Meet the Team

Rebecca Chandler Leege

CEO

Rebecca Chandler Leege is Worldreader’s new Chief Executive Officer. From 2018-2023, Rebecca led Worldreader’s impact across the globe as Chief Impact Officer, helping the nonprofit reach over 22 million readers and transforming the organization’s strategy to be laser-focused on getting children reading across under-resourced communities.

With more than 25 years of people-centered global leadership experience, Rebecca has a proven track record of growing innovative organizations through creative collaborations, cross-sector partnerships, and strategic vision.

A creative humanitarian and nonprofit leader, Rebecca previously co-led All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development, now one of the longest-running edtech innovation efforts across the US Agency for International Development (USAID). As Director of Child Protection, Gender, and Education, at World Vision, she led a team working to reduce gender barriers and inequities and child labor/trafficking across the fishing and cocoa sectors. Rebecca also worked with World Relief in Rwanda as their Director of Programs before relocating to their headquarters as Director of Global Program Operations, covering complex international relief and development operations from Mongolia to Haiti.  

Before choosing the humanitarian path, Rebecca spent six years in the private sector in international human resources consulting with Fortune 500 companies. Her career spans leadership roles across education, child protection and gender sectors and she has lived and worked throughout Africa and Asia for over 15 years.  

Rebecca holds a Master of Science in Multinational Commerce from Boston University and is based in Atlanta, GA with her family, and is always ready for a cup of coffee. She invites everyone to read The Story of You, by Lisa Ann Scott and illustrated by Sue Cornelison on BookSmart.

Read Rebecca’s full bio here.

Wendi Yen Huestis

Chief Advancement Officer

An experienced leader of mission-driven organizations, Wendi Yen Huestis has worked as a C-level executive in fundraising, business development, marketing, and communications for over 20 years, impacting local and global initiatives by raising more than $155 million over her career.

Wendi’s personal mission is to build and strengthen relevant, innovative, and equitable organizations by reimagining their structures, growth potential, internal staff and external stakeholders’ satisfaction. She has presented on over 50 panels, media spotlights, webinars, and events about corporate and individual social responsibility; financial and social capital; literacy, education, housing and employment for all; gender and racial equality; and de-stigmatizing mental illness.

Wendi graduated from Cornell as a Cornell National Scholar, received her health certification at Columbia University, and her MBA at Cornell’s Johnson School, where she was elected Class President, the student deputy for the Advisory Council, and founded the Women’s Executive Leadership Board. She is a member of the American College of Musicians, Technology Enterprise Network that supports individuals through the racially equitable use of technology, on the board of MusicBreeds, and was a co-founder of S.A.M., which provided medical supplies to pediatric hospitals in Bolivia.

Her favorite authors include Arundhati Roy (God of Small Things), Jhumpa Lahiri (Unaccustomed Earth), Haruki Murakami (Kafka on the Shore).

Read Wendi’s full bio here.

Veronica Gutierrez

Senior Director, Global Human Resources

As the Senior Director of Global Human Resources, Veronica focuses on developing and leading HR strategies globally across Worldreader. Some of these strategies include workforce planning, talent management, employee relations, and regulatory compliance. She brings over 18 years of HR experience to Worldreader from growing start-up companies to mid-size. Enhancing the employee experience is her passion.

Veronica holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business with a concentration in Human Resource Management from the University of Phoenix. She also holds a Professional Human Resources (PHR) Certificate and is an active member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Veronica loves spending time with her family and enjoys traveling.

Her recommendation of a book is Build a Culture of Good by Ryan McCarty and Scott Moorehead.

Olivia Kimani

Director, Partnerships & Services, Kenya

Olivia is a Director, Partnerships and Services, Kenya at Worldreader. She provides strategy, oversight, technical direction, and implementation of social and behavior change communication across various geographical regions.

Olivia has over 20 years of experience in communications, working as a marketing specialist, a creative director in top ad agencies, brand strategist, and developing award-winning social and behavior change campaigns for various multinational corporations.

She is madly in love with nature and often spends time off-grid-walking, camping, running, relaxing, and just plain doing nothing in hard-to-reach places. However, occasionally, she’ll enjoy the hustle and bustle of visiting popular, historical, and culturally-significant locations.

One of Olivia’s all-time favorite books is A Passage to India by E.M. Forster, which she first read while in her early teens.

Sonny Lacey

Director of Product

Sonny leads the product ideation and feature design for Worldreader’s public and internal products, driving reader and partner adoption in underserved communities.

His 25-year career has spanned military, commercial and non-profit work in North and South America, Africa and Asia. For the past 10 years, he has worked with childhood literacy application development and book supply chain strengthening in Africa and Central America. He is a strong advocate for testing applications in the field with real-world users in the challenging conditions where they often find themselves. 

Sonny spends his free time working on his boat and exploring the harbors and bays. When he is not covered in sawdust, he is learning new painting techniques. 

One of Sonny’s favorite books is Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoinne de Saint-Exupéry.

Matthew Troy

Director, Strategic Engagement

Matthew’s focus is on building the relationships that help Worldreader grow its funding and get more children reading. Matthew brings over a decade of nonprofit leadership experience to Worldreader and is passionate about helping young people to reach their potential.

Prior to joining, Matthew served as Executive Director for two nonprofit organizations and specialized in advancing strategies to achieve sustainable growth.

Matthew is a graduate of Columbia Business School’s Senior Nonprofit Leaders Program and has been featured on news station NY1 for his nonprofit leadership and accomplishments.

In his personal time, Matthew enjoys playing tennis, going on exciting hikes, and taking his adorable puppy Clifford out for a walk.

Matthew loves reading any book by Sandra Boynton to his two young sons, including all-time favorite “Moo, Baa, La La La!”

Kristen Walter

Director, U.S. Programs

Kristen, the U.S. Programs Director, has worked in education for the last twenty years. Her previous positions include Director of Education for Reading In Motion, Teaching and Learning Manager for Crayola, and classroom educator.

Kristen’s education-focused career has centered around creating partnerships that benefit all children. She was recognized as a Yale Distinguished Music Educator, and with her students was invited to showcase a project on Game Design at the first White House Arts Integration Fair. She can be heard on many podcasts representing Worldreader’s passion for bilingual education and supporting family reading involvement.

In addition to her love of literacy, Kristen enjoys singing, supporting her two children in their educational pursuits, and working towards an Ed.D in organizational leadership.

One of her favorite children’s books is How to Read a Book by Kwame Alexander.

Heidi Williams

Director, Accounting & Administration

Heidi joined Worldreader as one of our first volunteers in 2010 and now leads our Accounting and Administration team, focusing on accounting, audit, and facilities administration.

Prior to joining Worldreader, she worked in financial services and business management but attributes her keen organizational skill to the time she spent away from the workforce raising and reading to her two children. Heidi holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Composition from the University of Utah.

She is a rabid American College Football fan, and in her free time you will find her hiking or skiing the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

An all-time favorite book is The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.