Pamela Reber Joins Team

    I was born on May 2, 1973 in Mishawaka, Indiana. My family roots are German, Irish and English, with the Rebers being traced back to Langenselbold, Germany in the 1700s. I graduated from Cranbrook Kingswood High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan in 1991. When I settled in Eugene, I completed my Bachelor’s of Science at the University of Oregon after first receiving an Associate’s degree from the Energy Management Program at Lane Community College. Later I received a certificate in river restoration design from Portland State University.

    South Lane County has been my home for the past decade where I work in water resource management as Executive Director of a local nonprofit with a staff of four. We focus on implementing habitat projects for native fish and wildlife, policy issues related to water quality, and involving the community in these issues.

    My travel experience includes 5 weeks in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2005 in a family and community-center oriented experience and living in London for a month with a friend’s family when I was young. I enjoy many outdoor activities including multi-day rafting and camping trips, cultural events, as well as local foods and wine with friends and family.

Team Member Ashley Bryant

Since I moved to Oregon at a young age, I’ve experienced most of my life as a Eugenean, where I remain close with my friends, family and community. It’s easy to cultivate new interests and passions here, and I’ve made many wonderful friends while taking African dance, learning Spanish, and volunteering at local organizations. I’ve also nurtured a desire to explore the wider world, and my journeys to Europe and Senegal are just the beginning of what I hope will be a lifelong commitment to international education and travel.

As a University of Oregon student, I took courses in international development and spent a term as a student intern in Dakar. There, I researched and translated health education resources for a Senegalese NGO serving youth. On top of the work experience, I gained new knowledge by living with culturally disparate families, mentoring ambitious youth, and sharing in the excitement of a presidential election. Back home, I resumed my studies while working at the Office of International Programs and later for Disability Services as a classroom transcriber for hard of hearing students. After completing my Honors thesis, I received my degree in International Studies and Economics.

 My collective experiences steered me to Mobility International USA, a national non-profit organization that works to include people with disabilities in international development and exchange. One of my roles is to provide resources for making international exchange accessible to participants with disabilities while drawing on the insights of those who successfully studied, worked or volunteered in other countries. Working for an organization that promotes international exchange has certainly accelerated my sense of wanderlust, and I look forward to the many surprises Malaysia is sure to have in store for our team.

 

Team Member Kristi Coleman

                                           

Born in Landstuhl, Germany as the last of five children, my family moved to New Mexico  when I was 5 years old.  This is where I stayed until moving to Ohio for medical school, then coming to Oregon for a residency in Family Practice.  My professional interests include rural/underserved full spectrum care, wilderness medicine, and tropical medicine. In college I had the privilege to travel to South Africa and collect water samples from deep gold mines.  This experience showed me how different their life was from my own;  like living in a miner’s shanty town to daily racial segregation.  The unique health issues of the miner’s population (50% were HIV positive) and of the country (soft drinks contained quinine to fight malaria) stuck with me more than the microbiology I was there to study.  That trip was the beginning of my journey to medicine and my interest in people.

 When I am not working, I can be found hiking, backpacking, or reading science fiction novels.  I also collect rare, old books and crochet an afghan from time to time.  My twin sister and I plan to hike the Pacific Crest Trail together in the next 5 years.  Maybe I’ll get to hike Mount Tahan or Kinabalu while in Malaysia.

Team Member Elizabeth Hale

Elizabeth Hale is a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Specialist with the National Park Service at Oregon Caves National Monument. She is responsible for GIS data management and analysis as well as resource management programs, cave conservation projects, and volunteer coordination. Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Science and GIS certificate from Western Kentucky University (2004), where she studied geography and English and was a copy editor at the campus newspaper.

Besides working at Oregon Caves for the last six years, Elizabeth has also worked at Mammoth Cave National Park (2004), where she guided cave tours, and Yosemite National Park (2002, 2003), where she cleaned guest cabins and fell in love with wilderness, mountains, and living in the West.

A Kentucky native, Elizabeth moved to rural southwestern Oregon after graduating from college. She is a member of Takilma Bible Church. Her personal interests include creative writing, food preservation, and outdoor recreation. Involved in community service since high school, when she was secretary of Beta Club, Elizabeth is currently a volunteer adviser to college-bound students at the local high school.

 

Team Selected

Four team members were selected in an interview process held in Cottage Grove on June 4 by the District 5110 GSE committee. The team includes: James Boyle, Ashley Bryant, Kristi Coleman, and Elizabeth Hale. In addition, two alternates were chosen: 1st alternate, Olivia Pierce, and 2nd alternate, Kristie Hernandez. The alternate team leader is Rotarian Tommi Drake. The first planning and orientation meeting will be held at the Phoenix School in Roseburg on July 9th.

Great applicants

Some great candidates have applied for SSE Team to Malaysia. It will be difficult to reduce the number down to four. Saturday is deliberation time.

GSE Malaysia team selection

On April 28, I was chosen at the Rotary team leader for the GSE team to Malaysia in November and December 2011. The team interviews will be held on June 4th in Cottage Grove. With the team selected, then the fun begins, a process of planning and orientation.