Board of Directors
Gilbert J. “Chip" Wirth is a member of Prince of Peace Parish in Chesapeake, Virginia. He is a founding member of the Orphanage Board and began his term as President of the Foundation on July 1, 2009. Chip is President of Wirth Development Corporation, a local residential/commercial builder and developer. He also serves the people of Haiti by serving as the business adviser to the Haiti Program of the University of Notre Dame. Chip has made numerous trips to Haiti and the Orphanage. Other charitable interests include serving on the Bishop Sullivan High School Board as well as being the founder and current President of the Crusader Athletic Association. Chip has lived in Chesapeake for the past twenty years and, along with his wife Patty, are the proud parents of three children.
Richard Martin is a retired Naval Aviator and currently is a government employee. He joined the Maison Fortuné Orphanage Foundation in May 2008 and is presently serving as Chairman, Board of Directors of the Foundation as of May 2011. He is currently a member of Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Chesapeake, VA where he has held several positions including, Chair of Parish Council, Chair of Christian Formation, Head Minister and Eucharist Minister, Christian Formation Catechist, lead for Maison Fortuné Orphanage Group. He is a member of the Foundation’s Strategy Committee and has been to Haiti three times.
Cosmas Rubencamp CFX, a Xaverian Brother, is a charter member of the Foundation and has served as its Secretary since 2002. A member of the Cathedral parish in Richmond, he retired in 2005 from the diocesan staff. Prior to that he was on Georgetown University’s Foreign Service School faculty. Since 1985 he has made over sixty visits to Haiti. He serves also on the Board of Directors of the Haitian Health Care Foundation Inc. and of the Haitian Education Fund.
Donna O'Donnell is a member of St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church in Virginia Beach, VA where she has served as Chairman of the Finance Committee, member of the School Board, Treasurer of the Parent Teacher Group and Treasurer of the Cub Scout Pack. She currently serves as a member of the Grants Committee and the Endowment Committee. In addition, she currently serves as a member of the General Board of Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia and is also on its Finance Committee. Donna is a member of the board of Crusader Athletic Association, a not for profit organization that supports Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School, also in Virginia Beach. Donna has worked in public accounting for over 15 years and is currently a Manager at Lauren V. Wolcott, CPA, P.C. She enjoys volunteering for organizations that protect and respect the life and dignity of every human person, especially the poor and vulnerable.
Lefort Jean-Louis was born in 1966 to a poor peasant family in the Artibonite department of Haiti. He attended secondary school at the Collège St. Martin in Hinche. After graduation he was able to attend Virginia Tech, where he majored in agricultural technology.
After graduation he returned to Haiti and worked as a translator for the United Nations until he got the idea of starting an orphanage. In 2000 the Bishop of Hinche allowed him to use a small house where he cared for a small group of boys. When the number increased to 22, the Maison Fortuné Orphanage Foundation was established (in 2002) for the purpose of purchasing the current property, which now cares for well over 200 boys and girls. Jean-Louis has been the only Director of the orphanage.
He and his wife, Marie-Presta, have two children of their own--in addition to their extended family at Maison Fortuné.
Karen DiRenzo is a charter member and former President of the Foundation. A member of the St Thérèse parish, she is a co-founder of its parish’s Haitian outreach. A career military officer, Karen is stationed at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, VA and continues to volunteer in her off hours with the Foundation, as a Member of the Board.
Karen received her BS in Nursing from MacMurray College (Jacksonville, Ill.), holds a Master’s Degree from California College of Health Sciences (Community Health Administration and Wellness), and is a graduate of the Naval War College. Annually she designs and produces the St Thérèse Haitian Angel Tree Ornament which features a picture of each Maison Fortuné child, a tradition she started in 2002. Karen is married to Dr. Joe DiRenzo. They have two children Joe IV (a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy) and Lauren (senior at Mitchell College). She has twice travelled to Haiti.
Dr. Chris Foley is an original, founding member of the MFOF Board. He has been to Haiti as part of a previous affiliation with L'Ouverture Cleary School in Port Au Prince, Haiti and found he wanted to be more intimately involved with a project in Haiti. Dr. Foley works in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk, VA. As a Pediatric Specialist, he enjoys the fact that we are helping children. Dr. Foley has been to Haiti more than 8 times and twice he was accompanied by his oldest daughter, Caitlin, who was the founder of the Haiti Club at Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School in Virginia Beach, VA. She now attends Dartmouth College.
Originally from New Hampshire, Dr. Foley has lived in Chesapeake for 14 years with his wife Susan and their 3 children. They are members of Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Chesapeake, VA.
