Board of Directors
Burris ‘Duke’ Duncan
Co-Founder of ARSOBO
Duke is a semi-retired pediatrician and a Professor Emeritus (Pediatrics and Public Health) at the University of Arizona. His entire 55+ year medical career concentrated on caring for children with disabilities and their families. He has witnessed the resilience and perseverance of these children and the unconditional care and love given by their families. He knew that, if given a little assistance these children can and do reach their potential, a potential that is generally higher than the public or even many medical professionals expect. He wanted to do everything he could that would ensure that these children, as well as adults with disabilities, are included in school, in work, and in society. It was for those reasons that he and Kiko Trujillo founded the Arizona Sonora Border Projects for Inclusion.
Sarah Don
Certified Prosthetist & Orthotist
Tucson Residency Director, Hanger Clinic
I am an ABC-certified prosthetist/orthotist (CPO) since 2012. I specialize in lower extremity pediatric orthotics, idiopathic scoliosis, and lower extremity prosthetics. I have had the pleasure of working with ARSOBO since 2015. Having the ability to provide Orthotic and Prosthetic services to a population that does not readily have resources available to them is immensely rewarding and life-changing. I will continue working alongside ARSOBO for as long as they will have me.
Karin Shipman
Founder and President
EGI Development
Karin has 45 years of experience providing technical support to emerging businesses in developing countries in areas such as communications, marketing, and business strategy.
EGI has supported entrepreneurs in Central and South America, Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Caribbean Region with a special focus on Haiti. Among EGI’s clients are: The World Bank, The U.S. Agency for International Development/USAID, International Finance Corporation/IFC Inter-American Development Bank
She is a believer in ARSOBO’s mission to improve the quality of life for individuals of all ages by reducing the adverse effects of their impairment. She has been a member of ARSOBO’s Board of Directors since 2015 supporting the organizations marketing efforts and business development.
Matthew Apfel
Founding Attorney
Apfel and Associates, PC
An Arizona native, Matthew specializes in public international law, international arbitration/investment disputes, international business transactions, and civil suits against foreign sovereign states in domestic courts. His work has led him to live in Beijing, New York City, Washington, D.C, and Phoenix.
From the first time I visited ARSOBO on a tour, I was amazed and touched by the great impact the organization makes in Nogales and the larger border region. Every single employee, volunteer, and director has joined ARSOBO because they are passionate about changing peoples' lives for the better. Seeing a child walk again, witnessing an individual achieve independence through a wheelchair or hearing well for the first time is why I have joined ARSOBO.
Tracy Carroll
Physical Therapist
Tracy Carroll has been a practicing Physical Therapist in Tucson, AZ for almost 40 years. Joining the University of Arizona Family and Community Medicine (FCM) Department in 1997 as lecturer and associate faculty, she has served as a clinical preceptor for Border and Global Health. Initially sponsored by FCM University of Arizona Center for Excellence in Disabilities in Tucson Arizona (UCEDD) in 2008, Ms. Carroll is a founding member, ongoing consultant, and member of the Board of Directors for the Arizona Sonora Border (ARSOBO) Projects for Inclusion.
Eric Burns
Certified Orthotist & Regional Director
Southwest Region, Hanger Clinic
Eric Burns has been in the orthotics and prosthetic field for over 30 years and spent the last 25 years serving the needs of Southern Arizona. He has worked in several settings from specialty clinics, area hospitals, charitable clinics, and formal orthotics and prosthetic clinics. Eric was immediately inspired by ARSOBOs mission of creating a sustainable clinic to not only provide equipment but also have it made by people using the devices and is proud to be involved in providing independence to so many people along the Arizona-Sonora Border.
Robert Guerrero
Southern Arizona Outreach and Constituent Services Representative for U.S. Senator Mark Kelly
Mr. Guerrero strives to develop strong working relationships with local elected officials and community leaders to better understand and report on issues of importance.
As the former Public Sector Co-Chair of the Health Services Committee of the Arizona-Mexico Commission, I had scheduled Dr. Bill Neubauer and Kiko Trujillo to present about ARSOBO at the Plenary Session of the Comisión Sonora-Arizona in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora. I then invited Dr. Neubauer and Kiko to present again in Phoenix at the Arizona-Mexico Commission. I was so impressed with the work that ARSOBO was doing that following the Phoenix presentation, I asked Dr. Neubauer how I might join the board.
Alex La Pierre
Director & Founder of Borderlandia
Alex La Pierre is the director and co-founder of Borderlandia, a binational organization committed to building public understanding of the borderlands. A public historian, his experience spans the nonprofit sector in Nogales and government work with the National Park Service in New Mexico and Arizona, focusing on historic preservation and heritage interpretation. His studies and continued research center on the Hispanic cultural heritage of the American Southwest and northern Mexico.
Paco Galvan
Prosthetist & Orthotist, Hanger Clinic
Paco Galvan is an ABC-certified prosthetist/orthotist with extensive experience working with patients of all ages, backgrounds, and medical conditions. He is fluent in Spanish and has participated in international outreach, volunteering his clinical skills in Bolivia and with ARSOBO in Mexico. Paco is committed to delivering high-quality, patient-centered care with a focus on compassion, cultural sensitivity, and continuous improvement. He earned his Master of Prosthetics and Orthotics from the University of Washington, Bachelor of Science in Regional Development from the University of Arizona and holds a Certificate of International Business from the Tecnológico de Monterrey.
He currently practices with Hanger Clinic, serving communities across Southern Arizona. Paco also acts as the lead prosthetics and orthotics liaison and clinical contractor for the Arizona Department of Corrections and the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Tucson. Outside the clinic, Paco enjoys spending time outdoors—mountain biking, climbing, and hiking with his wife and their dogs.
Melanie Moore
Licensed Clinical Audiologist
Assistant Clinical Professor – Audiology, University of Arizona
Melanie Moore, Au.D., CCC-A, joined U of A following 10 years as an audiologist in an ENT setting, nine years in a small private practice setting, and an overlapping four years as the Audiology Consultant for the Newborn Hearing Screening Program for the State of Arizona. In addition, she taught an undergraduate online hearing science course for Northern Arizona University and currently teaches the Introduction to Clinic course for audiology graduate students at the University of Arizona. Dr. Moore is a past president and past Audiology Representative of the Arizona Speech-Language-Hearing Association and continues to be active on various ArSHA committees. She has also been a supervisor for Arizona’s Special Olympics Health Hearing program for over twenty years.
Dr. Moore currently provides instruction and mentoring to first- and second-year graduate students in the U of A on-campus clinic. She has a strong interest in working with adults with hearing impairment, hearing aids, and assistive listening devices. Dr. Moore is grateful to have the opportunity to bring that background to ARSOBO, supervising all levels of audiology graduate students as well as undergraduate and graduate Spanish interpreting students from the University of Arizona as they work as a team to improve communication for adults and children in Mexico.