Theil T. Theil and Aluel G. Malu smile together.

Who We Are

Leadership and board

Theil T. Theil, President & Founder, and Aluel G. Malu (Rose), co-founder, with the Undying Hope board. Full bios restored from the organization’s Who We Are page.

In the field, Josephine Mangu coordinates the Great Equatoria region from Juba, working with local government and communities. Evaline William Arkangelo is a graduate physician and a scholarship alumna.

Read Theil’s full story · Book Theil and Aluel to speak

Who We Are

Theil T. Theil, PHD Candidate MA, BA, ACTFL Certified

President & CEO

South Sudanese American
Ph.D. Candidate, Eastern University, Pennsylvania, USA
President & Founder of Undying Hope International, USA
President & Founder of RVCC Rotract Club, New Jersey, USA
First SPLM Chairman & Co-Founder, New Jersey, USA 2002-2006
SPLM Secretary for Youth Affairs, Washington D.C. 2007-2009
Rotary Club International, New Jersey, Maryland, and Texas USA
Anne Arundel Leadership Program, Maryland, USA
Ordained Pastor, Maryland, USA
Undying Hope Board Member

Theil was born and raised in Aweil, a city in what is now the Republic of South Sudan. As a child during the Sudanese civil war, Theil witnessed many atrocities firsthand. At the age of 13, his family moved from Aweil to Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, where they were classified as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) according to the United Nations’ definition of those who have fled their homes to seek refuge within their own country.

Nine years later, Theil escaped to Syria after completing 45 days of compulsory basic military training with the Popular Defense Forces, a program established by the Sudanese government for jihad purposes in his home region of southern Sudan. Theil graduated at the top of his group in military marching training and ranked second in shooting range training. Upon arriving in Syria, Theil became a refugee for the first time. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Damascus, Syria, recognized his status by granting him refugee status.

Theil moved to the United States in September 1998 through a refugee resettlement program sponsored by Catholic Charities of New Jersey. He became a U.S. citizen six years later, in June 2004. Upon his arrival, Theil did not speak English, so he began his educational journey by enrolling in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) in New Jersey. After successfully completing ESL Level 4 and passing the standardized test, he advanced to formal college courses and university studies.

After graduating from RVCC with an Associate of Science (A.S.) degree in Mathematics and Sciences, Theil earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Biological Sciences from Rutgers University. He is also ordained as a Pastor by Bay Area Community Church (BACC), holds an ACTFL Certificate from the American Council for International Education, and has earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Organizational Leadership from Eastern University.

Theil took on significant leadership and organizational roles in both the United States and East Africa. He successfully co-founded a nonprofit organization, developed major public health initiatives, and led leadership development programs. Currently, Theil is a Ph.D. candidate in Organizational Leadership.

Having lived in Sudan, East Africa (including South Sudan, Uganda, and Kenya), Syria, and the United States, Theil has gained valuable on-site experience with the cultures and histories of these regions. He is fluent in English and Arabic and is also conversant in Dinka, Sudanese Arabic, Juba Arabic, Syrian Arabic, and Egyptian Arabic.

Theil is an exemplary leader with an indomitable spirit and an inspiring personal story of overcoming adversity. His unwavering hope for a better future, combined with his resilience, tenacity, and deep love for South Sudan and beyond, has shaped his undying Hope journey. With extensive leadership and management experience, a strong educational background, and a natural talent for building relationships and networking, Theil, along with his wife, Aluel Malu, co-founded Undying Hope International (UHI) in the United States to support South Sudan and beyond. Two years ago, Theil and Aluel relocated to East Africa, where they live with their two beloved children, Thomas-Dhel Theil and Ayan Theil (also known as Nina).

Aluel G. Malu

Co-Founder, Board Member, & Short-term Missions Advisory Lead

Chef Aluel Malu (Theil) is a South Sudanese American. She was born in Khartoum, Sudan, and grew up in the same neighborhood until she married Theil T. Theil. Soon after traditional marriage, Aluel traveled with Theil’s family to Egypt, where she spent the next four years. In 2004, Theil and Aluel got married at the Church in Cairo. A year later, in 2005, Aluel made it to the United States and has been with her husband ever since. Theil and Aluel live in East Africa with their two precious children, Thomas and Ayan (Nina).

