Enzo
I was born in Rome, Italy, and graduated with a degree in Economics in Milan. I was a banker my entire life. In 1980 I migrated to the US with my family to take a position at the international division of a major US bank in New York City. I retired in 2000 and the following year I was in Kenya with a Habitat team. I liked the experience and become a Habitat a team leader. Here I am 8 years later with seven teams led to the South Pacific region, three to South East Asia, two to Africa and one to the US. When not busy with Habitat, I like drawing, painting, working in my garden, and reading. I recently joined the Police Patrol of my local Fire Fighters department, a way to start volunteering locally after having volunteered overseas for a while. Needless to say that I am excited to share another Habitat adventure with you all.
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Diana
I am a California native, having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area and now near Sacramento. I have worked for Hewlett- Packard for 40 years, most of the time as a business manager. I have one married daughter and three wonderful, active grandchildren who live nearby. This will be my sixth Habitat trip with Enzo: Papua New Guinea, Uganda, Thailand, Borneo, South Dakota, next Costa Rica. I am very much looking forward to the Costa Rica event and reuniting with some known and many new HFH adventurers. These trips allow me to experience other cultures from what I term as the inside-out, so I am sure another exciting journey lies ahead.
Ginger
I live on the Northshore of Massachusetts with husband Jim and son Zac (14). This will be my third GV trip. The first was to Borneo, the second was the Eagle Butte, South Dakota. Both great adventures and great teams. I worked for Hewlett-Packard (where I met Diana 20+ years ago) but “retired” in 1999 to be home with my family. I enjoy photography and have a small business “GingerSnaps” selling my photo card and framed artwork. I’m very excited to join you with some past Habitat “family” members and meet and work with the new ones! See you in Costa Rica!
Shelly
Looking forward to the trip especially in a warm climate coming from a probably hard winter in Wisconsin. For those that don’t know me except Enzo, Michelle, and Kelly: I’m a retired general surgeon who has been doing Habitat for over 5 years, working regularly for our affiliate in Milwaukee. GV build in India, Thailand, Viet Nam, Eagle Butte, South Dakota, Carter builds in India, Gulf Coast, Michigan, and soon to be in Thailand again. I’m married with 5 sons and 4 grandsons and would kill for a granddaughter to spoil. The only women in my life except for my wife are two standard poodles, Sophie and Maggie who are indeed spoiled. That’s it for now.
Kelly
My name is Kelly Jernigan, I am 28 years hold and live in Greenville, NC. I work in the Medical ICU of our local trauma center as a nurse practitioner and absolutely love the adrenaline of the critical care atmosphere. I am not married, but have two canine children (Parker and Gracie) and a quaker parrot (Jimmy Choo). I love hanging out with my friends, playing in the water, and traveling. I played 2 years of collegiate soccer and am now active in a local women’s league. I have been involved in volunteer build, through Habitat and CODEP, for over 10 years. Habitat’s mission is near and dear to my heart, and I have had the privilege of following Enzo around the world for the past 6 years through Global Village. My past experiences include Haitix4, Fiji, Bulgaria, Uganda, Thailand, and Vietnam. All of my trips have led to wonderful memories and priceless experiences, looking forward to many more!
Dean and Pam
We live in Appleton, Wisconsin and have been married for 31 years. We have 3 adult children-our oldest daughter works for a non-profit in public health (married this summer) in Minneapolis, and our son and other daughter are in med school at University of Michigan and Medical College of Wisconsin. We enjoy traveling and volunteering so have always thought that Global Village would be a wonderful experience to do together. Dean is a Family Practice doctor by training and began mixing administrative duties with it early on. He is presently the CEO of ThedaCare. He enjoys volunteering with United Way Fox Cities, our church, and a variety of other community organizations. He loves to run and read.
Pam enjoys volunteering for hospice, church, and serving on a variety of education and foundation boards in the community. This February will be her 4th mission trip through Mission Jamaica to Garland Hall Children Home-an orphanage in Anchovy, Jamaica. Our cherished memories resolve around spending time with family and dear friends. We look forward to meeting you all.
