Julia Seper, presidentJulia Hynes Seper will use decades of experience as an educator to lead the Pookai Book Project. Julia has been teaching in Illinois since 1970, including as a teacher in the Chicago Public School system and the city's Northwest suburbs. She taught basic education at the Illinois Department of Corrections in Dixon and retired in 2003. She is a member of Womanspace, dedicated to the development of women in Rockford, Illinois.
Julia is responsible for keeping the project dedicated to its mission of gathering funds and need-specific books in the hope of promoting literacy, accelerating education, speeding up economic development and empowering Cambodians to take their place on the world stage. She will use her background as an educator to find the best educational books and tools for Pookai Book Project clients.
Julia emigrated from Ireland in 1954, became an American citizen in 1960 and holds a bachelor's degree in special education from Mundelein College/Loyola University. Please read her letter about the Pookai Book Project.
John Seper, vice president
John Seper has a diverse background that includes time in both the non-profit sector and trade industries. He will be responsible for overseeing the Pookai Book Project, helping acclimate other staff members to the nuances of non-profit work, and helping find books relating to the trade industry as well as other topics.
John currently serves as a senior lab technician at Air Movement Control Association International (AMCA), a non-profit organization that offers internationally recognized certification of air movement and control products including but not limited to fans, louvers, and dampers. In addition to his work at AMCA, John has trained and worked in the auto mechanics and residential construction fields.
He currently resides in Genoa, Illinois.
Frank Seper, secretary/treasurer
Frank Seper brings both knowledge and experience in the shipping industry and business world. He has handled international shipments for several major companies and in 2003 retired from Ingersoll GmbH in Rockford, Illinois.
His familiarity with brokerage firms, major shipping companies, cartage firms and customs procedures will be used to deliver books from the United States to Cambodia. He has overseen everything from proper packaging and handling of shipments to their intact delivery to international clients.
Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Frank traveled extensively in the Middle East and Europe during the 1950s. He holds master's degrees in both theology and sacred scripture and taught for a time at Sacred Heart College in Shelby, Ohio, where he eventually became dean of studies. In 1969, he departed for Illinois and entered the corporate world.
Leah Lubin Seper, board member
Leah Lubin Seper has a diverse background in communications and philanthropy. She serves as a voting member of The Pookai Book Project’s board of directors and will help with grant writing, publicity and the overall organization of the group.
Leah is the director of public relations for Brown & Miller Advertising in Beachwood, Ohio. In addition, she is a board member on the Women’s Community Foundation in Cleveland and is also active in MotivAsians, an Asian American professional organization in Cleveland, and the local chapter of the American Red Cross. Leah holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Allegheny College.
Natalie Seper, board member
Natalie Seper's background in education will compliment and improve the Pookai Book Project. She serves as a voting member of The Pookai Book Project’s board of directors and will help with grant writing and the overall organization of the non-profit.
Natalie is a fifth-grade teacher at Washington Elementary School in Belvidere, Illinois, where she has also worked as a special education/intermediate behavior disorder teacher. She graduated from Illinois’ Monmouth College where she majored in elementary education and minored in Spanish. She lives in Genoa, Illinois.
Chris Seper, volunteer
Chris Seper contributes his experience overseas and his knowledge of the Internet to the Pookai Book Project. Chris spent two years in Cambodia working as a journalist at The Cambodia Daily, an English/Khmer-language paper in Phnom Penh, while freelancing for papers including The Washington Post and Christian Science Monitor. He helps run the Pookai Book Project's Web site and serves as a liaison for the Cambodian organizations that work with the organization.
He holds a master's degree in political science and a bachelor's in journalism and political science from Eastern Illinois University. Chris currently covers technology for The Plain Dealer, the daily newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio.