Key Staff
Charles Slaughter, Founder and President
Chuck earned both a BA and a Master’s in Public and Private Management from Yale. He is the Founder of TravelSmith Outfitters, a direct marketer of travel clothing and gear which he created in 1991 and built into the #1 brand in travel wear. In the late 1980’s he served as a Program Officer for Trickle Up, a pioneering micro-enterprise development program. Chuck sold TravelSmith in 2004. Shortly thereafter, as it’s pro-bono president, Chuck lead the turnaround of CFW Shops/ HealthStore, which employs a system of franchised rural clinics to reduce death and illness from infectious diseases in Kenya. Chuck also advises and invests in consumer businesses and as an affiliate of Golden Gate Capital, has participated in the acquisition of more than a dozen companies with combined sales in excess of $2 billion. Chuck was a recipient of Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award. He currently serves on the boards of Living Goods, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Three Day Blinds and BRAC USA. He is a member of Technoserve and the Initiative for Global Development. Chuck lives in Sausalito, California with his wife Molly and sons Cooper, Riley and Jackson.
Joe Speicher, Associate Director
After college, Joe worked in banking and finance first with Deutsche Bank and then Cambridge Associates. He then served in the Peace Corps in the Philippines for three years where he managed a range of micro-enterprise projects. Joe returned to school to earn his Masters in Development Economics from Columbia University, studying with Dr. Jeffrey Sachs. After Columbia, he worked for Technoserve in East Africa andthen with Good Capital, a pioneering social investment fund.
Molly Christiansen, Manager of Health Practices and Business Development
Molly graduated Magna Cum Laude from Brown University with a BA in Community Health. She later earned her MBA and Masters in Public Health at the University of Michigan, where she focused on market-based solutions to poverty alleviation. She developed an impact assessment framework for Vision Spring, and conducted due diligence on health and water investments for Acumen Fund. Prior to graduate school, she directed community development programs for ProWorld in Peru, and coordinated tenant programs for a low-income housing organization in San Francisco.
Ellen Vorder Bruegge, Health Training and Communications Consultant
Ellen holds a Masters in Public Health and has over thirty years of experience developing public health strategies and training for financially sustainable solutions to health. Most recently she was VP for Innovations at Freedom from Hunger where she developed primary healthcare tools and training for implementation through microfinance programs in over a dozen countries.
Christopher Hest, Development Director
Chris earned his BA at Duke and has built long and very successful career in helping high profile non-profit organizations build resources and effectively communicate their message. He joins Living Goods from Freedom from Hunger where he was Vice President for External Affairs. Before FFH, Chris was Chief Philanthropy Officer at the William J. Clinton Foundation. He spent 10 years leading development at several of California’s top cultural and environmental institutions including the San Francisco Symphony, The Nature Conservancy of California, and The Asian Art Museum. His first post was at the Carter Center.
Uganda Team
Stella Ikila, Business Manager
Stella earned her Bachelors degree in Business Administration, and is pursuing a post-graduate diploma in Marketing. Stella has 11 years of private sector experience in marketing, sales and administration at top firms including DHL International, DFCU Bank, and Tracker International.
Michael Rusoke, Health Training Officer
Michael holds a diploma in Nursing, and is a qualified registered nurse and trained counselor. His experience includes work at Mulago National Referral Hospital as a Nurse, with Compassion International as a Child Development Officer, and at Mild May Uganda as a Training Officer, in charge of training nurses, counselors, and care givers on community and home based care programs.
Ronald Musana, Business Officer
Ronald earned a Bachelors of Arts degree in Organizational Studies, and a Diploma in Education. Ronald joins Living Goods from KOKA, a UNICEF funded nutrition project in central Uganda. Prior to KOKA, Ronald worked with Samaritan Purse, as a Team Leader with MTN Village Phone Promoters.
Grace Inacho, Community Health Organizer
Grace holds a Diploma in Business Management and Administration. Grace has 10 years’ experience managing and growing retail stores as branch manager for Bata, an International Shoe Company.
Priscilla Namara, Community Health Organizer
Priscilla joined Living Goods after working in sales and customer care with Fotogenix, a distributor of long lasting mosquito nets. Priscilla studied International Travel and Tourism.
BRAC Partnership
Ariful Islam, BRAC Country Manager Uganda
Arif’s experience at BRAC totals almost 25 years, and spans across development programs in education, health, and microfinance. Prior to his first overseas assignment he was in charge of all of BRAC’s primary education programs with 4,500 staff, over 34,000 teachers, and almost one million students - all run on an annual cost per student of under $20. Arif was tapped to join the start-up team for BRAC’s launch in Afghanistan in 2002. This was BRAC’s first overseas division and is now the largest NGO in that country. In 2006, BRAC asked Arif to move to Uganda to build BRAC’s new program from scratch, as well as overseeing the launch of BRAC in Southern Sudan. In just over two years, Arif built BRAC Uganda to one of the largest microfinance institutions in the country and launched programs in education, agriculture, poultry, livestock and support for adolescent girls.
Habibur Rahman, BRAC Health Program Manager
Habibur earned his Masters in Primary Health Care Management from Mahidul University as well as a Masters in Sociology from Rajshahi University. Habibur has been at BRAC of over 25 years where he began his career working as a program officer working on oral rehydration. He served with the BRAC health program in Afghanistan for three years, and since 2006 Habibur has been the Senior Sector Specialist on the Maternal Neonatal Child Survival Project at BRAC responsible for programs covering 20 million people and overseeing over 2000 field staff.