Michelle
I am the mother of a 20 year old son who is on his third year of university, and a 16 year old daughter who thinks she is in the third year of University. I am presently a stay home mom who does volunteer work in Mississauga, Ontario (20 minutes from Toronto).
I work on a number of boards that involve children and camping. Before my “retirement” I took young offenders out to the wildness, camping with project DARE and worked as both a correctional officer and probation officer. In my spare time I enjoy skiing, snowboarding, working out, reading and knitting. Because of Enzo, I have caught “Habititis”: this will be my sixth trip with him. I was fortunate to accompany him to Uganda, Thailand, Viet Nam, Papua New Guinea, and Eagle Butte, South Dakota.
I recently participated to a trip to Jordan with a Canadian Habitat team, and will be going to Chile with another team in November.
I look forward to meeting you all next March in Costa Rica.
Kim
My name is Kimberly and I’m 27 years old. I have lived and worked in the Washington DC area for a little over 2 years now. I currently teach 10th grade special ed/government, which can be exciting, frustrating, and challenging, but never boring.
I also play co-ed football, softball, and indoor soccer on a social sports league. I enjoy reading, spending time with friends and family, volunteering and trying new things/ experiences, but my ultimate passion is traveling. I have done some work with the local Habitat for Humanity but this will be my first GV trip and I am excited beyond words to have the opportunity to do this. I feel truly blessed to not only be able to help others but to work in and learn about a new culture. I am looking forward to meeting all of you in March. (I am the one in the middle of the picture)
Danette
I live in Medicine Hat, a city of 68,000 in Alberta, Canada. I am an esthetician who is currently seeking what I want to do when I grow up. I have no kids but I am a volunteer Big Sister to a great 13 year old, and I have two cats. My interests include drama and the arts, Starbucks and Church involvement. I love travel and adventures especially when it includes helping others. This will be my forth Habitat trip with Enzo. I was part of his team to Africa (Uganda), Thailand, and South Dakota. I look forward to this new adventure to Costa Rica and meeting some old friends as well as making some new ones.
Ron
I am a research engineer for Bell Labs in New Jersey where I have worked for over Twenty years. My two boys are now grown and find I have more time on my hands for volunteer work and fun. I am originally from northern Arkansas and spent half my childhood above my parent’s newspaper and the other half on a turkey farm. I enjoy travel, nature, learning about new cultures, helping others, and trying out new food and experiences. All of which I expect to encounter on this trip. This is my first international Habitat assignment having worked several here in the States. I very much look forward to this adventure and working with all of you.
Julie
I was born in Sacramento, CA (where I also went to school and graduated from Sac. State with a Computer Science degree). I currently work in the Information Technology field for Hewlett-Packard. For several years, Diana Runnels has told me about her fascinating trips to various international Habitat locations. I finally succumbed to the Habitat lure and joined a trip that she co-led in Biloxi, Mississippi in October 2008. I’m so glad I did since not only was it a truly rewarding experience to help in the Hurricane Katrina rebuilding efforts, but also I was able to meet and work with some really interesting people… including Enzo, our fearless leader to Costa Rica trip in March. Last July, I did my second Habitat trip in Eagle Butte, SD on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe reservation. This trip was a wonderful way to get more exposed to Native American culture by witnessing a Sun Dance and participating in a Sweat Lodge.
I look forward to my next Habitat trip in Costa Rica, where I know that it will be another fun-filled and unforgettable experience!
See you all in March 2010!
