PORTLAND, Ore.—Medical Teams International announced that over the past year, seven new members have joined its board of directors: Fred Gregory, Geoff Guilfoy, Michael Levelle, John E. Phillips, Sean Robbins, Beth Weibling and Gabe Winslow.

“I am thrilled that these gifted individuals have chosen to share their time and talents as members of the board of directors for Medical Teams International. Their knowledge, experience and passion are so valuable as we work to reach more people in crisis around the world,” said Martha Holley Newsome, Medical Teams’ President and CEO.

The new board members bring with them international corporate experience ranging from Starbucks to Microsoft, as well as experience spearheading relief efforts from Puerto Rico to Bangladesh. The breadth and depth of experience these new members bring will develop the strong support systems and perspective needed as Medical Teams International continues to expand its reach both internationally and here at home.

Biographies of New Medical Teams International Board Members:

Fred Gregory, President, World Concern

Fred has a longstanding career in development and higher education. He grew up in Oregon and his father was a Quaker minister. During the Vietnam war, Fred served with the Mennonites in Vietnam as a conscientious objector and worked closely with the local population learning Vietnamese. This traumatic cross-cultural experience from a terrible war led him to pursue international development work.

After graduating, he opened the World Relief program in Bangladesh and this eventually led to him founding the Bangladesh Christian Service Society that is still active today. From there he went to World Concern, where he worked for 12 years, and later returned to help grow it from a $9-million to $22-million organization.

He next worked with former Major League Baseball catcher Dave Valle to start a local microfinance institution called Esperanza International in the Dominican Republic. This national non-profit is fully sustainable and operating today.

Geoff Guilfoy, Founder of Lumen Leaders, LLC

Geoff has been a management consultant since 1995, consulting with numerous clients in the non-profit, government and private sectors. He specializes in leading change initiatives, coaching leaders and teaching organizations and teams to become more effective.

Prior to founding Lumen Leaders, LLC, he was the Partner in charge of the management consulting group at a regional CPA and business consulting firm. He also serves on the board of directors for Co-Serve International and is an executive professor at Willamette University’s Atkinson Graduate School of Management.

Michael Levelle, Of Counsel, Catalyst Law LLC

Michael has been a lawyer in Oregon for over 29 years, recently joining Catalyst Law LLC as Of Counsel after 16 years with an established firm in Portland, Ore. His practice includes a focus on complex estate planning, estate and trust administration, guardianships and conservatorships, as well as litigation and alternative dispute resolution. He is an experienced mediator focusing on resolving contested matters involving his areas of practice.

As part of his transition to working with Catalyst Law, Michael serves as part-time special counsel to its non-profit affiliate, The Commons Law Center, supporting its mission to revolutionize access to basic legal services, information and support for underserved people.

In addition to his law practice, he is a frequent author and presenter, and served as 2017 president of the Oregon State Bar, becoming their first African American president.

John E. Phillips, Workforce Staffing, Amazon

John is a people-centric visionary HR leader with a high degree of operational expertise. His career spans talent acquisition and HR with Microsoft, Starbucks and currently Amazon as an innovative human resources leader pushing boundaries to hire and motivate exceptionally talented people. In his current role at Amazon, John leads global hiring for fulfillment centers.

Prior to Amazon, John quickly rose to become the senior HR leader at Starbucks, where he was a critical part of building HR programs and opportunities that emphasized the culture of belonging and driving the social impact agenda –  including hiring refugees, opportunity youth and veterans and accelerating their careers via a college achievement plan. John built his recruiting and HR expertise at Microsoft during a 10-year period, where he eventually led Global Talent Labs, focused on innovating and accelerating talent acquisition from around the world to be a strategic differentiator at the company.

One of John’s proudest moments was building programmatic ways to give access to employment for those that are marginalized around the world while he was at Starbucks.

Sean Robbins, President, Regence Blue Shield of Idaho

Sean is responsible for directing statewide operations, product innovation and market performance, while representing and promoting Regence Blue Shield of Idaho in business and civic arenas throughout Idaho. He serves on the board of directors of the national Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and on the board of the Boise Metro Chamber.

Prior to Regence, Sean led the Public Affairs and Policy team for Cambia Health Solutions in four western states and Washington, D.C., as Senior Vice President.

He also serves on the executive committee of Oregon Business & Industry and is a board member at Grow Oregon and Randall Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Beth Weibling, Retired, Sr. Sales, SmithKline Pharmaceutical Co.

Beth has supported Medical Teams International since 2005. She studied both education and nursing and worked in sales for SmithKline Pharmaceutical Co. and the Xerox Corporation. Both her education and work experience prepared her for a life of volunteer fundraising and committee work, including serving on the Puget Sound Leadership Council and the World Vision National Leadership Council as the co-chair of the Child Protection sector.

Over the last 15 years, her interest in humanitarian work led her on trips to countries including Honduras, Guatemala and Bangladesh.

Gabe Winslow, Founder, SmartPickle.com

Gabe is an entrepreneur who specializes in helping companies solve complex problems with simple, scalable solutions. He started Sq1, an ad agency in Portland, which was one of Oregon’s fastest growing companies. After selling Sq1, he launched SmartPickle.com to help small restaurant owners use A.I. to automate their marketing. He is also an investor and advisor to a number of other companies.

Gabe studied history at Hillsdale College. In addition to his work on the board of Medical Teams, he serves as a Deacon for The Gathering Church.