Chef Aluel is passionate about education and deeply concerned for orphans and early marriages. This profound compassion stemmed from seeing scores of orphans (boys and girls) and street children wandering on the streets of South Sudan aimlessly and without hope for a better future. Decades of Sudan civil war, extreme poverty, and hardship contributed vastly to early marriages and the high illiteracy rate (73%) in South Sudan. Aluel believes it is not only advantageous but necessary for girls to be in schools rather than given into marriage at an early age.

Chef Aluel considers food as a universal unifier. It brings people together regardless of their tribes, nationalities, cultures, and backgrounds. She loves to cook different types of cuisines, including but not limited to Africans, Americans, and the Mediterranean. Although she acquired a wealth of cooking experience through practice, Chef Aluel believes that adding an educational credential to her cooking experience will pay dividends.

As a Co-Founder of Undying Hope International (UHI) and Short-Term Missions Advisory Lead, Chef Aluel desires to work collaboratively with Theil Theil, Undying Hope’s leadership team, as well as friends and family to give back to South Sudan and beyond. Her utmost desire is to play a role in improving the lives of orphans and street children through education, especially girls’ education. She hopes to help reduce the high illiteracy rate, promote girls’ education, and utilize food to bring about unity, peace, and harmony in South Sudan and beyond.

“C.S. Lewis said ‘Progress means not just changing, but changing for the better.’ This is my hope for the impact of Undying Hope International in South Sudan and beyond.”
— Aluel G. Malu

Board of Directors

Dr. Charles M. Balch, MD

Board Chair

Charles M. Balch, M.D. PhD (h.c.)
Founding Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, Annals of Surgical Oncology
Honorary Editor-in-Chief, Chinese Clinical Oncology
Founding Editor-in-Chief, Patient Resource Cancer Guides
President, International Society of Oncology Prevention and Treatments
President, Cancer Expert Now International
President, International Sentinel Node Society
Professor and Past-Surgeon-in-Chief, Department of Surgical Oncology
Past-Executive Vice-President for Health Affairs, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas

Formerly:

Executive Vice-President and Chief Executive Officer, American Society of Clinical Oncology; Alexandria, Virginia
President and CEO, City of Hope National Medical Center; Duarte, California
Professor of Surgery, Oncology and Dermatology; Deputy Director for Clinical Trials and Outcomes Research; Director, Johns Hopkins Clinical Research Network, Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions; Baltimore, Maryland

Dr. Charles M. Balch has led a distinguished career as a clinical and academic surgical oncologist for the past 50 years, as a leading authority in both melanoma, breast cancer, and immunotherapy. He has also made significant contributions to laboratory research in tumor immunology and human T lymphocyte differentiation. He is author of over 840 publications, which have been cited over 37,000 times in the biomedical literature (an average of 75 citations per article, h-index of 92). He has lectured in over 45 different countries in the world and most of the major academic centers in the United States. Dr Balch was the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of Surgical Oncology, which is recognized as the leading journal in the world in its field, with over 11,000 surgical and library subscribers in 110 countries. He is also the Editor-in-Chief for Patient Resource Cancer Guides, now in its 16th year, which distributes nearly one million cancer guides (with 51 different titles) to cancer patients each year.

Dr Balch is generally regarded as one of the leading melanoma experts in the world. He is the editor of Cutaneous Melanoma, regarded as the authoritative textbook on melanoma, now in its 6th edition (Springer Publications). His contributions to the melanoma literature include over 147 published articles, 6 books, and 154 book chapters or invited educational articles regarding his clinical investigations involving the natural history of melanoma, prognostic factors predicting clinical outcome, and standards of surgical treatment. He has published extensively on the conduct and methodology of clinical research. Dr Balch, Dr Seng-jaw Soong and colleagues performed one of the first prognostic factors analysis for melanoma in a landmark paper which was the first to use the Cox multifactorial regression analysis. They were the first to identify the major prognostic factors for Stage I, II and III melanoma that were the independent predictor of survival, including melanoma ulceration as a key predictor of metastases and interferon sensitivity. Their research on the natural history and predictive factors of melanoma clinical outcome essentially redefined the criteria now used worldwide for the staging for melanoma.

