Board of Directors
All individuals pictured are volunteers, with the exception of our President and Founder.
Sue Counterman
Board Secretary and College Scholarship Program Director
Sue has been teaching science in the Denver area for the past 27 years. Through her work in the middle school social justice program, she came to know Arok Garang, the founder of Seeds of South Sudan. Sue is privileged to know Arok, and through him to gain a deep understanding of his trials as one of the original Lost Boys. Sue stated, “not only is Arok a remarkable, resilient individual, he is a leader in supporting orphans from South Sudan, as recognized by the Dinka leaders of the Kakuma Refugee Camp. For me, it is a privilege to contribute in a small way to helping these most marginalized children in the world.” Sue has been a board member since 2012, supporting SOSS as board secretary, and has developed the College Scholarship Program. Sue traveled with Arok and another supporter to visit the SoSS program and the Kakuma Refugee Camp in the summer of 2017 where she saw firsthand the positive impact of the Seeds of South Sudan program. SoSS is changing lives for children that otherwise would have no hope for an education or healthy meals to sustain their bodies. The support of the caring SoSS community is providing all the necessities for a productive life and giving students the opportunity to develop their capabilities.
Thomas Pond
Treasurer
Tom has a diverse background in both finance and computers. He grew up in the Seattle/Tacoma region of the Pacific Northwest. In high school he played football, making the all-conference team his senior year. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1975 with a degree in Business, Accounting. He received his Certified Public Accounting certificate in 1977.
Tom worked for several national and regional public accounting firms as both a tax preparer, auditor, and management consultant for 10 years. He then worked for one of his clients, a municipality, as their Deputy Finance Director and later became the data processing manager for a total of 15 years. Tom oversaw the conversion and implementation of all the City’s finance and police systems during his time there. Seeds treasurer was also responsible for all computer system security, management, and hardware acquisitions.
Tom returned to school and earned a Master of Technology Management degree from the University of Denver New College in 2003. He then worked as a software developer and financial/payroll system manager for three higher education institutions in Colorado for 15 years. Tom also taught computer science at the college level part time. He fully retired in 2018 and now does volunteer work as both a web developer and treasurer for several churches and non-profit organizations.
Byron Flateland
Vice-President
Byron is a retired technologist who has a keen interest in issues of developing countries and how to help each human reach their full potential.
During his career, Byron served as an officer in the US Air Force in communications and satellite systems and held various positions in technical marketing with start-up companies in the Boulder, CO area. He went on to co-found with his wife, Jill, a company in the healthcare software industry from which he retired to pursue volunteer and other activities.
Byron and his wife are natives of Minnesota and today live in Arvada, CO. They have two lovely married daughters living in Colorado, a wonderful granddaughter adopted from Ethiopia and a giggling grandson born in 2022.
They enjoy traveling the world in their retirement, and have done volunteer work in Africa and India. Byron especially enjoys the challenges of photography and racquetball and occasionally still dabbles in technology. He has been a financial supporter of Seeds of South Sudan since 2015 and strongly believes in the power of education in helping to build a strong, stable civil society in South Sudan. He has served on the Board for several years, created the database used to coordinate students and sponsors, and works closely with Arok in nurturing and educating students to become the seeds of change for South Sudan.
Jeri Lou Maus
Seeds of South Sudan Board Member
Jeri Lou was born and raised in northern Michigan, where she married her college sweetheart, Mike Maus (“Moss.”) She earned both Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in elementary education. Jeri Lou raised two sons and taught school in New Jersey, Minnesota, and Colorado.
This board member also worked as Volunteer Coordinator in Minnesota. She has lived in seven states. Jeri Lou is currently retired and volunteers at Miners Alley Performing Arts Center in Golden, and Community Table in Arvada. Her hobbies include travel, walking, singing, reading and time in nature.
Tim Sielaff
Assistant Treasurer
Tim Sielaff met Seeds founder Arok Garang at dinner a few years ago. He heard Arok speak of his work with the refugees. He also learned about Seeds’ need to find a replacement bookkeeper and administrator, and the difficulties of making sure that all the students in their care are sponsored sufficiently.
Tim had worked as an administrator and bookkeeper his whole career. First as the Office Manager at Crown Hill Cemetery, where he helped to keep track of where all the bodies were buried and what land was still available. He also developed an interest in carving stones.
Later Tim worked for Fringe Benefit Services, which handled employee benefit services for labor unions and groups as a Third Party Administrator. He also supported his family’s efforts to adopt their daughter Elsa from Ethiopia in 2012-3. Finally, he worked for Transamerica Life Insurance Company, helping them to set up new retirement plans for employers of small and medium sizes.
In retirement Tim needed to choose, whether to go back to school or finish many projects he started. One of those projects was stone carving. He had collected many stone blocks in various sizes. “I knew I could help Arok with his bookkeeping duties, but I said “No.” because I wanted to focus on carving stones,” Tim explained. For many months, Tim continued “to play with rocks while Arok continued his search for a new bookkeeper.” Then one day while listening to a friend discuss her problems, her grief, and grievances, ” Tim had an epiphany that:
“People are more important than rocks!”
With this new paradigm, Tim reconsidered. Balancing Seeds’ “infinite needs and wants against what we have graciously been given, and then ensuring those gifts are accurately deployed against the needs they were intended to combat seems a worthy cause. So, I said “Yes.”
And then my life changed….”
Peggy Gonder
Communications Director
Peggy has practiced public relations, marketing and journalism for more than 50 years. As president of Gonder Public Relations, she led a team providing communications and strategy to Denver Public Schools successfully create the Professional Compensation System for Teachers. As a consultant to the National Stroke Association for five years, she advised hospitals and medical teams across the US and Canada on tools and strategies to raise awareness of stroke warning signs to increase enrollment in clinical trials.
Peggy provided media training and produced newsletters for several clients. As a staff member, she served as spokesperson for Aurora Public Schools and Denver Health. She has written eight books on education topics for the American Association of School Administrators, the State of California and other groups.
Peggy chairs the Social Justice Ministry at Montview Blvd Presbyterian Church that hosts a Palm Sunday Justice breakfast and an Offering of Letters to Congress. Palm Sunday speakers have discussed expanding healthcare to the uninsured and reducing food insecurity for families. She publicizes meetings of the Adams County League of Women Voters through news releases and social media posts.
As a Seeds volunteer, Peggy plans, writes and edits the monthly e-newsletter, the twice-a- year print newsletter, updates content on this website and posts on the Seeds Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages. Sign up for the free e-news through the pop-up window on this site.
Her hobbies are bird-watching, grandchildren and international affairs. She has traveled to Kenya twice to meet the Seeds students in 2017 and 2022.
