 Volunteering With Extra Hands
ALS Family Registration
About Extra Hands for ALS
 Frequently Asked Questions
What Is ALS?
Extra Hands In The News
Our Team
Board of Directors
Careers With Extra Hands
Where Your Donations Go
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EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT
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Jack Orchard is the Founder and Chairman of Extra Hands for ALS and the Jack Orchard ALS Foundation.
Prior to his work in the fight against ALS, he was the founder and Managing Director of various companies
including iSpringboard, a venture capital firm, Red Square Software, a software development company, and United
Financial Group, now Russia's largest independent investment bank. He serves on Advisory Boards of the ALS
Center at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center and the NeuroRestoration Research Initiative
affiliated with the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. In 2005 Jack was named as one of nine finalists
in Volvo of North America's Volvo For Life Award which recognizes ordinary people who go above and beyond the
call of duty to help others. He has an A.B. in economics from Harvard and an MBA from Stanford.
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Jim Presbrey is the Chief Executive Officer of Extra Hands for ALS and the Jack Orchard ALS Foundation.
His entire career has been devoted to developing and counseling young adults, working to bring out their
strengths. For the past five years Jim has built an educational program targeted at kids from tough inner
city environments where family and community support are generally lacking. The Play It Smart program,
designed to take a student-athlete's passion for sport and intense dedication to their team and transform
it into a force for greater good in their lives, has sent 80% of its participants onto college at less than
a dollar-a-day per student-athlete. Play It Smart is an important part of each of the 85 cities in which
it operates. In 2005 its 11,000 student participants gave over 60,000 hours of community service. Jim
built the first pilot in 1998 and then took over leadership of the program when it was operating at four
high schools in the northeast. Today Play It Smart is operating at 136 locations in 34 states with nearly
a $4 million budget. Jim lives in Manasquan, New Jersey with his wife Joann and two children, Alexandra
and Michael.
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PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
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Linda Allen is the Dallas/Fort Worth Program Manager
for Extra Hands for ALS. Prior to joining us, Linda was Foundation and Corporate Director
for the Nonprofit Service Center of Tarrant County. Volunteering and working with nonprofits
has been a big part of her life.She has served on a number of nonprofit boards and committees.
She was owner of a community newspaper and county wide welcome service.Linda became involved
in the ALS Community when her husband Marshall was diagnosed with ALS in October of 1996.
She and Marshall were founders of the ALS Association North Texas Chapter.On October 27, 2000
Marshall lost his courageous four- year battle with ALS.Linda promised Marshall that she
would continue with her involvement in the fight against ALS and is keeping that promise by
joining Extra Hands for ALS.Linda enjoys spending time with her six grandchildren
and traveling.
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Sarah Barsness, Program Manager for Extra Hands in Boise, has an extensive background in non-profit work. She has done
folklore fieldwork for projects with the University of Utah and the Smithsonian. She worked for three years tutoring
and coordinating events for L'Abri, a theology/philosophy study center in Massachusettes. Sarah studied literature and
is now pursuing a masters in counseling. She began working for Extra Hands in May of 2007. Her favorite part of the
program is the people, "I love meeting all of the amazing PALS and volunteers in Extra Hands. I feel so lucky to get to
work with Joe Harris and to spend time with such a unique and caring group of people." Sarah was new to the issues of ALS when she joined Extra Hands,
but is learning more all the time, "The more I learn about ALS and meet people who have been touched by it, the more
passionate I am about finding a cure for this disease." She says that volunteering has always been important to her, "I
really believe in volunteering. I've volunteered with women's centers, after school programs, church groups, and fair trade
organizations, and I am so happy to continue being involved in the volunteer community."
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Marie Guiab Harvey is the San Francisco Bay Area Program Manager for Extra Hands for ALS. She holds a B.S. in
Health Science from San Jose State University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. Upon graduation, Marie worked
as a Business Analyst for Hewlett Packard for over 7 years, as well as maintained a part-time respite position with
C.A.R.(Community Association for Rehabilitation) providing services to families with children with developmental
disabilities. She has also worked on many events including the Breast Cancer 3-Day benefiting the Susan G. Komen Breast
Cancer Foundation and the National Philanthropic Trust. She is very active with various ministries at her church and
is rewarded by being a blessing to those in need. She lost two friends to ALS and has been empowered to make a difference
and to help in eradicating ALS. She lives in the East Bay with her husband, Ezekiel, and daughter, Taliyah Jordyn. Marie
enjoys Polynesian dancing, traveling, and spending quality time with family and friends.
