OUR STORY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
KERRY RODGERS
Co-Founder & Treasurer of the Board
Kerry is an artist, educator, and entrepreneur who is passionate about social justice. She previously worked as a Social Impact consultant at Airbnb and has been a member of the StartX accelerator. Before that, she owned and operated a successful commercial photography business and was a teacher at an independent high school in Silicon Valley. She has volunteered as an art teacher for inmates at San Quentin Prison, as a photography teacher for teens in Haiti, as a mentor for a homeless artist in San Francisco, and as an advisor for numerous nonprofit organizations. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and a master’s degree in Fine Art at Claremont Graduate University.
Kerry loves to wander off the beaten path to make connections with people in far-flung corners of the world. One of her most memorable traveling experiences was visiting a community organization in an impoverished township outside of Cape Town – a few short hours that changed her life. She is excited to be able to help facilitate such life-changing experiences for others.
COURTNEY REGAN
Co-Founder & Secretary of the Board
DEBBIE YEH
Chair of the Board
Debbie is a world traveler, do-gooder, outdoor enthusiast and tech marketer – having built marketing analytics practices at InVision, Google and Adobe. She is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area and is currently living nomadically with her husband around the world. She is a long time volunteer in the San Francisco Bay Area community and now seeks opportunities to give back in other parts of the world while traveling. One of her favorite trips was volunteering with children in West Timor and she wants every traveler to experience that magic for at least one day.
STEPHANIE HONG
Board Member
Her love of travel and giving back led her to Give A Day Global in 2015, where she offers her expertise in Digital Marketing strategy. For her day to day, Stephanie works at Airbnb where she collaborates with nonprofits around the world to help with awareness and fundraising through Airbnb’s Experiences program. She also focuses on wildlife experiences that educate and enlighten guests on conservation and responsible animal tourism.
Prior to Airbnb, Stephanie spent 5 years at SF SPCA and VolunteerMatch. In her free time, she loves cooking with her cookbook club, urban hiking, and photographing with film.
SASHA GUTTENTAG
Board Member
Sasha is a Public Health Research Scientist trained in epidemiology with a strong interest in international health and equity. She received her PhD from the NYU School of Public Health where her research focused on the burden of cigarette smoking. Prior to that, she completed a Fulbright Fellowship in Brazil and received a B.A. in public health studies from Johns Hopkins University. Beginning as a middle schooler, she has volunteered in the communities she lives in and has continued these efforts through adulthood. As the newest member of the GADG Board, she is super excited to help out with such a fantastic organization.
Sasha has visited 40+ countries and finds great joy in making meaningful cross-cultural connections through food, conversation, and activity. She speaks four languages and hopes to learn more. Often when she travels, she’ll pack her squash racquet and seek out a match.
PRO BONO PARTNERS
KIM ZIESEMER AND HEATH MEYER
ZM Communications
EMERITUS BOARD MEMBERS AND ADVISORS
Dan Aufhauser – Dan is an international media and entertainment executive with experience producing creative marketing campaigns for brands and ad agencies. He is an avid traveler, having backpacked alone around the world and having lived in Europe for nearly seven years. He has volunteered in Ethiopia and Vietnam.
Nishchal Chaudhary – Nishchal is a well rounded professional in technology space with 10 years of industry experience in designing, architecting and developing elegant solutions to complex engineering problems. He holds a master’s degree in engineering science from University of Mississippi.
Tasha Dimond – Tasha is an accounting professional and a new San Francisco resident. She is passionate about world travel and other cultures.
Shelley Eades – Shelley is a photographer, business manager, and a dedicated international volunteer.
Gabriel P. Elizondo – Gabriel is an energetic engineer and MBA student at Stanford who has developed a career solving complex problems by leveraging technology and talented people. He is especially passionate about the intersection of education, technology and economic development.
Brett Finkelstein – Brett is an entrepreneur with a particular expertise in sales, marketing and partnerships which he has acquired over the course of his 17+ years in the healthcare industry.
Francis Flynn – Frank is the Paul E. Holden Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. As a researcher, he focuses on the topic of prosocial behavior, particularly how people can obtain help when they need it and how they can develop healthy patterns of cooperation in the workplace. Aside from teaching young leaders in the MBA program, he designs and directs custom executive education programs for senior leaders in many organizations.
