Center for Leadership and Service

Alex Handfinger

Alex Michael Handfinger has a love, and her name is FAB. They first met in the spring of 2007 as a participant to New Orleans. He then decided to commit and take their relationship to the next level by co-leading a trip to Atlanta last spring 2008. He's very excited for the upcoming winter trip before he heads to Ghana next spring. FAB has very much defined his college experience, and he will never forget her for it. "I don't consider myself to be a major talent, so the only solace I can take is to hope I'm growing." -Paul Simon

Melissa Chudow

Last year Melissa was a participant on the Spring Break Public Health trip. She is passionate about FAB because of the way this experience brings such a diverse group of people together to work together for a good cause. Melissa has been passionate about children with disabilities since her volunteer work with Shriners Hospital for Disabled Children. She loves giving back to the children who continually display such optimism despite their challenges in life. She is most looking forward to getting to know all the participants and seeing what new experiences this trip will bring.

Ashton Charles

Ashton Charles is a third year Political Science Major with a concentration in International Relations. Ashton was born in Lexington, Kentucky and moved to Tampa, FL in 1998. Aside from FAB, she is the Director of Tickets for Gator Growl/ Homecoming 2008, Student Government District A Senator, ACCENT Special Guest Coordinator, and Property Manager of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority. Ashton is passionate about community service and particularly looking forward to working with the elderly with her phenomenal Co-Site Leader, Liz Byrne.

Elizabeth Byrne

Elizabeth Byrne is SO excited about being a co-site leader for the Winter Break Health and Aging trip! As we all know, FAB gets better wtih AGE! Elizabeth has been a participant on two trips: HIV/AIDS and Homelessness and Poverty and can't wait to have another FABulous adventure! In her spare time, Elizabeth loves doing crosswords, eating sushi and bike riding!

Adam Amir

Adam Amir is a third year Political Science and History major with a passion for queer social justice issues. To him, there is no better way to educate yourself about a societal problem then by meeting and helping the people affected by it. Fittingly, his first FAB trip took him to Washington DC to advocate for gay, lesbian and transgender political issues. Later, he went on to lead two trips, disaster relief and HIV/AIDS issues.

Barlen Matias

Barlen Matias is a second year Health Science student looking to pursue a career as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, and is currently working on a Communication Sciences and Disorders minor. She has a passion for service and leadership as she believes that it helps mold us into the people we are. She first became involved with FAB last winter when she went to Memphis, Tennessee, on the Criminal Justice trip. She went in with an open mind and ended up falling in love with her service and FAB overall. This year she has decided to become a site leader for the LGBTQ trip because she feels that it is something that our community has to become more educated about. She looks forward to a great deal of learning and tons of fun with her FABulous participants!

Ifeolu Hassan

Ife is extremely excited to be a site leader of the Low-Income Housing trip. As a participant in last year's Human Trafficking trip she truly fell in love with FAB. The trip gave Ife the opportunity to work personally with victims of social injustice and taught her the importance of striving to make a positive impact in one's community. She is looking forward to exploring her interest in social and economic injustice as a part of the low-income housing trip. Most of all she is excited about the bonds that she will make with her fellow trip participants.

Priscilla Moreno

Priscilla is a 4th year Sociology major and Family, Youth, and Community Sciences minor. She first participated in FAB as a Site-Leader for the Summer 2008 Homelessness and Poverty trip. She is very passionate about low-income issues, as most of her volunteer experience comes deals with low-income minority children. She hopes to have a great group of participants ready to make a difference, and is looking forward to making great new memories that will last a life-time!

Ling Ling Wolff-Koo

Ling Ling is a second year Biology and Anthropology major. Her hobbies include swimming, salsa, dinning out with friends. She first got involved with FAB as a participant on the Native American Immersion trip and later site led the HIV/AIDS trip to Birmingham, AL. She is very excited to be leading the upcoming Environmental Preservation trip and looks forward to meeting awesome new people and learning how to stay green.

