Board of Directors (BeVolunteer)
Get to know the core
As great as the project BeWelcome is - the real asset are its people. Some of the most active and dedicated volunteers are elected every year by the members of BeVolunteer to form the Board of Directors (BoD) which we want to present here. If you have a question or want to contact the BoD send us an e-mail!
How we work together
Hardly two members of the board live in the same country which makes us truly international. At a communication point of view we master geographical distances through weekly skype chat conferences and a forum area reserved for BoD issues such as member accepting or legal questions.
Main tasks
The main tasks of the BoD are to help and listen to the questions and problems of the volunteers. It also takes care of administrative and legal issues and is a strict guardian of the organisation's statutes and values.
Financing the organisation
BeWelcome and BeVolunteer are financed through keeping expenses as low as possible. Some administrative costs, however, occur and we are happy for your donation.
The board members
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Frank is a translator (English/Italian), graduate in journalism and attending photography workshops. He started travelling from a very young age, first in Europe, later in North and Central America and South-East Asia. Frank firmly believes that meeting locals is what makes a trip so worthwhile and he likes to give back as a volunteer.
He is also one of the founders of BeWelcome and BeVolunteer and feels that committing his work and enthusiasm to the project is much more rewarding than just donating money. Frank has followed the development of hospitality exchange networks from the very beginning and has extensively contributed to them as a host, guest and local volunteer.
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Pierre-Charles is a young architect. He is back from one year in Caracas, Venezuela. He sees life like a journey: dreaming, reading a book, inventing new ways of working, meeting new people, receiving travellers at home, running the roads hitch-hiking or quietly living in a far isolated village.
He travelled mostly in Europe (motherland) and South America (heart land), and will probably continue to jump from one to the other for a while, between investigations about an integral architecture and social revolutions.
Pierre-Charles participated in the Hospitality movements from their beginning, and soon enjoyed travelling during his free time and receiving foreigners at home, making it a way of life. He is also one of the co-founder of BeWelcome, he helps in various areas and mostly tries to maintain and develop the structure of BeVolunteer.
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Claudia is teaching English and Latin at secondary school in Aachen, Germany. She has always loved travelling and immersing herself into foreign cultures. Even with her parents they preferred to get in contact with locals so the idea of hospitality exchange came very natural to her. Claudia travelled a lot in Europe, but also to the U.S., Vietnam and India.
As volunteer for BeWelcome Claudia enjoys to contribute to the project as it enables others to benefit from hospitality exchange, too. Moreover, she got to know wonderful people through volunteering - some of whom have become valuable friends.
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Thomas Goorden is a tv, film and theater director and owns a creative production company called "ensemblage" in Antwerp, Belgium. Before that he got a bachelors degree in Physics and worked in IT for 10 years. He likes "older" hobbies like horse riding and tango. Thomas has lived in the US for a year and travelled to a big part of Europe, the US, Canada, Congo, New Zealand and Australia.
Thomas joined BeWelcome because he believes its structure is better suited for hospitality exchange. He likes hosting and frequently stays with friends abroad, resulting in an ever expanding and impossible to maintain group of friends.
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JeanYves is an husband and the father of three children. He is graduated in electricity and automation and is specialist in database design. He currently works in a sensorial analysis laboratory. His previous work areas are as diverse as nuclear and navigation systems, airports, pharmacy and military. The most "exotic" destinations JeanYves has visited so far include Japan, Azerbaijan and Southern Arabia.
As another one of the co-founder and one of the first programmer for the project BeWelcome JeanYves loves to contribute to hospitality and cultural sharing. He highly values the unexpected ideas and new concepts you can encounter when looking across personal borders.
You want to know more about the BoD and its work?
You have a specific question or want to know more about the BoD, its work or the organisation BeVolunteer? Check out our wiki library or contact the BoD directly at administration(at)bevolunteer.org.
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Frank
Pierre-Charles
Claudia
Thomas
JeanYves