Who We Are

Kathryn R. Ely, Ph.D.

Founder and Executive Director

Kathryn Ely is a structural biologist with more than 25 years experience working in academia. Her laboratory determined the three-dimensional structures of many key proteins including immunoglobulins, transcription factors, and signaling molecules, using crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance and homology modeling.

The basic discovery science that came from these studies has set the framework to understand key biochemical processes and basic mechanisms in human health, including immunity, cancer and neurodegeneration. Her work has been published in more than 95 papers in first-tier scientific journals, and was presented at international conferences all over the world.

During her career, Kathryn has been a consultant for biotechnology companies, and has served on numerous review panels for the National Cancer Institute, as well as on the External Advisory boards of several academic centers. She mentored the next generation of scientists, since more than 30 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from U.S., Europe and Asia trained in her lab.

Her international interactions with scientists and students made her aware of the disparities in the quality of life in different countries, and especially in developing nations. Recognizing that the lack of clean water is a major impediment to good health, and that illiteracy and lack of technology hampers the standard of living, she began to see the need for an international program to provide water, health, and education to schools in developing nations like Uganda. In 2010, Kathryn turned her professional energy toward volunteer humanitarian outreach and established Quench and Connect.

Board of Directors

Lynn Holt

Chair

Lynn Holt

Chair

Lynn Holt is a Senior Clinical Research Associate with LGHolt Associates, LLC.

As a CRA, her role is to monitor clinical trials from initiation and evaluation to protocol implementation including management, and finally to site performance and compliance. For over 35 years, Lynn has accumulated broad expertise ranging from experimental laboratory toxicology to clinical monitoring research. She has worked for several pharmaceutical companies including GlaxoSmithKline and Novovax and has a special expertise, at the national level, regarding the efficient monitoring of key clinical trials, which is essential to bring new drugs to market. The list of drugs that Lynn lists in her therapeutic skills set is long, including those use to treat a wide range of diseases such as asthma, COVID-19, RSV, AIDS/HIV, gynecologic disorders, and schizophrenia.

Lynn also has much experience with non-profit organizations serving as a volunteer or on the Board of Directors for four non-profits. She learned about one of these non-profit organizations while earning her M.S. degree in Global Health from Northwestern University. In 2022, she executed her capstone project in Uganda, working with the medical director and clinicians at the Kigezi Healthcare Foundation (KIHEFO) in Kabale. Her work there was to help develop a diabetes clinic as part of a non-communicable disease outreach in the region. From her graduate work, Lynn observed the challenges in health care in developing countries, especially in Uganda. She joins the Board of Directors of Quench and Connect with a personal knowledge of the needs of Ugandans that has now turned into a passion to help the country.

Cynthia Hedges

Secretary/Treasurer

Cynthia Hedges

Secretary/Treasurer

Cynthia Hedges is a retired educator, formerly at Point Loma High School, a public secondary school in the San Diego Unified school district. She is currently a volunteer docent at Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego. This experienced educator worked as an English teacher for many years and has a broad perspective on education. She has been a classroom teacher at the junior and senior high school levels, specializing in advanced placement (AP) and honors seminar classes. She served as English Department Chair at Crawford High School and Point Loma High School. Her passion for education was evident throughout her career as she took on extra responsibilities for curriculum development, GATE programs (gifted and talented education), as well as coordinating scholastic writing awards, book awards and idea exchange programs. Because of her outstanding teaching, she was recognized with the Abel Award for Excellence in Teaching and twice named as a San Diego Unified District Mentor Teacher.

Cindy is energetic and was always devoted to her students. During their lunch break, her students frequently would come to her classroom to talk, ask for advice or just ‘hang out’. After they graduated, Cindy’s students kept in touch with her for years, to share their successes which they attribute to her devotion and expert counsel.

In 2012, some of her honors English students asked to form a school club that would do fund-raising for Quench and Connect clean water projects. Cindy agreed to mentor this club, and guided the students in year-long fundraising events and activities. The club was called Water Uganda Do?. She worked with the students in this extra-curricular activity until her retirement and gave them a special gift by teaching them how to ‘give back’. Through this, she became personally interested in our projects and the impact enhanced education can have in developing countries. Now Cindy brings her special knowledge of education to Quench and Connect.

Kirk Drabing

Director

Kirk with gray hair, a beard, and sunglasses, smiling on a narrow street lined with buildings and parked cars.

Kirk Drabing

Director

Kirk Drabing is an entrepreneur and investor working out of Denver CO.

Kirk has more than 40 years experience in equity investments, stock and commodity trading and real estate portfolio management. Before finishing his B.S. degree in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management at the University of Colorado, he gained early professional experience as an intern with the Vice President of Commodities at Dean Witter Reynolds (now Morgan Stanley). After college, he built and managed a real estate portfolio, and then struck out on a long career founding and operating a very diverse portfolio of start-up businesses, ranging from art galleries to brew pubs. His skills as a long-term thinker come from direct experience with both successful and unsuccessful ventures, and from the fact that he has managed investments, analyzed financial performance and made capital allocation decisions. He brings to Quench and Connect valuable knowledge and understanding of strategic business planning and development which are key as Quench and Connect grows and transitions to a larger non-profit with national recognition.

Kirk has a unique blend of business acumen and exuberance for life, which exhibited itself early. When he was only twelve years old, he initiated his first stock trade and took a leadership role as a sixth grader to manage the school store. He has kept a youthful attitude, a rapier wit, and coupled it with sharp business insight.

