Our People
Our Homes of Hope India Board of Directors and Executive Director provide leadership and strategic oversight, ensuring full alignment with our mission and financial integrity.
John Clegg
Chair of the Board
John Clegg graduated from The London School of Economics in 1979 with a Law degree and specialized in corporate law as a solicitor. He later worked for a financial corporation specializing in finding capital for private companies planning to become public. In the business world, he carried out numerous acquisitions, including that of Techtron Inc, a U.S. corporation headquartered in Chicago, IL. In 1991, he and his wife, Clare, moved from London to Chicago, and a few years later, they moved to Ponte Vedra, FL.
John has special affection, commitment and concern for the human dignity of all children. For years, John has served as a volunteer director on the boards of several charities including St. Gerard’s Campus, The Women’s Help Center, and Sisters of Mary World Villages for Children. John was also a founding member and former president of the Jacksonville, FL chapter of Legatus, a professional organization serving the Church. John joined the Homes of Hope Board of Directors in 2018 and became Chair in 2025.
Pat Marriott
Board Member and Secretary
Pat Marriott is a founding member of the Homes of Hope Board of Directors. He retired from the General Electric Company in 1999, after a 33-year career in management and senior executive positions, to devote himself to voluntary public service. As a volunteer, he is the music director of WHQR, Wilmington’s NPR affiliate radio station; the curator of the world-class creche collection of the Trappist monastery Mepkin Abbey; a docent and tour guide on the battleship USS NORTH CAROLINA, which is North Carolina’s War Memorial; and he has served on numerous nonprofit Boards of Directors throughout North Carolina.
Pat and Paul Wilkes were friends and professional associates at the time Paul founded Homes of Hope India. The father of two girls, Pat was immediately attracted to Paul’s mission work in India. He has participated personally and financially in numerous Homes of Hope projects and has served as Secretary of the Board since day one.
Barbara Bush
Board Member and Treasurer
Tricia Bennett
Board Member
Tricia Bennett grew up in New York, and headed south in 1990 with her husband, Paul, to start Bennett Brothers Yachts, an internationally recognized custom yacht builder and yacht restoration company in Wilmington, NC. Bennett Brothers Yachts was a true family business, at one time employing all four of her children.
After the company was sold in 2020, Tricia joined Intracoastal Realty Corp. as a realtor, inaugurating the third half of her life. Tricia has served on the Finance Committee for the Basilica Shrine of St. Mary for many years. She leads efforts with Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity, mentors through the Wilmington women’s service organization, WILMA, and supports the Little Buddy program of the Cape Fear Volunteer Center. Tricia joined the Homes of Hope Board of Directors in 2021.
Bob Davis
Board Member
Bob Davis grew up in Portland, ME and attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, where he graduated with a BA in Psychology in 1990.
Bob joined the family business, a small regional industrial manufacturers representative firm based in Massachusetts, covering New England. Over the next few years, he set about expanding the sales footprint to include New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. In 2005, he completed the purchase of the company and has continued to grow it ever since, expanding into new industries and markets.
In 2007, seated in church with his two young daughters, Bob heard Paul Wilkes speak about his mission work in India and immediately asked how he could help. Since then, Bob has served as a founding member of the Homes of Hope Board of Directors, he visited our original Home of Hope in Kochi, and he continues to deliver mission appeals.
Jim Fienup
Board Member
Jim Fienup was born and raised near St. Louis, MO, and was educated by the Jesuits both in high school and at Holy Cross College, where he majored in Physics and Math. After completing his PhD at Stanford, he conducted research at a company spun off from the University of Michigan, working on unconventional imaging systems that have use in astronomy, x-ray microscopy, medicine, radar, and other fields. He now continues his research in those areas at the University of Rochester, where he is the Robert E. Hopkins Professor of Optics.
Jim and his wife, Patty, were introduced to Homes of Hope India when Paul Wilkes spoke at their parish. Several months later, Jim attended a professional conference in Trivandrum, not far from the first Home of Hope in Kochi. He and Patty visited there and witnessed the sisters’ amazing work first-hand. They were so impressed by the transformation in the girls’ lives that they have supported Homes of Hope ever since, both financially and by providing boxes of books for the girls to enjoy as they learned English. Jim joined the Homes of Hope Board of Directors in 2017.
Glen Gaidos
Board Member
Glen Gaidos is an entrepreneur, investor, and writer. In 2003, he launched 3R Technology with the mission of improving technology lifecycle management and keeping electronics out of landfill. Glen came to serve on the Homes of Hope Board of Directors in 2017, after his company donated refurbished laptops for the orphanages.
Janice O’Neill
Board Member
Janice O’Neill is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, whose extensive international travel has shown her firsthand the challenges faced by people and communities around the world. She has served on the Homes of Hope Board of Directors since 2013, continuing to strengthen her commitment to human service and to creating opportunities for those in need.
Janice brings more than 40 years of corporate leadership experience in financial services and financial technology, with expertise in talent management, leadership development, organizational effectiveness, and human resources. Throughout her career, she has focused on strengthening organizations and helping people reach their potential.
The mother of three adult children, Janice is trained as an end-of-life doula. She volunteers in hospice care and serves individuals and families through her end-of-life advisory practice, helping them approach end-of-life planning with greater knowledge, intention, and peace of mind. Across all her professional, nonprofit, and personal endeavors, Janice is drawn to work that combines compassion with practical action to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.
Joe Tallarico
Board Member
Joe Tallarico spent a 37-year career with Unilever, with leadership positions in sales, marketing, information technology, and global business operations. Joe, his wife, Maria, and his family immediately began contributing to Homes of Hope India after hearing Paul’s powerful mission appeal at the Sunday Mass they were attending. Joe joined the Homes of Hope Board of Directors in 2015.
Paul Wilkes
Board Member and Founder
Paul Wilkes is a journalist, writer, and serial social entrepreneur. He founded Homes of Hope India in 2006 after visiting a Salesian orphanage in Kochi where he met six-year-old Reena, a child who had been kidnapped and blinded by her handlers to make her a “better beggar.” That moment of truth for Paul became his inspiration to start his mission work in India. Building a new orphanage for Reena became the organization’s first Home of Hope.
Paul has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and many other publications. He is the author of over twenty books and is a documentary film producer, director, and writer. Paul and his wife, Tracy, live in Wilmington, NC, and have two grown sons.
Carol Skoglund
Executive Director
Carol Skoglund joined Homes of Hope India as Executive Director in 2025, bringing four decades of leadership experience spanning business, financial services, communications, and nonprofit organizations. A graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., Carol has built her career around bringing people and resources together to strengthen organizations and communities.
Carol’s connection to India began as a college student when she traveled there through Semester at Sea’s academic program. Her roommate on that world voyage was Janice O’Neill, who years later introduced her to Homes of Hope. Carol travels to India annually to work with Catholic sisters who are our partners, visits Homes of Hope projects, and, most importantly, spends time with the girls who we serve. Singing, dancing, and plenty of laughter are always part of her itinerary.
Carol lives in Cleveland, OH, where she is an active member and past chapter president of P.E.O., Philanthropic Educational Organization, which supports educational opportunities for women.
