Empowering Individuals in the Global Community Through Entrepreneurship
President and Executive Director
Philip is the President and Executive Director of Whole Planet Foundation, overseeing operations, programmatic direction and financial management. Philip brings over 40 years of expertise and experience to the mission and operations of the Foundation. His diverse and far ranging background focuses on three distinct arenas: international development, entrepreneurship, agribusiness cooperatives and microfinance in developing countries.
As an entrepreneur in Austin, Texas, Philip founded Book People – one of the largest independent bookstores in the country, which he owned and managed for 20 years. He continues to serve on the Book People board. Philip was also the director of Multimedia, a business unit of Wholepeople.com. In the international development arena, Philip managed community development projects for the Peace Corps, USAID, a US State Department funded NGO in Afghanistan and other non-governmental organizations (NGO's) in both Latin America and Asia.
As an agribusiness specialist, Philip worked for seven years with small subsistence farmers in Latin America and Central Asia to develop alternative crop introduction, agricultural marketing and agricultural cooperatives. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras where he worked with the Misquito Indians for three years on the Patuca River in La Mosquitia, and in Paraguay for four years helping to start agricultural cooperatives. Philip has a BBA from Texas Tech University, is conversant in Spanish and can exchange basic pleasantries in Guarani and Misquito. Philip is a firm believer in the power of free markets, honest yet limited government and “conscious capitalism” to create prosperity and individual dignity.
Executive Partnership Development and Internal Programs Director
Joy joined Whole Foods Market in 2000 and Whole Planet Foundation in 2006. She develops strategic partnerships, fundraises for microcredit, and connects Whole Foods Market shoppers, suppliers and team members to Whole Planet Foundation. Joy has been awarded All*Star five times, Team Member of the Year and numerous leadership recognitions. In her role as Southwest and Rocky Mountain Regional Trainer, Joy trained thousands of team members and supported 13 store openings, including the flagship location in Austin where she served as Team Member Services Team Leader.
Joy engages team members in the U.S., U.K. and Canada in the mission of Whole Planet Foundation and the Whole Foods Market Team Member Volunteer Program in communities where the company sources product. Having visited microlending projects in Bangladesh, Costa Rica, East Timor, Guatemala, Kenya, India, Indonesia and Peru, she is inspired to share the transformative power of microcredit and create prosperity.
Previously, she coordinated training programs at the International Monetary Fund for six years. She spent an undergraduate year in France and traveled throughout Europe. She has a B.A. from Washington and Lee University and speaks French and Spanish. Joy lives in Austin where she gardens and spends free time with her sister Jill and niece Isabel.
Internal Programs Ambassador
Genie came to Whole Foods Market in Austin in 2002 as a Grocery Bagger and has worked a myriad of positions from Cashier to Store Trainer and Associate Store Team Leader at the Alamo Quarry in San Antonio. Having been a photographer, a personal assistant and the general manager of a small café, she brings a variety of talents to her job as Internal Programs Ambassador. Genie has traveled Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Central and South America. She speaks French and basic Spanish. Sharing the mission of Whole Planet Foundation with Whole Foods Market team members and through them, helping to raise funds for poverty alleviation, is a dream job for her.
Marketing and Outreach Specialist
After studying advertising and business at the University of Texas at Austin, Lauren went on to pursue her culinary interests in the Le Cordon Bleu program, which led her to a part time position with Whole Foods Market. Lauren started with the company in Austin in 2004 as a Prepared Foods Supervisor and has worked several positions in both Austin and Colorado, from Store Marketing Specialist to Associate Regional Marketing Coordinator. Most recently, she handled marketing support for Grocery, Exclusive Brands and Whole Planet Foundation on the Global Communications team.
Lauren coordinates and executes the annual Prosperity Campaign and Calendar programs, works directly with vendors to build strategic fundraising partnerships and builds the Whole Planet Foundation brand outside the four walls of the store. An avid traveler, Lauren speaks fluent Spanish and basic French. She has travelled with Whole Planet Foundation to Peru and Guatemala to meet with microcredit clients, getting a chance to hear their stories firsthand. She’s a huge foodie and music fan who also loves anything in the water – scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming, water skiing and wakeboarding.
Resident Intern
Daniel joined the Whole Planet Foundation team as a resident intern in January of 2011. His main roles include working alongside Joy and Genie managing internal programs, and maintaining the website and other social media outlets to help raise awareness. Currently, Daniel is a senior International Business student at St. Edward's University. Having been born in Colombia, Daniel has an interest in Spanish and Latin American cultures. After graduation, Daniel plans to pursue volunteer opportunities abroad and apply his interest in economics and business development. Daniel believes in the mission of Whole Foods Market and Whole Planet Foundation and is very excited to be a new member of the team.
Daniel loves the outdoors and food of all sorts. He is a runner, cyclist and a huge basketball fan.
