Wayne Waite, Esq.

CEO & Chair

Wayne Waite is committed to the principle that the poor need an advocate and that poverty is urgent. He is an attorney with Waite Tomb & Eberly and served as the original incorporator of Shoulder to Shoulder, Inc. as well as incorporating Association Hombro a Hombro in Honduras. Both organizations are tax exempt charitable organizations with the same mission.

Wayne has been married to Christina Waite M.D. since 1976 and currently lives in Xenia, Ohio. His son Daniel and his wife Nidia are both active in Shoulder to Shoulder. Nidia is a native of Camasca, Intibuca, Honduras. He hopes his work alleviates the scourge of poverty and contributes to the development of sustainable systems of equity and dignity.

Richard E. Buten, PhD

President

Dick became involved in Shoulder to Shoulder in 2001. Early work included construction and various computer and communications projects.  He created a comprehensive Health Information System to support the contract with the Honduran government and various nutrition research projects funded by Mathile Institute.

Dick served as Treasurer for seven years bringing the organization to a balanced budget.  His current passion is to improve the education system in Southern Intibucá via education technology including Khan Academy, Robotics, and various other content delivered by LearningEquality.org.

Dick graduated from Xavier University in Cincinnati majoring in physics. He received his MS in physics and PhD in Computer Sciences from Purdue University. He retired from Procter & Gamble after a career of 27 years where he held various technical and managerial positions within the company’s Information Technology function. He was also an Adjunct Professor of Computer Science at Xavier University for seven years.  He is the managing partner a family real estate business.  Hobbies include golf, tennis, skiing, photography, and cave diving.  Dick and wife Bonnie have two adult children and three grandchildren.

Susan T. Kaye, MD, Chair of the Department of Family Medicine

Vice President

Susan became involved with Shoulder to Shoulder in 2003 when she met Dr. Jeff Heck at a professional organization on international health. Her special interest is in the development of the clinic in Concepción and the organization itself. To date, the Josephson Fund (which she directs) has provided Shoulder to Shoulder with over $250,000 to support the Concepción site.

Dr. Kaye holds a ScB degree from Brown University and is a graduate of New York University School of Medicine.  She has spent her career in medical education and is currently the Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Overlook Medical Center, a founding member of Atlantic Health System in northern New Jersey. She is also on the Board of the Family Medicine Education Consortium, and directs the Josephson Fund, a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to providing financial support to medical professionals who participate in medical volunteerism.

On a personal note, Susan has two children. Her daughter, Alicia, has spent considerable time in Intibucá, Honduras working with Shoulder to Shoulder. She holds an MPH from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, partially as a result of her time spent in Honduras, and currently works for Duke University. Her son, Evan received his MD/MPH from Jefferson Medical College and is currently in a Family Medicine residency training program. He too credits Shoulder to Shoulder with helping him develop his career choice. Together they form the Kaye family mini-medical brigade!

Jessica Minesinger

Secretary

Jessica is the owner and Chief Executive Officer of Minesinger Companies, LLC., which encompasses several real estate and management companies.  Since 1995 Jessica has been involved in single-family residential construction and land development. In 2008, Minesinger Companies, LLC expanded to include a medical practice management company.

She earned a bachelor’s degree (BA) from Wright State University in 1995 and holds both a Certified Medical Office Management (CMOM) and is a Fellow in the American College of Medical Practice Executives (FACMPE).

She is active in the Miami County, Ohio community and has served on several non-profit boards including the Miami County Homebuilders Association, CASA/GAL of Miami County and Health Partners Free Clinic of Miami County. She currently serves as Chair of The Troy Foundation and on the Board of Directors of Housing Opportunities for People (affiliated with Riverside Miami County Board of Developmental Disabilities).

Jessica is a 2006 graduate of Leadership Troy and a 2009 graduate of The Graduate Academy for Community Leadership.  She was the recipient of the “Shirley Culp Davies Memorial Outstanding Young Women of the Year” Award from the Troy Chamber of Commerce in 2008 and the “Leadership Award for Excellence” from the Miami County Home Builders Association in 2009.

Jessica is married to Jake, they live in Troy, Ohio and have three children.

Stacy McNutt

Treasurer

Stacy McNutt was introduced to the Shoulder to Shoulder organization in 2015 by Wayne and Christina Waite.  Stacy served 24 years in the Air Force as a project manager, and she retired from the Air Force in 2012 at the rank of Colonel.  She then joined her husband Ross in running two small businesses that he had started in the Dayton area—Stacy is the business manager for both companies.  One of the companies provides aviation services to general aviation customers, to include flight training.

Ross and Stacy support several STEM activities in the Dayton area, hoping to inspire youth to pursue careers in the aviation industry.  In the summer of 2017, Ross and Stacy enjoyed having the Honduras Robotics Team join them for an afternoon at the airport, where all of the kids had the opportunity to fly in a small airplane.

