The Board

John Lancaster, President of the Board
John Lancaster is a member of the Board of Handicap International's U.S. national association and serves as the Treasurer of the newly formed Handicap International Federation. He recently served as the executive director of the National Council on Independent Living in Washington, D.C. John was the executive director of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities under the Clinton administration. He spent four years in Vietnam working with the Government and National Assembly to develop laws to protect the rights of persons with disabilities. He and his wife, Christine, live in Potsdam, New York.   

Dr. Philippe Chabasse
Philippe co-founded Handicap International France and served as co-director for 20 years.  He has worked since the early 1980s in developing and implementing programs for persons in disabling situations in post-conflict and developing countries and has been instrumental in the Campaign to Ban Landmines.  He is currently the director of a consultancy company that works with the corporate sector in France to encourage socially responsible investing and long-term development.  He, his wife and two sons live in Paris. 

Rosalind Grigsby, Assistant Secretary-Treasurer
Roz began her overseas career in Indonesia and Sri Lanka in 1983, where she spent five years working on development and education programs.  Since returning to the United States, she has coordinated grant projects in the nonprofit sector and has conducted research on related issues. She currently serves as Executive Director of the Takoma Park Small Business Association. She and her husband and three children live in Takoma Park, Maryland.

Dominique Le Van Truoc
Mr. Le Van Truoc has worked for many years in the private sector in communications with a specialty in interactive and Web-based research.  He joined the staff of Handicap International France in 2003 where he is currently Communication and Development Director.  He and his wife and son live in Lyon, France. 

Wendy Batson, Secretary-Treasurer
Wendy Batson is a development specialist with extensive experience planning and managing rehabilitation and reconstruction programs for war-devastated countries.  She has worked for non-governmental organizations and the United Nations designing and implementing programs for refugees, internally displaced persons and persons with disabilities. She and her husband and four children lived in Laos from 1981 through 1984 overseeing war reconstruction projects in Laos and Vietnam for Quaker Service Laos & Vietnam and in Pakistan from 1989 until 1994, where she worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) supporting programs for Afghan refugees.  From 1996 through 2004, she headed up the overseas division of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF - now known as Veterans for America).  She lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, with her husband and youngest son, Zachary.