Children's Hope's International Council is an advisory board composed of leaders in their respective fields from all over the world. Our purpose in creating this Council is to build respect for and trust in Children's Hope among members of the international community.

Duties of Council members include the following:

1. Reviewing CHI's annual report and providing advice based on the contents therein
2. Conferring with Children's Hope's Director at will and assisting with information, ideas, and advice
3. Participating in email discussions about any projects over $50,000
4. Monitoring Children's Hope's websites

Membership on the International Council is voluntary and participants serve for the length of two calendar years. All members have prior leadership experience in the fields of humanitarian aid, children's rights, and/or social work. The current members are:

Jian Ying has led CHI's humanitarian aid efforts in China since 2001. Prior to that time, she worked for the Ministry of Civil Affairs, where she helped establish the China Adoption Center and was instrumental in creating the current system for overseas adoption. As a result of her work, many Chinese orphans found permanent homes. At CHI, Jian Ying has been a key figure in our "Give Me New Life" medical project since its inception in 2002. In a short time, the program has grown by leaps and bounds, in large part because of the cooperation Jian Ying has reached with other agencies, organizations, and invidual donors - including actor Jackie Chan, Project HOPE Hong Kong Limited, and the American CBN. Jian Ying has written several articles for Chinese Woman and Legal Daily newspapers and has also collaborated on several books.

Boris is the Executive Director of CHI's humanitarian aid branch in Russia. A graduate of Tomsk State University with degrees in both history and psychology, he was recently chosen as a member of the Municipal Academy, the highest academic honor attainable in Russia. Before joining CHI in 2002, Boris worked as the Director of the Hobby Center in Tomsk, which serves over 3,600 children each year. A published author of both books and newspaper articles, Boris also serves as co-chairman of the City Chamber of Non-Profit Organizations. His experience with international projects has been extensive and includes work with UNICEF, IREX, Woodcraft Folks, and the City Conservatory of Omaha (Nebraska).

Patricia is the International Council representative from Denmark. Her humanitarian aid and social work experiences began 35 years ago as a youth counselor with Woodcraft Folk, an educational club for children in England. Since then, she has worked both voluntarily and professionally training adults to teach young people, with a particular focus in the areas of environmental and intercultural education. Patricia brings a wealth of experience in international service to our Council; over the years, she has worked in France, Hungary, Russia, Great Britain, and Ghana, among others. Her most recent projects include writing a manual on human rights education for children for the Council of Europe and working with asylum seekers through the Danish Red Cross.

Pete has over 20 years of experience working as a voluntary youth leader for Woodcraft Folk, an educational movement for children, designed to develop self-confidence and social awareness. Woodcraft Folk currently has 500 different groups meeting all over England, Scotland, and Wales. Throughout his time with the organization, Pete has participated in several international youth camps and has led young people on visits to other countries. Pete is the author of a children's song book and a book on cooperative games. In addition to working with Woodcraft Folk, he has spent time volunteering for Amnesty International, Green Peace, and the United Nations.

Bayan was born in the southern part of Kazakhstan and now resides in Almaty (the former national capital). She is the director of CHI's humanitarian aid branch in Kazakhstan. After graduating from university, Bayan began working with trade unions, while also participating in various humanitarian projects of nonprofit organizations. She went on to receive a master's degree in International Economic Affairs. Before joining Children's Hope, Bayan worked as Chief of the Department of International Affairs in Kazakhstan's Ministry of Transportation. However, she considers her greatest accomplishment in life to be the raising of her two wonderful children: a son, who recently graduated from Law School, and a daughter, who is currently studying Economics in college.