Board Of Directors

At the One World Literacy Foundation the Board of Directors provides a number of important fucntions. The first, perhaps, is technical expertise, which is why most Boards usually contain members representing all segments of the economy, i.e., lawyers, accountants, healthcare professionals, insurance executives, etc. Ideally, a Board is there to supervise and compliment the actual running of the organization or directly dealing with day-to-day events and circumstances--what may be called "the small picture.

Armie Carabet
TITLE: Executive Director
BIO: Mr. Carabet brings a tremendously successful business history to One World Literacy. Over the last 14 years Mr. Carabet has owned and operated two companies with a focus on literacy for children. His current role is as CEO of ClickN KIDS, Inc. (www.clicknkids.com). Mr. Carabet was key in bringing together a team focused on providing research-based online reading tools to the globe through the power of the Internet.

Mr. Carabet has a deep understanding of how to get content around the globe and in the hands of those who need it the most. Motivating his decision to form O.W.L. was his passion, desire and dream to ensure that every adult & child is able to read.

Mr. Carabet has supported several Los Angeles based charities with time, money and contacts. Mr. Carabet is one of three founders of the One World Literacy Foundation.

Jose Niño
TITLE: Chief Development Officer
BIO: Mr. Niño is widely considered one of the most influential Hispanic Businessmen in the United States. Mr. Niño currently is sitting on the Board of Directors for the U.S.- Mexico Chamber of Commerce and the Hispanic Council of International Relations. He has also sat on the Board of Advisors and is Co-Chairman for the Hispanic Alliance for Prosperity Institute (HAPI) and formerly served as the President of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC).

Mr. Niño served as the Hispanic Business Advisor to President George H. Bush and is currently the President of El Niño Group in Washington, DC. Mr. Niño has also served on the Federal Reserve Board of Chicago on its Small Business Advisory Board. Mr. Niño also is no stranger to helping others. He has volunteered his own time and money to countless support groups and sits on the Board of Directors of the Boy Scouts of America, the Guardian Angels and the Basilica de Guadalupe Foundation. Mr. Niño is one of three founders of the One World Literacy Foundation.

Dr. Diane Thornton
TITLE: Director of Programs/Education
BIO: Diane has served as the National Director of Learning for Life for three years. Learning for Life is a program working to enable young people to become responsible individuals by teaching positive character traits, career development, leadership and life skills so that they can make ethical choices and achieve their full potential. Before her education she worked in the merchant services industry for Entrust.

Dr. Thornton's extensive background in education includes ten and half years as a public school Superintendent; Assistant Superintendent of Special Populations/Curriculum/Instruction; High School and Elementary School Principle; and Elementary, Middle and High School Teacher.

She has also served as an adjunct professor since 2002. Diane received her Bachelor of Science in Education from Texas Tech University, her Master of Education/Management and Supervision from Texas Woman's University and her Doctorate of Educational Leadership from the University of Sarasota.

Donald Plehn
TITLE: Dir. Of Marketing & Communications
BIO: Donald Plehn Jr's futuristic and conceptual thinking is proceeded by 10 years of Marketing & Communications experience. Donald started his career with BMC Management where for 5 consecutive years he was awarded with the 5 STAR Presidential Award of Excellence. His efforts resulted in more than 10 Fortune 500 relationships such as IBM, Wal-Mart, Sears & Sprint.

Mr. Plehn Co-Founded The Chapter Group, Inc. a nationwide online corporate filing service which assisted in the entity formation and filing of Non-profit Organizations. Donald's strategic marketing & communication efforts resulted in year over year growth of more than 1,000% and helped form more than 5,000 new business entities in the United States.

Donald has also held successful positions working with My Instant Guru, Inc. as the Managed Technology Marketing Director & the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) where Donald managed & co-developed the Go-To Market strategy for Nsight's international marketing program "Innovation". O.W.L. is proud to have Donald Plehn join the organization and looks forward to using his experience and expertise to expand O.W.L.’s reach and awareness for childhood illiteracy.

James Highfill
TITLE: Director of Finance
BIO: Mr. Highfill is also one of three founders of the One World Literacy Foundation. Mr. Highfill’s primary skills are in finding the means for enabling expansion of business with an emphasis toward building client relationships with organizations that could benefit with alignment of the organizations core competencies to the mission and vision of O.W.L..

Currently Mr. Highfill is COO at ClickN KIDS, Inc., and is also on the Board of Directors for Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, The Champion Fund (TCF), where he actively participates in raising funds, directing investment and planning TCF strategy and Board recruiting efforts.

Mr. Highfill looks at the use of technology in supporting sales, operations and brings his skills in strategy, finance, governance and operations to O.W.L. Mr. Highfill holds both Bachelors of Science in Finance, Banking and Management and Masters of Business Administration degrees.