Cambodia biographies
Enzo
I was born in Rome, Italy and graduated in Economics in Milan. A banker during my professional life, in 1980 I accepted the invitation of a major New York City bank and migrated to the US with my wife and my three children. It was supposed to be a few year assignment. 30 years later I am still here. I became US citizen in 1996, retired in 2000, and joined Habitat in 2001 when I realized that it was the best way to do something meaningful while exploring other cultures and traveling. My idea was also to test myself. I eventually realized that I had to re-invent myself over and over again.
This will be the 18th team that I lead and I look forward to return to South East Asia, a region that I absolutely love. So far I traveled with Habitat to Africa, Asia, Central America, South Pacific, and US. I look forward to meeting all of you and to make together a new memorable experience.
Steve and Liz
Hello! We are Steve and Liz and we live in Newtown, PA, which is a suburb of Philadelphia. We are exited to be part of the Enzo’s team for both our first trip to Cambodia and our first Habitat project. Steve is a professor in business school at Temple University and Liz volunteers at Buckingham Friends, which is where our youngest daughter, Tanya, goes to school. Liz is originally from Toronto, Canada while Steve grew up on the New Jersey shore. We enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking, canoeing, sailing and water sports.
Two of our children Kristen and David will be joining us on this trip:
Two of our children Kristen and David will be joining us on this trip:
Kelley, David and Kristen
Kristen is 26 and graduate from Cornell. She is currently teaching high school in north Philadelphia as part of the Teach for America Program. Dave is 24 and graduate of Villanova. He is currently in medical school at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. In 2009 Dave spent one month volunteering in Ghana with the Unite for Sight program. Also joining us is Dave’s fiancée, Kelley. Kelley is 24 and graduated from Boston University, where she was on the tennis team. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania.
Sonya
My name is Sonya, and I’m from Rockville, Maryland but born in Oklahoma and raised there and in Colorado. I grew up on a farm/ranch with horses, cattle, sheep, dogs, cats and a few coyotes, and was educated at Oklahoma State University and University of Colorado. I’m sort of retired, having been Spanish teacher, an international computer software salesperson, and a human resources recruiter, now 65.
Other than my husband, Elliott, who is not yet retired, the loves of my life are my two daughters and the three grandchildren, travel, animals and music. I have been an avid follower and participant of Earthwatch.org where I worked in Hawaii and New Zealand. On dolphin projects and in Washington State with chimpanzees that could communicate via American Sign Language. Recently I have been going on Habitat trips; Madagascar was my third. I find the adventuresome people who travel on these projects, the future homeowners and the people involved with these programs to be fascinating. Can’t wait for Cambodia!
Kevin
Kevin
My name is Kevin, I’m 33 (will turn 34 while on the trip) and I live in Lakewood Ranch, Fl. For the past 12 years I have been working as a drafter/designer for an Architectural/ Engineering company. This will be my second trip to Oudong, Cambodia with Habitat for Humanity/Global Village. I was part of a team that was there in June and I had such a great time that I decided to go back. I really look forward to meeting everyone and having another great experience building homes for people who really need it in Cambodia.
Hanna and Sue
My name is Hannah. I am 16 years old and I am a junior in Zurich International School. I was born in Hong Kong and lived there for 6 years. In 2000, my family moved to Washington D.C. and we lived there for 3 years. After that we lived in the Milwaukee area for 7 years before moving to Zug, Switzerland just 6 months ago.
You can say that I am a global citizen and I think of myself as Korean, British, and American. I am excited to go to Cambodia as a member of the Habitat GV project. I look forward to learning about different cultures and working with people to build a house for a family in need of a little help.
My name is Sue. I am very pleased that I am finally making this trip with my daughter to build a house as part of the Habitat Global Village program. I was born and raised in Seoul, Korea and worked for the Cathay Pacific Airways in Hong Kong for 12 years before moving to USA and now Switzerland.
I always love traveling, especially in Southeast Asia. I look forward to meeting new people and finding out more about Cambodia!
