Board of Directors

Wilson Wray, Esq., President
Wilson Wray is a partner with the law firm of Loewinsohn Deary Simon Ray, L.L.P. Mr. Wray and his wife, LeAnn, adopted their son, Thomas, through Hope International in September 2004. As the father of two thriving adopted sons, Mr. Wray is an enthusiastic supporter of international adoption and of the experienced staff at Hope International. Mr. and Mrs. Wray received the Angel in Adoption award in 2014 after being nominated by Congressman Sam Johnson.

Mr. Wray received his undergraduate degree from the University of Rochester and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. He has an active business litigation practice, representing clients as both plaintiffs and defendants nationwide in state and federal courts. Mr. Wray is a member of the Dallas Bar Association and is a former Barrister in the Patrick E. Higginbotham American Inn of Court.

Rex Nichols, Immediate Past President
Rex Nichols is the President of Garwell Limited Partnership. Garwell is a private holding company of a dozen plus companies having investments in farming, real estate, an IT company, a chain of lube centers, a jet service center, and a medical/investment consulting business. Mr. Nichols provides on-site hands management for the companies, including the study and development of new ventures. Most of the ventures, in which Garwell Limited Partnership participates, are people-oriented, in sales and marketing, or giving away a variety of specialized services. Mr. Nichols has been with the company since 1980. He is driven to succeed, utilizing this success to provide specific help and assistance to others, as needed. He relies on his integrity and his belief in God.

Susan Rice, Vice President
Susan Rice served as the Executive Director of Hope International from 1997 to 2005. During her tenure, Ms. Rice had the privilege of working with many adoptive families. Also with the help of a dedicated Board of Directors, Ms. Rice was able to help increase the depth of Hope International on numerous levels – including increasing numbers of adoptions, developing additional country programs, and improving services to client families through staff development, improved training, and other resources. Prior to coming to Hope International, Ms. Rice worked for Child Protective Services in Dallas for 5 1/2 years. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Abilene Christian University.

She made the difficult decision in 2005 to step down from her role as Executive Director in order to stay home full-time with her children. She is very happy to have joined the Board of Directors, as this will enable her to continue her involvement with Hope International and its work of uniting orphaned children with loving adoptive families.

Currently Susan is a Certified Relationship Coach at The Marriage Place.

Carla Calabrese. Esq., Founder and Parliamentarian
Carla Calabrese founded Hope International in 1991. Ms. Calabrese practices family law at her firm, Calabrese Budner L.L.P., where she is co-managing partner. Recognized as one of the The Best Lawyers in America®, Woodward White, Inc. (2008-2016), Texas Super Lawyer, Thomson Reuters (2003-2014, 2016), Top 50 Women Lawyers in Texas, and one of the Best Lawyers in Dallas by D Magazine (2003, 2007, 2008, 2010-2012, 2014-2016), Ms. Calabrese has successfully represented clients in every area of family law for more than 20 years. She is a member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys and the American Academy of Assisted Reproduction Technology Attorneys. An adoptive parent herself, Carla brings invaluable insight to her adoption clients.

Prior to founding her law firm, she practiced commercial litigation with Haynes & Boone, L.L.P., in Dallas, Texas. She received a B.S.B.A. magna cum laude from Bowling Green State University, and her law degree with honors from the University of Cincinnati College of Law.

Mary Lovell, Secretary
Mary Lovell’s 25 year career in the natural gas industry includes mergers and acquisitions, revenue enhancement, and merger integration. She is an accomplished executive with deep experience in regulatory affairs and negotiations. She was a senior officer with Atmos Energy Corporation where she helped execute the company’s acquisition and integration strategy. Ms. Lovell earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

Following the adoption of her daughter, Victoria, from Moscow in 1997, Ms. Lovell’s career interests have been focused on social enterprise initiatives. She currently applies her experience in strategic planning and revenue enhancement to the social enterprise sector where she writes compelling cases for inspiring causes as a grant writer, researcher and fund raiser. Ms. Lovell and her husband are active members of the DFW-FRUA (Families for Russian and Ukrainian Adoption) chapter, and she is an active community volunteer for causes focused on education and equity for women, girls, and the gifted and talented.

