James M. Wade, President, US Board
Jim was appointed to the BethanyKids US board  September 15, 2001. Jim has been in private practice in Abingdon, Virginia since 1978. He has been an attending physician at Johnston Memorial Hospital from 1978-present. He filled the position of Chief of Staff in 1983. Jim earned his BS from West Virginia University in 1966 and graduated from West Virginia University Medical School in 1970 and completed his Otolaryngology Residency at Walter Reed General Hospital in 1975. Jim is an Otolaryngologist with extensive experience in cleft lip and palate repair. He is board certified in otolaryngology and head and neck surgery. Jim is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American Academy of Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery and the American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy. Jim received the In the Footsteps of the Great Physician Award in 2007 from World Medical Mission. Jim served on the board of Appalachian Bible College and various church boards. You can e-mail him at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 276-628-9547.

Richard Bransford, BA, MD, FACS
Dick Bransford was appointed to BethanyKids US board in September 2001. He has served as a surgeon at BethanyKids at Kijabe Hospital since 2004. From 1977-2004 he served as a surgeon at Bethany Crippled Children’s Centre and Kijabe Hospital. He served as a surgeon at Hombo Hospital in the Comoro Islands from July, 1977 to January, 1978. Dick attended Compton College in Compton, California from 1958 to 1960. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Physics from the University of California, Los Angeles, California in 1962 and his Doctor of Medicine from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland in 1967. Dick was a resident in general surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center from July 1969 to June 1972 and an intern and resident in general surgery at West Virginia University Medical Center from July 1967 to June 1969. Dick received his Diploma in Tropical Medicine from the Prince Leopold School of Tropical Medicine in February 1976. Dick is a general surgeon with special involvement in rehabilitation surgery for disabled children. He received the Smith, Kline, & French fellowship in 1966, the International Federation of Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Annual Award in 2009 the American Medical Association Excellence in Medicine Award, Dr. Nathan Davis International Award in 2010, and the American College of Surgeons/Pfizer Surgical Humanitarianism Award in 2010. Dick served on the board of the Bethany Crippled Children’s Centre from 1996 to 2004; the Daisy Foundation from 1998 to 2003; Cure International from 1996 to 2000 and the Rift Valley Academy from 1980 to 1995. Dick is married to Millie Bransford. You can reach him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Jerry Caffey, President, Caffey, Inc.

Jerry was appointed to the BethanyKids US board in December 2010.  He is responsible for overseeing all of Caffey, Inc.’s construction and design/build business, and major programs. His responsibilities include strategic planning, business development, and managing major programs. He has more than 26 years of experience in the design and construction industries, including multi-million dollar projects for the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Navy, Air Force and major hospitals, as well as companies, such as General Electric, Toshiba, Siemens, and Phillips Medical Systems.

Caffey, Inc. specializes in diagnostic imaging facilities, laboratory and critical care renovations and ongoing renovations of operations in service.  Jerry has served as a construction coordinator for Loma de Luz hospital in Balfate, Honduras since 1997. He has worked with Overtoun House in Scotland since 2001 in its design and development as a home for unwed mothers.  From 1996-2001 he was involved with with Casa Alleluia, an orphanage in St. Bartlome, Guatemala.

Rebecca Cook, BA, MSc in Global Health, MSc in Medical Anthropology, MD

Rebecca was appointed to the BethanyKids US board in May 2009. She is currently in her final year of medical training at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, upon completion she intends pursue specialty training in a combined residency program in internal medicine-pediatrics with an ultimate goal of returning to Africa. During her medical training she has been involved in research in rural Mozambique to help improve the quality of care for infants born to HIV-infected mothers. Prior to medical school she spent two years in graduate training in Oxford, England on a Rhodes Scholarship where she studied medical anthropology and global health science.  While there she served as grants officer for the Rhodes Scholar Southern Africa Forum. Rebecca has applied her masters level training in medical anthropology and global public health to public health and community-based research in developing countries. Rebecca earned her BS in Biology at Wake Forest University, and spent three months before matriculating at Oxford in 2005 working with BethanyKids focusing her efforts on community-based rehabilitation training in the refugee camps in Northern Kenya and writing grants for special projects.  Rebecca was born and raised in Kenya. You can contact Rebecca at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Mike Delorenzo, BS

Mike resides in Nairobi, Kenya as a missionary with Africa Inland Mission (AIM). Mike is a commercial pilot and aircraft mechainic with a BS in Missionary Aviation from Moody Bible College. He served for 13 years as a pilot with AIM's aviation ministry, supporting numerous ministry efforts throughout East and Central Africa, including BethanyKids. Mike served as the Chief Pilot and the Flight Operations Manager for AIM AIR as well as a line pilot. During that time, he also pursued his interest in writing and other creative media to support AIM's Public Relations department. In 2007, Mike helped establish a field-based media team for the mission, and later joined that team. Mike and his wife Renee have 2 children. You can learn more about their ministry at www.delorenzoflyer.com