Hola!! My name is Fernanda. I am 30 years old and live in San Luis Potosi’, Mexico, where I was born and raised. Here at home I work as a lawyer. This will be my first trip with Habitat for Humanity and also my first trip to Cambodia. I really enjoy traveling and learning as much as possible from other cultures, so I’m really ready to work and have a great time!! See you soon!!
My name is Robert, and I’ve lived in Portland for the majority of my life. I’m 25 and recently went on my first and only build in Zambia in September 2010. I had such a good time that I immediately started looking for builds the moment I got back to the States. I work full time doing shipping and logistic for a smallish company here in Portland area, and just started going back to college at night to pursue a degree in accounting or finance. I love playing basketball, tennis, and now soccer after playing it so much in Africa. I am also a huge sports fan, being a huge fan of Blazers and Ohio State Buckeyes. Other then sports I enjoy playing poker, hiking, reading, and of course traveling. I look forward to meeting you all in Cambodia in June and working hard along with you all to help build a family a new home!
Hervey
This will be my second Global Village trip…the first, also with Enzo’s leadership, was to Papua New Guinea in April 2009. PNG was truly remarkable… meeting and working with people who had been virtually living in prehistoric fashion just 75 years ago. That experience, as well as following the adventures of another PNG colleague on her project this year in Africa, prompted me to join Enzo in Cambodia this year.
My wife and I live an hour north of NYC, and we have a daughter living and working in Madrid, Spain. While my wife is still working at IBM, I retired from IBM several years ago. I had a terrific job working with the investment community, but it left no time for a growing list of amateur sports I wanted to try, perhaps the most notable being vintage car racing, as well as opportunities for adventure and contribution like H4H in PNG and Cambodia. I am very much looking forward to June and to meeting all of you…not to mention making bricks and building houses in 100 degree temperature and humidity!
Fernanda
Robert
Sandra
I was born in New York, NY in 1983 and raised most of my life in Northern NJ along the Hudson River. I have been working as a city planner for Jersey City since 2006, hoping to create a better community here at home for future generations to come. As a first generation American citizen, I have been fortunate enough to be raised in one of the most diverse metropolitan areas of the world. This is my first Global Village trip with Habitat for Humanity, though my first volunteer experience with Habitat for Humanity was building a home in Paterson, NJ back in 2000! I have also volunteered as a docent for the Bronx Zoo from 2007-2010, where I fostered my appreciation for the natural landscape within an urban environment.
After a semester abroad in Florence, Italy in the fall of 2004, my love of travel has grown 10-fold. My adventures have taken me throughout Western Europe, Korea, Thailand, Iceland, Morocco, Norway, Costa Rica, and most recently, Honduras. I am long overdue for a learning experience (aka vacation) dedicated to giving back to a community, only one of which will help broaden my understanding and respect of many different cultures that make up this planet. I look forward to sharing this experience with a team to Cambodia.
Pat
My name is Pat, I live in Sacramento, California and I have been retired since 2004. I worked for the U.S. Courts for 33 years and I cherish the experience of public service, however I am fully invested in my retirement life.
This will be my 6th international trip with Habitat and my 2nd with Enzo. I have been to Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Botswana, China, and India and happily was able to travel the last two years with my granddaughter, Candice. She is not able to make this trip, but she hopes to join me again next year.
I look forward to meeting new friends on this trip and relying once again on Enzo to coordinate our activities and keep us all on schedule. I know that this will be a rewarding experience for us all!!
Sean
Greetings Dear Friends, my name is Sean. I am twenty-one years of age and a student at the Albert College of Art and Design of Calgary, Canada, studying graphic design and advertising (it is my dream job to be a book jacket designer). I love classical music and will never pass up an opportunity to go to Calgary’s philharmonic orchestra.
I teach yoga part time and have been practicing for the last three years. It has changed my life and made me a better person. This will be my first trip with Habitat, and I was inspired to join so that I might live a more yogic lifestyle. For years Cambodia has been calling to me, and I am feverishly excited to go and find amazing experiences with all of you.