Rachel Riggio is the Founder and Operations Director of The Red Road Foundation. She has been living and working in Cambodia for over 6 years. Through the Red Road Foundation, she has personally hosted and oriented over 500 volunteers and interns, through building a school, establishing a farm, health product line, upcycled glass production and the process of implementation of a trash collection system/ waste to resource initiative in the village where The Red Road Foundation resides. Rachel is fluent in Khmer language and has over six years’ experience in Kampot, Cambodia.  Previous to her work with TRRF she studied adolescent counseling and has been certified in this field by Santa Barbara City College. She has worked for six years in inpatient/outpatient therapy with adolescents. This includes her time with Outback Therapeutic Expeditions, in which she worked with a team to facilitate the excursions of six adolescents at a time to live in the wilderness for several weeks, following a therapeutic and self-development program. Her experience also includes working in group home treatment centers, where she was responsible for the well- being, personal development plans and day to day milieu of 6-10 teenagers/foster children per home. She is passionate about making the world a better place. It has been her dream to facilitate a program where she could bring Western Youth to a place where they could have the space and be out of their comfort zones enough to redefine themselves and cultivate their voices. Her mission is to help young people discover their personal strengths, passions, confidence and skills through putting them in situations where they can be empowered to see how their lives can impact the world around them. Through this model she hopes to inspire young adults to set out on paths that enrich their lives and the world around them.

Iain Rae is the newest member of our team at The Red Road Foundation. He came on-board during the summer of 2019 and has gotten fully involved by staying out on site for several months on end. He immediately began a project managing the construction of our very own wood burning authentic Khmer mud oven for distilling natural oils from our farm. He has had a lot of experience with managing construction crews and experimental building techniques, which made him an ideal resource for involving volunteers in our various projects around campus. In his younger years, he would not have ever imagined that he would be working doing charitable work at a free education center. He was not a studious child, having reading and writing difficulties early in life discouraged him at school. He had a hard time fitting the mold at many schools along the way until he graduated Bottisham, class of 99! 

Iain has been blessed with a supportive, intelligent and loving family who saw him through many difficult times during his scholastic years. It was their love and resilient support that made him realize how important advocating for education can be to foster opportunity later in life. 

In 2009 he started a storage company which has become lucrative and enabled him to be semi-retired at 35. He spent a year and half being fully retired in England, decided he wanted to find some way to give back and meet new people. He was inspired by his mom, who is a trustee and board member at a prestigious UK mental health charity. 

He traveled to Cambodia where he expressed his interest in volunteering at The Red Road Foundation and met the crew. He quickly began to feel a part of the red road family, as he worked on various projects. Living out at the project has been a humbling and joyful experience for him. He decided to become a permanent part of the Red Road crew and join the team. 

He believes that humanity should have equal opportunity and he is passionate about involving himself with those who want to learn, to be provided sustainable education. He is using his time, resources and business acumen to help make The Red Road a fully self-sustainable education system. He is passionate about bringing opportunities to the local community through social enterprise and community development. It is the first time he has given his time and finances  to a charitable cause. He finds it incredibly rewarding and humbling.

I have been working as a rice farmer and raising farm animals before I started working at The Red Road Foundation in 2015. I’ve always had the dream of meeting foreign people and speaking English. Since I started here, I have been able to accomplish that. I love meeting our volunteers from all over the world each week and working with them to make a difference in my community. Another reason why I work at The Red Road is because I understand that we play an important role in Cambodia in order to help the lives of children without opportunity, who are at risk of disease, living in poverty and being unable to afford medical help. I work for TRRF because I know we are changing lives and shaping the future of Cambodia. We offer a bridge that connects those who want to help in the west with the humble and grateful attitudes of those who live in poverty of the east. Furthermore; TRRF has been providing children in need with a safe place that they can prosper in. By giving them an environment to facilitate education and personal growth, the children will be able to have a secure future, and in turn, be able to create a better future for my country. I know that many children are poor, sick and some who have lost their parents, they have not had the opportunity to learn and grow. I find strength in knowing that I play a part in bettering their lives. These children rely on TRRF and I am happy to help make a difference in their lives and in the future of Cambodia. I enjoy my work with children and playing a part in building their confidence and developing their lives so that they may reach their full potential.

Nathan Billingham is a spiritual and passionate soul we are blessed to have on our team. From a big extended family of nearly all girls, he left home at 16 to make it on his own and learnt many meaningful lessons along his path. He studied a variety of subjects back in school/college: construction, psychology, math, film/media, he has always been creative and daring. Nathan is passionate about spending time at a Buddhist monastery which leads him to learn more about himself and the journey we are all on together, he shares this with our students, staff and volunteers, reminding us to have Perspective in daily affairs.  Our Red Road kids adore Nathan and his willingness to play no matter how hot the sun is. Since he first joined us back in 2016 he has managed moringa production, facilitated volunteer orientations, made important bond within the community, organized and carried out construction projects, he is a natural liaison between staff and volunteers. He helps us to utilize our volunteers to make maximum impact. Nathan is a man who gets the job done. He is charismatic, resilient, creative and   forthcoming. He adds incalculable value to our team and we are grateful to have him.  Nathan commented: ‘The Red Road project aligns with my passions in life, not only giving but also receiving lessons others may miss in life, very grateful.’