Meet the Volunteers

Every year hundreds of Kaiser Permanente employees and physicians apply to spend a week of their own vacation time volunteering to help rebuild the Gulf Coast. Each of the 60 volunteers selected has their own reason for going; each also has a strong commitment to volunteerism and community service. Read about each of the volunteers below.
2010 New Orleans Volunteers | 2010 Mississippi Volunteers

New Orleans

2010 Project Managers

	Susan Giboney - Director, Quality & Service Kaiser Oregon "Having the opportunity to help others less fortunate, especially those whom some have forgotten because the cause is no longer in the news headlines, is an incredible opportunity and experience."
	Rudy Lemus "One person can make a difference. It would be ungrateful (for me) not to take advantage of this opportunity to try and do my part to help others in whatever way I can, be it small or large."
	Maly Nakoa Ewa Beach, HI "Last year's experience was a rude awakening as to how much work still needs to be done in the Gulf Coast. To be able to continue to help in (New Orleans) would once again be a life changing experience. "
	Shawn Pascale - Business Line Manager Southern California Permanente Medical Group Bellflower Medical Center "I would just want someone to do the same for me if I was in need."
	Brad Pfeifer - Clinical Informatics Service Director Walnut Creek, CA "(I volunteer because of my) love for New Orleans, prior rebuilding experience and efforts (and) desire to help communities Thrive."

2010 Volunteers

	Nicholas Arrigo -Manager, Internal Controls Oakland, CA "Everyone I have met in New Orleans has been friendly and helpful and to have had to deal with such destruction and upheaval, then to not see the government and insurance companies follow through and complete rebuilding makes me want to help them rebuild."
	Carol Azar - Manager Oakland, CA "I lived in New York City, when the September 11th attacks happened, and know first-hand that the needs for rebuilding and social support extend well beyond the period the media focuses on."
	Kellen Bennett - Health Educator Instructor II Redwood City, CA "I am a true believer that poverty is a form of trauma. As a provider of community services, I am more than excited to help a community in need."
	Jonathan Bestwick - RN Baldwin Park, CA "I used to live outside of New Orleans in Bayou Vista as a commercial diver, and realize the effects of the weather and the environment on destroying communities and individuals' lives. Rebuilding communities helps to rebuild the lives that can then improve and grow to assist others around them."
	Andrea Broughton - Senior Account Manager Fresno, CA "Helping others not only makes a difference in others lives but transforms you. The rewards are long lasting."
	Linda Coe - LVN Orange, CA "I am a NOLA (New Orleans, La) native, and still have many family ties to the city. Many of my family and friends, there are still recovering from Katrina. I am grateful to help in any way possible."
	Kelly Cox - Clinical Coding Specialist Aurora, CO "Through volunteering in the Gulf Coast with Kaiser Permanente, I feel that I'm making a difference. I see this as an opportunity to reinvigorate that part of me and my life."
	Seham El-Diwany - Physician Health Connect San Jose, CA "It is hard to describe the joy I feel and personal reward I get from doing volunteer work that enables me to give back to this country."
	Amanda Forster - Physical Therapist San Jose, CA "I don't need to personally know the people and communities affected in the Gulf Coast in order to want to help them. I'm so proud to be a part of Kaiser Permanente and appreciate its community-minded philosophy."
	Emma Fredua - Senior Consultant Pasadena, CA "The impact that Katrina and Rita had on the Gulf Coast is still apparent. However, the significant improvements that have been made because of efforts such as the Gulf Coast Volunteer project thus far are remarkable."
	Tiffany Gardner - Communications Specialist Pasadena, CA "When I went back to visit New Orleans three years after Katrina and saw that very little progress was made in rebuilding some neighborhoods, I was heartbroken. I am so happy to see Kaiser Permanente offer this opportunity."
	Merle Gordon - Manager Cleveland, OH "As manager of the Community Benefit department in the Ohio region, I believe it's important to participate in these types of projects, particularly to add it to the examples of how committed Kaiser Permanente is to the health of people and the communities they live in. "
	Akiba Green - Physician Kaiser Hawaii Region "I volunteered in the Gulf Coast region 18 months after Katrina hit, and was personally impacted again to see how slow the response was to clean up and repair. There is still so much work left to be done."
	Pratima Gupta - MD MPH Oakland, CA "I had a scared, 19-year old patient who was displaced from her home in the Gulf Coast in 2005. She had lost several family members and nearly all her possessions, but her strength and conviction in the face of such extreme adversity and at such a young age impressed me and is why I am volunteering in the Gulf Coast as a representative of Kaiser Permanente."
	Mohammad Hararah - Research Assistant San Francisco, CA "What transpired in New Orleans enabled me to draw connections between the plight of hurricane victims and my family's struggle in the Middle-East. Their adversity is a product of a different set of events, but like the victims of Katrina, they remain scattered away from their homes and families."
	Christy Harris - AAR - Small Business Accounts San Diego, CA "I love to serve. Volunteering is for a good cause and brings many blessings."
	Thania Lee - Underwriter El Cerrito, CA "For me, volunteering is an honor. It is an opportunity to lend a hand to those who are now in the situation I was in growing up."
	Susan Lindheim, MD - Physician Richmond, CA "I have volunteered every other year for 12 years in Guatemala as the pediatrician supporting the surgical teams. I am excited about working with a diverse team from Kaiser Permanente in this country."
	John Mar - Physician San Jose, CA "Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, I volunteered to provide medical care. I have special interests and skills in various phases of construction and would like to get more involved as I anticipate retiring in five years."
	Christie Marks - Project Specialist Santa Rosa, CA "My primary interests are in architecture & interior design. Even more important to me is just to bring a smile to people's faces and to build confidence in people that they are cared about and have not been forgotten."
	Khadijia Qadr - AAR San Diego, CA "From the moment I saw the devastation (in the Gulf Coast) on the news I have been trying to go down there to volunteer my services, to do anything really."
	Devlin Randolph - RN Portland, OR "In October, 2005, I volunteered with the American Red Cross, and worked closely with families in the New Orleans/St. Bernard Parish area as a community health nurse. I left the community feeling that I had gained more than I had given due to the amazing courage and attitude of the community."
	Andre Vaughn - Admn. III Pasadena, CA "I am volunteering mostly, for a branch of my family and the loss of a familial, ancestral home in the Chantilly District of New Orleans that was destroyed. The home was built in 1836."
	Gavin Yamasaki - INV & DISTR ASSC Kaiser Hawaii Region "I want to share our 'aloha spirit' with the people of the Gulf Coast and help them get their lives back and rebuild their community."

