Staff
Viva has a large and diverse range of staff and volunteers. Our international office houses 26 staff and numerous volunteers; there are just over 30 staff members working in our 4 regional centres; and there are network staff who are not directly employed by Viva but who work closely with us.
Every Viva worker, from our trustees and management team right through to our volunteers, believes firmly in the Viva vision and values. We also prioritise an attitude of excellence, encouraging our competent and committed staff to work each day to the best of their ability.
There is great diversity in our roles and responsibilities, and yet we are working together to fulfil the same goal: to help as many vulnerable child as possible overcome the risks of poverty and receive the opportunity to become all that God intends.
Management Team
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Patrick McDonald
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Patrick founded Viva Network in 1996 after working with street children in Bolivia. He has spent fourteen years researching Christian work with vulnerable children and building contacts internationally. Patrick oversees Viva and represents the issue of children at risk to the wider world. He is a Senior Associate for Children at Risk for Billy Graham's Lausanne Movement, and has also completed an MBA at the Saïd Business School, Oxford University. Originally from Denmark, Patrick is married with four sons and he and his family live in Oxford.
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Brian Wilkinson
Chief Operations Officer
The running of Viva and its work with children draws on Brian's civil engineering (University of Birmingham) and management background (Director, John Laing plc). Brian has travelled extensively to all continents, utilising his strategic outlook to help Viva avoid repeating work already being done and instead target the critical gaps, designing and implementing initiatives that will make a real difference for vulnerable children in the future. Brian lives in Oxford with his wife and two daughters.
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Katharine Thompson
Programme Advisor
Katharine has worked with Viva for over 13 years in various roles throughout Viva's global team, including the establishment of Viva's first regional centre in Latin America. Katharine has a BSc in Natural Sciences from Durham University and an MA from Fuller Seminary, and has previously worked among street children in Mexico and Central America. She now lives in Oxford with her husband Chris.
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Shelagh Windsor-Richards
Head of Infrastructure and HR
Shelagh has worked in Human Resources over the last ten years for both an international NGO and a food manufacturer, and before that she enjoyed the diversity of running a hotel, a restaurant, and a post office. She has a management MSc degree in Responsibility & Business Practice from the University of Bath, is part CIPD qualified, and is a trained co-active coach. Shelagh has four children and lives in Oxford.
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Ian de Villiers
Regional Co-ordinator of Viva Asia
Ian graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Biological Sciences, after which he went on to complete a Masters in Social Work at Birmingham University. Ian spent many years working with children at risk in South India before moving to Kuala Lumpur to head up Viva Asia. His role involves supporting and training local churches and networks to do the best possible work for the children at risk in their communities, and he now manages that task remotely as he and his family currently live in the UK.
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