Every successful medical mission is powered by more than equipment and logistics—it is driven by people with compassionate hearts and a shared commitment to serve. The 21st Rotaplast Mission in Cebu brings together an extraordinary group of volunteers from around the world, each contributing their expertise, dedication, and kindness to transform lives through reconstructive surgery and patient care.
The collaboration between medical and non-medical volunteers creates a seamless system of care where every team member contributes to the success of the mission.
Husband and wife team Rod Simonds, MD and wife Mia Pena , RN serve as Medical Director and Head Nurse. The Rod oversees all medical operations and ensures the highest standards of patient care throughout the mission and Mia coordinates the nursing team and ensures smooth patient care throughout the mission.
Our international cast of surgeons : Milton Solis MD, Jim Hoyt MD and Alain Senerpida perform life-changing reconstructive surgeries for children with cleft lip, cleft palate, and other conditions. Without their expertise, this miracle would never happen.
Rotaplast missions rely on our anesthesiologists for safely managing anesthesia and monitoring patients before, during, and after surgery. Lead anesthesiologist Mark Singleton MD is the calm at the center of the operating room—protecting every breath, every heartbeat, every child. Anesthesiologists Ilze Hendriks MD, Raj Nagappala,MD, and Jan Bos MD orchestrate the delicate balance of safety, comfort, and precision and guide the children between slumber and wakefulness.
Part physician, part detective, part comforter—the pediatricians of Rotaplast make sure every child is ready for surgery and every family feels seen and cared for before and after surgery. Carlos Botas MD and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Nan Madden, NP look beyond the cleft condition, carefully evaluating every young patient to ensure that when surgery happens, it happens safely.
Operating room nursers are the quiet conductors of the operating room. With practiced precision, they prepare instruments, anticipate the surgeon’s next move, and maintain the sterile field that keeps every child safe. Long before a word is spoken, they are already one step ahead—ensuring that the delicate work of restoring smiles and speech unfolds smoothly. In the intensity of surgery, they bring both technical mastery and a reassuring presence. Linda Sartain RN, Victoria Slama RN and Evelyn Snyder were this mission’s heroes behind the masks.
PACU nursers are the gentle guides who welcome each child back from anesthesia. As small eyes begin to flutter open, they are there with warm voices, careful monitoring, and comforting reassurance. They watch every breath, every heartbeat, every sign of recovery. Lead PACU nurse Paula Fillari, RN-CCRN and Ligaya Agustin, RN expertly filled this essential role.
As part of the Rotaplast International team, the speech pathologist helps children find their voices—assessing speech patterns, supporting safe and effective feeding, and identifying potential hearing concerns so every child has the best chance to communicate clearly. Our SLP team was lead by Marlene Salas-Provance PhD, CCC/SLP and supported by therapists Bailey Clemont,CCC/SLP and Adriana Gonzalez.
The non-medical volunteers of Rotaplast International are the quiet engine of the mission—guiding families, organizing logistics, comforting nervous children, and making sure every moving part runs smoothly so the medical volunteers can focus on transforming lives. The Rotary Club of San Jose, California USA stepped up this year to fund the 21st Rotaplast mission in Cebu and also sent this passionate team of non-medical Volunteers.
After 40 missions, Tom Fox managed the overall organization and logistics of the mission to keep everything running smooth with expertise and compassion. Terri Chapman is on her 4th mission and enthusiastically manages the overall organization and logistics of the mission to keep everything running smoothly as well as keeping all non-medical volunteers on track. In the PACU, Carlos Leet supports the recovery room team in caring for patients after surgery. Carlos reports that this is a once in a lifetime experience and has been life changing.
Key to a Rotaplast mission’s success is our calm, cool and collected Medical Records volunteer Stephanie Bielanski-Fehr. Stephanie is part historian, part organizer, part mission control and keeps the vital story of every patient flowing smoothly through the Rotaplast International team in Cebu City. Stephanie is the proverbial “calm in the storm”.
On a mission with Rotaplast International, Ward Coordinator Mike Fulton and Patient Transport volunteer; Irene Smith are the quiet navigators of the entire journey—guiding children and families through each step with care, organization, and heart.
Our delightful Lucinda Lawson brings comfort and joy to patients and families through activities and emotional support while her husband Jeff Lawson ensures that every instrument placed into a surgeon’s hand was perfectly clean, sterile, and ready to help transform a child’s life. He calls himself the dishwasher.
Camera in hand and stories in mind, the mission historian on the 21st Rotaplast International mission to Cebu City; Kathleen Thomas, preserved the moments that matter—from nervous first hugs to joyful post-surgery smiles.
What makes the Rotaplast mission truly remarkable is the spirit of unity it fosters. Volunteers travel from different countries, cultures, and professional backgrounds, yet they come together as one team with a shared goal: helping children live healthier, happier lives.