He had held major leadership roles involving clinical research in three comprehensive cancer centers (UAB, MD Anderson and City of Hope). He has also held leadership roles involving clinical research in cancer cooperative groups, NIH study sections, and in professional organizations. He has been a Principal Investigator or Co-PI of numerous clinical trials, including 10 phase III trials, most of which were NCI-funded national Phase III trials. Dr Balch has organized or participated in randomized surgical trials that have defined the current standards of melanoma surgery worldwide, either through the World Health Organization Melanoma Program or as Principal Investigator of the Intergroup Melanoma Surgical Trial. Their results established the safety of using more conservative surgical excision of a primary melanoma. He has also led 5 multi-institutional randomized clinical trials involving various combinations of adjuvant biological therapy or chemotherapy in high-risk melanoma patients.

In the area of breast cancer, he was one of the co-principal investigators of the only randomized surgical trial compared Halsted radical mastectomy with modified radical mastectomy and was one of the pioneers of skin-sparing mastectomies followed by immediate breast reconstruction. In the area of immunology research, He was the first to demonstrate that T lymphocytes were bone-marrow derived and then processed in the thymus, and first described T lymphocyte distribution in various animal species including rats, guinea pigs, rabbits and monkeys. He was also the first to describe human NK and T Cell differentiation antigens, including the widely studied CD57 lymphocyte antigen. He has numerous articles about tumor and transplantation immunology, with over 100 scientific publications and book chapters.

In past years, Dr. Balch has served as Executive Vice President and CEO of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (2000-2005), and as President and CEO of the City of Hope National Medical Center (1996-2000). At the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, from 1985-1996, Dr. Balch served as Executive Vice President for Health Affairs, Vice President of Hospital and Clinics, and Surgeon-in-Chief and Head of the Division of Surgery, among other positions. Dr. Balch’s leadership roles have involved the Society of Surgical Oncology (as President), where he currently serves as Founding Emeritus Editor-in-Chief for the society’s peer-reviewed journal, the Annals of Surgical Oncology, the American Board of Surgery (Board of Directors), the Association of Academic Surgeons (President), the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (Founding Board of Directors) The International Sentinel Node Society (as President), the Commission on Cancer (Chair, Board of Directors) and the American Joint Committee on Cancer (Executive Committee). He holds honorary memberships in 13 national surgical organizations, including the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, the Japan Surgical Society, the National Academy of Medicine of Mexico, and the European Society of Surgical Oncology), a Ph.D degree (honora causa) from the University of Crete, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Association of Surgical Oncology, Professor Emeritus from John Hopkins University, and the Highest Alumni Award from his alma mater, The University of Toledo.

Curtis Lee

Vice Board Chair

Founder, Kairos Sophos Consulting, LLC
Proprietor, The Riparian on Black Creek
Former Director for Business Alignment, Sonoco Products Co.
Partner, Mantissa Executive Suites and Spa
Past Chairman, Hartsville Planning Commission
Former Chair, Community Foundation for a Better Hartsville

Innovator/Creator/Builder/Connector. Curtis is a seasoned, proven executive with multi-functional background and experience in both corporate and defense sectors, as well as a successful entrepreneur and community builder. He is known for his ability to visualize, mobilize, lead, and deliver programs and projects that create true value. He holds a unique combination of broad skills and experiences that lead to innovative approaches/solutions, combined with networking and relationship building capability to tackle difficult tasks.

Currently, Curtis is an independent consultant aligned with consulting firms/technology companies in the geopolitical risk and security management, information technology, cyber security, and geospatial market research fields. He also serves on the board of advisors for Team Afghan Power and advisor to Undying Hope International– a charitable organization focused on South Sudan.

A retired colonel in the Marine Corps reserves with experience in artillery, logistics, and civil affairs - a specialty focused on the military’s engagement and relationship building with local populations and governments. Deployed to both Iraq (2001 & 2007) and Afghanistan (2009/10) in senior roles responsible for the stabilization and rebuilding of those countries. He most recently completed a successful command tour standing up a new 150-person civil affairs unit near Chicago, IL.

Curtis has over 25 years of corporate experience in various functions to include manufacturing, process improvement, supply chain, sales & marketing, business development, pricing, and system implementation with Rubbermaid, General Electric, and Sonoco Products Company. At Sonoco, he was part of the corporate Operating Excellence group, the corporate growth readiness team, the Flexible Packaging division, the Tubes, and Core division, and the Global Oracle (enterprise manufacturing system) project team. Most recently a director in the Business Technology group, he was responsible for working with all divisions and corporate staff on their information technology needs.

