees. Stubbs has attended 21 international conventions, traveled to New York City for Rotary Day at the United Nations, served in a National Immunization Day in India, traveled to Mexico for club partnership projects, and attended various zone meetings around the country.

  During a zone meeting in New Orleans that she attended with a Rotary friend — before either had yet served as club president — she learned about Ambassadorial Scholarships and Group Study Exchange. Inspired after the meeting, she and her friend worked together to help set up these activities in her district. “We saw there was a whole world to Rotary, and we wanted to bring it to Maryville,” Stubbs says.

  In addition to bagging and delivering food with her “small but mighty” Maryville club to school children, Stubbs has worked with her district to raise $1.3 million for polio eradication through the sale of “purple pinky” donuts and other fundraisers. The satellite club she helped start in her district is still going strong. “I look forward to applying my skills as a CFO on the Board, and to working with clubs in my zones to build the knowledge base about Rotary and its possibilities,” Stubbs says.

  She has served on the boards of local nonprofits, including Michael Dunn Center, which helps people with developmental disabilities, and Asbury Place, a regional retirement community organization. She also served in officer positions in Toastmasters International and is active on several committees at her church. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, traveling, and attending football and basketball games at the University of Tennessee.

  She and her husband, Tony, support The Rotary Foundation as Arch Klumph Society members.

• 

  T.N. “Raju” Subramanian

  Director 2023-25
  Rotary Club of Deonar
  India

  T.N. “Raju” Subramanian is a senior counsel, working in India’s High Court and Supreme Court systems. He earned degrees in economics and law from Mumbai University. His civil law clients have included multinational corporations, state and local government, Board of Control for Cricket, and educational institutions. He has also taken on pro bono work representing clients in AIDS discrimination cases as well as environmental cases.

  Subramanian joined Rotary in 1987 as a charter member of his club. He has volunteered in club projects ranging from administering polio vaccine during National Immunization Days to supporting his club’s global grants project that provides free pediatric heart surgery in low-income communities.

  One of his greatest Rotary moments was seeing the children who were positively impacted by one of the club’s school projects, which teaches English, computer literacy, and life skills to kids who would otherwise have limited opportunities to learn outside their native language. “It was satisfying to see how some moved on to graduate to become chartered accountants, architects, and engineers,” says Subramanian. “It helped them see that there is a large life ahead of them.”

  He has served RI as a member of the Election Review Committee, the Constitution and Bylaws Committee, and the Council on Legislation Organizing Committee. Subramanian also served as Rotary institute chair, training leader and support training leader, regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, and director of the Rotary Fellowship for past district governors. His two most challenging Rotary roles have been serving as training leader and as vice chair of the 2022 Council on Legislation, when he had to lead the meeting after the chair fell ill with COVID-19.

  Subramanian and his wife, Vidhya, support The Rotary Foundation as Paul Harris Society members, Arch Klumph Society members, and Benefactors. Subramanian is a recipient of the Service Above Self Award and The Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service.

• 

  Yeong Ho Yun

  Director 2023-25
  Rotary Club of Masan South
  Korea

  Yeong Ho Yun is chair of the Korea Tourism Association, the country’s premier organization representing the tourism industry. A graduate of Seoul Digital University who earned his master’s degree in business administration from Kyungnam University Graduate School of Business, Yun now owns several businesses that employ more than 400 people. In addition to owning and serving as chair of Hotel International Changwon, his other ventures include transportation, cargo, and rental car companies.

  He served as the president of two professional associations, the South Gyeongsang Province Tourism Association and the Korea Trucking Association. Yun is a recipient of two South Korean government awards: the Silver Tower Award for his work promoting tourism and the Stone Tower Award for his contributions to the trucking industry.

  Yun joined Rotary in 1983 at the recommendation of a friend. Soon thereafter, he was volunteering with the Masan South club to provide food for older people in the community during holidays. As governor in 2013-14, he led an initiative that resulted in the district’s first $1 million contribution to The Rotary Foundation.

  During his three-year term as endowment/major gifts adviser, he helped find 51 additional Arch Klumph Society members in his zone. In addition, he served RI as assistant Rotary public image coordinator and twice as training leader, an experience that he cherishes. “At the International Assembly, I learned how important it is to gather participant ideas and perspectives when making decisions,” Yun says.

  Yun is a recipient of the Service Above Self Award and The Rotary Foundation Distinguished Service Award. He and his wife, Hae Suk Lee, are Trustees Circle members of the Arch Klumph Society.

• 

  John Hewko

  General Secretary and Chief Executive Officer
  Rotary Club of Kyiv
  Ukraine

  John 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, a U.S. government agency established in 2004 to deliver foreign assistance to the world’s poorest countries.

  Follow @johnhewko on Twitter. Visit John Hewko on Facebook. 

2023-24 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

Jeremy S. Hurst

Members

R. Gordon R. McInally
Stephanie Urchick
Patricia Merryweather-Arges
Drew Kessler
Patrick D. Chisanga
Lena J. Mjerskaug

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

Patrick D. Chisanga

Vice Chair

Daniel C. Himelspach

Members

Muhammad Faiz Kidwai
Yoshio Sato
Trichur “Raju” Narayan Subramanian
Rhonda E. Stubbs
Hans-Hermann Kasten

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

Lena J. Mjerskaug

Vice Chair

Antônio Henrique Barbosa de Vasconcelos

Members

Alberto Cecchini
Eve S. Conway-Ghazi
Anirudha Roy Chowdhury
Ghim Bok Chew
Yeong Ho Yun

Board Council Legislation Advisory Committee

Advises the Board with respect to Council on Resolution and Council on Legislation matters.

Chair

Trichur “Raju” Narayan Subramanian

Vice Chair

Daniel C. Himelspach

Members

Lena J. Mjerskaug
Drew Kessler
Rhonda E. Stubbs

Read the latest Board decisions

See the Board meeting dates

See the RI Committees