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Joy
This is my first GV trip and a goal I have had for a few years. I am a South African born Australian who has lived in Texas for 23 years (this November).I became an American Citizen on December 10th 2008 and hold dual nationality with Australia. I work in HP Enterprises (formerly known as EDS- Electronic Data Systems). I really enjoy my job which is pretty much portable-as long as I have a computer and phone-I can work. I am an identical twin and my sister lives in Australia. I have 2 other sisters who live in Cape Town, South Africa and Vancouver, BC, respectively. I have lived in 3 Continents: Africa, Australia, and America and have traveled extensively- I just returned from 2 weeks in Cape Town, South Africa. I have 2 daughters and 3 wonderful grandchildren. My eldest granddaughter just started college-the other two are 12 and soon to be 10. I have attached a photo of me and my grand children-they are the light of my life. I am extremely fit and healthy and work out 4-6 times a week. I swim 2 miles or do weights and machine, and aerobic exercises. I was a runner and ran 2 Marathons but I have a worn knee so switched to swimming. I miss running a lot. I am looking forward to achieving my goal, making new friends, and what I believe will be an incredible experience.
Fred
I’ve worked in the non-profit sector some 40 years now in a variety of positions including church administrator, symphony musician, camp/conference center director and my current position as director of an academy of music at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI. But I am now seeking God’s hand in opening a new chapter in my life that involves not merely being a “human being” but a “human doing!” This will be my first GV trip but have traveled extensively in 35 countries often on mission ministry trips to such remote places as Northern Frontier District of Kenya, Burundi (scary place!) and my favorite, Cape Town, South Africa. I’ve been married for 37 years to Laura, a wonderful Africa-American lady who is a 40-year career veteran member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. She is also a gifted gospel singer and has sung all over the world in a variety of settings. Proceeds from the sale of her first CD helped build 2 phases of a church school project in Khayalitsha, a black township outside Cape Town. We have 3 grown children and a delightful granddaughter, Isabella. I love to cook, am an avid photographer, work out most every day at the local gym, enjoy reading African adventure novels and am pretty good tinkerer-handyman. Can’t wait to meet everyone in person and bond together as a team working to assist others to provide safe shelter.
Carmen
My name is Carmen and I am a spring chicken at 21 living in Sydney, Australia. I am currently working in recruitment and have been for the last couple of years-something I fell into. I am an orange belt in Tae Kwon Do and love bike riding and most sports-although I would not consider myself the most coordinated person alive. I’m Christian and consider food a hobby of mine, not just a necessity. Whilst my job can be rewarding at times, I would love to return to University and study something I am genuinely interested in and care about. When I heard of this trip and about the concept I was trilled-I love traveling and experiencing rich cultures- and the idea that I can actually contribute in some way to helping the community as well is just great...
Look forward to meeting you all next year.
Karen
My name is Karen, I live in NJ and work in Philadelphia for a weekly newspaper publication, the Philadelphia Business Journal (the “Wall Street Journal of the Philadelphia Region”). Some of you may be familiar with Business Journals in your city since we publish in 39 other cities across the US. I am the Business Manager at the newspaper, and it is quite an exiting job (to say the least!). Career-wise, my area of expertise is business management and accounting. In my spare time I enjoy volunteering, travel, reading, gardening, listening to music, horseback riding, cooking, working out, and spending time with family and friends. I have volunteered with local Habitat in the past, and this will be my first GV build. I am excited to have the opportunity to work with enlightened and interesting people such as each of you, and I believe now more than ever it’s important to give myself-every little bit will help the world to get back on track and become a better place for mankind! I have past homebuilding experience-both hands-on and project management. I’m looking forward to realizing the fruit of our labor, working with each of you to help those less fortunate attain decent and affordable housing, and learning about the culture in the region of Central America. I’m looking forward to an enriching and fulfilling life-experience in March 2010.
Aldona
My name is Aldona and I’m from the Washington, D.C. area. I am 29 years old and work as an Information Assurance Analyst in the IT field. I enjoy reading, photography, traveling, going to plays/concerts, hanging out with my newborn niece and drinking good coffee. I have previously participated in a GV trip to Guatemala and the experience was amazing so I vowed to try and do one each year. Not only is it great to travel and experience new cultures but to lend a hand and do something that changes so many lives is more than I could ask for. I am very much looking forward to this Costa Rica and also meeting my new team members!
