The GEMS Development Foundation Team

Ellen Ratner

FOUNDER

Ellen Ratner is the founder of Goats for the Old Goat/GEMS Development Foundation (Goats, Education, Medicine, Sustainability).  She is now retired, but before she retired, she visited South Sudan in March of 2008 with some other talk show hosts. The pain and suffering the local people went through reminded her of what she had heard about the Holocaust. She learned then that a female goat could give people milk, two babies a year, and allow people to sustain themselves. That’s when the idea of Goats for the Old Goat/GEMS was born. When in media, she covered the White House from the summer of 1993 to the summer of 2017 and was a liberal news analyst for the Fox News Channel for 21 years.  Ellen does stay busy in her new life with her continued interest in writing and is working on two books currently as well as researching her family archives.

Darrin Peterson

PRESIDENT

Darrin joined the GEMS Board of Directors in 2015, serving as Vice President for Finance. In 2017, he became President of the organization, and has provided a vision to expand the GEMS mission so that the citizens of South Sudan, and other countries, will have access to the basics of life and the dignity they deserve. During these past five years, he has traveled to South Sudan five times, working on projects supported by GEMS, and dedicating himself and others to provide assistance and sustainability in this fragile country.

In his private life, for more than 25 years, Darrin Peterson has been a pioneer in the natural products industry. After co-founding OrderDog, Inc., a technology-based company that provides supply chain services and solutions in the natural product industry, Darrin founded the supplement manufacturing firm, LifeSeasons, Inc. This company was built on the principle that “nature works, science proves it.” LifeSeasons supplements can be found in over 4,000 locations across the United States and are sold internationally. In addition, Darrin currently serves on the board of Apollo Health and FIG, Inc. He currently resides in Idaho Falls, Idaho with his wife, Marnie. He has ten children, three grandchildren and one on the way!

Cholene Espinoza, MD

VICE PRESIDENT OF MEDICAL PROGRAMS

Dr. Cho, as she is known in South Sudan, is the GEMS Vice President of Medicine. She is currently working through a Fellowship at the University of Iowa Medical Center, and was previously a Resident in training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. She has been a Visiting Lecturer in Physiology at the Juba University College of Medicine, South Sudan and together with Dr. Mayen Achiek, Dean of Juba Medical School, and St George’s University, implemented a distance learning curriculum for Basic Science education and maternal health in South Sudan.

Dr. Cho’s career has taken various turns. Before embarking on a medical career, she was a former USAF pilot and commercial airline Captain. She is a decorated combat veteran for missions flown in the U-2 spy plane and is type rated in nine commercial jets logging over 12,000 hours of flying. She is still an active pilot. Her experiences as an embedded journalist in Iraq inspired her to become a Medical Doctor.

Dr. Cho earned her Bachelor of Science from the USAF Academy. She obtained her Medical Degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine, Grenada, WI, graduating Magna Cum Laude.

Her dedication to and passion for serving the vulnerable has formed the foundation for her life’s work. Her perspective on people in crisis is detailed in a book she wrote to build a public swimming pool and community center in the Gulf Coast of Mississippi after Katrina, titled, “Through the Eye of the Storm, A Book Dedicated to Rebuilding What Katrina Washed Away”, Published by Chelsea Green, 2006.

Angelo Marac Thiik

COUNTRY DIRECTOR

Angelo Marac Thiik serves as the Country Director for GEMS in the Republic of South Sudan, where he manages a variety of duties and responsibilities. He coordinates trips and activities for the US team when they come to South Sudan for project work. Within that purview, Angelo coordinates working plans for GEMS’ goat distribution, as well as assisting with the wheelchair distribution for polio victims.As the point person in Juba, Angelo is designated to attend meetings with UN agencies and NGOs. He also acts as liaison with UNHAS, the organization responsible for UN flights to regions of South Sudan. In order to keep GEMS staff and board updated, Angelo is in contact with government ministries for health, education, and humanitarian affairs for action plans which assist in GEMS ongoing development.

Angelo’s previous experience includes appointment as a Member of the State Parliament from 2005-2010, during which time he was elected Speaker. He also served as the Field Coordinator for CSI from 1998-2005; and also as Secretary for the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission from 1992-1998.

Angelo returned to his studies at the University of Nairobi, where he completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in 2010.

Luka Garang Kenyang

FIELD DIRECTOR/PROGRAM MANAGER

Mr. Garang serves GEMS Development Foundation as the Field Director for the State of Northern Bahr El-Ghazal, which includes Aweil and surrounding areas.  Most recently, since early 2019, he has managed the Majok Goi Farm Project, where he coordinated with the village chiefs and villagers to build dikes for water retention, develop and manage a 25-acre farm, and oversee the installation of a new well for the village.  This enormous task has been hampered by the pandemic, but with Luka’s leadership, we have seen the village produce their first crop of sorghum and have access to clean water and good hygiene. His other duties are to manage the goats’ distribution program in NBG, involving selection of the goats, payment, and coordination of the distribution with the team.  He also trained and supervised the women in the Survivor Hearts Beading and Breathing Program. These women suffer from PTSD, and this program provides therapy and income for the 42 women who create the crystal hearts through this therapy.  In connection with GEMS Education Program, Luka organized workshops and facilitated the training program for teachers. He also managed the feeding program for children at the Comboni Primary School in Wanyjok, which was sponsored by GEMS.

Luka has been responsible for managing the Wheelchair Program for polio survivors, purchasing parts for the wheelchairs, coordinating those who are producing the finished product, and keeping records of who is to receive the wheelchairs, as well as working with the Executive Director as to the donors who give to GEMS for this effort.

Additionally, when a team of volunteers comes to South Sudan, Aweil and the NBG in particular, Luka is staffed with coordinating these visits, as well as scheduling meetings with NBG State government officials.

Luka has previous experience with NGOs working in South Sudan by assisting CSI (Christian Solidarity International), an organization associated with refugee survival and previously a partner with GEMS.  He also held the position of Parliamentary Secretary in the State Legislative Assembly (NBGS-Aweil) from 2008-2010.

Luka was educated in Kenya, with the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in 2006 and with a Diploma for Computer Science in 2008.  He is proficient in English and Kiswahili, as well as the Dinka and Arabic dialects.  Most recently, in 2018, Luka was awarded a Diploma in Clinical Medicine and Public Health.  This will prove immensely valuable in working with GEMS medical programs and the clinics in Aweil and Majok Goi.