Curtis embarked upon his first entrepreneurial adventure by joining with four other partners to purchase the old Kimbrell’s store in downtown Hartsville converting it into a boutique hotel and spa, The Mantissa, with a rooftop venue and a partnered restaurant. He more recently renovated a creekside property into a paddle club and event venue.

Curtis served as the chairman of the Community Foundation for a Better Hartsville which was formed in 2012 to improve collaboration with the city and other community-based organizations. Major projects included: sponsoring the Hartsville Master Vision Plan, revitalizing the Oakdale neighborhood, partnering with the city for the Main Street Program, and sponsoring the Startsville Center for Innovation. Past chairman of the Hartsville Planning Commission leading the effort to update the city’s comprehensive plan. Serves as Economic Development and Public Policy Chair for the Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce.

Resides in Hartsville with his wife Barbara, and has three adult children: Matthew, Sarah and Caroline. Active in his local church to include developing a partnership with a Presbyterian Church of East Africa parish in Kenya. Member of Rotary Club and Brigadoon - where entrepreneurs and thought leaders gather to discuss emerging issues shaping commerce and culture.

Nicole Mozey

Strategic Development & Philanthropy

Nicole is an Enterprise Operations Executive with 21 years of progressive leadership at a $9B publicly traded global manufacturer operating across 18 business units, 64 countries, 247 ERP instances, and 300+ financial ledgers. Delivered $1.4B in working capital improvement, $640M in inventory savings, $265M in audit-identified forecasting recoveries, and $150M+ in annual purchase and build avoidance through enterprise-wide systems, programs, and operating structures built under her leadership. Co-Founder, NOV Derricks and Diamonds. Previously on the Board of Empower CDC.

Marsha Hyslop R.N., MBA

Treasurer

Marsha Hyslop is a performance-driven health care executive, with in-depth clinical experience and expertise in rapidly growing, technology-driven health-care environments with a keen ability to identify, develop, and implement clinical protocols, strategic initiatives, and business opportunities to support organizational objectives. She has a steadfast commitment to promoting clinical quality and outcomes, in depth health care industry knowledge and a successful record of fostering meaningful relationships and opportunities with internal and external stakeholders with both corporate and health plan partners. She was the Chief Clinical Officer of 2nd.MD for 7 years where she contributed significantly to the quality, scale, and growth of the organization. She built the clinical programs and Expert Specialist panel at 2nd.MD which was comprised of over 1000 leading specialists across the nation. 2nd.MD grew by 72% in 2020 resulting in the 2021 acquisition of 2nd.MD by Accolade (a publicly traded company) for $468 million. She served on the Clinical Advisory Board for Sword Health a virtual physical therapy solution. She is on the Advisory Council for the University of Texas, Austin School of Nursing and on the Advisory Board for Verifiable and also serves on the Board for Health AdvocateX. She serves as a Strategic Advisor to Access Hope a virtual oncology solution dedicated to expert medical opinions and cancer support. She currently is the VP of Clinical Oversight for Fuze Health, a virtual pharmacy and telehealth solution. She also is a founder and the Chief Clinical Officer for NOVI Health which provides a population health approach to whole genome sequencing in the Employee Benefit and Health Plan Space. The solution is based on risk identification and stratification as well as well as mitigating risks for cancer and other metabolic diseases. Marsha is dedicated to her faith and family and passionate about helping others. As a board member of Undying Hope, Marsha is grateful to serve those in S Sudan and beyond.

Don Wiley, M.Ed

Secretary

Don lives in Atlantic County, New Jersey, with Sharon, his wife of 35 years. They have four adult children, 3 daughters in law and 5 grandchildren.

Don has been privileged to serve as a high school teacher in four states and as a youth worker in the USA and in Ireland. Currently, he teaches English at Atlantic Christian School. He and Sharon enjoy walking in their neighborhood, visiting with family, and seeing their family grow. They also love worshiping and serving with Greentree Church in Egg Harbor Township, NJ.

Leigh Marcus

Board Member

Leigh Marcus is consistently one of the top producers in Kingwood and the Greater Houston Metroplex. She has received special recognition for Top Listing Agent and Top Production; is a Prestigious RE/MAX Platinum Club Award winner, RE/MAX Lifetime Achievement Award winner and has been inducted into the RE/MAX Hall of Fame. In addition, Leigh has been recognized by the Houston Business Journal as one of the Top 20 Outstanding Agents in Houston and the state of Texas. Leigh was recently named as the Top 100 Most Influential Real Estate Agents in Texas by Real Estate Executive Magazine.

