Our Team on the Ground
Meet the people working to make the kids' lives at the center as safe, positive, and nourishing as possible.
President & Founder, World Hope Givers
Site Director, Goma Center
Alain Bayongwa
Alain is a lawyer from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the founder of World Hope Givers, a local NGO dedicated to safeguarding the women and children of Eastern DRC from armed conflict. He first met Fesser and Friends founder Dr. Nicolas Fesser during the 2019 Ebola outbreak in North Kivu, and the two have worked in close partnership ever since. Alain leads all ground operations in the DRC, bringing deep local knowledge and legal expertise to the organization's mission.
Site Director, Beni Center
Freddy Moises
Freddy is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and serves as the on-the-ground Site Director of the Fesser and Friends center in Beni. In addition to his role with the organization, Freddy serves as the Head of Child Education for the city of Beni, bringing invaluable educational leadership and deep community ties to his work with the children at the center. As Freddy himself has said, "This place is the last resort — without us, I'm not sure these kids would still be here today."
Board of Directors
Our international board working hard behind the scenes
President and Founder
Nicolas Fesser, MD
Nicolas is a 4th-year Emergency Medicine resident physician at the University of Washington in Seattle. He founded Fesser and Friends in 2020 after witnessing the devastating impact of armed conflict on children in Eastern DRC during a medical deployment. He leads the organization's strategy, partnerships, and field operations.
Treasurer
Kyle Ause
Kyle holds a BBA and Master of Accountancy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He began his career as a Strategy Consultant at KPMG before serving as a Product Manager at DoorDash, and currently works as a Staff Product Manager at Collectors in Denver. He brings financial and strategic expertise, overseeing the organization's finances and ensuring responsible stewardship of donor contributions.
Secretary
Jackson Pavlakis, MUP
Jackson holds a Master's in Urban Planning and brings expertise in community development and organizational systems to the board. He oversees governance, documentation, and strategic planning for Fesser and Friends.
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Director of External Affairs
Boris Pavic, MD MPH
Boris is a 4th-year Emergency Medicine resident physician at the University of Washington in Seattle with a Master's in Public Health, bringing clinical and global health expertise to the board. He manages external partnerships, institutional relationships, and the organization's public health programming.
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Advisory Board
Our experts who make the amazing projects a reality!
Water Initiative Lead
Duncan Favill
Beyond the Rhythm Events Lead
Georgia Petrova
We would like to thank our local partners at World Hope Givers
World Hope Givers is a local NGO founded by Alain Bayongwa which works to safeguard the women and children of the DRC from the armed conflict. Our work would not be possible without them.
