Meet Our Board of Directors


Ernest Cheruiyot is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Link Community Development USA.  Ernest has been involved with LCD USA since 2006 and has served as Chairman of the Board since 2008. He is a CPA at KPMG, LLP where he is a Director in the Transaction and Restructuring group. 

Ernest is actively involved in community service and is passionate about the role of education in improving the lives of children.  Originally from Kenya, he and his family founded Chelsa Academy, a boarding school for over 250 children located in the Bomet District in Kenya.  The school has been one of the best performers in the Bomet District since it was founded. He has also been active with the Heart to Heart Foundation, Chicago Cares and March of Dimes.

Ernest has a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Bachelors degree in Economics from the University of Nairobi in Kenya. 



Lindsay Baran is a member of the Board of Directors of Link Community Development USA.  Lindsay has been involved with LCD USA since 2003 and has served as a consultant to the growth of LCD USA's programs and operations.

Lindsay specializes in working with people with disabilities to achieve empowerment, independence, and access to necessary services.  She is currently a Disability Specialist at the Disability Resource Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) where she works closely with university students.  Previously, she worked at the Center on Health Promotion for Persons with Disabilities and at Avenues to Independence, a non-profit organization that provides residential and vocational services for adults with development disabilities.

Lindsay has won several awards for her leadership and service related to her work with disability rights, community service and international development. She is currently a candidate for a Masters of Science in Disability Studies at UIC, and has a Bachelors degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Kinesiology with a focus on disability.




Previously, Steve was the Director of SOS Children's Village UK, a non-profit social development organization that assists children around the world.  Prior to working in the non-profit sector, he was an Accountant at Somers Baker Chartered Accountants where he specialized in auditing non-profit organizations.  He has a Bachelors degree in Economics from Hull University in England.



Paul Carman is a member of the Board of Directors of Link Community Development USA.  Paul is a partner at Chapman and Cutler LLP and has worked with charitable, religious, and educational organizations for over 20 years.  The organizations that Paul has assisted range from international organizations formed to assist and protect endangered ethnic groups, international educational organizations, organizations formed to preserve culture and assist immigrant populations, churches, synagogues and Hindu temples, organizations formed to provide safe housing to low income people, and organizations formed to sponsor international and local music festivals to organizations formed to create neighborhood gardens.

Paul has served on the board of directors of several exempt organizations, been the chief executive officer of one, and has been the adviser as well as attorney to many.  He has a B.A. from Kansas Wesleyan University and a J.D. from Northwestern University.

Paul speaks frequently on a variety of tax related issues.  He has published a number of articles including, (co-author) "International Giving and the Fight Against Terrorism: A Clash of Policies Begets New Rules." 106 Journal of Taxation 100, Feb. 2007; "Private Foundations Behaving Responsibly Abroad," 18 Taxation of Exempts 121 (Nov./Dec. 2006); and "Structuring and Operating an International Exempt Organization in the United States." 15 Taxation of Exempts 15 (July/Aug. 2003).



Guarang Patel is a member of the Board of Directors of Link Community Development USA. Gaurang has been involved with LCD USA since 2011 and is responsible for overseeing the Accounting function of the organization. Gaurang is a Certified Public Accountant in Illinois and has experience working in the Forensic Accounting field conducting accounting investigations, as well as for an Investment Consulting field advising investors on operational risks.

Gaurang has a bachelors degree from the London School of Economics in Accounting and Finance and a Masters Degree in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame. Gaurang is originally from Zimbabwe, where he grew up. Gaurang has been involved in the Southern African Society at the London School of Economics where he helped promote awareness of issues effecting the Southern African region. Gaurang also mentors disadvantaged students in Chicago.



Pauline Taylor is a member of the Board of Directors of Link Community Development USA.  Pauline has had a long career in financial services with top tier firms including Fidelity Investments and Goldman Sachs.  She rose through the ranks to become a senior executive manager running complex back office operations.  Since her retirement she has continued to be involved in many volunteer organizations. 

Pauline currently volunteers with Sparrow Village (South Africa), Blind Services, and The Enterprising Kitchen.  She has a strong drive to help the less fortunate and the disadvantaged in the U.S. and in developing countries. 

Pauline earned a B.A. in history from River College in Nashua N.H.  She also attended the Executive Program at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.  She is past board president of Connections for Abused Women and Their Children and the National Investment Company Service Associations and has also served on a variety of different committees at Osher Life Long Learning Institute.  She is also serving as International Director at Sparrow Village.


Meet Our Staff


Jessica Loiacono is the Project Manager for Link USA. She is responsible for the day to day operations of our Chicago office, working with our Board as well as with our eight international affiliates.

Jessica is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she received Highest Distinction for her research on the efficacy of microfinance while studying in Senegal. She also received the International Undergraduate Achievement Award for her active involvement with post-conflict reconstruction in Uganda through the Illinois chapter of Invisible Conflicts, a student organization dedicated to exposing conflicts neglected by most western media and governments. Jessica spent extensive time in northern Uganda working with a community reconstruction organization called Peace Together Uganda (PTU) and helped acquire a USAID grant for the construction of a pig farm to improve PTU's sustainability.