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Julie Jenkins is the St. Louis Program Manager for Extra Hands for ALS. Julie was born and raised in St. Louis, and
later went on to earn her B.A. in International Affairs and History at Marquette University. Prior to joining us, Julie
worked in fundraising and volunteer management at Kiwanis International Foundation and Executive Service Corps in Indianapolis.
Having a strong passion for community service, Julie has volunteered with numerous charitable organizations, including American
Red Cross, EcoTeach in Costa Rica and Peace Corps in Togo, West Africa. Julie enjoys traveling and spending time with her
husband, son, and their two dogs.
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Kristi LePenven is the New England Program Manager for Extra Hands for ALS. She received her B.A. in Political Science
with a minor in Public Relations from New England College. Her passion to work with people with disabilities, stems from
growing up with her sister and best friend, Melissa, who has Cerebral Palsy. Due to strong family values, she has continued
to be an activist for those with disabilities. Prior to joining our team, she worked as a Clinical Coordinator for a durable
medical equipment company where she helped to get individuals the equipment they needed as well as developing many program
within the company. One of the most rewarding programs was the Women's Health Program that focused on women's needs after
battling breast cancer. She truly enjoys speaking with people and helping them to achieve their goals in any way possible.
Kristi resides in New Hampshire with her husband, Tim.
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Joe and Jill Harris, Keri Harris, and Kristi Pardue are a team
running the Boise Extra Hands program with Sarah Barsness. They got involved in the fight against ALS when Joe was
diagnosed with the disease. Joe Harris holds a BS in Physical Education with an Exercise Science emphasis from Boise State
University and Master of Physical Therapy from Idaho State University. His wife Jill, also with
a Master of Physical Therapy degree from Idaho State University, is the PT supervisor of acute
care at Mercy Medical Center, Nampa, Idaho. Keri Harris, Joe's sister, is the Lead Pediatric
Speech Therapist at St. Luke's Hospital Meridian, Idaho and Clinical Manager of the St. Luke's
Pediatric Speech Therapy Clinic Nampa, Idaho. Kristi Pardue, a close family friend, is a Speech
Language Pathologist who works in a rehabilitation hospital serving people who have sustained a
brain injury, stroke or other neurological conditions.
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Amanda Reynolds is the Program Manager in Denver. She received a B.S. in Psychology from Kansas State University.
Upon graduation, Amanda worked in the Office of Admissions for Kansas State University traveling across Kansas and Nebraska
recruiting high school and junior college students to K-State. After relocating to Colorado in 2001, Amanda pursued her
desire to work in the non-profit sector. She was District Director for the Muscular Dystrophy Association where she
worked closely with and for individuals with neuromuscular diseases. While working for MDA, Amanda had the privilege
to meet Jennifer and Steven Bishop, founders of the Denver Chapter of Extra Hands. Being a part of a community that works together to raise money for research and
awareness of ALS has been important to Amanda and her family ever since. The Bishops continue to teach and inspire
those around them throughout their journey with ALS. Amanda looks forward to working closely with Steven as he continues
to be Denver’s Ambassador for Extra Hands. Amanda enjoys cooking, hiking, snowshoeing, skiing and spending as much time
as possible in the mountains with her husband Tyler and their two children.
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Valorie Waterman is the Los Angeles/Orange County Program Manager for Extra Hands for ALS. Prior to this she
worked for the American Red Cross as a Regional Manager in Blood Services and volunteered with Disaster Services.
Valorie's most life changing event occurred when she undertook the role as her mother's fulltime caregiver. For three
years she devoted her life caring for the most important person in her life. Her mother lost her battle to ALS in 2001.
Val has kept a promise she made to her mother, to continue the fight against ALS. Since then Valorie has been a volunteer
with the ALS Association Orange County Chapter assisting in many roles; Chairperson for the Walk to D'Feet 2002 and 2003,
participating in special events, patient services, mentoring volunteers, interviewing patients and families for newsletter
articles, and publicly speaking about ALS on behalf of the ALS Association in Orange County. Valorie was awarded the Spirit
of Volunteerism award 2005-2006 for outstanding volunteer service in Orange County.
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