Hilary
!Hola! My name is Hilary, and I live in Brookfield, Nova Scotia, with my husband, our beautiful 4-year old daughter and a friendly yellow lab named Maple. Besides my family, I most enjoy hiking, cycling, gardening, reading, wildlife and being near the ocean. I work as Parks and Trails Coordinator in municipal government and have degrees in biology and environmental planning. I have been on two previous builds with Habitat, both in El Salvador, in 2003 and 2004 in partnership with Canadian Baptist Volunteers. Those were wonderful, memorable, and rewarding experiences. I am excited to be returning to the beautiful country I fell in love with several years ago when I visited Tico friends, backpacked and explored the country for 3 months. I very much look forward to meeting you all and working with you to help build a house and a better life for a Costa Rican family.
Susan
Susan
Hello!! My name is Susan. I am 61 years young—a widow with three married children and five grandchildren, I enjoy gardening, cooking and entertaining, biking, reading, walking, yoga, spending time with family and friends, the outdoor, music, travel, and so much more. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada has been my home for the past eighteen years. At the present time I am working part-time in a small coffee bar and volunteer one-day-a-week as a window displayer at the University of Alberta Hospital gift shop. I had the opportunity of traveling to Costa Rica with my husband in 2001. We loved the country and the people. This will be my first (hopefully of many) Habitat for Humanity trip. I am so looking forward to returning to Costa Rica and being part of a totally different experience-giving something back. I will see you in March!
Meybel
I was born in El Salvador and have lived in Daly City (the town next to San Francisco, CA) from age 6 to the present. Most of my family lives in the Bay Area and we still have some relatives in El Salvador that we periodically visit. El Sal is definitely a different place than my childhood memories will have me believe. I graduated from San Francisco State University in 2006 with a BS in Health Education and a minor in Biology. I have never traveled much and have decided that I wanted to change that through volunteer programs. This will be my first time in Costa Rica, my first trip with GV, and my third volunteer vacation. I really enjoy group activities and spending time with friends and family. I also love to spend time by myself reading a book, knitting, cooking, movies, and I’ve recently discovered the beauty of the great outdoor (yeah really, I know!). I work for the State of California as a project coordinator and I really am blessed to have wonderful and dedicated colleagues. Although a State Agency, our company is unique and has amazing mission statement that we strive to achieve every minute of every day.
Bill and Kitty
Bill: I am a retired high school Technology Education teacher and currently volunteer with the Milwaukee HFH chapter, framing and finishing for new constructions. I also try to work one day a week at our local HFH Restore. I really believe in the HFH philosophy and enjoy working with homeowners and volunteers. My other interests are photography, our grandchildren, and retirement in general. Our other HFH trips have been to Zambia, Hungary, and South Dakota.
Kitty: Although I am officially retired, I still teach college ESL classes as part-time faculty because it is just too much fun to give up entirely. I’m also a member of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Milwaukee and volunteer with our social/economic justice and environmental committees and sing in the choir. My favorite activities, other than anything involving our five granddaughters, are reading, paying the piano, and traveling. And even though I definitely cannot describe myself as physically fit, I did just walk a half marathon in Las Vegas.
Susan
Well, first I will say that I love HFH. I started volunteering with them about 5 years ago building 6 houses locally. From there I took my first “global” trip two years ago to Santa Fe, New Mexico and it was so wonderful that I’m adventuring out!
As for the rest of my life, I do the books for my husband’s finish carpentry business and hope that when he (maybe involuntarily) retires he will also want to get involved with Habitat. On to more fun things, I am a grandma. I have a 2 year old grandson and am going Denver next week to babysit him while my daughter has her second child, a new granddaughter. Other things I enjoy are cooking, eating, sewing (quilting), reading and gardening. I also golf but, as many of you golfers know, I don’t enjoy it. And I enjoy a glass of whine now and then.
I started early being a mom and now that my 2 kids are grown, I am enjoying the freedom I have this time of my life to do things that I love. Habitat gives to me in every day, spiritually, physically, socially and emotionally. So, I can’t wait to meet you all, it’s such a great joy to spend time with others who think that giving to others is the greatest gift of all.