Executive Program Director
Steve is passionate about microfinance and other business solutions that are improving the lives of the poor. He was hired by Whole Planet Foundation in March 2006 as the Field Program Manager to support the creation of new microfinance institutions in Guatemala and Costa Rica in partnership with Grameen Trust. Only months prior to beginning with the Foundation, Steve had completed his two years of service in the Peace Corps working with rural Guatemalan farmers implementing business solutions in an effort to improve their livelihoods.
His international development experience coupled with his previous work in business development in the technology industry help Steve to bridge between people struggling to make ends meet and leaders looking to understand the challenges of the poor. Now as the Executive Program Director, Steve is responsible for overseeing and expanding Whole Planet Foundation’s portfolio of microfinance projects around the world.
Steve is proud to be a 2008 Whole Foods Market Global All-Star, an avid rugby player, and a fluent Spanish speaker.
Africa Field Program Manager
Brian was hired as the Africa Field Program Manager in 2010 to manage growing Whole Planet Foundation support in Africa, he is providing additional oversight to current partners and expanding Whole Planet Foundation’s work across the continent with new dynamic microfinance institutions.
Brian’s first experience with Africa was building trade linkages in the private sector between businesses in West Africa and Illinois under a program funded by the Illinois state legislature in 1999, and he has been interested in finding better ways of linking the U.S. private and non-profit sectors with strong counterparts in Africa ever since.
He first travelled to the continent in 2000 as a Water and Sanitation volunteer with the Peace Corps in Mauritania (West Africa), and then moved his way into managing small grants and contracts to local partners for U.S. organizations working on the continent. To date, he has been fortunate to have worked closely with hundreds of different local NGOs and businesses in countries as diverse as the Congo, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tunisia, and others.
Having spent six of the last ten years living in Africa, he most loves the openness and generosity of the communities he has lived and worked in, and never ceases to be amazed by the diversity of cultures and geography of the continent.
Latin America Field Program Manager
Evan is the Latin America Field Program Manager for the Foundation and is responsible for Monitoring and Evaluation of the existing projects as well as overseeing the expansion into new communities throughout the region. Evan has been with Whole Foods Market since 2005 and has a diverse background in accounting, IT, and international development.
Prior to Whole Foods, Evan served as a small business advisor in the Peace Corps in Ecuador enabling him to become fluent in Spanish and travel extensively in Latin America. While in Ecuador, Evan worked on projects ranging from small business management, community banking, accounting and marketing systems, grant writing and sustainable agriculture.
In his current role, he is able to utilize his knowledge of Latin American culture, his passion for microfinance along with his CPA background to effectively manage a growing number of projects. Evan has a BA in Business and a Masters in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin. He is an avid cyclist, huge music fan and enjoys backpacking and sports in general.
Asia Field Program Manager
Daniel is the Regional Director for Whole Planet Foundation in Asia and joined the team in June of 2011. He is responsible for identifying viable partners, and overseeing and expanding a portfolio spanning the region. Prior to joining Whole Planet Foundation, Daniel worked in microfinance at the field level for Whole Planet Foundation’s longest standing partner, Grameen Trust. During this time, Daniel supported the planning, implementation, and coordination of the establishment of Grameen Build-Operate-Manage (BOM) microfinance institutions in Guatemala, Mexico and Colombia; Banrural Grameen, Grameen Carso and Grameen Aval respectively. The role involved managing the collaboration between large commercial banks, as funding partners, the management teams of Grameen microfinance experts from Bangladesh, and the local field staff. Daniel holds degrees in Economics and International Affairs from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Daniel strongly believes that microcredit is a tremendous and powerful tool to alleviate poverty when implemented appropriately. He believes microcredit is an opportunity, a means to provide intelligent, motivated entrepreneurs an opportunity to unleash their own skills and talents in order to improve their livelihoods.
Daniel loves kayaking, skiing, cycling, tennis, speaking Spanish and summers in the Great Pacific Northwest. More than anything, Daniel enjoys exploring different countries, experiencing new cultures, trying exotic foods and exercising new languages.
Foundation Analyst
JP does the accounting, financial reporting, general metrics tracking, and regulatory compliance work for the Foundation. He grew up in Costa Rica and has native knowledge of Spanish, which he has used to help the Foundation with translations since its inception in 2005.
JP has had various experiences involving work and travel throughout the developing world and management of companies’ efficiency and performance, such as exporting agricultural machinery to Latin America, international marketing of computer hardware, high-tech operations analysis, data administration and quality assurance at Whole Foods Market, and teaching undergraduate level international business and Latin American economics.
With Bachelor degrees in Agricultural Engineering and Management/ Engineering, JP believes in the enormous positive effect that free-market business can have on the alleviation of poverty, and to large degree has been guided in his career by one of his college’s motto: Crescit cum commercio civitas - Civilization prospers with commerce. While studying for his Master’s in Economics, JP learned about Muhammad Yunus and microfinance, and has been a big fan and supporter ever since.
JP loves hiking, camping and roadtrips with his wife and two daughters, enjoys exploring international foods of all sorts, and is a soccer fan, normally rooting for the national teams of Brazil, USA, and most of all Costa Rica.