Fred Beam, PhD
Although Fred and Janet Beam grew up in the US, they have spent most of their married lives overseas, 34 of 44 years of marriage. After completing university studies (Fred earned an M.S. and PhD in entomology and parasitology, Janet an MA in Literature all from Rutgers University), they served two years in Panama as tent-maker (or self-supporting) missionaries, overseeing malaria control in the Canal Zone for the US government while assisting a missionary pilot working among the Darien Indians. In 1971 they joined Africa Inland Mission and in May of that year left for Kenya. For 14 years they taught and served as Headmaster for hundreds of African high school and junior college students in the bush, helped build 15 bush churches and developed a famine relief/handicraft program which became self-sufficient after eight years and still functions to this day.

Fred, an ordained minister, was elected the AIM Field Director for Kenya in 1984, becoming the leader of a team of over 275 missionaries. During his six years as Branch Executive Officer in Nairobi, he became involved in a children's ministry via his weekly television program of Bible lessons from bugs and creepy-crawlies, with viewership of 1 million. In 1990 he was elected International Director (ID) of AIM and moved to the Mission's International Office in Bristol, England. Fred served as ID for the maximum term of 12 years overseeing the work of over 1000 mission personnel, during which time he and Janet visited missionaries in the 17+ countries of Africa where AIM is serving. In addition they visited the score of countries of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas which send missionaries to AIM through the Home Offices in the US, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and South Africa. Fred has preached or taught in more than 35 countries, sharing the challenges of missions or sharing bug stories with children. Fred has also written numerous articles for mission publications, including a quarterly magazine for African pastors which is printed in English and French.

Fred and Janet, from January 2002 to July 2006, were AIM's Coordinators for HIV/AIDS Ministries. Although based in the US and living in Mechanicsburg, PA, they still travelled to Africa as part of their AIDS work. They officially retired from AIM on 1 May 2010, but continue extensively in children's ministries programs in AIM and beyond, and also serve as national speakers, representing the Mission at conferences, churches, and camps. They frequently use Fred's extensive collection of bugs, creepy-crawlies and snakes to minister to thousands of children in churches, schools (both Christian and public) and home-schooling groups. They love storytelling and seek to challenge children for the cause of missions and to pray for missionaries worldwide. They have two married children, Fred and Karen, plus five grandchildren.

A fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Charles is board certified in both facial plastic surgery and head and neck surgery. He is also one of a select group of physicians involved in several research studies including FDA trials to test and evaluate cosmetic products created for consumer use.

Charles has published his research in several medical and surgical journals and has authored book chapters on cosmetic surgery. He frequently appears on television and radio educating the public about cosmetic surgery. He is married to Dr. Anne Boyd.  You may reach him at http://www.renewfaces.com/.

N.C. Das
As a US Board member with BethanyKids, N.C. is pursuing her passion of work in youth ministry and outreach to Kenyan kids, which began in November 2004 during her first trip to the continent. Upon four visits in as many years, N.C. realized that her professional and educational background could help BethanyKidsbring healing and hope to children with disabilities in Africa.  N.C. was born in Wisconsin into a loving family that cherished service and loved to fly.  Her father was a helicopter pilot in the Marine Corps and her mother flew with Pan Am airlines during the late 1960s.  Following in her parents' footsteps, N.C. pursued aviation.  She attended the University of Colorado and earned a degree in International Relations.  After serving in the U.S. military for nearly six years, she earned a Masters Degree in International Education from the George Washington University.  N.C. heard the Good News and trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as her Savior through multiple friends' consistent witness during her college years.  Given her growing desire to study, teach, and share the Scriptures, N.C. is currently pursuing full time youth ministry with at-risk young girls in Alaska. She can be reached by calling 1-800-469-1512.

Sarah Seaton, BA, MA

Sarah’s first trip to Kenya was in 1999 when she was a sophomore in high school. She fell in love and returned to Kenya for 3 months in the summer of 2000. She volunteered with Francesca at BethanyKids and Joytown, and traveled with Dick across the country for clinics. Sarah graduated from Asbury University in 2005 with a BA in media communications and from Johns Hopkins University in 2009 with a MA in nonfiction writing.

She began her television career in college, working for ESPN, ABC Sports, NBC’s Sunday Night Football, and covering the 2004 Athens Olympics for Canadian Broadcasting. Sarah worked as a producer for LEX 18 in Lexington, KY, ABC 7 News in Washington DC, and is currently a producer at DIY Network in Knoxville, TN.

In 2009 Sarah won an Emmy for a piece she produced for ABC 7 News.

Sarah has shot two documentaries in Kenya, one for The Hope Center in Omaha, and is currently finishing a documentary on forgiveness in Rwanda post-genocide. In her free time she volunteers with her church, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity, and fulfills her duties as a BK board member. And Sarah’s five-pound toy poodle, Tater Tot, is the cutest dog ever!