Carolyn Field

Director

Carolyn Field

Director

Carolyn Field is retired healthcare executive. As a senior executive at GE Healthcare in California, she has managed Lifecare solutions encompassing Critical Care Monitoring, Telemetry, Non-invasive Cardiology, Mobility platforms, and the AI platform ‘MURAL’. Her skills in both nursing and healthcare management were also evident in her past roles ranging from Executive Account Manager to Senior Client Director to Mentor for Corporate Leadership. She has done clinical consulting to help clients digitize patient data and improve workflow efficiency and patient outcomes. Carolyn was comfortable and extremely competent working at the interface of business and healthcare. Her resume outlines 30 years working in healthcare sales and consulting.

Carolyn was raised and educated in Australia finishing her Registered Nurse program with High Distinction, with further training in nursing management, critical care, infectious disease, and naturopathic medicine. In 2000 she moved to the U.S., recruited through the Key Talent Pipeline at GE. As is true of many Australians, Carolyn has a strong interest in international travel, and has visited many countries including Uganda. Her experiences in Uganda have stayed strong as fond memories. When she learned about Quench and Connect’s projects in Uganda, she was fascinated because she had seen personally the challenges that rural high schools in Uganda have with no piped water. She knows the devasting effects of drinking contaminated water. Carolyn will provide an important connection with for Quench and Connect with healthcare leaders.

Richard May

Director

Richard May

Director

Richard May is a founding partner of American Working Capital and the managing partner of AWC Advisors.

Richard works with American Working Capital, a merchant bank focused on privately-held middle market businesses where he provides financial advice and strategic planning services for acquisition of growth equity capital or planning of ownership succession. Previously, he was Managing Director with Duff & Phelps, LLC., founder and President of Valuemetrics Advisors, Inc., and partner at Technology Management Inc. He has over 40 years of both advisory and transaction experience working with privately-held corporations. He also serves on the Board of Directors for two retail corporations in Oklahoma.

Dick’s expertise is broad, first earning an undergraduate degree in computer systems design at Purdue and then his master’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His first job was with Boeing Company where he designed control systems for Boeing’s parts manufacturing and assembly operations. In most recent years, his interest and passion have focused on growing board-based employee ownership of U.S. companies, for the benefit of their workers, families and communities.

Dick May is an avid cyclist who clocks a hundred miles a week, with no hill or mountain being too tall. He has physical and mental energy that allows him to create, achieve and excel. He brings a broad knowledge of the rigors required to grow and sustain successful businesses. His special skills are a critical addition to the Board of Directors of Quench and Connect as it grows from a small non-profit to a larger sustainable humanitarian organization.

Julia Phillipson

Director

Julia with short gray hair, blue eyes, and earrings, smiling at the camera while standing in front of a cream-colored paneled door.

Julia Phillipson

Director

Julia Phillipson is a retired physician who specialized in Clinical and Surgical Pathology over 35 years. She brings medical and health expertise to the Board of Directors of Quench and Connect concerning the impact of clean water on the health of individuals and local communities. She earned her M.D. at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and did residency and fellowship training at both UCSD and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). During her career, Julia worked in southern California in academic clinical settings as well as practicing as a member of the Southern California Permanente Medical Group in San Diego. Her medical experience beyond Clinical Pathology is broad ranging from medical education, to directing a blood bank, to quality assurance oversight. She served on advisory boards at several hospitals during her successful career.

Now, Julia wants to focus on the problems impacting health care in non-urban areas, including those of the developing world. Her new focus and passion will help Quench and Connect assess health outcomes from installation of boreholes at school sites, and will provide critical health perspectives as our organization grows and integrates into international humanitarian programs.

Richard Taylor

Director

Rick with gray hair, a beard, in a green button-up shirt, looking at the camera with city apartment buildings on a hill in the background.

Richard Taylor

Director

Richard Taylor is an independent consultant who uses his extensive experience in the global setting to help non-profit organizations navigate international donor regulations regarding accounting, auditing, acquisition and assistance.

Rick’s background as Deputy Assistant Inspector General for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) gave him direct knowledge about international aid programs during his 15 years of service. Before that he was Senior Auditor for the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) and in this capacity, he had field office experience in countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He brings first-hand expertise to the Board of Directors of Quench and Connect about humanitarian assistance in developing countries. Rick earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting at the University of Massachusetts and is a licensed CPA. His professional experiences in the global arena are extensive, and his personal perspectives on international aid are insightful and important.

In the past, Rick has volunteered at several small local non-profits, but now is ready to direct his international expertise and connections to larger humanitarian projects. He will help Quench and Connect grow and integrate with the international programs that are working to improve quality of life in Uganda.

Karin Veatch

Director

Karin Veatch

Director

Karin Veatch is a Senior Wealth Strategy Associate for USB Private Wealth Management.

Karin is a financial advisor based in Indianapolis IN. She advises clients on investments, banking, estate planning, business succession and charitable giving. Her clients benefit from her rich twenty-five year experience and background as a Wealth Advisor for JPMorgan Private Bank, and as an estate planning attorney at Dann Pecar Newman & Kleiman, P.C. in Indianapolis. Clients appreciate her highly professional yet uniquely positive, friendly and direct approach, as she guides their financial planning. She is well-respected through the midwestern United States because of her broad skills and energetic, intelligent counsel. In particular, Karin is acquainted with high net-worth clients in Indianapolis, where there is a reputation for philanthropy. She brings to Quench and Connect valuable knowledge and understanding of foundations and endowments, which are essential as Quench and Connect grows and transitions to larger goals requiring philanthropic support.

Mindful of the importance of community involvement, Karin currently serves on the Board of Directors of two non-profit organizations in Indianapolis with energy and enthusiasm. She is the mother of two college-age sons, who keep her aware of the importance of education in a productive society.