Ashley Hufft joined Unbound in 2022 as chief strategy officer and general counsel. She was named president and CEO in February 2024 after seven months serving in an interim capacity. As president and CEO, Ashley oversees all departments, directs the leadership team, and serves as the primary representative of Unbound both within and outside the organization.

With a strong background in law and human development, particularly in Africa, Ashley has worked extensively with organizations focused on creating sustainable solutions for extreme poverty and food insecurity. Her experience has been far reaching overseas and domestically, involving such areas as agriculture, education, health, infrastructure, gender equality and business development.

Ashley received her B.A., summa cum laude, in anthropology from Harvard College, and her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she was a member of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. She’s a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Ashley lives in Kansas City where she enjoys spending time with her son playing pickleball and other sports, hiking or generally being outdoors. Her other interests include reading, listening to engaging podcasts and enjoying great sushi.

Pritha Hariharan serves as Unbound’s Chief of Staff. Previously, she served as international program director for Asia and Africa. She has been with the organization since 2015.

Most of Pritha’s prior work was in the telecommunications and technology industries in several capacities. She holds a bachelor of science in agriculture, earned in India, an MBA from Texas A&M University, and a master of arts in global and international studies from the University of Kansas. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), Agile Certified Scrum Master (CSM) and a Six Sigma Green Belt. She is fluent in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.

Pritha is married with two sons. She was born and raised in India and moved to the U.S. more than 20 years ago. She has lived and worked in India, Canada and the U.S., and has called Kansas City home for more than 15 years. She has traveled to many countries around the world for both business and pleasure.

Deborah Johns serves as Unbound’s first chief growth officer. With almost two decades of experience in international development, Deborah leads the organization’s work in philanthropy, outreach, marketing, communications and public relations.

Driven by a passion to break the cycle of poverty, Deborah joined Unbound in April 2024. She has an extensive background in philanthropy and worked for a variety of organizations focused on serving vulnerable and marginalized individuals, including World Vision and Project C.U.R.E. She has traveled extensively internationally and believes in empowering individuals to become catalysts for change in their families and communities.

Deborah holds an undergraduate degree from Gonzaga University, a master’s degree in nonprofit leadership from Seattle University and is pursuing a master’s degree in industrial-organizational psychology from Harvard University.

Deborah lives in Southlake, Texas, with her husband, son and two dogs, and she enjoys hiking, skiing, gardening, cooking and exploring new destinations.

Martin Kraus joined Unbound in 2009 as director of finance. He leads a dedicated team that ensures the transparency, accuracy, timeliness and openness of Unbound's financial information. He also directs the Unbound service center, which handles much of the correspondence from sponsored friends and other building-related responsibilities at the Kansas office.

Previously, Martin worked in various financial roles in the accounting, health insurance and transportation industries.

Martin graduated from Rockhurst University with a degree in accounting and is a certified public accountant. He belongs to the Missouri Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs.

Martin is married with three grown children and is enjoying his new life as a grandparent.

Rob McElroy serves as Unbound’s chief technology officer. He joined Unbound’s Technology Services Department in 2003 and, over the course of more than 20 years, has engaged with every system within the organization, contributing to a wide variety of projects and initiatives.

In his role as chief technology officer, Rob leads the development and implementation of technology strategies to enhance Unbound’s mission, ensuring efficient operations and innovative solutions that drive social impact.

Rob holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science, and his professional experience spans a diverse range of roles within both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors.

In his free time, Rob cherishes moments spent with his family, playing cards, strategizing over board games and embracing the great outdoors. He enjoys martial arts, endurance running and perfecting the game of billiards.

As the director of international programs, Dan Pearson leads the international programs department in its role to monitor the effectiveness and fiscal credibility of Unbound programs overseas. He and the other department members travel extensively to support and evaluate Unbound projects around the world.

Dan has a passion for program evaluation and working with stakeholders to identify goals and measure the impact of the program. He has more than 15 years of experience working with development programs around the world, and has lived and worked in South America, Europe, and Western and South Asia.

Dan has a master’s degree in international affairs from the University of Denver and a master’s in public administration from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. He lives in the Kansas City area with his wife, Kristina, and their three children.

Steven Martin serves as Unbound’s vice president of technology infrastructure. He is engaged in work that spans all aspects of the organization’s network technology-related processes and solutions, including overseeing the mitigation of IT risks, monitoring security compliance, and designing and implementing disaster recovery strategies, among other responsibilities.

Throughout his 13 years working for Unbound, Steven has also served as network engineer and lead network architect.

Steven holds a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) Network+ certification and has spent more than 25 years working in a variety of roles spanning the information technology sector, including in the manufacturing, entertainment and food industries.

