volunteer staff
Ryan Drysdale, Domestic Fellow
Mr. Drysdale graduated in 2010 from the University of Iowa where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies with a focus on Development, a minor in Political Science, and a Certificate in Sustainability. Mr. Drysdale has previously interned at Legacy Redevelopment Corporation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin focusing on inner-city economic revitalization. He has also worked with the Grameen Foundation in Washington, D.C. on development for poverty alleviation programs. Mr. Drysdale recently completed a Global Playground Teaching Fellowship in Thailand.
Adam Levin, Honduras Fellow
Mr. Levin graduated from the College of William & Mary in 2011 with a Bachelor's degree in International Relations and a minor in Hispanic Studies. While at William & Mary he was involved in international service, specifically in the Global Village Project, a part of Habitat for Humanity International. Mr. Levin lived and studied in Argentina from July 2009 until January 2010 and interned with the Comisión Provincial por La Memoria. He later interned with the National Security Archive from May 2010 until March 2011 where he worked on human rights issues.
Hana Livingston, Thailand Fellow
Ms. Livingston graduated from Loyola University Chicago in 2011 with a Bachelor's degree in International Studies, and minors in English, French, and Asian studies, with a focus on modern China. Before joining Global Playground, Ms. Livingston worked as an educator in the U.S. and China at middle and high schools, summer camps, and community centers, as well as with immigrant and refugee populations in Chicago.
Adam Lupu, Director of Learning and Development
Mr. Lupu runs an independent consultancy practice dedicated to decoding the language of learning in all contexts. He is a certified facilitator of Equity-Based Critical Friends Groups and has helped train professionals and manage teams for small businesses, non-profits, and schools throughout California. Before consulting, Mr. Lupu taught Math and Science to middle and high school students in Los Angeles and San Francisco. He recently completed a year long coaching program focusing on leadership, consulting, and development, and he is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Learning Sciences at Northwestern University. Mr. Lupu holds Bachelor’s degrees in Physics and Literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Kirsten Gilbert, Director of Communications
Ms. Gilbert is a Communications Associate with the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution, where she focuses on issues of aid effectiveness, universal education, and global governance. Before joining Brookings, she was an Associate in Media and Communications at the New America Foundation, a public policy think-tank in Washington, DC. She has also worked as the Assistant Marketing Coordinator for Event and Special Services at the George Washington University. She holds a Bachelor's degree in International Affairs with a concentration in Development and Asian studies from the George Washington University.
Thomas Higgins, Director of Marketing
Mr. Higgins is a strategy consultant in the Office of the President for Bayer Corporation. Prior to working for Bayer, he spent a year in Angola as the Head of Marketing and Industry Relations for a non-profit consulting firm helping to develop local businesses. He holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Richmond and a Master's in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh. He as worked on numerous consulting projects with Fortune 500 companies and individual entrepreneurs. For his professional efforts, Mr. Higgins has been awarded the McKinsey Cup for strategy consulting and the Arthur and Eva Reid Brosius Award for creativity.
Jennifer Rinker, Grant Writer
Ms. Rinker is Senior Counsel to Spectra Energy, one of North America’s premier natural gas infrastructure companies headquartered in Houston, Texas. She holds a law degree from the William & Mary School of Law, and a Master’s degree in Anthropology and Bachelors’ degrees in Anthropology and Germanic Languages from the University of Texas at Austin. Ms. Rinker also completed a post-graduate fellowship at the Georg-August Universitaet in Goettingen, Germany. She has worked for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Environmental Protection Agency and several Washington, D.C. law firms focusing on energy regulatory and infrastructure development concerns. Prior to law school, Ms. Rinker worked on the Gila River Indian Community south of Phoenix, Arizona, and conducted archaeological fieldwork across the American Southwest, Great Basin, and several of the northeastern states.
Garrett Keating, Web Manager
Mr. Keating is the Senior Web Developer at the United States Naval Academy Alumni Association & Foundation. He has been an IT professional for over twelve years working in both real estate and the nonprofit sector. Mr. Keating has several technology awards for his nonprofit work including "Developer of the Year" from Blackbaud, a nonprofit technology company, and runner up in the NPower "Technology Innovation Award." Prior to his work at the U.S. Naval Academy, he was the IT Director for a medium-sized real estate company.
