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The People of WWEP

Steve Mannshardt

President, Executive Director
steve@wwep.org

Steve has worked for 30
years in the management field of the not-for-profit arts world; 15 years as the production manager for TheatreWorks, the third largest professional theater in the San Francisco Bay Area (and recent recipient of the 2019 Tony Award for outstanding regional theater). He earned his MFA in Theater Technology from UCLA and has enjoyed a 31 year long career working in live theater in California and throughout the United States. Steve currently teaches theatrical management and design at San Jose State University and spent 14 years on the faculty of Santa Rosa Junior College where he taught theatrical lighting design and technology. He also was the chairman of the Resume and Career Development Committee for the Production Managers Forum, leading career seminars for many years at the United States Institute for Theater Technology. An avid hiker and mountain climber, Steve has traveled to all 50 United States and to 68 countries on six continents. It was on his first trip to Nepal in 2008 that Steve decided to embark upon his personal quest to aid the impoverished communities that were in such urgent need of educational development. On a four week trek into the Himalayas, Steve watched the porters working tirelessly for his benefit; all of them challenged and limited by their lack of formal education. Surrounded by a scenic background so profoundly majestic, Steve decided right then and there that he would do all he could to provide resources for the people of Nepal to advance their lives and career potential through education and vocational resources.

 

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Photo: Mahendra Singh Rawat

Michael McGuffey

 

Director, Secretary/Treasurer

 

Michael has committed to serving neglected populations of the world for the greater benefit in promoting sustainable solutions for an equitable standard of living for all.  Michael has extensive experience in program and operational management in the social sector.  He was an initial staff member for the Institute for OneWorld Health (iOWH), the first nonprofit pharmaceutical company in the US.  During his 6 year tenure with iOWH he served as the Senior Program Manager overseeing a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial in Bihar, India; Liaison Officer directing the regional expansion program in India; and Associate Director of Global Operations establishing a field office for a novel Phase 4 access demonstration study in Bihar, India.  Michael has contributed on many levels of organizational management including developing policy and procedure, program and corporate strategy development, financial forecasting, budgeting, grant development and reporting, capacity building, and team management and training.  He has consulted with a number of nonprofits supporting start-up and growth phases.  Michael received his BA in Theater Arts from California State University – Hayward.

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Z. William Bakal

 

Director

 

Wil volunteered with WWEP from its inception as an IT consultant, helping with the implementation and design of its website. Impressed with the programs of WWEP, Wil has sponsored a Nepali child’s education for the past ten years. He accepted an invitation to its Board to help further WWEP’s mission. Wil has worked for Qualcomm for ten years as a build/release engineer in the Location Server Group, where he assists in deploying software that augments a mobile phone’s ability to have accurate location information in any environment. He earned his Bachelor of Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2000. In his free time, he volunteers with theaters across the San Francisco Bay Area.

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Copyright 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

WorldWide Education Partnerships for Nepal

All photographs on this site created by Steve Mannshardt, unless otherwise noted

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