Mississippi

2010 Project Managers

	Michael Divic - Business Consultant / Process Manager Los Angeles, CA "Service is an important part of being connected to our larger community. I was blessed to be able to participate in the Gulf Coast project in 2008 and found it very inspiring."
	Jennifer Harber - Psy Social Worker Mission Viejo, CA "The employees selected to participate in this wonderful adventure have such heart, compassion, strength and drive that I would not want to be anywhere else in the world other than in the Gulf Coast this April."
	Tristan Thunderbolt Herkimer - Educational Theatre Programs Northern California "Building hope with hammers and nails is important, but building sustainable communities where everyone can live in a safe home is priceless."
	Victor Sipos - Counsel San Mateo, CA "The personal reward, including the sense of contributing to a larger purpose and making new friends that I have made from my past volunteer experiences, has always outweighed the labor that I have contributed."
	Catherine Staller - Patient Care Coordinator Santa Rosa, CA "I want to go back to continue to keep the "spirit alive" and let the people of that region know they are not forgotten and we will continue to help."
	Barbara Stoddart - Office Supervisor Denver, CO "People in the Gulf Coast have suffered repeatedly from hurricanes: Katrina, Rita, Ike. It is up to volunteers like us to help get the residents of this region back on their feet. They are our fellow Americans!"

