While trekking around the world in 1990, Jim happened upon a village in the mountains of Nepal as it was celebrating the opening of its first school. The villagers' outpouring of pride would change the course of Jim's life.

Later, as a member of GE Capital's Financial Management Program, Jim kept thinking back to that celebration, eventually deciding to devote his efforts full-time to starting BwB in 1992.

Working closely with his brother David, Jim helped build the first five BwB schools with his own hands, working alongside villagers who donated their efforts to the project. At the same time, he developed the methodology that engages US students in the quest to give some of the poorest people in the world access to education.

"When we started out, we only wanted to build three schools," Jim said. Many years later, BwB has built nearly 200 schools. Along the way, Jim has interviewed Mother Theresa (1996), the Dalai Lama (1997) and Colin Powell (1998), with BwB students providing the questions. Those interviews are now part of a growing video library, including 12 videos which Jim shot on-location in such far-flung locales as Brazil, South Africa and India.

Jim graduated cum laude from Michigan State University with a degree in Finance.

Marc Friedman
Chief Operating Officer

Marc is Chief Operating Office of BwB, as well as one of the co-founders. He joined BwB in 1997 out of a passion for the organization's mission on both the international and domestic fronts. To this end, Marc is charged with growing the organization's revenue by managing the fundraising and communications departments as well as the overall administration of BwB so that more people can be reached through BwB programs.

Prior to BwB, Marc worked at Seacoast Electric Company for 13 years, holding the positions of Vice-President of Sales and Marketing and then General Manager. He then joined Elcan Technologies where he served as Chief Operating Officer and was an equity partner.

Marc earned a degree in Business from Western Michigan University and is a member of the BwB Board of Directors.

Abby Hurst
V.P., U.S. Programs

Abby joined the Building with Books team in 2001, working first in the Bay Area of Northern California to grow the BwB program in that region. In the fall of 2002 Abby became BwB's Trek Manager and worked with our staff around the country to provide international service opportunities to BwB students through the Trek For Knowledge. In 2005, Abby assumed leadership of BwB's domestic program as Vice President of U.S. Programs where she oversees all programmatic development and implementation.

A graduate of Kenyon College, Abby received her BA in International Studies and Cultural Anthropology. She has traveled, worked and studied in many parts of the world. Her experiences include outdoor education, leadership training, community foundation and not-for-profit work.

While a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Niger ('01-'03) Brett coordinated his first schoolhouse construction project and adult literacy program in partnership with the Nigerien Ministry of Education. After completing the Peace Corps Brett returned to the US. Coupled with an affinity for building and a desire to help people to help themselves Brett began building houses and supervising volunteers with Habitat for Humanity. As Construction Manager at New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, Brett oversaw the construction of 19 homes with the efforts of over 12,000 volunteers.

Eager to return to rural development and education projects in developing countries, Brett joined Building with Books in 2005. In 2007, he was promoted to Vice President of International Programs. He currently splits his time between the U.S. and international travel for BwB. Brett received a B.A. in Social and Behavioral Sciences from the University of Arizona in 2000.

Shelly Hundiwal
Manager of Program Development

Shelly Hundiwal joined Building with Books in 2001. After supporting, expanding, and enriching programs in Michigan for three years she took a 7 month sabbatical in India that gave her the opportunity to work in the field of international development first hand. Shelly then returned to Building with Books as the Manager of Midwest Programs. In this role she assisted our Michigan high school programs while growing the BwB program in the Chicago region. In 2007, Shelly assumed the role of Manager of Program Development, continuing her support of current U.S. programming as well as helping to grow BwB programs throughout the country.

Shelly graduated from the University of Michigan in 2001 (Go Blue!) with a degree in Economics and Sociology. Her Economics studies focused on urban and environmental economics and she received Sociology specializations in Social Inequality: Race, Class and Gender and Social Welfare and Social Services. She has worked for and volunteered with many service learning, educational, and non-profit organizations and continues to be very excited to be a part of BwB, an organization whose mission is directly in line with her own beliefs and values.

Vanessa Liles
Youth Outreach Manager

Vanessa joined the staff in 2004 and is responsible for BwB's Lead program, which gives youth the opportunity to redefine themselves and their future by learning skills that will empower their educational, professional and personal life. Vanessa holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Pittsburgh in Political Science and Black Studies as well as a Master's in Elementary Education from the University of Bridgeport. She has extensive experience with youth programming and management having worked at the Norwalk Housing Authority as a Violence Prevention Specialist, at The Bridgeport Board of Education and at The George Washington Carver Community Center.

Rosann Jager
Trek Manager

Rosann joined Building With Books in 2005 working as a Trek Coordinator in the Michigan region. In fall 2006, Ms. Jager was promoted to Trek Manager, working with BwB staff in 6 regions to send students on Trek for Knowledge to building sites overseas. Rosann holds a B.A. in Journalism from Michigan State University as well as a Master’s in Community and Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University. She has extensive experience empowering youth having worked as the Leadership Development Specialist for five years at a YouthBuild program in Detroit. Prior to that, she was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Namibia working in a remote village teaching at a primary school.

Catherine Toolin
Chief Financial Officer

Catherine (Katy) joined Building with Books in 2007 as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Building with Books, Katy spent her career at Citigroup in various financial management and risk management roles in the U.S and Canada. Most recently she was the CFO of Celotex Trust, the asbestos settlement trust. Katy earned her M.B.A. in Finance from Pace University in New York.

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