Stanford - Papua New Guinea
Conference on Development
Autumn Albers is a Stanford junior majoring in Human Biology. She taught 7th grade English at Kuburne Primary School, Karkar Island, PNG last summer and will be returning to PNG this summer as Panango's 2009-2010 Program Director. Email: autumnalbers@gmail.com
Nick Benavides graduated from Stanford in 2008 with a degree in Religious Studies and a minor in Economics, and, with Christa, traveled to PNG to found the Panango program in 2006. Nick has consulted for Bain and Co., and most recently started his own on-line business, The DropshipDharma. Email: nickavides@gmail.com
Carolyn Forstein is a Stanford senior majoring in International Relations, and currently writing a thesis on the rule of law in Russia for honors in the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law Program. Though unable to join the Panango team in PNG last year, she was so excited by the development challenges of PNG, that she proposed this conference. She plans to teach in PNG this summer. Email: carofor@gmail.com
Heather Heistand graduated from Stanford in 2008 with a degree in Anthropological Sciences. She spent the following two summers teaching at Taleng Primary School, Karkar Island, PNG, first as a Panango volunteer and then as the 2008-2009 Program Director. For her work leading the Panango team in Papua New Guinea, she is a JPRI non-resident fellow at the University of San Francisco. She has worked at a number of Bay Area non-profits, most recently at the Asian and Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence. She will be heading to Kyrgyzstan to teach English with the Peace Corps this March, but eagerly anticipates her return to the PNG classroom. Email: hheistand@gmail.com
Christa Morris is a senior at Stanford majoring in Human Biology. She helped found Panango after her freshman year, returning to lead Panango's first team of 10 on Karkar in 2008. With the assistence of a Chappell Lougee Scholarship, she was able to record and publish a book of Karkar folklore, history, insight, and personal poetry in 2009. Email: christa.decker@gmail.com
Matt Stoltz graduated from Stanford in 2008 with a degrees in Anthropological Sciences. He is currently working on a book of poetry and starting a Community Redevelopment non-profit, The Lighthouse Project.Email: stoltzy@gmail.com