Marissa Gomes – Marketing is her day job, and Marissa will leverage this expertise to help drive awareness of Give a Day Global. She is passionate about international travel and volunteering. She has enjoyed visiting 36 countries and found that her volunteering experience she had in Nicaragua made a lasting impact. Marissa wants other travelers to have the same types of poignant experiences.
Bre Johnson – Bre’s perfect world consists of travel and volunteer work. Majoring in Sociology and Anthropology set the template for her emphatic love of culture and understanding worldly interaction. She currently works for Cisco Meraki and is on the committee for the Bay Area Red Cross.
Brianne Kimmel – Brianne is a world traveling marketer with a passion for giving back. She has previously led global marketing initiatives at Orbitz Worldwide and Expedia Inc.
Catheline Leung – Catheline is a Bay Area native, digital marketer and supporter of social impact causes. In her free time, she loves discovering places near and far. Catheline is excited to share the GADG mission to all travelers!
Yan Liu – Yan is an avid traveler, supporter of good causes, and technology transactional attorney with 20+ years experience in Silicon Valley. He shares his travel and dining adventures on his blog, Perfect Outings.
Jane Martz – Jane is a seasoned travel advisor who firmly believes that travel is an experience that stays with you forever, as does the act of kindness through volunteering. Give a little, gain a lot!
William Mee – Will is a South African software engineer who combines love of travel with an appreciation for the way volunteering helps engage with the world; he’s done both most of his life, and combines them as much as possible.
Zanoon Nissar – Zanoon works in Social Responsibility at Google where she helps employees give back. Her favorite travel experiences include volunteering at a vocational school in the Amazon and at a brace & limb center in Bangladesh.
Mark Olsen – Mark is a senior Information Technology leader and has worked for multiple startups and corporations in diverse industries. He has a passion for building teams, innovation, travel, and volunteering.
Mitali Pattnaik – Mitali is an entrepreneur, product builder, marketer, and startup advisor. She is currently the Director of Product Management at LinkedIn. She served on Give A Day Global’s Board of Directors for 3 years, from 2014-2017.
Nate Richardson – Nate is a Web Developer and IT Consultant with a passion for helping others do what they love, better. Helping to enable change and good throughout the world is one of the most rewarding projects he feels lucky to take part in. He manages multiple businesses along with his day job, including a hosting company and a Photography, Design, and Web studio based out of Atlanta, GA.
Kathleen Ruffle – Kathleen is one of the original co-founders of Give A Day Global and served on the Board of Directors from 2013-2016. Her passion for making a difference began as a Peace Corps volunteer in Botswana. She has volunteered in Rwanda through Open A Door Foundation and is currently a learning support specialist at the Bentley School in Oakland.
Smith Schwartz – Smith is a former museum experience designer and digital nomad. She currently lives in San Francisco and is an Interaction Designer at Say Media, building the future of web-based publishing.
Stephanie Scott – Stephanie is a seasoned nonprofit fundraiser and the Chief of Staff for the nonprofit Room to Read.
Danny Shapiro – Danny is a business analyst at an Oakland, CA-based charter school organization, and has previously taught middle school English and history at one of the organization’s schools. Before joining the education sector, Danny traveled, studied, and worked in international development and public policy in the US, EU, and Asia.
Kelsey Solomon-Dowsey – Kelsey spent a summer in Senegal interning for an eco-village development non-profit that changed her perspective on many issues, all the while growing her passion for traveling and volunteering. She has contributed to Give A Day Global for a number of years in program management and communications.
Andrew Strong – Andrew has worked for several years in international education positions. He has worked for Give A Global managing operations for a number of years as well as collaborative projects with volunteer organizations.
Jennifer Vettel – Jennifer is a veteran educator and fundraiser, having worked for schools and nonprofits and currently serves as a board member on a number of organizations (Riekes Center, Eastside College Prep’s adjunct board, Princeton University Institute for International and Regional Studies).
Mark Zafra – Mark is a leading procurement and sourcing expert for technology companies. He spent two years in the Peace Corps and has served on a number of nonprofit boards. He served on Give A Day Global’s Board of Directors in 2014, and joined the Advisory Board in 2015.
Maria Zhukowsky – Maria has volunteer recruitment experience for the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee and is passionate about international volunteering and different cultures. In December 2015, she started helping Give A Day Global with volunteer coordination and has previously volunteered in South America.