Meet Our 2009 Board Members

 

 

Dan Cwirka, President
2007

Dan's past adventures have included time spent running a day care, behind the boards at a radio station, sitting in an assembly line at a razor blade factory, teaching at a rural African school, and working at the Google office in New York. Now he's all about the music.

 

 

 

Amy Taylor, Vice President
2007

Amy holds an MA in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University. Her field experience includes a social justice research fellowship in Scotland, two years with Peace Corps Namibia, and a practicum with Search for Common Ground/Talking Drum Studio Liberia. She is most likely living in Africa.

 

 

 

Elizabeth Howald, Secretary
2007

Liz earned a BA in International Relations and Religious Studies and an MA in Islamic Studies and Education from Boston University. She has worked at UNICEF Australia, Facing History and Ourselves, Houghton Mifflin Co, and Heritage Hall School, where she taught Ethics and World Cultures and United States History. She also sat on the board of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee of Massachusetts (ADCMA) and acted as lead consultant for the ADCMA Education Outreach Initiative. Liz currently works as a Program Director at Primary Source, a professional development center that supplies educators with the tools they need to enhance classroom teaching and infuse more global content into the curriculum

 

 

Nisha Singh, Treasurer
2009

Nisha is a third year attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York. She has experience working with non-profit organizations on issues ranging from the formation of organizations to intellectual property matters.

 

Chinedu Agbakwuru
2008

Chinedu is currently enrolled in the MS program in International Health Policy and Management at Brandeis University. He is a physician and has worked in HIV Management, and also served as an Independent Monitor for WHO. He is passionate about assisting the needy, especially children.

 

 

Joshua Blank
2008

Josh is In-House Counsel to the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, where he focuses on copyright, trademark, contract and general entertainment/music law. In his free time he is an avid musician who plays the guitar and bass.

 

 
 

Andrea Essner
2008

Andrea recently graduated from George Washington University with her master's degree in Public Administration and is currently working as a consultant for Deloitte Consulting's Federal Practice in Washington D.C. She has taught English in China, worked for the US State Department in El Salvador, and coordinated several volunteer programs for the GW Office of Community Service.

 

 

Ryan Gavin
2008

Ryan received his juris doctorate from Harvard Law School in 2006. He currently practices law in New York and serves on the Economics Department Board of Advisors at Boston University.

 

 

 

 

David Howald
2009

David is currently in Boston working at a small company that provides consulting, engineering, and the installation of renewable and energy efficiency systems to facilities around the country. A West Point graduate, he recently left the active-duty Army where, as a member of the 101st Airborne Division, he spent his second deployment just south of Baghdad helping to train new government officials and rebuild national infrastructure. 

 

 

 

Shannon Hawley Mariani
2009

Shannon received her Master's degree in Social Work from NYU. She has spent the last two years working at Cornell University - as a director of community center programs and as an admissions officer for the Johnson Graduate School of Management. Shannon is also a singer-songwriter, who is dedicated to using music to make a positive social impact on the world.