Jean Rene Noel, President

Jean is a native of La Pointe des Palmistes, Port-de-Paix, Haïti. He was 15 when he left his homeland and migrated to Miami in 1988. Jean completed high school at Miami Edison and attended Florida International University, where his passion for helping young people inspired him to earn a degree in secondary education. Since 2003, Jean has been a classroom teacher and volunteered countless after school hours providing extra help to students in need of additional help. Jean is a member of the board of trustees, executive committee, ministerial committee, and the treasurer of his affiliated church. He has earned the respect of the church leaders and the congregation for his integrity, honesty, diligence, and boldness. Jean has been working behind the scenes with his late father, Renel Noel on humanitarian projects and efforts to benefits the House of Hope, Beraca Medical Center and the Beraca Church in La Pointe, Port-de-Paix, Haiti. His desire to make a difference in the lives of others, particularly needy children, led him to join Friends of Humanity, an organization whose mission is to provide assistance in the areas of medicine, food, clothing, school supplies, improving drinking water quality, and building sanitation facilities to those in needs in Haiti.

David Peterson, Vice President

Alice Burch, Secretary

Alice Burch is a civic activist in the Miami Shores area who has been involved with an ongoing effort by the Miami Shores Presbyterian Church to assist Haitians for over two decades. She worked with the Church and other organizations to disseminate solar cooking in Haiti, and from there, came to know the need in Northwest Haiti through Church colleagues. In 2003, Ms. Burch helped procure an ambulance for the region, and made the trip to deliver the vehicle. She has come to know and appreciate the direct contacts that the Church uses that ensure that every dollar and every shipment of supplies lands at the doorstep of the needy of the region. Ms. Burch holds a degree in Nursing from Barry University. She is a founding board member and secretary of Doctors Charter School of Miami Shores, a municipal charter school serving grades 6-12. Her other civic involvements include: Miami Shores Chamber of Commerce Board and the Noise Abatement Advisory Board for Miami International Airport. She has served on numerous educational and civic boards and committees, including: Miami Country Day School, Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School, Brockway Memorial Library Board of Trustees. Ms. Burch’s special interest is infrastructure improvement, and she obtained a Safe Routes to School grant for a sidewalk in a school zone in 2007.

Nora Tenney, Treasurer

Nora is a retired Physical Therapist. She is a recipient of the 50 Year Service Award from the American Physical Therapy Association. A Miami Shores native, Nora lives with her husband, Bill, in her childhood home. She and her husband have two adult children and four grandchildren.

Nora first learned about mission work in Haiti as a member of Miami Shores Presbyterian Church. She has been a supporter of Friends of Humanity since its inception in 2012. Nora, along with her husband, participated in many mission trips with the organization’s founder Renel Noel. Through this mission work she learned of the desperate needs of the people in the Caribbean, Central, and South America countries. Nora provided physical therapy services and prosthetic training as part of her work and describes it as the high point of her career.

In addition to foreign mission work, Nora believes in helping those in need in her local community. She volunteers her time for Miami Shores Presbyterian Church, The Barnacle Florida State Park in Coconut Grove, and The Woman’s Cancer Association of University of Miami (WCA). She is the President of the WCA, which raises funds for cancer research and provides financial assistance to cancer patients at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and UHealth.