Board Members
Bob Whalen
Board President
Bob and his wife, Nancy, live in Clovis, a city of more than 100,000 people in central California. Bob has served as a Clovis city council member since 2003. In 2016, he was appointed mayor.
Bob is also a Fresno County chief deputy district attorney, a professor at the Oak Brook College of Law, and a board member of the San Joaquin College of Law. He received his juris doctorate from Regent University in Virginia Beach and his bachelor of science in finance from Fresno State University.
Since 2012, Bob has served as a member of the WAVS Opportunity Council. In October 2017, he was elected WAVS board president.
Bob will use his experience in law, finance and government to serve the board and advance its mission.
“God is doing a great work in Guinea-Bissau and in the hearts of those who contribute with their time, talent and treasure,” Bob said.
Sam Babcock
Treasurer
Sam is a certified public accountant in California. He has a passion for global missions that developed at a young age while living as a missionary in Paris. He has since made his home in Fresno, California, where he graduated from Fresno Pacific University.
Sam also serves on the board for the local non-profit Katey’s Kids, which focuses on literacy for at-risk youth, and is on the audit committee for his alma mater, Fresno Pacific University.
FOUNDERS
Martha Reynolds
Instead of retiring comfortably, Martha decided to devote the best years of her life to working hand-in-hand with community leaders in Guinea-Bissau to create a brighter future for their own country. She first traveled to Guinea-Bissau in 1994 and returned several times with the dream of starting a much-needed vocational school. In 2000, she founded West African Vocational Schools.
Martha, who grew up on a farm near Renton, Washington, operated her own dressmaking business in the United States and Germany for much of her life. She also worked at Boeing for 17 years and retired as a Quality Engineer. She was introduced to her husband, Herb Reynolds, by a mutual friend in 2001, and married him in 2002. Four years later, they helped establish the first WAVS School in the town of Canchungo. Together, they share the common goal of serving the Lord in Guinea-Bissau.
Martha has a passion for the health – both physical and spiritual – and welfare of the people of Guinea-Bissau. She was motivated by the knowledge that job-skills training and Jesus’ message of hope will lead young people in Guinea-Bissau to a brighter future.
Herb Reynolds
Herb is married to Martha Reynolds and helped her establish the WAVS school in Canchungo. He spent most of his 40-year business career in marketing, including sales and product development. He retired as senior vice president of marketing and product development at the Reynolds Corporation, a wood-working plant based in Lynnwood, Washington.
Herb has served as ministries director for the Christian Reformed Church of Seattle and was on the board of directors for Shoreline Christian School. Following the death of his wife in November 1999, Herb began working as a counselor for grief support groups. He married Martha Reynolds in 2002.
Starting in 2003, he traveled regularly to Canchungo to help start the WAVS School. His decade of missionary experience and strengths as a planner and administrator greatly influenced WAVS in the early years.
