The Good Shepherd Agricultural Mission has a board comprising of directors who meet regularly. The Board are a team of seven individuals who are elected by the General Body of our organization. Our members come from many different backgrounds and have a wide range of abilities and passions which work together well to serve goals of our organization. These are just some of the responsibilities and duties of Board members:
- The integrity of our financial reporting
- Compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, internal standards, policies and expectations
- Management and appointment of staff
- Approval of volunteers, construction and major projects
- Establishing our objectives, purposes and policies
Rev. Clifton Shipway
Director
As founder Maxton Strong’s grandson, Clifton was born in Australia, but has many fond memories of visits to India during his childhood. As a boy, he loved the jungle around the mission, the freedom on the Farm, as well as the many children he became friends with. When he was ten years old, Clifton wrote to his grandfather that he would help run the organization one day—a prediction that took only nine more years to come true. In 2004, at the age of nineteen, Clifton and his parents moved to the mission and have never looked back. He now runs the organization’s website, helps maintain accounts/accountability, heads up our office administration and is responsible for almost all of our photos and videos. With infectious enthusiasm and an ambitious vision, Clifton is committed to the long term success of our ever-growing family.
Clifton became a member of our Board of Directors in 2007 taking on the position of Deputy Director, in 2022 he was elected as Director through the unanimous vote of our 40 Members, staff and advisors.
Eugene George
Board Secretary
Though he was not raised at the GSAM, Eugene has never been far from the Mission. As a boy, he grew up next door to the organization on his family’s farm while his father acted as the GSAM Farm Manager. In 2004, Eugene began assisting in the office, eventually taking over the role as Farm Manager from his father. With a strong presence and a fierce commitment to the children, Eugene oversees all of our legal issues while looking after the public relations needs of the organization and maintaining a close watch on the farm. He also assists in the management of special projects, buildings and the like. He became a member of our Board of Directors in 2007.
Paula Karada
Deputy Director
Paula came to the mission in 1975 after being abandoned at the age of two weeks old by her parents. She grew up as a child of the Mission and at the age of eighteen became a leader in the Senior Girls Hostel where she assisted the Superintendent with the day to day operations. In time, she herself became the Superintendent of the hostel and worked in that position for more than fourteen years before joining our Board of Directors. She has been on the Board since 2007.
Priscilla Shipway
Treasurer
Priscilla was brought to the mission along with her twin brother when they were only four years old. Growing up on the Farm, she learned first-hand what a child of our organization needs and now works tirelessly to ensure that all GSAM children are taken care of. She joined the staff at the age of twenty and has become a vital member of our team. In addition to being Clifton’s wife and a mother of three active boys, Priscilla also oversees the care and discipline of our children, the management and purchasing of supplies, general staff supervision and acts as secretary to the directors. Priscilla joined the Board in 2010.
Josie Singh
Board Member
No one on the GSAM staff has a deeper understanding of just how far the organization has come than Josie. She arrived at the Farm when she was only sixteen-year-old and today, more than sixty years later, she is one of the oldest living former-Mission children. With a passion for hard work and a deep love of animals, Josie assists in all aspects of the organizations farm, particularly in the dairy. She also supervises the training of the children in our critical animal agricultural practices and has been on the Board since 2007.
Simeon Karada
Board Member
Simeon joined the mission as a staff member in 2006 when he married Paula Karada, a former mission girl. Along with his wife, he assisted in training the children and worked as Hostel Superintendent and advisor to the Board. They continue to be great supporters of the work of the GSAM, actively involved in the decision making process of the leadership. Simeon became a member of our Board of Directors in 2007.
Jack Johnson
Board Member
The newest member of our Board of Directors, Jack first came to the Mission and just 20 days old. Growing up through our hostels and now serving as our Senior Boy’s Hostel, Jack is a trusted older brother to all of our young ones. Jack worked off the property for almost 20 years before returning home to us with his son Jarred. He joined the Board of Directors in 2022.