Lee Darter, President
Lee Darter is the daughter of Ron Abney. She worked with her father over the years to understand the Cambodian people and the system which he set up and ran for his Takeo Orphanage charity. Lee is married to a retired Army officer and has one adult son. She has a BFA from Sam Houston State University and an M.Ed. from the University of Houston. Lee resides in Cochran, Georgia, where she teaches high school art in the Bleckley County Schools.
Kathy Higginbotham, Secretary
Ron’s first cousin Kathy Higginbotham has a BSED in Secondary Education from Georgia Southern University, an M.Ed. from Georgia Southwestern University, and an Educational Specialists Degree in Language Education from the University of Georgia. She enjoyed a long and fulfilling career in Georgia as a high school Honors English teacher, a middle school assistant principal in charge of instruction, and a part-time college instructor of public speaking before retiring in 2008 to marry Rick Higginbotham and move to Houston, TX. She loves being a stepmom to Rick’s four adult children and “Granny K” to their six grandsons and four granddaughters. Since moving to Houston, Kathy has been actively involved in the Greater Houston Soap Box Derby organization.
Sandy Parker Swindal, Treasurer
Ron Abney’s first cousin Sandy Swindal holds a BA in Economics with High Honors, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Florida in Gainesville. Sandy has 45 years of management, administrative and financial work experience. She worked for ten years as a Service Club Director with the US Army and US Air Force Special Services in Germany and for ten years as Vice President of Administrative Services for Charles Schwab & Company, Inc., in San Francisco, CA. Sandy then offered voluntary administrative service for 25 years to the SYDA Foundation in Shree Muktananda Ashram in South Fallsburg, New York. She retired in 2012 and currently lives in Longboat Key, Florida. Sandy travels extensively around the world and keeps very busy at home with volunteer service for the Siddha Yoga Meditation Center in Sarasota, the SYDA Foundation, and the RAEF.
Roueng Samphors – Director of Operations in Cambodia and English Tutor for the children of Takeo Orphanage
Roeung was appointed RAEF Director of Operations in Cambodia in December 2024, after the passing of Mr. I.M. Soda, on December 6, 2024. He lives in Takeo Province and is married. He has one young daughter. Roeung began living in the Takeo Orphanage when he was ten years old. He is a graduate of the Ron Abney Educational Fund, receiving a BS in Information Technology (2018) from Build Bright University in Takeo Province and completed a post graduate program as a specialized ICT-English teacher at the Regional Teacher Training Centre Takeo Province. Roeung teaches English at a state school in Takeo and is also a Khmer General Program school coordinator in a private school. He began teaching English every day to the children of Takeo Orphanage when the RAEF initiated this program in 2015 to prepare the children for university study and better jobs.
Mr. I.M. Soda – Director of Operations in Cambodia (2004 to 2024)
We at RAEF were greatly saddened by the unexpected passing on December 5, 2024, of our long-time Cambodian Director and friend, I. M. Soda.