Visions Service Adventures

Alumni Updates

What are alumni participants and staff up to? Send us news about you or other information you want to share with the VISIONS community. We'll post it! Click on your program site listed below or just scroll down to read the news.

• Alaska
• Appalacia
• Australia
• British Virgin Islands
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• Guadeloupe
• Montana
• Peru
• South Carolina

Alaska

• Shannon Healy ('01) works for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford, CT, and holds a BA from Central Connecticut State University.
• Elyssa Koidin ('99) works for ACORN in Washington, D.C., as a legislative representative lobbying to assist low and moderate-income families.
• Souta Calling Last ('98) graduated from the University of Montana Environmental Science-Water Resource program in Spring 2007 and from the Montana School of Massage in 2008. She is the co-owner of Montana Spirited Massage therapy in Missoula, Montana and is waiting to be accepted to the University of Montana School of Law to pursue American Indian Law/Environmental Regulation-Water Policy.
• Jonathan Ender (Alaska '98, Virgin Gorda '97) teaches a Multimedia & Computers class to high school students in Denver, Colorado.
• Anna Krasinski ('98) is currently in law school at the University of Illinois and is serving as a law clerk at the Department of Justice in the Environmental Enforcement division as of June 2007.
• Rebecca Lewis ('98) lives in Vermont and is working at Otter Creek Brewery and Wolaver's Organic Ales. She will be returning to VISIONS as a staff member on the Montana programs in the summer of 2006.
• Amanda Carson ('98) is a Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia where she is working in community youth development.
• Matt Synenberg ('98) joined the Israeli army.
• Lillie Dremeaux ('98) lives in Anchorage, AK where she is working for the Anchorage Daily News.
• Jessica Gray (now Jessica Granstrom) ('95) works with the Daily Herald in Everett, WA.

Appalachia

• Kira Simring ('91) is a theater director. Last summer she directed the Off Off Broadway production of "Beyond Reason" in New York City.
• Liz Fishman (Appalacian '90, Northern Cheyenne '92) lives in New York City and is pursuing a masters degree at Bank Street Graduate School of Education. She returned as a VISIONS Staffer in the Dominican Republic in 1999.

Australia

• Patrick Stehley ('01) is actively serving in the U.S. Air Force.
• Corey Herman ('01) Corey attends Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA.

British Virgin Islands

• Caryn LoCastro (Tortola '01) graduated summa cum laude from Middlebury College in May 2007 and now works in Consumer Marketing at USA Network in New York City.
• Ben Mesika (Virgin Gorda '01) graduated from Drexel University in 2006 and has been working in commercial real estate in the Washington DC area since then.
• Samantha Lasry (Virgin Gorda '01) is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania studying History, Women's Studies and African Studies.
• Leila Orchin (Virgin Gorda '01) returned to VISIONS as a staff member with the Dominican Republic program in 2007 after she graduated from Barnard College last May.
• Kahini Ranade ('00) lives in Boston and is working for a technology consulting and research firm, taking sailing lessons, and volunteering at a hospice.
• Rebecca Saxton-Fox ('00) lives in New York and is working with ORBIS International, a non-profit dedicated to blindness prevention and treatment in developing countries.
• Julie Falchuk ('00) graduated from Union College in 2005. As of May 2006, she was doing disaster recovery, tutoring, and environmental work with Americorps NCCC Western Region.
• Jordan Leitner ('00) is living in Delaware and playing keyboard, guitar, and singing in a band. He graduated from the University of Delaware in 2005 and is enjoying traveling and pursuing a music career now.
• Meredith Casey ('97) graduated from the University of Texas in 2003. She lives in New York City where she works for Fox Cable Sports.
• Jonathan Ender (Virgin Gorda '97, Alaska '98) teaches a Multimedia & Computers class to high school students in Denver, Colorado.
• Emily Rummo (Virgin Gorda '96) is living in San Francisco and working at NewSchools Venture Fund, a nonprofit venture philanthropy firm that supports entrepreneurs working to improve K-12 public education.
• Amanda Perla (Virgin Gorda '95) completed her Masters in Education at Stanford University and is currently working as the Director of Admissions at Phillips Brooks School in Menlo Park, CA.
• Daniel Heuman (Dominica '96, Tortola '94) lives in London, England where he is working as a transport and tourism consultant. His study "Hospitality and Reciprocity: Working Tourists in Dominica" was published by U Penn in January 2004.
• Laura Mitchell (Flathead '93, Virgin Gorda '94) is currently working with the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater New York. She completed her first marathon in Chicago in the fall of 2005.
• Molly Scott (Tortola '93 and '94) is a Senior Landscape Designer for McHAle Landscape Design Inc. in Upper Marlboro, MD.

Dominica

• Maddie Bedecarre ('03) is in the 2009 class at Bowdoin College.
• Peter Scordo ('99) will graduate Boston College in May.
• Daniel Heuman (Dominica '96, Tortola '94) lives in London, England where he is working as a transport and tourism consultant. His study "Hospitality and Reciprocity: Working Tourists in Dominica" was published by U Penn in January 2004.

