Board of Directors

Warner Woodworth, Chairman

Warner Woodworth is a professor of organizational behavior at Brigham Young University where he teaches Third World Development, Micro-credit, and Social Entrepreneurship. He is married to Kaye Colvin Woodworth and they have ten children. Author of 10 books and over 180 articles, he has been engaged in empowering the poor for two decades. He has helped found and/or served on the boards of numerous nongovernmental organizations including Enterprise Mentors International, Ouelessebougou-Utah Alliance, Unitus and HELP International, among others. He is co-author of Small Really is Beautiful (1997) and Working Toward Zion (1999).

Russ Booth

Russ Booth has over thirty five years experience as a Broker/Agent in leasing selling, leasing, managing and developing various types of properties and is currently the Senior Vice President of Coldwell Banker Commercial. He is a Managing Partner for several real estate partnerships, LLC's and investment groups. He was awarded B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Utah and Brigham Young University. Russ was recently the President of the BYU Alumni Association, and professionally is a former President of the 1.2 million-member National Association of Realtors. He currently chairs the International Consortium of Real Estate Associations. He has been active in community, church, and civic organizations. Russ is married to Nina C. Woodbury and they have six children, (5 boys, 1 girl, ages 34 to 22,) and four grandchildren.

Lisa Jones Christensen

The research and teaching of Lisa Jones Christensen focuses on sustainable enterprise in the United States and in developing economies, corporate social responsibility, leadership, change management, and change implementation. Dr. Christensen's research has been published in edited books and journals, including the Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Business Ethics and Academy of Management. She worked formerly 10 years as a marketing and sales manager at Silicon Valley start-up firms before she began her academic career. She also co-founded and served as the first country director of H.E.L.P. Honduras (now HELP International), a nonprofit organization originally focused on post-disaster relief and micro-finance work in five regions of Honduras, which has expanded to emphasize economic self-reliance and microfinance principles in developing economies such as Peru, El Salvador, Venezuela and Thailand. Dr. Christensen has consulted with various public and private sector firms, including SJF Ventures, Johnson & Johnson, BST Consulting, Earthbound Farms, Sustainable Harvest, Pioneer Hi-Bred (DuPont), Procter & Gamble, UNC Hospitals and Papa John's Pizza. She received her PhD in organizational behavior from UNC Kenan-Flagler, her MBA from the Marriott School and an MA in international development from the David Kennedy School, both at Brigham Young University. She received her BA from the University of California at Berkeley.

Janet Tanner

Janet Tanner, PhD, CPA, is currently teaching in the School of Accountancy at Brigham Young University, after holding an accounting faculty position with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for ten years. Janet has also studied international development and educational leadership and has been involved with numerous international humanitarian aid efforts. Her academic research focuses on business, educational and social entrepreneurship in Africa, where she has extensive experience in Uganda. She is the mother of four children, all of whom have served as volunteers with HELP International in Latin American settings.

Heidi Poelman

Heidi Poelman serves on HELP International’s board of directors as marketing and public relations counsel. Heidi has provided PR services to dozens of organizations in a variety of sectors, including nonprofit, high-tech, educational and Fortune 500. Heidi received her bachelor’s degree in public relations from Brigham Young University and her master’s degree in communication from Wake Forest University. She is married to Scott Poelman, another member of HELP's board, and together they have three children. Heidi’s goal with HELP International is to help spread the word that even one person, with a desire and an opportunity, can make a lasting impact on global poverty.

Scott Poelman

Scott is a banker with J.P. Morgan.  He coordinates high-end financial services for wealthy clients.  These services include investments, loans, deposits, estate planning strategies, and trust administration.  Before joining J.P. Morgan, Scott worked as a tax lawyer for six years.  He worked in San Diego for the first three years, two of which were in an 18-lawyer tax team at the fifth largest law firm in town.  Then he worked in Salt Lake City for the next three years at the fourth largest law firm in Utah.  His practice focused on tax planning for businesses and taxable estates.  Scott earned his bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University, his law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law, and his master’s in tax law from the University of San Diego School of Law.  Scott served as pro bono legal counsel for Empowering Nations from January 2006 to January 2009 and for HELP International from January 2009 to July 2010.  In July 2010, he joined HELP’s board of directors.

Erik Lewis

Erik Lewis is currently employed as the Senior Director, Talent and Organizational Development with Walmart Stores, Inc. Previously, Erik worked at Sysco Foods and Payless ShoeSource Worldwide. Additionally, he has worked as a consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers and Arthur Andersen, LLP serving clients such as: Chrysler, Motorola, McDonald’s, JCPenney, Delphi, Blue Cross Blue Shield, ABN AMRO, The Shaw Group, Novell, Consumers Energy, Kerr-McGee, Detroit Edison, Phillips Electronics, AES Energy, Advance Auto Parts, and First Horizon Bank. In a non-profit capacity, Erik has participated in humanitarian and third world development projects in Guatemala, Honduras, Chile and West Africa. In these efforts, he has partnered with Enterprise Mentors International, HELP Honduras, and The Ouelessebougou-Utah Alliance. Erik holds a B.A. in Spanish, and an MBA from BYU. He and his wife, Megan, have four children and reside in Bentonville, Arkansas.