Karin Knutson is on the Advancing Leaders International team since 2012 and now serving as the Executive Director. While serving 18 years as a teacher, supervisor for homeschooling families, mentor and coach for new teachers; Karin has both taught and administrated in the public, private, home, and charter school sectors. She has a passion for developing teachers who encourage and draw out curiosity and creativity from their students. For six years she worked as an administrator at a K-12 public charter school. She is also a Life Coach that enjoys helping all people to walk in their calling and gifting.

Karin and her husband, Randy, have been serving with Church Resource Ministries/Novo the past four decades, pastoring, discipling and establishing new churches. Karin has played many key roles during that time: leading women’s groups, speaking at retreats, children’s ministries, and singing on worship teams. While supporting her pastor/missionary husband for over 42+ years, Karin has gained a worldwide network of friends and resources.

Karin and Randy live in Southern California and have four married children. A new role as grandparents began in March 2016. Life is never dull!

Winnifred Nakanwagi aka Winnie is a human rights activist with a niche for quality Education as a right for every child and leadership development for young adults. She has BA in Social Sciences and a Master’s degree in Human Rights. She has 14 years experience working with nonprofit organizations most of which were in the education. She draws her passion for education from her own life story growing up as an orphan. Serving underprivileged children and communities is her way of sharing her own story of hope and raising awareness of how education is a great tool for empowerment.

Janie Anderson has recently joined ALI as a collaborator, helping to develop ways to encourage critical thinking in other countries. She is a wife, mother, and grandmother. After home schooling for 10 years, she taught in private and public school for another 20 years. Since retiring in 2016 she’s been enjoying volunteering in the cause against human trafficking, traveling, and spending time with grandchildren. She has been involved in short term missions in Mexico, Uganda, Thailand, Spain, and Turkey.

Racheal is a seasoned educator with experience in both Public and Private Schools. She is self-driven, results-oriented, committed to institutional building, and clear focused on organizational growth. Her passion for teaching goes beyond the classroom; it's a lifelong commitment to fostering a love for learning and helping students develop not only academically but also as well-rounded individuals who can make a positive impact on the world. Racheal has over 12 years’ experience in educational leadership and management. She has coached, mentored and led teams which has positioned and equipped her in the education sector. Her heart beats for transformational education with a focus on young minds developing an informed curiosity and a lasting passion for learning. She believes that all a child needs to rise above the horizon is a great teacher!

Ruth Nabaasa joined the ALI team in February of 2024 as part of its operations arm and is very passionate about education specially creating safe and relaxed places for learners to thrive in the classroom, discover themselves and become who God created them to be. She believes that teachers who know God, are well supported, cared for and empowered have the potential to powerfully transform their learners’ lives. She is dedicated to mission work and seeing the gospel preached to every man, woman and child, having previously served as a missionary among the diaspora Chinese, and in the UK doing children’s and youth work. She has worked with different non-profit organizations as a teacher and youth worker and has also been teaching Business English online to adult professionals.