Panango1

Board Members

Adam Tolnay [founder]

In 1992, Adam founded Learning Enterprises, a development NGO that sends college students to teach English in 14 developing countries. Soon he developed a taste for starting educational organization and piloted Learning Foundation India, Scholars for Action, and Y-Fi (Youth Financial Literacy). In 2006, a meeting with Papua New Guinean Ambassador Evan Paki sparked the idea for Panango. Adam recruited three Stanford undergrads to join him in an initial reconnaissance trip to PNG in 2007, and Panango was born. Afforded flexibility by his day job as a Visiting Scholar at Stanford, he continues to help steer Panango's development with Papua New Guinea growing ever closer to his heart.

Heather Heistand [09 program director, '08 volunteer]

While her friends moved on to paying jobs, Heather hopped a flight (or rather, 5) to PNG after graduating from Stanford in June. As an undergrad, she studied Anthropological Sciences and journalism. On Karkar, she taught Taleng Primary's two seventh grade classes English and science as well as countless inexplicably popular American folk songs. Now back on American soil, she's looking for a ticket back to the developing world, preferably with a salary attached, but in the mean time, she's stoked to be serving as Panango, as director and team leader this year.

Christa Morris [co-founder, '08 program director]

Christa, Stanford '10, joined Adam on his intial trip to PNG, returning the following summer to lead nine other volunteers on Panango's 2008 trip. At Stanford, she studies Human Biology and is an active member of the Spoken Word Collective.

Nick Benevides [co-founder]

Nick, Stanford '08, joined Adam on Panango's initial trip in 2008, leading recruiting for 2008's trip upon his return.

Rick Ramirez ['08 volunteer]

Twenty years old and six years out of his prime, Rick is currently a sophomore at Stanford University studying Mathematical and Computational Sciences. He has recently transformed his room into a Papua New Guinean relic and currently has plans to apply his spear fishing skills to the bottom dwelling fish of local lakes. He loves the outdoors, backpacking, tennis, hucking a disk around, and getting way too deep in philosophical discussions. He fell in love with Papua New Guinea and rejects modern conveniences...like civilization (thanks Onion Atlas for making my exchange so entertaining).

Team Panango 2009

Elizabeth Constable is a freshman from New York, though her family is from Hawaii. Her dream is to double major in Anthropology and International relations, as with this background she can make the greatest impact trying to positively affect the indigenous people of the Pacific Islands. In her free time, she loves to dance with Stanford's Polynesian dance group.

Emma Broderick was born and raised on the island of O'ahu, Hawaii. She has always had a love for culture, for nature, and for the sun. She believes that education has the capacity to do amazing things and has spent many hours tutoring those back home as well as in East Palo Alto. Stanford has allowed Emma to continue her interests in sustainability, education, and the perpetuation of Hawaiian culture.

Gregory Carter graduated from Stanford University winter quarter of 2009 with a degree in Linguistics. Languages fascinate him, as does the culture that accompanies them. From his first experience abroad in Japan during the summer of 2003 to the linguistic conference he attended in Kingston, Jamaica last summer, he has immersed himself in the various cultures of the world and studying their language and communication habits has become one of his hobbies and a passion he continues to cultivate. Education is another of his long-held interests, and he is excited to be joining Panango to test the waters and see what being a teacher is all about.

Anthony Bosman was born and raised in Orlando, Florida. Now a freshman at Stanford, he is looking forward to majoring in mathematics. He loves any type of activity, especially service, that lets him put my faith into action.

Autumn Albers is a sophomore from Danville, California, and is pursuing a degree in human biology. When she isn't playing softball and has free time, she loves to read, draw, and do jigsaw puzzles. Gregarious and enthusiastic, Autumn loves meeting new people and cannot wait to go to Karkar Island!

Hayley Tobin is a sophomore psych major and a member of Stanford's varsity sailing team. She thrives off of trying and discovering new things, and is incredibly excited that this summer she will have the opportunity to meet the people of Karkar and share English with them while learning about their culture and languages.

Suzan Ahmed is a senior finishing a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Human Biology at Stanford. Suzan has always enjoyed helping others and looks forward to being able to give back after having been given the amazing opportunity to learn at Stanford. She loves to dance and is in the on-campus hip-hop dance troupe Dv8; her other campus activities include staffing at the Bridge Peer Counseling Center and serving as the Cultural Awareness Associate in Naranja dormitory. Eventually, Suzan plans to pursue graduate studies and a career in clinical psychology, but until then she is excited to be a part of the Panango team and hopes to gain fulfilling and unforgettable experiences from this summer that will enable her to better help many more people throughout her life.

Julie Smith is a sophomore majoring in Earth Systems through the Anthrosphere track. She was born and raised in Dallas, Texas and even though she grew up in an urban city, she loves the outdoors. At Stanford, she is on the Stanford Ski Team, tutors at EPATT twice a week, and is involved in SPOT, the Stanford Pre-Orientation Program. In her free time, she loves to ski, backpack, and hike.

Olivia Ishibashi is a junior at Stanford majoring in Human Biology with an area of concentration of cultural and biological aspects of community health. She loves traveling and has volunteered in Guatemala for a summer and studied abroad in Paris last fall. She hopes to teach English as well as health education while in Papua New Guinea.

Erica Toews is a junior at Stanford and is double majoring in English and Philosophy. Outside school, she tutors an elementary school kid two days a week, tutors prisoners in San Francisco, and chills with the patients in the Menlo Park Veterans Affairs Hospital. She is very enthusiastic about teaching in Papua New Guinea this summer and getting to know a culture completely different from her own.

Stephen Miranda is a freshman from New York. At Stanford, he is a pre-medical student and aspires to be a surgeon and harbors a passion for Classics. Teaching gives Stephen a real sense of self-worth, as he helps someone grapple with an idea, watching them take it and make it their own. He is excited for the new and challenging experience of traveling and teaching in Papua New Guinea.

Yihana Ritter is a sophomore studying political science. Her passion for human rights has not only not only led her to Panango's education program, but has also sparked her interest in health equity as a human right. During her free time in Karkar this summer, she hopes to conduct research on the response to HIV/AIDS in PNG.

Nick Mendoza is a freshman from beautiful San Diego. He is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys ocean kayaking, hunting, fishing and spearfishing, all activities he is very excited to continue on Karkar. Nick is interested in a career in third-world microfinance/ social entrepreneurialism or oceans management and sustainable resources, though for now he wants to travel and experience as much of the world as possible.

Rutger Rosenborg is a freshman at Stanford University. He is passionate about music and has been playing guitar since the age of 10. As of yet, he is undecided what he will major in, but is leaning towards biology or psychology with a concentration in neuroscience. He and Nick will be making a research documentary about the trip.