AOM’s Board of Directors

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Annie De Meij

Founder and Director of AOM for 24 years, Current President

I spent my first decade in the tall grass fields of South America and at a chicken hatchery by Martinique's ocean.
After high school I wound my way to Montana and found jobs milking cows, bucking bales, and eventually working on biocontrol of grasshoppers and locusts. While doing field work on locusts in Madagascar, my husband and I were taken with the gentleness of our Malagasy co-workers. This led us to adopting two Malagasy children.  Aid to Orphans of Madagascar (now Advancing Opportunities in Madagascar) is a way to provide educational opportunities for other children and to acknowledge the light brought to us by our daughters.

When not working on AOM, I can be found walking with friends, reading, and trying to keep up with two lively daughters.

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A person bundled in a blue jacket, wearing a colorful headband and sunglasses with a snowy background.

I live in beautiful Northwest Montana and am a part-time graduate student at Wheaton College (IL) and a Horizon Air employee. Before pursuing graduate studies, I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Madagascar (2011-2014) and in various leadership roles in the American Red Cross Humanitarian Services program (2015-2022). When not at work or studying, I enjoy reading books on history and recreating with my wife, Allie, and my dog, Millie.

Theodore “Ted” Koenig

Treasurer

Patricia “Pookie” Godvin

Secretary

I first heard of Annie De Meij’s work with children in Madagascar twenty four years ago. Annie told the story of buying a bag of rice for hungry children in an orphanage which led to building a wall around the orphanage to prevent the theft of the rice. How could I not help? When AOM became a formal 501 (c) 3, I joined the board and consider it a privilege to serve the Malagasy children and their families.

A teacher at heart and by profession, I have taught children and adults encouraging them to learn skills in mountaineering, fine arts, skiing, pottery, and dance. It is my hope that sharing knowledge, inspiring others, and fostering a deep love for nature will help make the world a better place. In kinship, AOM strives to provide resources for Malagasy families so they can empower and enriched their own lives. Supporting the work of AOM has been a gift.

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Kathy Schmidt

I am an artist who worked part-time jobs while building a house and studio and raising a daughter with my artist husband.  A favorite job was working as a preparator for the Museum of the Rockies and making mounts for 64 million year old dinosaur fossils. These days I appreciate the quiet hours spent working on paintings in my studio on a hillside outside Bozeman, Montana, from where I sometimes think I can see the whole world.  

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