OUR FOUNDER

LOUIS ZAMPERINI

Louis Zamperini (1917 - 2014) was a U.S. Olympic runner, World War II bombardier, and POW survivor. During the war, his B-24 crashed at sea, leaving him and two other survivors lost at sea aboard a life raft for 47 days. Louis was found by the Japanese, where he was imprisoned and severely tortured for 2 1/2 years. After the war, he returned to the United States to found Victory Boys Camp, a charitable organization for at-risk youth. Louis is the hero of the major motion picture Unbroken, directed by Angelina Jolie, as well as Laura Hillenbrand's bestselling publication of the same name. Louis has authored two books with co-author David Rensin, 2003's Devil at My Heels and a posthumous publication in 2014, entitled Don't Give Up, Don't Give In.

Board of Directors

LUKE ZAMPERINI, President & CEO 

Luke Zamperini is the only son of our founder, Louis Zamperini. As a child, Luke accompanied his father on Victory Boys Camp retreats, giving him the knowledge and wisdom to keep Victory Boys Camp true to its original mission.  Luke continues to make himself available for public speaking events where he tells his father’s story and share’s unique perspective on what made Louis the man he was. Luke is the President and CEO of The Louis Zamperini Foundation.

Heather Fuller, Program Director, Advisory Board Member

Heather Fuller is an innovative, high school educator who encourages students to think creatively.  Cultivating a culture of oracy, she leads students down the path of finding their own "voice.”  After nearly a decade in education, Heather knows that empowered students, with a globalized perspective, are world-changers. As a graduate from UT Austin, Heather utilizes her unique background (Bachelor of Science Radio-TV-Film; U.S. Latino & Latin American Media Studies) to carefully curate lessons that highlight geography visually and through a narrative-based, humanistic lens.

Heather's 9th grade World Geography projects have been highlighted by school district leaders at the local+international levels whether it's BIE's PBL World or Texas Metroplex Social Studies Supervisor's Association (MSSSA). Due to her extensive+immersive classroom environment, Heather has been nominated by her peers and awarded Granbury Independent School District's "Teacher of the Month," as well as "Teacher of the Year" for the 2013-14 school year. Heather is currently working with The Louis Zamperini Foundation to bring The Unbroken Curriculum to schools across the nation. This immersive and character-based curriculum utilizes the Young Adult Adaptation of Louis Zamperini's biography from Unbroken: An Olympian's Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive by Lauren Hillenbrand. The Unbroken Curriculum stems from Heather's lessons she designed around this book and has implemented in her own classroom since 2014. A dream of hers is to create Louis Zamperini-inspired and Unbroken-based charter schools where the curriculum is character-driven, the learning is service-based, and there is a culture of oracy alongside student collaboration.
 
Heather also has such a love+ passion for humanitarian-based lessons in the classroom. Heather’s heart+soul is to showcase these essential teaching styles as the next step in the evolution of education.

Sheila Carlson, Ed.D., Advisory Board Member

Dr. Sheila Carlson is a former principal and Director of Staff Development and Grants with the Conejo Valley Unified School District, and Vice-President of the Conejo Schools Foundation. Sheila earned her doctorate at UCLA in Administration, Curriculum, and Teaching Studies, with a specialization in Entrepreneurship Education. Now semi-retired, she continues to pursue her passion of teaching others effective educational practices leading to success for all through work with the University of La Verne Teacher Education program and CVUSD. A published author in research-based journals and texts, Sheila has served as a national consultant in the areas of research, educational leadership, curriculum writing, grants, standards, assessments, and program development for many agencies, including the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and American College Testing. She has created programs for the national dissemination of research-based curricula and conducted staff development in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education. Sheila and her husband, Brent, are active members of Bethany Church on the Hill in Thousand Oaks, California.

CHRISTINE STEELE, JD, BOARD MEMBER

Christine Steele, JD, is principal consultant for her own firm – C. Steele & Associates. Christine’s 35 years of nonprofit experience spans the breadth and depth of not-for-profit administration, programs, marketing, and fund development in Santa Barbara and Orange County. She is a capacity building and nonprofit solutions specialist; as such, she worked with OneOC on a major capacity building project for selected small nonprofits. Christine has served nonprofits in the fields of education, youth, art museums, medicine and law. She launched and completed multi-million dollar capital campaigns for two independent schools. During her tenure as Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs Orange County Alliance, she oversaw a $1 million annual budget of programs benefiting the clubs county wide; revamped the Angels RBI Program; created the Readiness on the Road mobile preschool program; and revitalized the Angels Field of Dreams Luncheon featuring players and owner. Most recently, Christine was Executive Director of WomanSage, an organization for women over 50, founded by Jane Glenn Haas. Additionally, Christine was program director and facilitator of the Women in Life Transitions Program for WomanSage. She also has written major fund campaign materials for colleges such as Gordon College in Massachusetts and Trinity Law School in Orange.

Christine earned her Juris Doctorate from Pepperdine University School of Law, specializing in nonprofit regulations, estate planning and planned gifts. She earned her Communications degree with training in marketing and public relations, at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and holds a certificate in Financial Planning and Management of Nonprofits from California State University, Fullerton. Christine is a 20-year member of the Association of Fund Raising Professionals (AFP) and past member of the AFP Orange County board of directors.

KEVIN L. STARK, PHD, ADVISORY Board member

Kevin L. Stark, PhD is a seasoned business executive in biotechnology research & development, global strategy & operations, and mergers & acquisitions.  He received his doctorate from the University of Washington in Molecular Pharmacology and began a 15-year career in basic research, followed by positions of increasing responsibility at Amgen, Inc until 2007.  Subsequently, he was a co-founder and COO of a start-up biotechnology company that raised a $20M initial investment.  In 2011, Kevin had a traumatic spinal cord injury resulting in quadriplegia.  It was his relationship with the Lord that provided hope during some of the darkest days.  Kevin knows firsthand that the Lord ‘saves the crushed in spirit’ (Psalm 34:18) and granted an amazing recovery.  Today, Kevin and his wife Jamie, have dedicated themselves to being of service to the disadvantaged and disabled community.

Cecilia Santini, Advisory Committee Member

Cecilia Santini combines extensive experience serving students as a Professional School Counselor with United Independent School District for over 16 years. Cecilia is currently working with students at the Residential Facilities and Juvenile Detention Center. Her working familiarity includes procedures that involve assisting students with their overall educational, career and personal goals.

Cecilia is a Licensed Professional Counselor, her knowledge in theories and practices have afforded her a seat at the table alongside multi-disciplinary teams who aim to break the cycle of abuse. She previously served children as a Registered Play Therapist at the Webb County Children’s Advocacy Center in Laredo.

Cecilia continuously uses her skill-set to provide students the opportunity to acquire the mechanisms and tools to sharpen their coping skills and in so doing she strives to offer them opportunities to be better prepared in overcoming life’s greatest obstacles. She believes there is nothing more uplifting and edifying for a family and a community than a young person who understands their purpose in life and who works towards developing their God-given gifts and talents to be a help to others.

Cecilia loves doing life with her husband, Richard, and their 3 children.