Christopher Kubin, Treasurer
Christopher Kubin has worked in Baylor Scott & White Health Care System as an accountant and a financial analyst for over 10 years; his current position is the Director of Debt. He previously worked as the Corporate Accounting Manager during which he oversaw not only the accounting of revenues and expenses but also the cash reconciliation which included investment, checking, and depository accounts, and as a financial analyst, he assisted the corporate system with annual budgeting of operations and capital. Chris is also an active volunteer in his church.

Derek Gerow
Derek Gerow is a partner in the Dallas office of Bain & Company. He is a member of both the Technology and Airline practice areas. He joined the firm as a consultant in 1997. Derek’s experiences include corporate strategy, operations improvement, organizational change management, and marketing strategy in the technology, retail, automotive, airline and financial products industries. In particular, Derek has first-hand experience designing and executing major transformational change efforts in the automotive, financial services, and technology sectors. Derek earned a Masters in Management with honors from J.L. Kellogg in the accelerated Four Quarter program. He is a graduate of Babson College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business with highest distinction.

Georgia Lahr
Georgia is a Development Associate at The Dallas Opera, specifically planning events to facilitate fundraising. Georgia was adopted through Hope over 20 years ago. She joined Hope’s Board of Directors in 2023. Georgia brings an excellent perspective to the Hope Board of Directors through her experience with development, as well as her personal insight into adoption.

Rachel Murphy
Rachel is an LCSW-S practicing as a therapist at the Dallas Therapy Collective. She has worked as a therapist since 2018, specializing in EMDR, an evidence-based treatment for trauma. Her prior work includes Counselor and Clinical Program Manager at the Turtle Creek Recovery Center, and Staff Therapist at The Center for Integrative Counseling and Psychology. She has a master’s in social work from UT Arlington, and a Bachelor of Arts from Wheaton College. Rachel joined the Hope International Board of Directors in 2023. Rachel’s heart for adoption and clinical experience in trauma healing are an asset to Hope International. Rachel is grateful to be part of an organization which cares for those who have been adopted and helps to meet the basic needs of children in orphanages around the world.

Rizwan Syed
Rizwan Syed began his career with AT&T in 2018 and is currently a member of the company’s corporate strategy team. He enjoys solving complex problems, defining and evangelizing strategy, and championing change. Beyond his professional commitments, Rizwan is an active volunteer in his local community and is passionate about Hope’s mission to sustainably care for orphaned children by uniting them with loving, adopted families. Rizwan holds a degree in economics from Wesleyan University, a degree in computer engineering from Columbia University, and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Tuba Rashid Khan
Dr. Rashid Khan is a Medical director of the developmental neurology program at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. She previously worked as a pediatric neurodevelopmental disabilities physician at Emory. She completed her medical training at UTSW. With a masters in public health and another in education from Harvard in the child advocacy track, she is passionate about increasing access and resources to children in need. She has previously worked with special needs schools and worked in projects to increase healthcare access for children in Kenya, UAE, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and the USA. She believes in the importance of community building and building partnerships between the developing and developed world.

Neil Katz
SPHR, SHRM-SCP, Vice President of Human Resources. Neil Previously worked as the Regional Director of Human Resources Baylor Scott & White Regional Human Resources leader responsible for 3 hospitals in the Dallas area. Serves as a member of Senior Leadership team working with the President, CFO and CMO. Prior – HR Director leading Corporate HR & Employee Relations functions for a $9 billion Texas based healthcare company with 40, 000 employees. Masters of Business Administration – Amberton University Bachelor of Arts, Finance – Texas Lutheran University. Certifications: Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) Executive Coaching Certification – University of Texas at Dallas.

Advisory Board

David Bishop

Ken Myles