Our Founder & Board

Karen Scheeringa-Parra - Founder

Karen Scheeringa-Parra is a woman of faith, of passion for the disadvantaged, and a woman of seemingly unlimited energy. She is the mother of twelve children, eleven of whom were adopted from the Philippines, Korea, Mexico, Guatemala, and the United States. In 1982, while picking up her adopted daughter from Korea, Karen met the director of an organization which specialized in providing needed surgeries for children from all over the world, and immediately became involved as a volunteer in that work. She did so as part of her personal desire to follow Jesus Christ in loving service to others.

By 1986, however, Ms. Scheeringa-Parra realized that the number of children in developing countries needing medical attention required a more aggressive approach. Additionally, she observed that removing small children from their families and homes was traumatic for all involved. In 1990, Ms. Scheeringa-Parra incorporated Hearts In Motion and began taking medical teams to children in need. Hearts In Motion Inc. received 501 (c) (3) status in 1993.

Karen’s strong leadership and faith have expanded HIM in ways that are unimaginable because of her passion to serve God.

Marcia McGinnis, Board Secretary

I was born in Southern California, and presently live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I have traveled with Hearts in Motion since 2001. I came with the open heart of a volunteer, ready to do what was asked. I eventually started adding multiple trips a year and created the eyeglasses vision team in 2006. I have lost count on the number of trips I have made with Hearts in Motion but would estimate over 30. I have been on the Board of Directors since 2005.

Why has the vision program become my passion project? I was a premature baby, and developed crossed eyes when I was about 18 months old. After surgery at about 3 years of age, I said, “Mommy, you don’t have two heads!” I have worn eyeglasses ever since, improving my vision. And I have learned the difference good health and vision care can make.

At the Hearts in Motion clinics. I have met adults who never learned to read solely because of poor vision and their family didn’t have the resources for an optometrist or eyeglasses. We have seen truck drivers who needed eyeglasses to see on the roadways! Children often need just a little help to see their teacher at the blackboard or maybe some challenges in reading their schoolbooks.

It is recognized in the U.S. that a large part of the prison population are persons who also didn’t have eyeglasses when they were needed. Perhaps they developed the self-preservation tactic of acting out and getting in trouble for poor behavior rather than having to demonstrate they couldn’t see, fearing they would be seen as stupid, but they just couldn’t see to read their textbooks or what the teacher was doing on the blackboard.

Training to give our simple vision tests came from Lions Club and Visual Compassion, nonprofit organizations that empower interested mission team volunteers. Anyone can learn our methods. Although we aren’t medical professionals, we are improving the daily lives of those men, women and children we see at the Hearts in Motion clinics.

Marcia has been a board member since 2005 and Board Secretary since approximately 2008.

Kathy Janisch, Board Chair

Kathy Janisch is a Registered Nurse now retired from 21 years at Moreland OB-GYN and 14 years in L&D at Waukesha Memorial in Waukesha, Wisconsin. She is the Director of the Hearts In Motion Wisconsin office in addition to being on the Board of Directors of HIM.
Kathy is married to Dave and has two daughters Lindsay married to Aaron with two grandsons Max and Breytton and Jennifer married to Ryan with granddaughter Emerson and grandson Benson. She spends her relaxation time at her vacation home in the northeastern part of Wisconsin.
Kathy came on her first trip with her employer Moreland OBGYN and HIM in 2004 to do Cervical Cancer screenings. Kathy was so touched by the people of Guatemala and the work of HIM, she wanted to help continue the vision of HIM in the states. She started collecting clothing, school supplies and medical equipment to send to Guatemala. In 2005, the Wisconsin HIM office worked to start a major fundraising effort with sending groups of volunteers to work at the Milwaukee Brewer’s baseball games in the concession stands at Miller Park in Milwaukee. Over the years this program has made $1000’s of dollars to to finance the transportation of our valuable donations and continues to help send volunteers to Guatemala every year.

In 2008, the HIM Wisconsin office helped bring the first group of Nursing and Physical Therapy students from Carroll University, Waukesha, WI. Since then numerous universities throughout Wisconsin have been able to participate in these valuable educational experiences.

The Wisconsin office continues to seek out and collect donations of medical equipment and is heavily involved in organizing firefighter training and firefighter equipment donations throughout the Midwest states. Firefighters from Ecuador and Guatemala are happy to be able to take advantage of the wonderful donations of gear and the exceptional trainings given every year.

Kaitlyn Jensen-Reimann

Hayley Chrzastowski

is a Doctor of Occupational Therapy specializing in Maternal and Infant Health. She is from Bloomington, IN, has lived all across the country, and in 2016 decided to settle in Fredericksburg, VA where she met and married her husband! Hayley first traveled to Guatemala in 2013 and then became involved with Hearts in Motion during her 2nd year of grad school (2014) when she was the co-facilitator of a student lead therapy trip to Guatemala. She returned to Guatemala in 2018 as a faculty member from Washington University St. Louis to mentor the occupational therapy student trip through HIM. In 2023 she was asked to be on the HIM board and she was exceptionally excited to accept the position and to continue her journey with the organization. She has over 8 years of OT experience both nationally and internationally in outpatient pediatric, inpatient acute care, and Neonatal ICU settings. Now, she is the owner of a private practice serving women and infants, Wild OT, that was born after witnessing the unaddressed needs of maternal and infant populations within our traditional healthcare system. Hayley is exceptionally passionate about improving the maternal healthcare system by empowering women with the much needed support and knowledge they deserve during pre-conception, through pregnancy, and into the postpartum phase and by mentoring providers to also support this area of occupational therapy. She carries that forward into the work she does with Hearts in Motion by creating a multidisciplinary maternal/infant health trip with the support of the HIM therapy directors. Guatemala has been a source of healing, growth, and understanding for Hayley and she is honored to have the opportunity to support the country and people!

Ana Maria Rodriguez-Vivaldi

Emerita Associate Professor of Spanish, American Studies and Culture, and Film Studies; Former Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Global Education, College of Arts & Sciences at Washington State University. Rodríguez-Vivaldi obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts in 1990. Her research interests include Contemporary Latin American Literature, Film and Culture. She has published and lectured internationally on film and literature, theater, and hybrid genre topics. She retired in 2020. She led the Hearts in Motion/ WSU health missions to Zacapa, Guatemala since 2011 and, after retiring, has continued volunteering for the mission since they restarted in 2022.

Born in Puerto Rico, she has three children, two of whom have participated in past HIM medical missions. She has two grandchildren who she pampers as much as allowed. She lives in Pullman, WA and is a proud cat mamma. She’s active in art-related organizations including serving as Chair of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, and the Public Art Committee for WSU (working with the State of WA). Her hobbies include reading, cooking, attending art exhibits and music concerts and performances, watching films, travelling, visiting her relatives, and going out with very good friends.

Karen Scheeringa-Parra - Founder

Marcia McGinnis, Board Secretary

Kathy Janisch, Board Chair

Kaitlyn Jensen-Reimann

Joff Morales

Hayley Chrzastowski

Ana Maria Rodriguez-Vivaldi

Terry Greiner

Greg Bolton

Hila McCoy