Susan Schrack first visited Maison Fortuné in 2004 with her teenage daughter. Being a former teacher, she was always drawn to children and found the boys at Maison Fortuné delightful. The goodbyes were always hard, and Susan never wanted the children to think that she could forget about them once she returned home. She spearheaded a group from her church to sew curtains for the windows in the dormitory buildings. She has also helped in organizing materials and donations at the orphanage. Susan has represented St. Stephen Martyr church on the Board of Directors since 2006 and helps with the educational planning at the orphanage. She has made many trips to Maison Fortuné, most with family members, and hopes one day to be able to identify all of the children by name.
Terry Allen is a member of St. Thérèse Catholic Church in Chesapeake, VA where she participates on the Christian Formation Committee, serves as a Catechist, and is an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. Terry's professional background is a Medical Technologist in a clinical laboratory setting. She has been employed by Bon Secours Hampton Roads since 2002 and is currently the Performance Improvement/Educational Manager for the Laboratory. Terry first traveled to Mason Fortuné in November 2006 with members from her parish, and then again the following year with her teenage son. After the second trip, she looked for ways to become involved with helping the children of the orphanage and in the spring of 2008, she volunteered to become the Sponsorship Coordinator. Now with a small committee of five, she has led a revival of the sponsorship program. The committee's goal is to have all the children of the Orphanage matched with a sponsor.
Brooke Schaab is a member of St Thérèse Catholic Church in Chesapeake, VA. A visit to Mason Fortuné in 2007 instilled a respect for the profound change that the orphanage was making in the lives of children. Access to food, housing, and an education was only part of the benefits received. Students at Mason Fortuné develop a strong commitment to each other as well as a responsibility to give back to their community. These children will make a real difference in Haiti. Brooke has served as a special education teacher and psychometrician for several school districts. Following a return to school to earn a PhD, Brooke became a research psychologist for the US Army where she focuses on international collaboration and developing cultural competency.
Arthur Mowbray is an original, founding member of the MFOF Board and a member of St. Stephen Martyr Catholic Church in Chesapeake, Virginia. As a retired Accounting and Human Resources Executive, Art brings over 30 years of business experience to the Board. He was an original Board member from its inception in February 2002 to July 2004 and resumed active participation in July 2008. He currently serves on a volunteer basis as Executive Director and also serves on the Sponsorship and Endowment Committees. He has been to the orphanage in Haiti twice and hopes to go back again soon. As a lucky husband and the father of two wonderful sons and the grandfather to a beautiful granddaughter and two terrific grandsons, Art sees the opportunity to help the children of Haiti as a way of giving thanks for his many blessings.
Mike Kassel is a member of Saint Mark Catholic Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He first visited Maison Fortune Orphanage in Spring 2008 and joined the Board in Fall 2008. As a husband and father of four daughters and a son, he stays active in the community by volunteering as a Eucharistic minister, Lector, altar server coordinator, and Boy Scout leader. By supporting the Foundation’s mission, he welcomes the opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of the boys and girls living at the orphanage in Haiti.
D. J. Bradley is a native New Yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn, a Native American Indian and a member of St. Mark Catholic Church in Virginia Beach, VA. She is a New York Licensed Physical Therapy Assistant with an A.A.S. from Fiorello H. LaGuardia Community College, class of 1987. She practiced physical therapy for over 20 years in New York and is currently the Activities Director at Colonial Home in Chesapeake, VA. In addition to serving on the Foundation Board, she is a member of the St. Mark Parish Council, the St. Mark choir and Confirmation Team. She is a Confirmation sponsor as well as a St. Mark lector. She works in St. Mark’s food pantry and also in the nursery while parents attend Mass. Outside St. Mark, she volunteers as a bereavement facilitator for Edmarc Hospice for Children. She also volunteers at the J.C.A. Foundation’s Soup Kitchen. She represented the Diocese of Richmond as the only representative from Virginia at the 76th Tekakwitha Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico of behalf of Native American Catholics. And most important of all, she is parent to two wonderful, service oriented children.
Ryan Kenrick is an attorney with the law firm of Williams Mullen located in Richmond, Virginia. He focuses his practice on financial services and real estate matters. Prior to commencing his legal career, Ryan spent a year living in Hinche, Haiti working directly with the children of the Maison Fortune. Over that time he developed a close bond with the kids that endure to this day. Ryan has been amazed at the growth of the orphanage. As a member of both the Board of Directors and the Development and Marketing Committee, he is dedicated to seeing that growth continue. Having travelled and lived in Haiti, Ryan is acutely aware of the needs of the Haitian children and looks at the orphanage as a beacon of hope. Helping the orphanage bring hope to the children of Haiti remains a lifetime goal of his.
Ryan grew up in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia and attended both Portsmouth Catholic and Bishop Sullivan High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Virginia and completed his law degree at the College of William and Mary Law School. He also currently sits on the board for the Midwives for Haiti.