Meet the Helping Children Worldwide team

Melody Curtiss
Executive Director​
​

Melody Curtiss has over twenty years of experience in organizational management. Before coming to Helping Children Worldwide, she worked as administrative counsel, legislative liaison and legal advisor in Olympia, Washington and Topeka, Kansas for two different government agencies. She has 15+ years experience working in program development, outreach and development for nonprofits, as well as 15 years as executive director, organizational manager, and project lead for government, nonprofits, and business.

Melody obtained her Bachelors Degree, teaching qualifications and Juris Doctorate from Washburn University in Kansas and a post-doctoral certificate in nonprofit financial governance from Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government.
 
Melody lives in Arlington, VA with her husband and the youngest of their six children. She is a member of WHC Congregation in Washington, D.C., and is a published author “always working on the next book." She enjoys learning something new daily, listening to “every kind of music" and visiting with her large, diverse family, including fifteen grandchildren.

Dr. Laura Horvath
Program Development Specialist
​

​Prior to joining the Helping Children Worldwide staff in November 2014, Laura was an active volunteer with Helping Children Worldwide for more than ten years, serving on and leading the Education Committee, serving as the Vice Chair and then Chairperson of the Child Rescue Center Program Team, and leading multiple Volunteers in Mission teams to Sierra Leone.

​Laura holds a doctorate in education, and brings to her role an in-depth knowledge of education, a strong personal relationship with our partners, and a deep passion for the mission of the Child Rescue Centre and Mercy Hospital. Laura and her husband, David, are members of Floris United Methodist Church and have three children.

Kimberly Nabieu
Medical Programs Field Director Specialist

​Kim works alongside our African partners in Bo.  She is a graduate of James Madison University and previously served as a long-term missionary with Helping Children Worldwide in 2013.  Prior to her role as Director of Medical Projects, she completed a two-year stint with the Peace Corps in Rwanda and also interned with US AID in Kenya.

​Cynthia Grant
Program Financial Specialist
​

​Cynthia has the pleasure of monitoring budget execution for the Child Rescue Center and Mercy Hospital. Cynthia was born and raised in Ghana where she received her undergraduate degree in Chemistry at the University of Cape Coast. Cynthia completed her post graduate studies in Chemistry at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

Cynthia joined the staff at Helping Children Worldwide in the fall of 2007 after a successful career as an Environmental Chemist, to pursue her passion of supporting impoverished children and families in Africa. Cynthia and her husband, Thompson, are members of Floris United Methodist Church and have two grown boys, Leslie and Phillip.

​Kathleen Caron
Sponsorship & Communications Specialist

​Kathleen collaborates with the Sierra Leone Sponsor A Child (SAC) Team to serve more than 600 Child Rescue Centre students and their sponsors, and coordinates communications efforts for Helping Children Worldwide. Kathleen has a bachelors degree from Union Institute & University with a focus on African development issues, and has many years experience advocating for children affected by extreme poverty.

​Kathleen is a member of Grace Covenant Church in Chantilly, Virginia.  She is married and has three adult children. 

​Linda Reinhard
Missions and Compliance Specialist
​

​Linda joined the staff of HCW in 2007 and serves as the Missions and Compliance Specialist. Her responsibilities include managing team planning and preparation, handling the logistics of travel, managing team fundraising and finances, organizational compliance and grant research.

​Linda has traveled to Sierra Leone on several teams and really enjoys the times she has spent there. Linda and her husband, Derek, are members of St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church in Burke, VA. They have three daughters, one grandson and one granddaughter.

​​Samar Winship
Development Specialist & Events Manager

​Samar joined the staff in 2017 as the Events and Communications Manager. She is responsible for planning and hosting fundraising events. She received her Bachelors of Arts in Business Administration from the Arab Open University.

​Prior to joining the team, Samar worked in public relations and marketing in her home town of Amman, Jordan. She moved to the United States in 2012 after she married her American husband. They have two children and attend Holy Trinity Church in McLean, Va.

​Meghan Sharon
Administrative & Development Specialist

​Meghan joined staff in July 2016. She graduated from Northern Virginia Community College with an AAS in Business Management, AAS in Accounting, and earned her Bookkeeping Certificate in May 2015. Meghan is currently working on a Bachelor’s degree program through the School of Continuing and Professional Studies at the University of Virginia.

​In addition to her newly found (and quickly growing) passion for alleviating extreme poverty in countries around the world, she is incredibly passionate about animal welfare and mental health awareness. In her spare time, if she isn’t baking something or reading a new book, you can find her walking her dog Macallan or ever-so-hopefully cheering on the Washington Capitals.