Meet the Team 2024

Greetings friends!

Preparations are well underway for our next trip to Malawi. We will. be in country from August 2nd-18th. We'll be posting updates about the trip here on the blog so stay tuned! For now, here's a little information about each of this year's team members.

Bill Bies, PA-C

This will be Bill's 7th trip to Malawi with COTN. He is a Physcian’s Assistant practicing in dermatology, and will be the medical lead for the team.

Bill's favorite thing about going to Malawi is seeing all of the children, playing with them, and making sure they are as healthy as they can be. His least favorite thing is the 35+hours of travel to get there (and home again)

Lasaundra Bies

This will be Lasaundra's 7th time to travel to Malawi as part of a COTN HEAL team. Everytime Lasaundra comes home, she starts looking forward to the next time. Lasaundra is not a medical professional. She is the team administrator in charge of making sure we have all the supplies, medicines, paperwork, etc. before we go and that it is all packed in suitcases that only weigh 50 lbs each! While in Malawi she will help with running daily clinics, managing supplies, overseeing team needs, and will staff our pharmacy (with help!). Her favorite part of going to Malawi is the people. Being with the children and the staff is a blessing beyond measure!

Denise Lewis, R.N.

Denise is a nurse and her role on the team is to provide medical care to the children alongside the other medical staff. She helps do physicals on many children and is a loving presence on the team. This is what Denise has to say about it: 

“I feel so blessed to be going to Africa to serve on a medical mission for the 5th time. It is always a challenge to navigate the long trip there but it always comes with enumerable blessings that are only received outside the comfort of home. “

Renita Collins

This will be Renita’s 4th trip to Malawi with our team. Renita is a mom to 5 teen and young adults humans, student of psychology and mental health, and an awesome hairstylist of 13 years.

Renita is not a medical professional and her role on the team is to assist with clinic admin and staff the pharmacy. She is also the team member in charge of shenanigans and seeking out treats. She is a lot of fun to have around and she works hard too!

Chelsea Daggett, R.N. 

This will be Chelsea’s first trip with our team and we are so excited to have her on board this year. She is a pediatric nurse currently loving and working in the field of home health. She works in homes with pediatric patients and loves the one on one time with them and their families. She has a love for the outdoors, her 3 pups, and life in the Pacific Northwest. Her role on the team will be to provide medical care and physicals for the children as part of the medical staff. This will be a year of learning, new experiences, and adventure. Welcome to the team, Chelsea!