Cathy Ji, Web Content Manager
Ms. Ji is a senior at Thomas Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland. She spent the summer interning at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center working to improve the center's public facing web presence, and for the past year, she has volunteered at the National Cancer Institute performing research procedures to further the study of breast cancer. Ms. Ji also works with students with intellectual and developmental disabilities through her local Best Buddies chapter. In college, Ms. Ji hopes to pursue studies in computer or biomedical engineering.
Taylor Nelson, Intern
Ms. Nelson is a junior Sociology major and Community Studies minor at the College of William & Mary. As a 2009-2010 Sharpe Scholar, she has continued her work with the Office of Community Engagement and Scholarship through her participation in the 2010 Leadership in Community Engagement program and the development of her Community Studies minor action research project, which focuses on cooking-based nutritional education programs. On campus, she is involved with her honors fraternity Phi Sigma Pi and the School Health Initiative Project in the Williamsburg James City County School System. Ms. Nelson spent last summer interning with the Lackey Free Clinic located in Yorktown, VA and was a co-leader for a 2011 Branch Out National Alternate Spring Break trip, focusing on health advocacy in Appalachia, VA. After graduation, she would like to join the Peace Corps, attend graduate school, or work for a nonprofit on issues regarding education or healthcare.
Chloe Forman, Intern
Ms. Forman is a current sophomore at Georgetown University, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Justice and Peace Studies. On campus, she is a coordinator for the After School Kids Program (ASK), which seeks to reduce recidivism of adjudicated youth in DC through mentoring and a positive, supportive environment. She is also the co-chair of the Logistics committee for Georgetown’s Relay For Life, an overnight walk that fundraises for the American Cancer Society, which consistently raises the most money per capita for universities. Other involvement includes GU’s Habitat for Humanity and Alternative Spring Break service trips. During the summer of 2011, she traveled to Italy, where she worked for ACLE camps, teaching English, and she hopes to study abroad in New Zealand for the fall 2012 semester.
Jason Maga, Treasurer
Mr. Maga has had numerous opportunities to visit developing countries, where he has seen firsthand the tangible difference that small organizations like Global Playground can make in people's lives. Prior to his involvement with Global Playground Mr. Maga served as Treasurer and a founding Board member of One Acre Fund, a startup nonprofit now serving 54,000 farm families in rural Africa. He holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the College of William & Mary. Mr. Maga is Director, Host Railroads at Amtrak, where he leads initiatives to improve on-time performance of passenger train services nationwide.
Michael Ward, Assistant Accountant
Mr. Ward is a financial analyst for the information technology consulting firm, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC). Prior to joining CSC, he spent seven years as a derivatives trader at a proprietary firm in Chicago. While in Chicago, he regularly volunteered at the Chicago Jesuit Academy, a full-scholarship, college preparatory, Catholic middle school for young men from modest economic backgrounds. There, he tutored students in math and coached soccer, wrestling and track. Mr. Ward obtained a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Finance, from the College of William & Mary.
Ellie Kaufman, News Reporter
Ms. Kaufman is currently a junior at the College of William and Mary. She is a Government and English double major, with a minor in Hispanic Studies. She works for the student newspaper, the Flat Hat, currently as the Chief Staff Writer but has served as Variety Editor, Staff Writer, and Associate Editor. Ms. Kaufman has written for the Connection newspapers based in Northern Virginia and the Virginia Gazette. She is a part of the Leadership Engagement program on campus, and she participated in the Camp Baker Branch Out Alternative Spring Break project in Spring 2011, working with individuals with disabilities. After graduation, she would like to work as a journalist or for a non-profit.
Kent Truog, Film Producer
Mr. Truog's dedication to documenting stories of social inequality and human rights began while attending Boston’s Emerson College, where he earned a degree in Multimedia Production in 2006. Since then, Mr. Truog has partnered with nongovernmental organizations to document the stories of young women on the verge of aging out of an orphanage in Honduras, squatters struggling in an urban Indonesian dump, women in Vietnamese hill tribes, life along the Mekong River, and victims of sex trafficking in Cambodia. His projects aim to draw attention to marginalized populations throughout the world.
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