STACEY NELSON

It all started...

In 2011. Stacey left her professional softball career for law school, and to take a much needed trip to Uganda before then. She'd been interested in whether the lack of economic opportunities in rural communities in Northern Uganda affected the youth's opportunity for employment, especially those who'd been prevented from attending school due to the war. That year she spent four months studying Microfinance and Entrepreneurship to understand why the youth weren't being employed, despite their skills.  

The commute from Uganda to Los Angeles afforded her time to brainstorm. The glaring need for job creation, an under-utilized workforce, and wagon-fulls of imported bread...

They needed a bread factory.

That was five years ago, Stacey is now the Project Director of Bake for Peace, a non-profit designed to build a bread factory from the ground up, employ Friend of Orphans Alumni, and lift Pader's economy. 

You might recognize Stacey, she's also an All-American softball pitcher and a licensed California attorney. If she's not in a blazer, she'll be the one in blue and orange.  A not-so-subtle nod to her alma mater, University of Florida, where she earned her undergrad. 

Today she is on the ground in Uganda, facilitating Bake for Peace's initiatives and working directly with the community to make things happen.

Hannah Robinson

Born and raised...

In Kansas, Hannah has an appreciation for nature, land, agriculture, crops, and has witnessed the fruitions that only come from genuine labor and dedication. 

Hannah grew up craving justice, as the middle child of five sisters. A born fighter. Attentive to detail. She holds an undergrad degree in International Relations & Religion from Colgate University in New York, and a Law degree in International Right & Human Rights from Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles. That's real. 

Her travels are apparent from her coast-to-coast education, but she continues to implement international relations in her law practice to this day. 

Professionally, she specializes in rehabilitating Mayan genocide victims who reside in Guatemala. While separately aiding Khmer Rouge prosecutors in Cambodia. 

She lives in Malibu, halfway between the mountain and the sea. Close to LAX. Far from the maddening crowds. Where she paints, sings, and explores the spiritual theory and practice made available by the beautiful landscape. 

Katy Leduc

Her passion's hard to put in words...

So she opts to use pictures, videos, images, and snapshots.

She's our photographer and videographer - capturing the immense hope that exists in Pader. She balances that while tirelessly meeting our team's needs in LA, all in an effort to reach and engage you. Our friends, family, and supporters.

Formally, she's a professional video editor, graduating from Columbia College of Chicago with a Bachelor's of Art in Writing & Producing. 

Informally, Katy is the constant, urging voice to storytell on Pader's behalf that keeps our team motivated to bring Pader the chance they deserve. Stacey and Katy met each other in LA and have been partners in crime, compassion, and companionship ever since. 

You can find Katy doodling in one of many notebooks that she carries, but never quite uses all the way up. 

Joel Serot

Joel recognizes his mission... 

He's confident that he's here to act a a conduit of growth, change, and betterment for humanity. And he decidedly walks this path, expanding his outreach every day, every interaction, ever conversation in which he engages.

The most fervent applications of his virtues are food & nature conservation, which Pader's self-sustaining bread factory a happy marriage of passions for Joel to grasp, fuel, and further. 

Before we were graced with Joel's talents, he successfully operated an organization to provide volunteer opportunities to the Jewish community in LA. He graduated with a Bachelor's of Art from Cal State Fullerton.

Joel often emails us saying, "I'm going solo-backpacking in Joshua Tree this weekend, I'll call when I get back. And if not, go find me." So far, he's always come back.

Ellen Ford

Jack of all trades...

Master of none. But she's managed them all at some point. Ellen earned a Bachelor's of Science in Construction Management from Colorado State University, which she parlayed into a successful career as a Project Engineer for a General Contractor in Los Angeles. The projects she was a part of frame LA's skyline, totaling hundreds of millions in the last three years. 

But, she exited that path in pursuit of journalism and creativity. She enthusiastically joined Bake for Peace to lead the creative direction, and apply her construction knowledge in a way that directly benefits the people of Pader. 

She loves getting new tattoos, tinkering with our website, and energetically talking to anyone who will listen about how great Bake for Peace is. But mostly, she looks forward to dusting off her Red Wings and laying a few bricks.