Katy Burke

Katy Burke is a sophomore Biology major who is very excited to be a site leader for the environmental preservation trip. After taking the 2008 Disaster Relief trip with FAB to Louisiana, she was moved by the effect the group had on complete strangers and wanted to do more. Katy is really looking forward to the environmental preservation trip because of her interest in Biology and because she knows it is going to be such an amazing weekend! She cannot wait to meet all the wonderful FABers and plan a great service trip with them.

Rebeca Rodriguez-Crespo

Hi my name is Rebeca Rodriguez-Crespo, but call me Becky! I'll be one of the Site Leader for Florida Alternative Breaks, leading the Native American Immersion trip. I am a second year Business Management major with a minor is both Mass Communications and International Humanitarian Assistance. I went on the Gerontology trip last year (now known as Health and Aging) and had an amazing time that I wanted to go beyond participant this year! Besides FAB, I also work at the Career Resource Center and play for the UF Women's Rugby Team. I look forward to a great year with all the FABers :)

Tihana Sladic

Tihana Sladic is junior majoring in History and Political Science and minoring in Women's Studies. She was a participant on the FAB 06-07 Homelessness and Poverty Trip. This is her first time leading the trip on Native American Immersion, she is looking forward to having a productive and exciting experience. On a Thursday night at 9 pm you can find her watching the best show on television, "The Office".

Katie Heroux

Katie Heroux is a third year Finance major with minors in French and Sustainability. She loves traveling and recently returned from an amazing study abroad experience in Paris, France. This is Katie's first year with FAB but is she is thrilled to have the opportunity to be the site leader for this year's Animal Refuge trip since she is passionate about the environment and preserving our precious ecosystems. In addition to FAB site leader Katie is involved with Gators for Sustainable Campus, is the Donor Relations Chair for the Campus Kitchens Task Force, and is joining the sailing team. She enjoys being outdoors, long walks on the beach, and jamming to music in the car with the windows down.

Gabrielle Cervoni

Gabi Cervoni is a second-year Honors student at UF with a double-major in Psychology and Preprofessional Biology, as well as a minor in Spanish. She is a returning FAB site-leader who fell in love with the FAB mission, camaraderie, and dedication to service while site-leading the Spring 2008 Immigration Issues trip; she strongly believes FAB has provided her with the greatest and most meaningful service she's ever had the opportunity to be a part of, as well as an unforgettable group of fellow site leaders and participants who've awesomely impacted her college experience. Because she's always loved all animals great and small (and even has a five-pound pet guinea pig named Alfred in her dorm!), Gabi is absolutely ecstatic about site-leading the Spring 2008 Animal Refuge trip. She looks forward to this wonderful opportunity to aid animals in need and to make lots of new FAB friends in the process!

Ashley Lagaron

Ashley Lagaron loved being a participant on the 2007 Immigration Issues FAB trip so much that she decided to come back for another year, this time as a site leader. She is very excited about site leading for the Community Medicine trip during the upcoming year because she believes that no one should have to go without health care and she is passionate about doing everything she can to help.

Jocelyne Cardenas

Jocelyne has been involved with FAB since the cold Winter of 2006 when she participated on a Children's Issues trip. She realized how amazing FAB was and went on the LGBTQ Political Activism trip that following spring break (and yes, it was awesome!). Last winter she co-led the Animal Issues trip to the Carolina Wildlife Center and this year she is looking forward to co-leading the trip for Community Medicine. Jocelyne is very interested in improving the conditions for lower income communities and families, specifically in the health sector.

Ana Tapia

Hi! I'm Ana Tapia and I have been involved with FAB since Spring Break freshman Year. I loved the experience and decided to return as a Site Leader the past two years. FAB has always provided a great venue to meeting people, seeing different places, and of course, making a difference. I am passionate about giving a voice to those who don't have one, inlcuding the environment. In leading the Spring Break Water Conservation trip I am looking forward to spreading knowledge and learning how to make a difference on a topic that needs immediate human action!

