USA Team

 


Krissy Dufala, Founder
An orphan girl turned child philanthropist.
Learn more about Krissy’s journey into philanthropy here.

 
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Lirio Dufala, Co-Founder, President & CEO
”The innate desire to help is encoded in the human DNA”, original quote. Learn more about Lirio’s journey here.

 
 

Board of Directors

The KRIS Foundation board of directors work purely on a volunteer basis. All have demanding, full time careers and many donate money and resources. They sacrificially dedicate their time, skills and talents in order to accomplish the organization’s mission. They are truly a team of loving, compassionate and talented individuals.

 
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Greg Hite, Director for Development

Loving husband and doting father to his two kids. Greg has spent time in Japan and met his beautiful wife there. He speaks fluent Japanese. He takes his family on an annual trip to Japan to visit his wife’s relatives. Greg loves children! He often spends time volunteering at his children’s school, church and other organizations in the area. Greg and his son, Noah, have been joining KRIS Foundation’s biennial Lift Up the Orphans mission trips since it started in 2013. His entire family joined the mission trip in 2019.

Greg has worked in major design and construction companies in varying capacities for over 20 years. His skills and experience have been key in accomplishing many of the KRIS Foundation projects, including the KIDS-KRIS Campus in the Philippines.


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Bonnie Gottke, Board Secretary

Loving mom of two and a dedicated wife, Bonnie has a passion for travel and world missions. She has visited 15 countries on 3 continents which includes 14 mission trips to Central and South America - and now the Philippines with the KRIS Foundation’s Lift Up the Orphans mission trips.

Full time school teacher at the Foothill SDA School, she is also a mentor for her students who desire to make a difference in the world.

Along with Bonnie is her dedicated family. You may see some of their photos throughout our website, and her children, the two youngest missionaries in the group.

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Ben Rosas, Treasurer

Loves his family including his extended family members. He has supported many nephews and nieces through college to give them a better future. Ben loves his homeland, the Philippines. He organizes and leads service trips to his boyhood hometown on a regular basis. He continually works on alleviating suffering especially for those impacted by natural disasters.

Ben is a fun-loving person and a perpetual reunion event organizer. He puts together college reunions, church reunions, co-workers reunions or any-reason-for-reunion reunion.

 
 
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Norina Sharpe, Board Director, Asst. Secretary

As the founder of SharpeVision Consulting, Norina brings over 15 years of experience in this field. The firm historically was in government and commercial sectors, but recently in the non-profit sector. Norina is recognized for her leadership, program management, and customer service skills in helping her clients plan and implement solution approaches that meet their organization’s needs.

Norina holds an MBA with a focus on global business. In a corporate setting, she led global teams, working effectively with diverse cultures and different organizations to achieve positive business impact. 

Pursuing a lifetime passion, Norina continues to be a longtime performing member of the South Bay Philharmonic symphony as well as her church’s worship band.

Norina has been with the foundation for as long as it has existed. Her dedication to changing the lives of the children is certainly visible.

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Kathy Bylard, Board Director

An accomplished mom, educator and nurse who loves bringing others to Jesus. She has worked as a RN and has been an educator for nursing students at the University of California, San Francisco. Kathy’s hobbies include cooking, gardening, reading and traveling. Kathy has a heart for children and has sought out opportunities to better their lives. She is proud to serve on the KRIS Foundation Board.


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Hyun Bang, DDS, Board Director & KRIS SmileCare Project Sponsor

Official partner and sponsor of the KRIS SmileCare project of the KRIS Foundation, Dr. Bang brings her talent to the team in ways of web-design, strategy and operations, and donations in the areas of oral healthcare to support the KRIS Foundation’s missions.

Dr. Bang performed music in piano and voice since the age of 4 and achieved her Music Voice Degree along with Chemistry prior to Dental School. Her favorite opera singer is Sumi Jo. The classical musician inside of her is what causes her to strive for perfection and artistry in her work as a Dentist, and her faith in God is what causes her to want to be a blessing in others’ lives.

Dr. Hyun Bang dedicates her time outside of clinic work to church ministry and missions for humanity. Her clinic’s mission statement reads ‘For our lives to uplift another’ which aligns perfectly with the KRIS Foundation’s mission. She wishes truly to be a blessing to these children she can reach together with the KRIS Foundation.

 

Project Managers

 
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Dr. Faith Victoriano, DMD
KRIS SmileCare Project Manager

Dr. Faith has been practicing dentistry in the Bay Area for almost 20 years. She practiced in Central and Southern California before moving to the South Bay. Shortly after graduation, she apprenticed in New York with several specialists and general practitioners who excelled in the profession.

Dr. Faith is passionate about preventive dentistry. She’s very mindful of the link between a patient's oral health and the rest of the body. She knew early on in life that she has a heart for service and a care for man's whole being. These are some of the reasons that she chose dentistry as her lifetime profession. In addition, dentistry is both an art and a science that makes it fun for her to practice. Dr. Victoriano is a member of the American Dental Association.

She appreciates a positive and healthy lifestyle. Her interests include photography, travel, cultural diversity, outdoor activities, arts and crafts, bible studies and heart-to-heart conversations.

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Lydiah Maranga,
Kenya Water Project Manager

Lydiah graduated from UC Davis with a BA in International Economics. She works to promote economic development for developing countries.

Lydiah has worked as a substitute teacher in the Sacramento area public schools. Having grown up in Kenya, this experience sparked her interest to help improve the academic standards of rural schools in the developing countries. She has also worked as a Project Coordinator responsible for facilitating the delivery of services by offshore employees to IITA, Nigeria.

In one of her return trips to Kenya to visit family, she noticed that students from a boarding high school had to wake up early to fetch water from a river along with the entire village, instead of getting ready for their classes. Soon after returning home to the USA, she launched the Kenya Water Project. Sponsored by KRIS Foundation, the water project was successfully accomplished in August 2019.


Lydiah is currently in her final year of graduate school at UC Davis pursuing a MSc. degree in International Agriculture Development. She hopes to have the opportunity to work internationally and help implement programs that bring about economic development especially in the rural areas of the developing countries.

During her free time, Lydiah enjoys gardening, taking evening walks and reading The Economist.