Meet the Board
President
Rachel Godfrey
Rachel founded the Traveling Light Foundation with her husband Nick and son Callum to honor their adored son and brother, Ronan. He loved to learn, and Rachel hopes to inspire more young people to think big like Ronan.
Rachel has prior experience working with non-profits supporting childhood cancer, rare disease advocacy and research, and supporting families with dyskeratosis congenita.
Born in Northern Ireland and raised there, in Canada and the USA, she now enjoys living in the Willamette Valley, Oregon as she loves rain and trees and her old historic home. She gardens, paints, reads, and makes quilts and likes to spend time with her goats, chickens, and ducks.
Vice President
Kristi Masterson
Kristi was raised in McMinnville, Oregon and has strong family ties to Yamhill County. She loves the area and although she’s lived in a few different places since graduating McMinnville High School, this is where she and her family have chosen to put down their roots. Kristi and her husband, Dan are both Principal Real Estate Brokers and make up the DKMasterson Real Estate Team. They have three grown daughters, and five wonderful grandchildren. Their oldest daughter, her husband and three of the grand babies live with them. Kristi’s middle daughter, Caitlin became Nick and Rachel’s trusted Oregon babysitter for Ronan and Callum.
Kristi met Ronan and his amazing family when they first moved to McMinnville and instantly fell in love! She is honored to be a member of the Traveling Light Foundation Board. She is excited to bring her history and knowledge of the McMinnville area to help attain the goals and ambitions of the Foundation.
Secretary
Johnny Edwards
My name is Johnny J. Edwards and I have lived in McMinnville since 1996.
I have been married to my wife Colleen for 39 years and we have three wonderful children that we are very proud of. I can't forget our two cats, taco and chimichanga who are actively involved in everything.
I have been actively involved in in local history within yamhill County for many years. Now. I am a past president of the yamhill County genealogical society several times over. Actively involved in the masonic Lodge for McMinnville which is very much tied into the early history of our community. The historical records of the masonic Lodge is a valuable resource which I have been actively working on for two decades.
I am also very involved in a library and museum at Forest Grove which is called the Robert M. Richmond Memorial Library Museum. This is a repository for very early history of Oregon on a Masonic level.
Treasurer
Loring Fiske-Phillips
Loring and his wife live in Southern California and he’s proud to be a founding board member of the Traveling Light Foundation. Before retirement in 2021, he worked for Southern California Edison for 35 years in various capacities as a budget analyst, financial analyst, project manager, and as a senior manager of contract management and financial operations.
Loring has been a board member with several non-profit organizations including the American Youth Soccer Organization, State Street Christian Church, Support Our Athletic Ravens, and Redlands United Church of Christ. He has volunteered time with the National MS Society, the Great American Youth Circus, Redlands Unified School District, Redlands Community Band, and many other worthwhile charities and causes.
Loring knew Ronan almost his entire life and enjoyed playing games together, talking about science and technology, and trying to get Ronan to laugh at his “dad jokes.” Loring is honored to bring his knowledge of finance and budgeting to serve the Traveling Light Foundation and its valuable mission.
Director of Information and Technology
Austin Riggs
Austin Riggs is the Director of Information Technology at the Traveling Light Foundation, where technology meets education and social betterment. With 20 years in the tech industry, Austin has a robust background in information systems management, and data security.
Austin believes that at the intersection of technology and education lies the potential for transformative societal change. Driven by this conviction, he has been instrumental in developing initiatives that leverage digital tools to enhance learning experiences. Austin’s vision for the foundation is not only to provide cutting-edge technological resources to underserved communities but also to ensure that these tools are accessible and effective in fostering lifelong learning and passion for the STEAM fields.
Beyond the scope of the foundation, Austin is an advocate for continuous learning and often participates in educational forums, workshops, and conferences to both share knowledge and stay updated with the latest tech trends. His commitment to education extends to mentoring young IT professionals, emphasizing the importance of technology in driving social progress.
Austin’s role at the Traveling Light Foundation is more than a job; it's a manifestation of his belief that every individual should have the opportunity to light the spark of knowledge and carry it forward to illuminate society.
Board Member
Nicholas Godfrey
Nick enjoys living in Oregon and spending time in his woodworking shop. He has enjoyed working for Waste Management, Inc. for over 17 years in environmental protection and landfill management. Originally from Canada, he met his wife Rachel in the Fraser Valley as young junior high students and later moved south to the USA. They raised their sons Ronan and Callum first in Southern California and then in Oregon, where they now make their home. He likes to get out in the community and looks forward to keeping Ronan's memory alive through philanthropic endeavors.