Dominican Republic

• Carole Wilson (August '04) is studying abroad in Uganda for the Fall 2007 semester.
• Katrina Ellison ('03) is in the class of 2010 at MIT, playing varsity volleyball.
• Ashish Lapila ('01) graduated from Lehigh University in 2001 and is attending Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery.
• Jennifer Meyer ('00) graduated from Wesleyan College in 2000 and works in fashion public relations now.
• Carlos Sagastume ('00) graduated from Notre Dame de Namur University in 2005.
• Saya Powell ('99) wrote last March from Raleigh, NC, where she was Director of Operations for Teach for America North Carolina
• Margot Fine ('98) is working in Maine at a drop in center for homeless and street involved youth.
• David Klivans ('97) is currently living in Austin, TX and returned to VISIONS as a staffer for the Alaska program in 2007.
• Noam Schimmel ('97) is involved in development work with the American Jewish World Service; he wrote us last May from India where he was coordinating tsunami relief and rehab programming.
• Maggie Feinstein & Aubra Levine ('97) - founded the Batey Children's Fund after returning home from their program. The Fund awards scholarships that pay school fees for children living in the bateys. Maggie is living in San Francisco now working with incarcerated youth. Aubra is working as an Associate Project Manager with Resources for Community Development in Berkley, CA. See www.bateyfund.org for more information.
• Kathryn Kroll ('96) is a Radiation Therapist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NYC.
• Elise Langer (Montana '94, DR '95) recently completed her Master's in elementary education and is a teacher in Massachusetts. She also worked as a staff member for VISIONS in Alaska ('00) and South Carolina ('01).
• Andy Wayne ('95) is Youth Director at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation.
• Josh Flowerman ('95) is a director of Career Explorations in NYC, a residential internship program for high school students who work closely during the summer with professional mentors.
• Jill Kleiman ('94) works in New York City as a corporate recruiter.
• Eric "Jake" Lindstrom ('94) is living in Western Pennsylvania and working full time for a Masters in Anesthesia. He has been working in the medical field for several years and will graduate from the Excela Health School of Anesthesia in 2007.

Guadeloupe

• Jessica Nysenbaum ('00) is living in Washington D.C. and working as the Community Affairs Associate for the National Breast Cancer Coalition/Fund.
• Anne McNamara ('98) graduated from Amherst College and is currently working with Teach for America in Phoenix, Arizona.

Montana

• Amanda Levy (August '02) will be graduating from Colgate University in May of 2007 with a degree in Political Science and Environmental Studies.
• Cemre Sevin (South Carolina '01, Northern Cheyenne '02) graduated from Sewanee / University of the South in pre-med. She was married in spring 2006. Both Cemre and her husband are currently in medical school.
• Charlie Taney (Blackfeet '99) graduated from Wesleyan University in 2005.
• Nicholas Despoelberch (Crow '97) works as a Guidance Counselor at the Regis School in New York.
• Vanessa Kramer (Blackfeet '97) is a specialist in the photographs department of Phillips de Pury & Company, a fine and decorative arts auction house in NYC.
• Simon Winograd (Blackfeet '97), who lived in Trujillo, Peru, for 14 months in 2005/06 where he volunteered for 7 weeks with Cross Cultural Solutions and taught English for the remainder of his time there, was a staffer in VISIONS Peru in August 2006 and VISIONS Dominican Republic in 2007. He now lives and teaches in Colorado.
• Amanda Carson (Flathead '97) is a Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia where she is working in community youth development.
• Melanie Mahieu (Blackfeet '97) lives in Belgium where she is a social worker & educator.
• Elise Langer (Montana '94, DR '95) recently completed her Master's in elementary education and is a teacher in Massachusetts. She also worked as a staff member for VISIONS in Alaska ('00) and South Carolina ('01).
• Emily Wurgaft (Flathead '94) is a democratic fundraiser in Washington, D.C.
• Casey Morse (Flathead '94) is a lobbyist for Downey McGrath Group. In August 04 she ran into her VISIONS trip mate, Emily Wurgaft, in their apt. building in Washington, D.C., to discover they lived 2 doors from each other after not having seen each other since their summer together in 94.
• Becky Lindstrom (Northern Cheyenne '93), whose married name is Becky Schreiber, hopes to have a reunion with her Montana trip mates. Contact us for her email address.
• Laura Mitchell (Flathead '93, Virgin Gorda '94) is currently working with the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater New York. She completed her first marathon in Chicago in the fall of 2005.
• Matt Sternthal (Flathead '92) lives in Maplewood, NJ and is working as a Technical Service Specialist for St. Jude Medical (a pacemaker manufacturer).
• Carrie Chilcoat (now Carrie Etheridge) (Northern Cheyenne '92) is a clinical social worker at the Kennedy Krieger Institute's High School in Baltimore, MD, a special education school serving children with disabilities.
• Jennifer Kleeman (now Jennifer Wall) (Crow '91) is living in Menlo Park, CA with her husband, son, and dog where she works with a medical group doing quality improvement.
• Liz Fishman (Appalacian '90, Northern Cheyenne '92) lives in New York City and is pursuing a masters degree at Bank Street Graduate School of Education. She returned as a VISIONS Staffer in the Dominican Republic in 1999.

Peru

• Sarah Jornsay-Silverberg ('01) is at State University of New York at Binghamton and studied in Spain last spring.
• Robert Blair ('00) is a graduate of Brown University.
• Nathanial Stehley ('99) is currently serving in the Military.
• Nick Smyth ('99) is in graduate school at Harvard University.

South Carolina

• Leah Zegas ('01) is in the 2010 class at Marymount Manhattan College.
• Cemre Sevin (South Carolina '01, Northern Cheyenne '02) graduated from Sewanee / University of the South in pre-med. She was married in spring 2006. Both Cemre and her husband are currently in medical school.
• Laura Lazarus ('98) is living in New York City and pursuing a masters degree at Bank Street College of Education.