Executive Director

Executive Director

Marla Hodes lives in Laguna Beach, CA with her husband, Dan, and 3 children, Dean, Matthew and Carly.  Marla holds a Masters degree in Exercise Physiology from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana and has worked in the health field for 22 years.  She began her humanitarian work when moving to the Navajo Indian Reservation for a summer fulfilling an internship for her Public Health Minor.  She traveled with Navajo nurses and helped develop health and nutritional materials.  She also traveled to China with the Citizen Ambassador program sharing health/medical information with the Chinese.  Marla has served as an Exercise Physiologist for the Dr. Dean Ornish program at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in the adult and pediatric renal and liver transplant unit.  She also worked  for the Department of Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics at UCSF in a children’s nutritional/exercise program.  She created and implemented a special self-esteem camp “Bring out the Best” for UCSF.  Marla’s passion is children.  She traveled to Ethiopia with the goal of creating a pictorial book of her amazing brother in-law Dr. Rick Hodes who has lived and worked there for nearly 3 decades, saving children’s lives.  She and her partners came back not only with pictures and a film but most importantly, a passion to help destitute children and families in the world. Marla serves as Executive Director along with Melanie Robbins of The Ethiopian Family Fund.  You can contact her at mhodes@mac.com