Leadership Team

Sam_Stephens-300x381Sam Stephens
Executive Director

Sam took the helm of the Global Soap Project in February 2012, and came to the organization with an extensive background in international nonprofit leadership, development, and consulting.  He worked for several years as a senior nonprofit consultant, serving as a strategic planning and development adviser to nonprofit organizations around the world.  During that time, he also served as an Adjunct Professor of Management at Virginia Tech.

Following that, he led development, communications, and volunteer and senior service programming as Vice President of External Relations for Volunteers of America, based out of Salt Lake City.  After his tenure there, he served in Washington DC as a Director at Beyond Borders, a human rights organization, and then as Executive Director at ICSF, a capacity-building organization.

Sam has an MBA in International Management and is also a licensed pilot.  He’s had the privilege of serving on boards of directors for more than a dozen nonprofit organizations, and has worked and traveled extensively in more than 50 countries worldwide.

 

Lilly Dimling
Director of Operations

After completing her undergraduate degree in government at Colby College, Lilly entered The Potomac Hotel Group’s Management Training Program in Washington, D.C.  Upon completion of the program she held several positions in the hotel business. In 1991 she left for Prague to teach English and learn Czech. In 1995 she completed an MA in East European Studies from the University of Michigan, having spent one summer as a fellow of the University’s Business School Davidson Institute.

She subsequently became the International Manager for San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, with the goal of fostering business ties between Bay Area companies and foreign firms. In 1998 she entered the wine business working in import, export and marketing for Boisset USA. Lilly spent eight years in wine sales, working for Henry Wine Group and two importers, Negociants USA and Vigneron Imports.

In 2008 Lilly went to Sydney to pursue a MS in Sustainable Development where she discovered a passion for water and sanitation. In 2009 she took a course in Integrated Water Resource Management and Climate Change through UNESCO’s Water Institute where she focused on mitigation and adaptation to water stress in rural sub Saharan Africa. She joined the Global Soap Project in 2010 and now serves as Operations Director.

 

Kym Estis

Kym Estis
Director of Development

Kym brings an extensive background in fundraising strategy, policy analysis, and strategic communications to her work at the Global Soap Project.  She has worked with a broad range of nonprofit organizations, directing strategic, integrated communications and fundraising activities including annual giving, capital campaigns, board development, and external communications.

Kym began her professional career with Booz, Allen, and Hamilton, supporting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, and the State of California’s Department of Environmental Protection.  Later, she was the Director of Development for Oak Mountain Academy, where she directed all communications and fundraising activities. For the American Cancer Society, Kym managed a number of communications and marketing activities, including support for a nationwide event which raised over $4M for breast cancer research. Most recently, Kym was the Director of Communications and Development for The Task Force for Global Health, where she led the fundraising and communications activities for the organization, an affiliate of Emory University.

Kym holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English/Pre-law from Washington State University, and a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of California at Berkeley. She is a graduate of Leadership Washington and Leadership Georgia, a former board member of the Georgia Chamber, and a Board member for arts organizations in Atlanta. Kym is a former PTA President and youth soccer coach. Currently, Kym is the parent lead for an anti-bullying initiative for a local middle school and a board member of Meridian Herald, a Georgia-based music organization.