SIL LEAD's board is comprised of thought leaders and practitioners from the linguistics, philanthropy, and international development communities.
Board Chairperson
Catherine Young is currently the Director of Global Language and Development Services for SIL Global. Catherine has served in various roles in SIL International since 1991 including academic leadership in SIL Philippines, SIL Asia Area and as International Literacy and Education Coordinator. She is currently MA Course Leader in Literacy Programme Development at Redcliffe College, Gloucester, UK. Catherine holds a PhD in Education from the University of Wales with a focus on language policy and planning for children from minority language communities.
Board Members
Nelis van den Berg is associate Executive Director of SIL Global, responsible for the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Western Asia. He is an educational specialist from Leiden University with 20 years of experience in Africa, both in Literacy and different organizational leadership roles.
Serge Duss now runs a private consulting firm, after having served as Director of Public Policy & Advocacy at International Medical Corps, a global health humanitarian organization. In addition to SIL LEAD, he serves on several other non-profit boards, including Central Union Mission in Washington DC, the Institute for Public Service & Policy Development at Pepperdine University, and Kairos USA.
Rebecca Chandler Leege currently serves as Chief Executive Officer (Interim) at Worldreader. She has previously held leadership and supporting positions at World Vision and World Relief. With more than 25 years of people-centered global leadership experience, Rebecca has a proven track record of growing innovative organizations through creative collaborations, cross-sector partnerships, and strategic vision.
Margaret Jepkirui Muthwii is the Vice Chancellor of the Pan Africa Christian University and holds a PhD from the University of East Anglia. She is a sociolinguist and has widely published on topics such as language and education, language planning, language development and literacy, English in African contexts, and the significant role of the indigenous languages in societal relations and development.
Joy Kreeft Peyton is a Senior Fellow with the Center for Applied Linguistics, where she served as Vice President for 16 years, and President of the Coalition of Community-Based Heritage Language Schools. She holds a PhD in Linguistics from Georgetown University and has over 35 years of experience working in the fields of languages, linguistics, and cultural education.
Steven Woolston is currently the Innovation Portfolio Director at SIL Global, where he has served since 2019. Prior to joining SIL, Steve served as a cutting-edge engineer at Bell Helicopter Textron before taking on various leadership roles throughout the company. Steve earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology and an MBA in Management from the University of Dallas and has accumulated a wealth of experience in international business development.