Board Member
Ivy Njuki
Ivy met the Godfrey family in 2011 when three-year-old Ronan was undergoing his bone marrow transplant. She lived with the family and was nanny to newborn baby Callum. They formed a remarkably close bond and became a strong family. She has a very smart and kind young son who is a brother to Ronan and Callum.
Ivy is a needleworker and designer in California and runs her own small business creating beautiful kimono and other one-of-a-kind garments, often using traditional fabric from her homeland, Kenya. Visit her store here.
Board Member
Georgia Sforza
Georgia has lived in Redlands for 35 years. She and her partner have three grown children and two grandchildren. For the last 22 years Georgia has worked for the Redlands Unified School District and has worked in three elementary schools in Redlands. She started as a computer lab para-professional when her son, Noah, entered kindergarten at Franklin Elementary School. She found that she loves working with and around children. Georgia served on the Franklin PTA board for more than eight years serving as president for one year and quickly found that she didn’t want to run the show. She also served on the Grove Junior High and High School PTG board while her children attended these schools. During the time she worked at Lugonia Elementary school she was instrumental in developing the Peace Leaders Program. This student leadership program was developed to help students learn to choose peaceful solutions to their conflicts at school and to carry this knowledge out into their school community. Georgia found it rewarding to see these young people develop their leadership skills. During this time she often said that she learned far more from these students than she taught. Georgia is honored to serve on the TLF board.
Board Member
Erin O'Connor
Erin has been working in special education since 1995, and currently works for McMinnville school district as an Autism specialist. She has been married to her husband Matt for 15 years, and has 3 adult children (Emily, Ebrianna and Ethan). Her youngest daughter Evorie is in her 5th grade year and is a member of the Traveling Light Foundation's Youth Advisory Committee.
Erin really enjoys adventures with her family, watching the ocean and baking.
Her passion has been working with children with special needs and their families to help them reach their potential. She met Ronan and his family when teaching at Duniway Middle School as Ronan entered 6th grade. Ronan was a bright star, whose love for creativity and love for knowledge gave inspiration to all who knew him. Erin is honored to be a Traveling Light Foundation board member.
Board Member
Jacob Fiske-Sanders
Jacob grew up in Southern California with Ronan and the Godfrey family. Being Ronan and Callum’s godfather is one of Jacob’s greatest joys in life. Jacob is a board member because he is passionate about giving young people the opportunities that he had as a child. Jacob believes that education should be hands on, experimental, and fun for kids.
Now living in Northern California with his wife Erika who works as a legislative analyst for the Department of Water Resources of the State of California, he works as an implementation manager for Compass Group USA developing and implementing a CRM for Canteen Refreshments. Jacob shares Ronan’s passion for science, learning about the ever-expanding universe, and providing equal opportunities for all members of our society. Jacob is honored to bring his skills of technology training, and community engagement to the Traveling Light Foundation.
Board Member
Noah Sforza
Noah is proud to be a part of the Traveling Light Foundation. This is his first experience being a board member of a non-profit and he takes great joy in participating in the exciting future of TLF! He lives in Washington State with his amazing wife Becca.
Board Member
Dan Masterson
Dan was born and raised in the Bay Area of California until he moved to Oregon in the 90s. He’s worked retail and was in banking for 10 years. Then, in 2014 he and his wife, Kristi, started as a husband/wife Real Estate Team. Dan met the Godfrey family when they were first getting settled into the McMinnville area. For a short while Dan and his middle daughter, Caitlin, had the privilege of teaching Ronan Okinawa Shuri-Te Karate in their 3rd street Dojo.
Social Media and Community Engagement Coordinator
Kate Cratty
Kate, originally from Austin, TX, has lived in McMinnville since she was five. Kate got involved with the organization after writing about Ronan’s story in the local newspaper. Kate was previously involved as president of Doernbecher Club and co-director of the club's year-long fundraiser, Mission Mac High, at McMinnville High School. She is now a freshman at Linfield University, hoping to major in international relations and economics.
Kate enjoys ceramics, tennis, writing, cooking, and baking in her free time. Her experience advocating for Muscular Dystrophy awareness, a degenerative muscle disease her younger sister suffers from, gives her valuable insight into helping the mission of Traveling Light. Kate hopes to make a positive impact on the youth of McMinnville and beyond.