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 Woodbridge, Virginia, where she teaches elementary school art in Prince William County Schools. She is also the current social media chair on the Virginia Art Educators Association board. Lee has been a teacher since 2005. Prior to teaching, she was a restaurant manager for Chili’s in Houston, Texas.
703-965-1467
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 five grandsons and two 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.
STAFF MEMBERS IN CAMBODIA
Mr. I.M. Soda – Director of Operations in Cambodia
Mr. Soda lives in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with his wife Suk Mom. They have three adult children. Mr. Soda worked for the International Republican Institute (IRI), an NGO committed to advancing democracy and freedom, from 1994 – 2015. In the mid-1990s, Mr. Soda met Ron Abney when Ron was a consultant for the IRI in Cambodia. While they were conducting training in Takeo Province, they visited the children living at the Takeo Orphanage. They fell in love with the kids and began seeking donations from their friends and family to support the orphanage. In 2004, they began offering college scholarships to eligible orphans. Mr. Soda served as the Operations Director in Cambodia for the Voices for Global Change and now serves its successor, the Ron Abney Educational Fund.
Read Mr. Soda’s 2013 Letter here
Ngeth Samnang – Cambodia Liaison
Samnang lived in the Takeo Orphanage for five years and is one of the graduates of the Ron Abney Educational Fund. He received a BS in Information Technology from Phnom Penh International University in 2014 and now works for a private company in Phnom Penh. Samnang’s wife, Nhouv Sam Ath, is also an RAEF graduate, and they have two children. Samnang has been writing articles about RAEF students for our website and newsletters since 2014.
Read Samnang’s 2014 letter here
Read Samnang’s 2019 letter here
Roeng Samphors – English Tutor for the children of Takeo Orphanage
Samphors 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 in 2018 from Build Bright University in Takeo Province. Samphors lives in Takeo Province and continues to study English 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/or better jobs.