2010 Volunteers

	Abdullah Ahram - Physician Roseville, CA "The most valuable thing we can give each other is our time and energy. Especially after going through a loss or devastating event like a hurricane. I'm really excited about this opportunity."
	Gurshan Bajwa - Account Administrative Representative San Diego, CA "I can iterate as much as I want about how volunteering helps me grow as a person, or allows me to be at peace, or enlightens lives, but at the end of it, I volunteer because if I can help someone out, then I should."
	Kenneth Balinger - Team Lead Arleta, CA "I am here to offer my support to help those in need, broaden my volunteering involvement and to grow as a person by understanding those in need."
	Neysa Barlage - Community Access to Care Manager Kaiser Permanente Colorado "A missing piece of my work at Kaiser Permanente is seeing the community from the grass roots level and getting "my hands dirty." That is the fuel that lead me to my career choice and will continue pushing me in the dedicated work I do for the organization."
	Margaret Chi - Research Associate II Pasadena, CA "In 2005, I went to New Orleans and saw first-hand the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and the levee's breaking. I will do anything I can to help the town, the people and the communities rebuild."
	Joshua Drainville - Technical Services Group Lead Burbank, CA "This is a golden opportunity for me to help those people hit the hardest who are still suffering to get past all of this. It amazes me that it has been so long already and there is still so much that can be done."
	Patrice Fairman - Administrative Assistant Sacramento, CA "I volunteered during the initial chaos after the hurricanes, which was one of the most emotionally difficult things I have felt. The people there inspired me to value what is always most important: each other as human beings."
	Jill Ginsberg - Physician Lead for Community Care Portland, OR "I am proud of Kaiser's volunteer programs and would love to work together with fellow employees for the betterment of a community in need."
	Vicki Guinn - Leadership Consultant Portland, OR "During a trip to New Orleans three years ago, I visited the 9th Ward and met some local folks with more heart in the midst of all this devastation. I'm here to help and I want to serve in any way I can."
	Linda Herzberger-Kimball - Audiologist Arvada, CO "I am now a part of the solution for this area, not just echoing the sentiment that there should have been more done long ago. I am not just committed to rebuilding buildings, but to rebuilding lives and building relationships."
	Harley Koch - RN Portland, OR "I visited New Orleans in April before Katrina, was fortunate to see how beautiful the city was. It would be an honor to be able to physically help improve the quality of life for the residents who continue to live and work there under poor conditions."
	Ebony Lewis - Associate Physician Recruiter Pasadena, CA "It is really important for people to give their time, especially in our own country. I have done service from Kentucky in the Appalachia Mountains to Ghana, Africa. We have people suffering in our country and we need to be there and to support them."
	Cindy McJunkin - Medical Assistant Manteca, CA "It brings me joy and satisfaction to know I am able to use my hands, my arms, my feet, my strength, my smile, sense of humor, heart, love and compassion to those who need it most."
	Kimberly Miller - RN Lorain, OH "It is a privilege to help others: to ease their pain and grief and remind us that we are to be grateful for what we have."
	Robb Munson - Vice President, Health Plan Service and Administration Fullerton, CA "I believe that as a Kaiser Permanente employee, I can keep our social mission vision alive by modeling this behavior for my staff. Participating as part of a KP-led event makes it even more fulfilling for me."
	Trulaine Pollard "I am proud and fortunate to be able to serve, not only as a neighbor helping a neighbor, but also an ambassador for Kaiser Permanente."
	Brandi Robinson - Research Associate Atlanta, GA "My grandmother had severe damage to her home. A group that worked with Volunteer Mobile was kind enough to clean up her yard. By volunteering with Kaiser Permanente, I would like to say thank you for the work they did by helping someone else to rebuild."
	Sharon Ryan - Admin. Services Supervisor Windsor, CA "I try my best to live by the quote, 'We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give' -Winston Churchill."
	Bill Schlicher - Benefits Principal Walnut Creek, CA "I grew up in Biloxi, MS and my parents, as well as other family members, still live in Biloxi and Gulfport. While I have gone back to rebuild my parents' house, I'd like to give back some more."
	Dory Schutte - RN Portland, OR "We as citizens need to connect with one another and build relationships across state borders if we are to solve some of the big environmental problems that face us in the near future. I am seeking ways to make this world a better place for people and all living beings."
	Nicla Sinnott - Staffing/Transportation Management Coordinator Berkeley, CA "With the exception of my children, my most rewarding moments have been those serving my community and others. I have spent my entire life serving others - and it has enriched my life."
	Cindy Thomas - Admin Support Petaluma, CA "I've never lost a home to a natural disaster but have survived some pretty devastating circumstances in my life. This volunteer project is an opportunity for me to give back for what I received during an awful time of my life - to pay it forward."
	Amy Wiles - Associate Account Manager Aurora, CA "I want my two sons to see the value in helping others and to be appreciative of what they have. There is no greater reward than being able to help someone else and to see the joy on their faces when they can face a new day with a brighter sense of hope."