Founder and President, Alicia Jean Demetropolis
In 2017, Alicia Jean Demetropolis spent three months traveling in the Kathmandu area, assisting a local NGO with assessing elder care facilities and rewriting their volunteer program. She took food and water to the homeless seniors and youths living in the streets, and also trained local medical professionals and EMTs in the use of gait belts. Her book, Drowning in Now: A Search for God and Humanity at the Top of the World, is an account of her spiritual journey and the story of how The Global Humanity Initiative was started. Fifteen percent of the proceeds from the sale of Drowning in Now go to The Global Humanity Initiative, benefiting impoverished children and elders around the world.
Alicia’s photographs, articles and short fiction have appeared in various publications through the years, including The Whales of Arcadia, Tidepools and Pulse. She serves as a main writer and co-editor of Pet Tidings, the newsletter for Safe Haven, a fully donor-supported, cageless, no-kill animal shelter on the Olympic Peninsula, run by Peninsula Friends of Animals. Alicia also once penned a quarterly newsletter, Death Over Coffee, designed to promote a healthy and fearless discussion on death and dying on the Olympic Peninsula. Her book, Cannabis Island, Part 1: An Outsider’s Look Inside Cannabis Therapeutics was published on Kindle and the Kindle app.
Along with being a CNA/Med Tech at a local assisted living facility, Alicia is certified in spiritual care for end of life patients. Her daily focus is on providing physical and spiritual care to people so they can transition from this world with peace, grace and dignity.
Prior to this work, Alicia spent 30 years in the global corporate world. She holds a BA in English Language and Literature, and an MS in International Business and Finance.
Alicia lives on the Olympic Peninsula with her husband, Doc, and their rescued dogs: A Rat Terrier/Chihuahua mix named Daisy, and a rescued Chihuahua named Sami, both of whom keep Alicia and Doc on the move.
Co-Founder and Secretary & Treasurer,
Catherine Demes Maydew
Catherine has served large for-profit companies as well as both large and small non-profit and governmental organizations. At KPMG LLP, she was an Assurance Specialist with a focus in government and non-profit entities, including large non-profit hospitals and foundations, as well as the light manufacturing and investment/banking industries.
As an independent CPA, her clients have included Scott Residential Management, LLC, and the Omaha Community Playhouse. Along with previously serving as an adjunct accounting professor at Creighton University, Catherine has also received the 2010 Chapter Service Award from the Association of Government Accountants at their July 2010 meeting in Orlando.
Catherine is proud to be a business partner for the Nonprofit Association of the Midlands. She serves on the following boards:
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Omaha Academy of Ballet
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Joslyn Castle
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St. John Greek Orthodox Church Audit Board
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Nebraska Society of CPAs
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Association of Government Accountants