Stacy is a graduate from the Air Force Academy, and she received her MBA from Bentley College.  She also has advanced degrees from Air University and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.  Ross and Stacy have four children.  Three of them have graduated from college, and their youngest daughter is getting ready to head off to college in the fall of 2019.

Laura Failla Manship, LICSW, MBA

Executive Director, Shoulder to Shoulder, ex-oficio

Laura is a professional social worker.  She has two adult children.  She came to Honduras in September of 2013, and with her husband, Paul, who passed away in 2018 from cancer.  They began in the positions of Directors of Communications and Development for Shoulder to Shoulder in November of 2014.  In September of 2015, they became the General Directors of Shoulder to Shoulder in Honduras.

Laura loves the life among friends in Honduras.  She firmly believe in the mission of Shoulder to Shoulder as an investment in the common dignity of humanity that empowers people to realize their fullest potential in life.

Members at Large:

Roy Sanders, MD, Emily Harrison, Plutarco Rivera, Larry Tepe, Fide Gehner, and Greg Rheinhart 

Advisory Board Members:

Angel Allen, Allen Ostrow, Wendy Ostrow, Tim Gunderman, Kate Clitheroe, Christina Waite, Jan Tepe.

Plutarco Rivera, Esq.

Plutarco became involved with Shoulder to Shoulder about 12 years ago when his cousin introduced him to Wayne Waite. As a lawyer he first committed to offering his legal services but he became more and more involved with each passing day. Currently he is connected to almost every aspect of the organization, something which he really enjoys. Through his commitment to Shoulder to Shoulder, he says he’s gotten to know many extraordinary people, both North Americans and Hondurans, and he intends to continue for many years to come. His ultimate hope would be for his children – Luisa, Camila, and Adriana – to also dedicate time to Shoulder to Shoulder. His wife, Patricia Maria Sikaffy, has also been essential to the organization’s success.

Plutarco was born in Tegucigalpa and attended an international school in San Pedro Sula. He then completed high school while living in Paris, France with his mother. He graduated from the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) and then completed his post-bac at the INCAE in Nicaragua.

Fide Gehner

Bilingual School & Scholarships

Fide has been involved with Shoulder to Shoulder for over 20 years. She has helped with different projects and served as a liaison between Shoulder to Shoulder in the U.S. and the local and national authorities in Honduras. She serves as the treasurer of the Assocacion Hombro a Hombro in Honduras. More recently, she has been focusing on the education aspect of the organization through oversight of the scholarship program and bilingual education.

Fide grew up in the rural community of Concepcion, Intibucá. After obtaining a teaching degree in Honduras, she came to the U.S through a scholarship program to further her education and learn English. Upon her return to Honduras, she became involved with Shoulder to Shoulder where she met her husband, Tim. She eventually moved to Cincinnati, OH. She has worked for Chiquita Brands International in their Human Resources Department for several years. Then she decided to stay home to raise her three daughters. She is involved with their school PTA’s, loves to do charity work and help to those less fortunate.

Gregory A. Reinhart, PhD, Vice President of Research and Nutrition, Mathile Institute

Nutrition & Water Projects

Dr. Greg Reinhart, Vice President of Research and Nutrition for the Mathile Institute, leverages his training and experience in the agricultural, human medical, and pet food industries to help alleviate malnutrition in young children and their families. He has a Ph.D. in Nutritional Biochemistry and M.S. and B.S. degrees in Animal Sciences from The Ohio State University. Dr. Reinhart is currently involved in infant and young children nutritional studies in Honduras, Guatemala and India as well as research evaluating nutritional needs of reproductive age women in India and Vietnam. He has published over 200 scientific papers and abstracts in peer reviewed journals and is an inventor on 14 United States patents.

Larry Tepe, DDS

Dental Department & Virtual Fiesta

Larry became involved with Shoulder to Shoulder in 1999 when his wife, Dr. Jan Tepe, accepted an invitation to travel to Honduras to provide dental treatment to the underserved. They then collected the necessary dental equipment and supplies to make a full service dental clinic a reality in Santa Lucia. Later, they did the same in Concepcion. Larry is responsible for keeping the equipment repaired and running for the clinic’s permanent dentists and visiting US dental brigades.

After many years of working to improve dental care, Larry and Jan realized that prevention and education were the keys to controlling dental disease in Honduras. For this reason they decided to begin a school-based dental program that provides prevention, education, and necessary treatments to over 700 students. Each year they continue to lead a brigade of volunteer dentists from the US to provide additional care to local residents. They have also provided continuing education seminars for Honduran dentists in the region. Their future goals are to work with the Honduran government to expand the prevention and education program as well as to improve coordination of dental volunteers from the US and existing Honduran dental clinics.

Larry has been in the practice of general dentistry for 37 years. He and his wife have two children. Their son, Adam, who lives in South Carolina with his wife Mary, has been to Honduras to complete construction projects at the clinics. Their daughter, Rachel, is also a dentist and has made several trips to Honduras to volunteer at the clinic.