Leigh’s professional background as a marketing manager and former Bed and Breakfast owner provide a unique opportunity to help those in need of Real Estate services.

Leigh is currently on the advisory board at Southern Methodist University; a sustaining board member of the Jr. League of Houston and was also nominated and elected to The Board of Governors at The Kingwood Country Club. Leigh is also a Captain, serving on the International Committee at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo and a member of the Wine Committee and Trailblazers, where Leigh was awarded Rookie of the Year for her volunteer services. She is a member of the Humble Chamber of Commerce and a Deacon at the First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood. She has been a Houston resident since 1983.

Dr. Michael Obiekwe, MD

Board Member

Dr. Obiekwe has practiced medicine for 40 years and is a surgeon in Atlanta, Georgia, and is an active minister and founder of Arms of Care Charity (a medical mission group in Atlanta, Georgia, providing medical equipment to underserved communities in the US and Africa). Michael is originally from Nigeria.

Dr. Stafford Warren

Board Member

Dr. Stafford Warren is a board-certified cardiologist and Fellow in the American College of Cardiology, now retired after practicing cardiology for 50 years, but still teaching an ECG course to residents, seeing a limited number of patients pro bono, and maintaining a leadership role in the international and multispecialty cardiovascular research conference, the STAFF-MALT Symposium that is now in its 22nd year, having been held in 14 countries to date. The STAFF portion of the Symposium title was named after him for research he did in the 1990’s with patients undergoing coronary balloon angioplasty that led to over 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals and the STAFF-MALT Symposia.

Since 2017, he has been Vice-Chair of the Cardiac Services Advisory Committee which oversees cardiology and cardiac surgery for the State of Maryland as part of the Maryland Health Care Commission. He has authored or co-authored over 60 publications in peer-reviewed cardiovascular journals and co-edited in 2022 a two-volume book published by The Royal Society of Chemistry in the United Kingdom titled The Coronovirus Pandemic and the Future.

He has traveled extensively to more than 50 countries and lives in Annapolis, Maryland with wife, Dr. Sue Warren. He is a member of Rotary International and is actively involved in several volunteer activities in the Annapolis community.

Jack Wisdom, JD

Governance and Legal Compliance

Jack Wisdom leads the Labor and Employment section at Martin, Disiere, Jefferson & Wisdom, L.L.P. Jack is Board Certified - Labor and Employment Law - Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Every year since 2003, Jack has been selected as a Texas Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly. Jack has been named one of Houston’s Top 100 Lawyers by Texas Monthly and H Magazine. Jack also has been recognized by his peers as one of “The Best Lawyers in America” in The Best Lawyers in America, which identified him as the top employment lawyer in Houston for 2014 and 2017. Jack is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Houston Law Center, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif, and served as an editor of the Houston Law Review. He received his M. Div. degree, summa cum laude, from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, and his B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from Trinity University, in San Antonio, Texas. At Trinity, Jack was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and captain of the rugby team. Before becoming an attorney, Jack was a police officer for the City of Dallas, and the Area Director of Young Life in the Houston Bay Area. Jack has served as an Adjunct Professor of New Testament and General Counsel at Houston Baptist University, and a Board member for the Houston Graduate School of Theology.

In 2012, Jack’s first theology book, Get Low: Reflections on Pride and Humility was published. In 2014, three of Jack’s songs (including the title track) were included on Brad Boyer’s Montagu Hotel, which has cracked the top 10 on various Americana music charts. In 2016, Jack’s second book, Breaking Good, was published.

Jack is married to Diana. They have two amazing daughters, one lucky son-in-law, two spectacular grandkids, and an above-average dog.

Dr. Ashraf Zaghloul, MD

Board Member

Dr. Ashraf Zaghloul, MD, is from Cairo. He is one of the oncology leaders in the Middle East. He was the director of the National Cancer Center of Egypt and the Egyptian Society of Surgical Oncology, and is well-connected with the Egyptian government and academic leaders. He is well-informed about issues in the Arab world and has a heart for service. He brings a unique perspective, being from Arab North Africa and being a Muslim. He is well-connected to the University of Cairo and has strong medical and academic ties.