Steven is married with two children, and he enjoys sports and outdoor activities in his free time.

Jose Rodriguez has been dedicated to walking alongside Unbound families as they build their paths out of poverty for more than 15 years. He spent 13 years supporting the organization’s international operations as a regional project director, traveling extensively to oversee program quality firsthand.

In his current role serving as Unbound’s vice president for product and experience, Jose is accountable for aligning the product and experience teams to deliver on Unbound’s unique promise to its supporters, which says they can “make a direct impact and transform lives as full partners in a global community of compassion.”

Jose ensures the organization maintains a compelling and market appropriate product portfolio and that the voice of Unbound’s many supporters is considered in strategic decision-making, while maintaining fidelity to the organization’s program and values. He also ensures that supporters have impactful experiences in program immersion when they travel with Unbound to its program sites around the world.

Prior to Unbound, Jose worked in the international hospitality industry throughout the U.S. and his native Honduras, leading diverse business units while overseeing service delivery and compliance. He also served as a patent administration specialist with the U.S. Army Reserves and was awarded the Army Achievement Medal (AAM) for service state-side.

Jose holds an associate degree for hospitality management from Johnson County Community College and a bachelor’s degree in business administration, with an emphasis in organizational management, from Baker University. He’s a graduate of the executive program “Mastering Design Thinking” from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management and a Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO).

Originally from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Jose is the son of two civil servants and former activists for agrarian and labor reform. He credits his parents for instilling in him at an early age the values of social justice and the importance of caring for others.

Jose resides in Kansas City with his daughter, Arianna. He is an avid soccer supporter and enjoys cooking for friends and traveling the Midwest.

Kristina Thompson serves as Unbound’s vice president of marketing and communications. She leads a team of professionals responsible for developing and executing a marketing and communications strategy that supports Unbound’s organizational objectives.

Kristina joined Unbound in 2019 with 25 years of experience working in the areas of marketing, advertising, public relations and communications for various for-profit organizations and advertising agencies throughout Kansas City. Prior to Unbound, she spent over a decade as a marketing strategist in the financial services sector.

Kristina holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from Kansas State University. Born and raised in Emporia, Kansas, she hails from a family of die-hard Wildcats.

Kristina has made her home for the past 20 years in Kansas City where she lives with her husband, Kelly, and their three children. With her family, Kristina enjoys lake weekends, traveling, hosting impromptu neighborhood gatherings on the back porch of their historical home, gardening and home renovation projects.

Melissa Velazquez serves as program director for Latin America. She provides leadership to the teams working throughout the region and supports international evaluation efforts. Melissa joined Unbound in 2008 and dedicated most of her career to building the framework for measuring program effectiveness as an evaluation specialist and international evaluation manager. She stepped into her current role in 2016.

Melissa holds a master's in Latin American and Caribbean studies, with an emphasis in human geography, from the University of Kansas. Her research focused on urbanization and formalization of peri-urban settlements.

As an undergraduate, she studied history, anthropology and indigenous language at the Universidad de Costa Rica and received a graduate fellowship for the study of Brazilian Portuguese in Vitória, Brazil.

Melissa is married with two children. She and her family enjoy exploring Kansas City, particularly through food and music.

Michael Calabria has been with Unbound since 2001, serving for his first eight years as director of finance before moving to the role of planned giving director. He works primarily with people who are interested in making estate gifts and other sizeable donations to support the work of the organization.

Holding a bachelor's degree in business administration from Southern Methodist University, Michael has also completed graduate studies in accounting and finance at the University of North Texas and the University of Texas at Dallas. In 2011, he completed graduate courses in Charitable Giving through American University and was certified as a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy. He is a member of the Mid-America Planned Giving Council and a member of the MAPGC Board of Directors. His prior work experience has been primarily in accounting and finance, financial services and sports marketing.

Married with four children, Michael and his family moved to the Kansas City area from Texas in 1999. They enjoy cycling, hiking, nature walks, live music venues, fall harvests at area vineyards and supporting fundraising events for local charities.

Scott Wasserman and his wife, Anabella, sponsored their first child through Unbound soon after they married in 1988. Since then, they have sponsored numerous children and adults in various countries. Now that their three daughters are adults, they credit Unbound sponsorship with teaching them to see the image of God in all people, especially the poor.

Scott became president and CEO of Unbound in 2013. Prior to accepting this position, he was a guiding presence on the governing board for 15 years, the last 14 as board chair.

A graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of Kansas, Scott served on the National Review Board advising the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on policies to protect children. He and Anabella are active leaders in their local diocese and parish.

Scott retired from Unbound on July 31, 2023, after a quarter century of service. He continues to support the organization as CEO emeritus.