GO! Board of Directors

Scott Nordstrom, Founder and President

Scott and his wife Despina founded Global Orphan Relief (“GO!”) in 2005 following the loss of their newborn child, Faith. From this pain, God gave them a new purpose to serve orphaned and vulnerable children around the world. Formerly World Orphan Relief, GO! provides loving support for orphans, fostering a greater capacity for physical, spiritual, and emotional healing and growth and meet the needs of over 5,000 children around the world. Scott has traveled extensively logging twenty-three trips to the field including Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, India, Mexico, Nepal, South Sudan, and Zambia. These deployments are instrumental in building relationships with field partners, identifying new opportunities to minister and serve orphaned children, and to provide oversight of our programs. Most importantly, this time in the field allows us to spend time with the children we support and to assess the effectiveness of our provision of care.

Scott is a seasoned non-profit leader, a published author and also speaks in the United States, as well as internationally regarding child welfare and matters of faith, hope, and love. Scott also works as a telecommunications consultant with twenty-five years of experience in financial analysis, customer acquisition, contract negotiation, revenue generation, negotiation, consulting, team leadership and business development. Scott has a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Colorado and a Master of Business Administration from Regis University.

Mike Dee, Founding Board Member

Mike joined the Board of Directors in 2005 and along with wife Christie, has served the Board in many capacities, from strategic planning and visioning, fundraising, and consulting. Mike has traveled with GO! to Mexico, Zambia and the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and in 2007 led the planning and building of the House of Faith Orphanage the House of Hope Orphanages in Zambia. Mike is a hands-on leader and entrepreneur, having founded and successfully operated both general and electrical contracting businesses, investment/management of multifamily properties and other real estate endeavors. Mike is a licensed Master Electrician and has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from the University of Colorado.

Mark van Iwaarden, Board Member

Mark joined the Board of Directors in 2011 and brings his passion to helping to serve and alleviate the suffering of orphans, vulnerable children, and widows around the world. Mark is a skilled brand marketer with twenty-five years of experience in food and beverage and healthcare. Mark has a bachelor’s degree from Hope College, a master’s degree from Loyola University as well as ongoing executive education from the Michigan Ross School of Business Executive Education.

Shane Sullivan, Board Member

Shane has participated as an enthusiastic advocate for vulnerable children, orphans and widows through his board service beginning in 2013, and has also traveled to Zambia to support our field partners. Shane is an entrepreneur and has coached people in career transition and has a Bachelor of Art in Psychology from the University of Northern Colorado and a Master of Art in Psychology from Denver Seminary.

Karen Dee, Secretary and Board Member

Since 2014, Karen Dee has served on our Board of Directors and as Secretary. Karen is a dedicated advocate for orphans and at-risk children in some of the most challenging situations around the world. Karen has a big heart for children and a strong commitment to fulfilling God’s command to support widows and orphans. Karen leads GO’s prayer team and helps the Board in the role of Secetary. Karen has spent her career in the mortgage lending industry and has over 20 years’ experience assisting homebuyers with lending services. Karen is a licensed real estate broker with a certification in loan origination.

Leslie McIntosh, Board Member

Leslie joined the Board in January 2021, after supporting GO! for many years. Leslie brings to the Board over ten years of prior non-profit board / governance experience along with strategic planning, facilitation, leadership, and project execution skills. She is particularly passionate about providing nutrition to orphans to alleviate hunger and suffering. Leslie also serves as a volunteer employment coach with ThriveColorado.org. She is Senior Vice President, Human Resources at CoreSite, a real estate investment trust and has over twenty-five years in strategic human resources leadership roles across the tech, hospitality, healthcare, and real estate industries. Leslie has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Human Resources, magna cum laude, from Regis University.

Jay Deveraux, Board Member

Jay joined the Board of Directors in September 2021 and has been to Zambia to visit our field partners and spend time serving and ministering to orphans served by GO! Jay contributes his eye for design and organization to fundraising events, with an experienced and calm demeanor. Jay is a Program Manager for Ricoh USA and is an experienced design professional and program manager with a demonstrated history of sales support in the information technology, managed services industry, with skills in product, vendor, and account management and enterprise software and solution selling. Jay has a Bachelor of Science in Advertising Journalism from the University of Colorado.

Shanae Klieforth, Board Member

Shanae rejoined the Board in March 2024, having previously served for almost three years from 2014-2017. Shanae is committed to furthering the cause of orphan children around the world and served in Zambia, visiting the House of Faith and House of Hope in 2015. Shanae serves on other non-profit boards and as a volunteer for several community organizations. She is the owner of Zargo Investments, a family-owned business that invests in and manages multifamily student apartment complexes. Shanae graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelor of Science in Apparel Merchandising and Business Management.