Adela George, Project Coordinator at New Heights Neighborhood Center

Adela is originally from the Dominican Republic. She came to the United States at the age of fifteen. In June 2005 she received her BA in Italian Language and Civilitazion with a minor in Spanish Literature from Hunter College. She is currently working as a Career and Education Manager at New Heights Neighborhood Center, a community based organization that provides educational and workforce development opportunities for disconnected youth in the Washington Heights/Inwood area. She facilitates career development workshops which prepares the young adults with work-based experience and training. In addition, she is the program coordinator for Global Potential. Adela has actively worked in doing community service and advocacy on issues that affect her community. As an undergraduate student at Hunter College, she was the president of The Dominican Perspective Club for three consecutive years. As the leader of this student institution, Adela coordinated three community service trips to the Dominican Republic. In the last two, she visited Casa Rosada; an institution that shelter orphan children that are HIV positive. There, she donated medicines, clothes, toys and food. Adela also collaborated with both MOSTCHA a non- profit organization that works with Dominican –Haitian community in the Bateyes, and with Hogares Crea, a Drug Rehabilitation Center, in the Dominican Repulic that helps drug addicts to re-integrate to society. In order to increase AIDS awareness in The Dominican Republic population, Adela facilicated AIDS awareness workshop, distributed condoms and literature in various schools and others institutions that work with young people. Presently, Adela is the Vice-president of Fundacion Alba & Ocaso a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide education, health, and nutrition service to children in the Dominican Republic. This organization is currently sponsoring fifteen children in San Miguel, an inner city neighborhood in La Vega, DR.

Jessica Salazar Dávila, Nicaragua Program Developer



Jessica Salazar Dávila is joining GP in July 2009 as summer facilitator in the Dominican Republic. She is half Nicaraguan and half Ecuadorian and was born and raised in the rural and indigenous community of Chagüitillo in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. Ms. Dávila has personally been transformed through international service exchange by having hosted young volunteers from around the world in her house in Chagüitillo for the past 15 years. She has dedicated herself professionally to work with them in the implementation of various sustainable community development projects, which has helped farmers and rural inhabitants to find new sources of jobs through the Federación de Asociaciones de Sebaco. Other projects include leading workshops for women living in extreme poverty, on topics of sexual health, reduction of infant mortality and HIV/AIDS awareness. Ms. Dávila has also volunteered as a leader for more than 15 years in her local Community-Based Organization for Chagüitillo Development (Asociacion por el Desarrollo de Chaguitillo, ADCH) as well as for the local Museum of Precolumbian Art. These experiences have given Jessica the desire and commitment to help transform the world through youth and community development and to combine this with her professional training as an architect. As such, she has specialized in construction and humanitarian projects such as “Un techo para mi pais” and others by Habitat for Humanity. Ms. Dávila has worked on projects to strategize betterment in quality of life of high-risk urban neighborhoods of the capital of Managua. She is currently applying to be UNICEF volunteer in Nicaragua. Previously, Jessica has developed international exchange courses for youth in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Cuba and Mexico and has participated in a cultural exchange program between France and Nicaragua. Her native language is Spanish and is improving on a daily basis her English and French.

Andrea Sum

Andrea is working towards her Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology at the University of Victoria. She has been a teacher for the past 6 years in both the private and public sectors. She has taught in Vancouver, Japan, New York City (Washington Heights), Morocco and Venezuela. Andrea has also worked extensively coordinating, piloting and supervising programming for youth at risk them. She is fluent in French and is studying Spanish.