Thomas Jaworski

I'm a Gainesville native and am in my third year at UF majoring in economics and minoring in sustainability. I first became involved in FAB my sophomore after hearing about it from a friend. I love FAB because I love being a part of something bigger than me, something where like-minded people can come together for a common goal and actually achieve tangible results. I'm looking forward to spreading my passion for FAB and for service to all my participants, and learning as much as I can about water conservation!

Mirna Martinez

Mirna is passionate about FAB because one of her passions in life is to help others. She has always been involved with her community ever since high school. Her past experience with FAB involves her freshman spring break trip; Gerontology. She and fourteen others traveled to North Carolina in order to work with the elderly. Her issue for this year is financial education. She is passionate about this issue because she loves anything that has to do with financial education. It is for this reason that one of her majors is Business Administration. What she is looking forward in the Financial Education trip is the experience everyone will leave with once the trip is over and the bond the fourteen of you will have at the end.

Joshua Epelbaum

Josh Epelbaum is a third year Accounting major hoping to get a minor in Spanish. He just recently got home after a summer abroad in Madrid, Spain and is happy to be back for Gator Football. This is his first involvement with FAB but he is extremely excited to be a site leader for the Financial Education trip. If you see him around the business college and want to talk about the exciting field of Accounting be sure to say hi, but he will most likely end up only talking about his past summer in Europe.

Marc Davey

Marc is an accounting major who really enjoys being involved on campus and playing intramural sports, rugby being his favorite. He was initially attracted to FAB when he saw pictures of trips his friends went on, and saw it as an opportunity to give back. He can't wait to help those whose lives were changed by natural disasters, and looks forward to being able to look at the final result of his FAB trip knowing that it really helped those people in need.

Ashley Ellis

Last year Ashley participated in the Human Trafficking trip to Naples, Florida and worked with the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking. This year she will be a co site leader for Disaster Recovery and couldn't be more excited. She is passionate about helping people in need and can't wait to help those still trying to recover from the recent hurricanes. She is looking forward to getting to know her participants and having the best spring break ever!

Natali Valdez

My name is Natali Valdez; I was born outside of Chicago. the three most defining characteristics in my life include, I am a middle child, I have two sisters which I look up to, and my family is crazy but mine & and I wouldn't be the same without them. As for the pedestrian stuff: I am a fourth year anthropology/premed student with a minor in chemistry. I am excited for the future. I hope to apply the privileged experience of being a student in positive, culturally sensitive ways. My career will hopefully consist of working with health disparities and communities.

Sharina Nandwani

Sharina Nandwani is a freshman at UF majoring in pre-pharmacy. While this is her first FAB trip, she has had a lot of other previous community service experience. She was co-president of a community service organization in Orlando that met twice a month to feed the homeless and feels very passionately about this issue. She is looking forward to helping out the community, having fun, and making this years homelessness and poverty trip the best one yet!

Sonia Sood

Hi! I'm Sonia and I'm a second year political science and economics major. This is my second year doing FAB. Last year I went on the Human Trafficking trip over spring break, and this year I'm co-leading the Educational Inequality trip with Charlisse. I'm looking forward to the service of this trip because education is one of the most influential systems in our society and so it's important to understand ways to close the inequality gap. I'm also really excited to get to know the awesome people I'll be spending spring break with :) Some of favorites are peanut butter, the Goo Goo Dolls, traveling, and the color green.

Charisse Southwell

Although she has no prior service-experience with FAB, Charisse is beaming at the opportunity to compel social change through lessening the present inequality gap that exists in our education system. The Educational Inequality issue is one that she is passionate about because of her belief that the quality of today's education suggests the quality of tomorrow's citizens. "If our present education system is lacking, what happens to our future citizens?" She is grateful to FAB for the opportunity it provides for students to better the world they are to inherit.

