Our Team

Board of Directors

 

Julius Achon – Founder

Julius Achon grew up in a small village, Awake, 40 miles northeast of Lira in northern Uganda. At age 12, he was kidnapped by the Lord’s Resistance Army, a militant coalition that rebelled against the Uganda government, and was forced to become a child soldier. Three months later, Julius escaped and returned to his village.

Shortly thereafter, Julius returned to school and began running. His talents landed him a scholarship in 1990 to attend school at Makerere High School in the capital city of Kampala.  At age 17, having attracted the attention of several Ugandan sports officials, he was entered in the 1994 World Junior Championships in Portugal, and ran the 1,500. He won the race, wearing shoes for the first time in competition and bringing Uganda its first World Junior gold medal. His performance caught the eye of John Cook, an American track coach who brought him to George Mason University in Virginia on a scholarship.

Julius went on to compete for Uganda in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, both times serving as captain of the Ugandan Olympic team. While training near his village in 2003, he encountered a group of orphans and couldn’t help but take them into his home. That was the beginning of the Achon Uganda Children’s Fund.

Currently living in Portland, Oregon, Julius is employed by Nike, and spends much of his time engaged in the humanitarian work of the Achon Uganda Children’s Fund.  He and his wife Grace tithe to support the Achon orphans and family members in Uganda. Julius was featured in the January 2012 Runner’s World magazine as its “2012 Hero” for his humanitarian work and remarkable story.

 

Jim Fee – Executive Director

Jim Fee retired in May 2009 after a 40 year career in the medical device industry. During his career, Jim held executive and senior management positions at Welch Allyn, Protocol Systems and Physio-Control. Jim also served on the board of directors of Acrymed, Inc. and Eastside Catholic HS, and for 20 years led an outreach program at Welch Allyn and Protocol Systems providing medical equipment for medical missions. He has been married to Angela for 43 years; they have three children and six grandchildren.

 

Tony Bignell – Director

Tony has spent the past 15 years with Nike and currently serves as Global Running Footwear Category Leader overseeing the Design/ Development/ Product Marketing and Engineering Footwear Functions for all of Nike’s running footwear. He previously held positions at Nike of global and European responsibility for product marketing. He was born and raised in England and graduated from Loughborough University of Technology with a BSc (Hons) Physical Education & Sports Science. Tony was a Great Britain Olympic Trials Finalist in 1500m in 1992. Tony and his wife Nancy were married in 1996 and have two children, Nancy Grace and Jack.

 

Fred Cason – Director

Fred Cason (Bth, M.Divinity) is a successful pastor, mentor, church planter and motivator. He is Lead Pastor at True Life Fellowship Church in Beaverton, Oregon. Together with his wife, Betty, (married in 1969) and their whole family, he has provided the leadership and guidance that has transformed T.L.F. to what it is today: a vibrant, motivated, and family-oriented church. Fred is known for his relevant and transforming bible teaching. He has trained hundreds of ministry leaders overseas in a variety of conferences. He is faithfully committed to the strictest levels of personal and professional accountability.

 

Dr. Stephanie Van Dyke – Director

In 2006 Dr. Van Dyke founded Engeye Clinic in Southern Uganda and remains CEO. While completing her Family Practice residency at Oregon Health Sciences University, Dr. Van Dyke  continues to lead trips, have medical oversight, communicate with Ugandan staff, and ensure a thriving Engeye Clinic. Dr. Van Dyke has won numerous humanitarian awards including a Point of Light Award (2007) honoring individuals that have made a commitment to connect Americans through service to help meet critical needs in their communities, signed by then President G.W. Bush. She recently completed her family practice residency and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.

 

Stephanie Musho – Director

Stephanie Musho has spent the last 14 years in marketing, product management and research & development in the healthcare, high-tech and athletic industries. She holds a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University and a MS in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University. Currently, she serves as Global Category Manager in Patient Monitoring for Welch Allyn, Inc in Beaverton, Oregon.  Stephanie joined Achon Uganda Children’s fund in 2010, and lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband Ed and their two young daughters.

 

Jimmy Okullo – Director of Operations, Uganda

Jimmy Okullo, 27, is one of Julius’ brothers, and the fifth of nine children born to Charles and Kristina Achon. Jimmy graduated from high school in 2003, and was enrolled in a Lira technical institution when Julius asked that he withdraw and instead use his tuition to pay the school fees of the 11 orphan children Julius was supporting. Jimmy generously agreed and further took on primary responsibility for the care of the children in Lira. Julius states, “I trust Jimmy to care for the kids and teach them good behavior”.

Since 2008, Jimmy has successfully overseen construction of a church in Awake, a home in Lira where 11 Achon orphans live and most recently the Kristina Health Center project. He has earned a solid reputation for managing projects. Jimmy’s goal is to complete his education as the children grow and funding permits, and AUCF has committed to assist him in this endeavor.

 

Board of Advisors and Volunteers

 

David Fee

David Fee is the president of Garmont North America, a manufacturer of ski boots and hiking footwear. Previously he worked for  Yakima Products, Inc., where he served as Sr. Director of North American Sales and the Sr. Director of Market & Product Development. Prior to Yakima, he worked for Ford Motor Company where he held a variety of marketing, sales and product management positions. Prior to Ford, he held positions at Harley Davidson and Nike, Inc. An avid cyclist, runner and triathlete, David holds a BA from Boston College and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He lives with his wife Robin and children Elliott and Suzanna in Portland, Oregon.

 

Mike Fee

Michael Fee serves as Executive Vice President at EverFi, an education technology company that teaches children and adults important health, nutrition, financial and technological skills. Michael has spent his career in education, including seven years as a teacher and staff member with Teach For America. He is a two-time graduate of Stanford University (B.A. ’91, M.B.A. ’99). Today he lives in Oakland, CA, with his wife Karen and three children, serving as President of their school’s PTA and finding a bit of time to ride his bicycle and run the local trails.

 

Kelly Fee

Kelly joined AUCF in June of 2010 after graduating from Stanford University in 2009 where she studied International Relations and minored in Spanish. She now lives in Palo Alto, CA and works in the Consumer Operations department at Google.

 

 

 

Dave Devine

Dave Devine works for the University of Portland School of Education. A longtime runner and former coach, Dave was previously an editor for DyeStat.com, a website covering national prep cross country and track, and then for ESPN when DyeStat was acquired in 2008.  Dave holds a B.A. in Government from the University of Notre Dame, an M.A.T. from the University of Portland, and an M.A. in Fiction Writing from Portland State.  He and his wife Eileen live in Portland, Oregon, with their two children.