Board of Directors, FFCI


Thomas Appiah, Jr., Chicago, Illinois, was born and educated in Ghana.   He performed two years of volunteer service for his church in England.   He received his B.S. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering and M.S. in Engineering Management, both at Brigham Young University.   He is a Principal Staff Engineer for Motorola and  completed a 3 year assignment in Tokyo, Japan.   He currently lives in Chicago.   He is married and the father of three children.


Claudia Black, Pleasant Grove, UT, is the mother of 9 children, five of whom are adopted from four different 3 rd world countries.   Honored as Young Mother of the Year in both California and Utah she has focused her life on teaching and nurturing children.   She established an orphanage in Guatemala and worked with other groups in that country.   She is President of Tapestry Communications, Inc., and, with her husband, has published books, newsletters, audio and video tapes.   She is a popular speaker for adults and youth, and has written several books on creative and fun ways to teach children. She currently publishes a “learning calendar” and manages a web site (with her eldest daughter) called The Learning Calendar (www.thelearningcalendar.com), where every day is a new adventure in learning based on that date’s events in history!   In addition, she is currently a Quality Control manager for MCT, an online coding company.


David Black, Phoenix, AZ, is Graphics and Communications Coordinator for the Southwest Region of HDR Engineering.   David was active in the fund raising and construction of the Granja Hogar de los Niños, an orphanage in Anáhuac, Mexico before devoting two years of volunteer church service in the Canary Islands.   After Hurricane Mitch devastated Honduras in 1999, David traveled with other volunteers to the La Mosquitia region of the country to deliver supplies and medicines to the village of Mocorón and to assist in rebuilding from the damage the hurricane left behind.

Jeanne Bracken, St George, UT, is the mother of four sons and two daughters.   She attended Brigham Young University on a Leadership Scholarship.   While raising her children she served as editor and publisher of the Grantsville Gazette, a local newspaper.   Under her leadership, the paper won the Distinguished Service to the Community Award for bringing an upgraded phone service to the community.   She as been active in community and church activities serving as a leader of youth.   She spearheaded a community effort among youth, collecting a container full of clothes, shoes. and school supplies to be shipped to Africa for orphans and refugees.   She presently works as managing director and Chief Financial Officer in the family businesses of Bracken Custom Homes and AAA Disaster and Cleaning Services.