OUR TEAM
Meet the members of our dedicated and engaged Board of Directors. From fundraising to acting as project and sponsorship liaisons to making site visits and participating in hand-on global volunteering, the members of the Living Water Children’s Fund team fill many roles and help us prove time and time again that it truly takes a village!
Going to Haiti to help after the earthquake in 2010 proved to be a life-changing experience for me. There I met Sherry Fine and was soon involved in LWCF’s projects, which now span the globe. My special interests include improving educational opportunities and combating poverty in Haiti and assisting in improving the circumstances of children with albinism in East Africa.
Aryeh Levenson, a practicing psychiatrist in Alaska grew up running around the forests of Massachusetts and exploring the waters of coastal New England. Despite being part of Red Sox Nation, he was always fascinated by other cultures and lands far away. After high school, Aryeh (pronounced like the three letters: R.E.A.) left his home in New England to obtain his undergraduate degree at Cornell University. There he studied religion, cross cultural psychology and anthropology, and came to a realization that he would never become a professional polo player.
After obtaining his degree, his wanderlust took him to Jerusalem, Israel; where he underwent Rabbinic studies before deciding to go to Medical School at Tufts University in Boston. After graduating in 1990 and completing two years of volunteer work in Israel, he went onto study medicine and psychiatry. Given his love of the wilderness and interest in cross cultural work, he brought his family to Alaska to work in the Indian Health Service, where he spent over 20 years practicing in Sitka and in Anchorage. In addition to working in Alaska, Aryeh has had the opportunity to live and practice psychiatry on the Hopi, Fort Apache, Havasupai, and Red Lake Chippewa Reservations; and work internationally in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Israel.
Aryeh frequently serves as an expert witness for the Alaska State Court System and has extensively worked in the Alaskan bush. He has lectured and/or teaches on a wide array of subjects including mental health, mind-body and natural medicine, spirituality and mindfulness practice.
Aryeh joined the board of Living Water Children’s Fund after a trip to Tanzania where he and his family came across an orphan boy and sought a safe and quality orphanage to help him grow and develop. While earlier he was most involved in Living Water’s projects in Tanzania; he has since primarily worked to expand our programs in Myanmar.
Now that his adult children have inherited his wanderlust and left Alaska to settle themselves in Israel; he lives in Anchorage with his wife, youngest son, foster daughter and dog Akko—who sometimes accompanies him to work.
Dennise Dalma-Weiszhausz, PhD is a medical device professional currently working at Intuitive Surgical, manufacturer of the daVinci surgical robot. Dennise grew up in a multicultural family in the outskirts of Mexico City, where she studied Biomedical Research at the National University of Mexico (UNAM). She moved to the USA for graduate studies in Molecular Biophysics, which she studied at Yale University and at Einstein College of Medicine. Though Dennise has always been very focused on science, she has always been an avid traveler and incredibly curious about other cultures and ways of living.
Dennise had the opportunity of volunteering through Catholic Charities to help Latin-American undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers adapt to living in the Bay Area. Also through Catholic Charities, Dennise had the opportunity of working in El Paso, TX where she helped asylum seekers from El Salvador, Honduras and Brazil as they were released from detention facilities. It was during this work that Dennise met Sherry and Sue and was so lucky to be invited to be part of the LWCF board.
Now that her adult children have left the nest, and have settled in Israel and Pittsburgh, Dennise lives in the Bay Area, California with her husband, youngest daughter and her two dogs.
Born in the States, raised in Canada, Arsha is our newly dedicated board member. Arsha has a passion for travelling and has a special place working with children and helping them reach their optimal success. Arsha specializes in Behavioural Services within her own company and looks forward to bringing a new perspective and opportunity to help the many communities involved with Living Water Children’s Fund!
Elyse McManus is a Junior in High School. Her grandmother, Joann McManus, was an incredible teacher who was strongly connected with LWCF. Elyse now works closely with the Joann McManus Academy in Dar Es Salem, Tanzania. She is incredibly honored and excited to work on the board of LWCF and create change and opportunities for deserving children around the world.
