Service in Action

By Chelsea Mertz, Rotary Service Connections staff

Rotary discussion groups offer a place for Rotarians, Rotaractors, Rotary Peace Fellows, and alumni to share their experiences and ideas with members of the Rotary family from around the world.

Experts from the Rotary Foundation Cadre of Technical Advisers, a group of volunteer Rotarians who provide technical expertise and advice to Rotarians planning and carrying out Rotary projects, are moderating the area of focus-related discussion groups from 15 January until 30 June. Whether you are looking to pursue a global grant or learn how to assess a community, our experts are here to answer your questions and guide discussions on the most pertinent topics.

Meet our moderators and click the links below to join the conversations.

Basic Education and Literacy (BEL)

Ian Geddes | Rotary Club of Tranent, Scotland | District 1020

Ian is an educator specializing in languages. He has evaluated applications for projects involving foreign language learning and has experience conducting advanced site visits in the area of curriculum development with particular emphasis on information technology.

Past Rotary International Director John Thorne | Rotary Club of North Hobart, Australia | District 9830

John is currently the Chair of the Literacy Rotarian Action Group. As a former education administrator, his areas of expertise are in teacher trainings and addressing the needs of children and adults in different environments. John believes his transferable strength is to listen and share insights and seek practical steps forward within BEL. He remains an active learner.

Disease Prevention and Treatment (DPT)

Dennis Addo | Rotary Club of Accra-Ring Road Central, Ghana | District 9102

Dennis directs the tuberculosis control program for the Ghanaian Armed Forces. He is a public health expert and a healthcare administrator.

Indumati Nair | Rotary Club of Bombay Chembur West, India | District 3141

Indumati is a pathologist focusing on health screening and preventative medicine. She serves as a health consultant for the Times of India newspaper. Her research interests include cancer screening for women, HIV screening, tuberculosis, diabetes and anemia. Her focus is on vocational training teams and capacity building.

Maternal and Child Health (MCH)

Prudence Nelson | Rotary Club of St. Joseph & Benton Harbor, USA | District 6360

Prudence is a practicing pediatrician with over 30 years of experience. She holds a Master’s of Public Health in Preventive Medicine as well as a Master’s of Infectious Disease from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She is a frequent volunteer with Medical Teams International traveling to conflict zones and sites of recent disasters to provide emergency medical services to vulnerable populations.

Richard Randolph | Rotary Club of Shawnee, USA | District 5710

Richard is a board certified family physician, who includes obstetrics and pediatrics in his practice. He has served as the Chief of Primary Care for Fort Bragg, NC (US Army Base for 40,000 soldiers and 20,000 dependents) and sits on the Board of Directors for College Park Family Care which has over 90 physicians. He completed a graduate certificate in Public Health in the Developing World through the Institute for International Medicine.

Water and Sanitation (WAS)

Past District Governor Ronald Pickford | Rotary Club of Ballarat, Australia | District 9780

Ronald first joined Rotary in 1985 and has served in many different leadership roles. Professionally, Ronald is an architect who runs a private practice. In recent years, he has moved into teaching and currently serves in the role of Faculty Head Architectural Technologies and Design at Federation University Australia, a position he has held for ten years. As a TRF Cadre member, Ronald has undertaken several assignments in many countries.

Past District Governor Jan Leentvaar | Rotary Club of Lelystad, Netherlands | District 1590

Jan was a managing director for the Netherlands Ministry of Water Management and has considerable experience in change management in government institutions. He completed foreign assignments, some with the United Nations. He is considered an expert in integrated water resources management, water pollution and water quality control, wastewater treatment, and institutional collaboration on water issues.

Economic and Community Development (ECD)

Tristam Johnson | Rotary Club of Brattleboro Sunrise, USA | District 7870

Tristam has over 18 years of experience in Latin America working on community development projects that focus on local governance, education, health, economic development, micro enterprise, and project design. His areas of expertise include microenterprise, community assessment, and project design.

Lynne Duckham | Rotary Club of Canberra Sunrise, Australia | District 9710

Lynne has worked in economic and community development for over 30 years in developed, developing and troubled nations. During this time, she has had the unique perspective of representing a government donor, an international NGO, and a beneficiary government. She has worked with people from remote communities to the heads of state across a variety of sectors (including education, health, nutrition, fisheries, agriculture, microcredit, infrastructure and livelihood development, capacity building, and community development during conflict.)

Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution (PCPR)

Simona Pinton | Rotary Club of Pagova Euganea, Italy | District 2060

Simona is a lawyer and former Rotary Peace Scholar. Her professional experience lays in teaching and researching on issues dealing with international and internal conflicts, peace and conflict prevention/solution tools, as well as conceptual defining, thinking, designing and assessing of local and transnational projects on the same issues.

M.D. Kinoti | Rotary Club of Westminster 7:10, USA | District 5450

M.D. has over 25 years’ experience in International Nongovernmental Organizations (INGOs) and university level teaching and leadership. He currently teaches Nonprofit/Nongovernmental Organizations’ (NP/GOs’) Management within the Master of Nonprofit Management (MNM) degree program at Regis University. His research interests include the role of NP/NGOs in facilitating sustainable and transformational community development and peacebuilding. He also has interests in social entrepreneurship and innovation as part of sustainable development.

All discussion groups can be found in My Rotary (must be signed in to access).