Our Team
New Sunrise, Inc. has assembled a team of committed personnel in leadership roles and relationships with varied industry-leading disciplines.
Chairman - Board of Directors
Keith Francart
Keith is co-founder and chairman of the board of directors for New Sunrise, Inc. Through extensive work which began in 2006, he has gained significant trust and support of key leaders in the RACCN.
After serving in the U.S. army and receiving an honorable discharge in 1978, Keith relocated to Silicon Valley where he became a senior hardware and software engineer and started his managerial career. He was then a producer/director for Electronic Arts (EA). At EA, Keith was directly responsible for the production of more than thirty video games, including Medal of Honor, Tony LaRussa Baseball, NHL Hockey, and Madden Football.
Keith holds a master of science in psychology degree and a master of business administration degree, both from California Coast University.
Chief Financial Officer
Richard "Rick" Pitman
Rick has thirty-five years of financial experience in the waste industry. He began his career as a facility controller and performed all accounting and financial functions for three solid waste hauling operations, three landfills, and one recycling operation. In 1982, he was assigned as the controller for a two-year hazardous waste landfill clean‐up project. Upon completion of this project, he was promoted to district controller over a market area. Rick joined Allied Waste Industries in 1993 and received several promotions of increasing responsibility, including region controller and then area controller for the eastern half of the U.S. operations, a position which managed $3 billion in annual revenues. In 2004, Rick relocated to the corporate office as the senior controller of financial operations, and in 2007, he accepted the position as the senior manager of processes and controls.
Rick joined R&R Global Development in 2009, and with CEO Wally Rule, he started Global Waste Strategies, LLC in 2012.
Director - Nicaragua Operations
Reynaldo Francis Watson
Reynaldo earned a bachelor's degree in law and accounting from the Bluefields Indian and Caribbean University. He has a distinguished career in service to the Miskito and indigenous populations with more than twenty-eight years of experience in social leadership and political service in the Regional Autonomous Caribbean Coast North (RACCN). He has served as the coordinator of the RACCN, the president of the Yatama political party, on the executive committee of the MesoAmerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB), and as a member of the strategic committee of the Our Land and Forest of Central America Project. He has also held various leadership roles in various social and political organizations. Reynaldo has extensive experience, knowledge and relationships throughout the RACCN, RACCS and Central America. He is a passionate, multi-faceted leader with development and operational experience in public works with international funding entities, such as USAID.
Chief Executive Officer
Member - Board of Directors
Walter "Wally" Rule
Wally brings together more than twenty-five years of experience in domestic and international strategic business consultation. As the CEO, Wally brings a strong history of resolving issues and providing services in personnel, facilities, safety, competitive analysis, business critical reporting, and logistics, giving a solid foundation to his leadership. Clientele have included the former executive director of the Jubilee Coalition (the current ruling political party) in Nairobi, Kenya; the personal secretary to the president of South Sudan; the former controller of Mexico; and an international steel building construction company.
Chief Legal Officer
Brett Cable
Brett's areas of practice include mergers, acquisitions, accounting and tax matters, corporate governance, insurance law, labor and employment matters, governmental relations, business planning, domestic and international business transactions, property law, oil and gas, commercial litigation, and civil litigation. Prior to practicing law, he was a controller of an oil and gas wholesaler in eastern Oklahoma and an entrepreneur. Brett is also a distinguished member of the Eagle Scouts along with his lifelong friend, Shawn Wilson.
Brett received a BBA in accounting from Southern Methodist University in 1993. Continuing his education, he studied international business and comparative law at the University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland in 2000 and Universidad de Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2001.
Director - Business Engagement
Ximena Aviles
Ximena earned a bachelor’s degree in diplomacy and international relations from Universidad Americana in Managua and shortly thereafter completed a post-graduate degree in international cooperation and development. Her experience includes the Nicaragua Ministry of Foreign Affairs where she conducted research on trade and political relations between Nicaragua and members of the European Union.
To become fluent in English, Ximena spent one year in the United States teaching Spanish to youths. Also, she has actively participated in social projects in the rural areas of Nicaragua as an interpreter for North American missions.
Ximena has been involved in the New Sunrise activities in Nicaragua since 2016. She has traveled extensively into the autonomous regions, visiting communities to translate and assist in negotiating agreements.
Her enthusiasm for helping others is derived from her parents and upbringing. As a dynamic, empathetic and driven professional, Ximena is committed to the betterment of the Nicaraguan people.
Chief Operating Officer
Member - Board of Directors
Shawn Wilson
Through work which began in 2006 when he co-founded NSI, Shawn has gained significant trust and support of key leaders in the RACCN. He has traveled extensively to small communities to meet leaders and explain the mission of NSI. The majority of Shawn’s career has been in the field of information technology, where he has served in management positions in Oklahoma, Nevada, and Arkansas. His career has given him the opportunity to gain experience in both the public and private sectors. In 2006, he left a full-time position as an IT manager to dedicate himself to the success of New Sunrise, Inc.
General Counsel
Amy Cable
As a partner in Cable Law of McAlester, Oklahoma, Amy will provide NSI with legal counsel specific to CAFTA (Central America Free Trade Agreement) compliance, corporate governance and employment law. Before practicing law, Amy worked in the field of mental health treatment research. Amy graduated from East Central University of Oklahoma in 2000 with a BS in sociology and from the University of Tulsa College of Law in 2005 with a JD, concentrating on international and comparative law.
Director - Forestry and Permitting
Wing Leon Lau Williams
Wing brings more than twenty-five years of direct experience in Nicaraguan timber and management, including stints within INAFOR (Insituto Nacional Forestal) and other regulatory agencies in Nicaragua. From November 2008 until January 2017, Wing was the director of national inventory for all INAFOR departments within Nicaragua. His responsibilities included evaluation and publishing of the annual forest coverage statistics for all Nicaraguan entities. From January to July 2017, Wing was the interim director of the National Fund for Forest Development and oversaw the administrative and operational functions of INAFOR.
As an independent forestry consultant, he has most recently worked with Laguna De Perlas, El Totuguera, and the community consortium SIPBBA to create forestry management plans compliant with national regulatory guidelines.