Allison Kays

Allison Kays is a second year accounting student. Last year she was a participant on the Educational Issues trip to Baton Rouge and had an amazing time working with really cute second graders and bonding with the other members of her trip. This year she will be the site leader for the Immigration Issues trip because she wants to learn more about the immigration procedures in America and help immigrants to earn citizenship as she believes everyone should have equal opportunities. She is most excited about bonding with her fellow FABers and growing from another great FAB trip!

Michael Mavros

Michael Mavros is the site leader for the Immigration Law spring break trip. Last spring break, he traveled to Belize on the FAB International HIV/AIDS trip and worked with educating elementary school-aged children on the dangers of unprotected sex and STD transmission. Michael's father immigrated to America from Greece as a teenager and spent five years living in the United States as an alien before he was finally naturalized as a US citizen. Even for individuals who show they are willing and capable to gain citizenship, the naturalization process can be incredibly long and unnecessarily confusing. Michael is really looking forward to working directly with immigrants to help them toil through the naturalization process, so that hopefully they won't suffer the same wait as his father once did years ago.

Olvin Carias

Hi, I am Olvin Carias a third year Mathematics/Education Major from New Orleans, LA. I first became involved with F.A.B. my freshmen year, where I was a Site Leader for the Rural Schools trip and later for the Gerontology trip. My passion for the young has brought me to lead a third trip, Youth Empowerment through Sports, one of the few times where youth, sports, and empowerment are all together in one sentence. I am excited to not only teach with an amazing group 12 great individuals, but to inspire, motivate, encourage, and most importantly positively influence young lives.

Adriana Alminana

Adriana is a third year Psychology major. She is very excited about FAB because she believes it will allow her to positively affect others on a very direct and personal level. Her previous FAB experience has helped her become a better leader. She loves music, soccer, and Gator football!

Luisa Betancur

Hi! I'm Luisa! I went on the International Homelessness and Poverty trip to Guatemala last spring; this was one of the best experiences of my freshman year. FAB is an all-around amazing organization in which you not only make a noticeable difference in many people's lives, but at the same time learn and grow mentally and emotionally. I am looking forward to building strong lasting relationships with those which we will be directly helping as well as with the people in my group.

Kelseanne Breder

Kelseanne Breder is a third year psychology and theatre major. She is excited to expand her service experience and meet exciting new people by site leading the mental health trip this spring.

Nelson Burke

Hey everyone! My name is Nelson Burke and I am a fourth year marketing major from Fort Lauderdale, FL. One of my passions in life is giving back to others and FAB provides various opportunities to foster this passion. I am looking forward to working with the participants on my trip and all members of FAB to create diverse collaborative relationships that will facilitate change. Through these changes, we can not only make a difference, but encourage others to do the same! Let's have some fun!

Tiffany Mackenzie

Tiffany is a third year Business Administration major. She has participated in FAB for the past two years (Homelessness & Poverty and Public Health). She's very excited to co-lead the Criminal Justice trip this year and thinks it will be a rewarding and fun experience. She is most looking forward to learning more about the issue with her participants and helping the participants thoroughly enjoy the FABulousness!

Dominic Iorio

FAB began for me when I traveled to Atlanta in 2007 where I learned about HIV and got to help a community struggling with this affliction. My FAB journey then continued as a site-leader traveling to Guatemala; helping a Mayan community deal with poverty and a variety of other social issues. FAB is a great way to learn about important issues plaguing our planet and it allows you to do something about it instead of just taking about it. The International Children's Medicine trip is going to be great way to incorporate my love for medicine and learning about new cultures. It is great to work with kids because when you are helping a child you are directly helping the future of our big world. It is exciting to get to lead International Children's Medicine and I look forward to meeting new people with different experiences and us all sharing in a life-changing experience that is sure to be amazing.

Ashley Rector

I am a second year Nutritional Sciences major planning on going to pharmacy school. I have been on two FAB trips, Criminal Justice (Winter 2007) and Environmental Preservation (January 2008), and had an amazing time on both! I love FAB because it really opens students' eyes to social issues that are important in the global community, but are also important in our own community. I am passionate about International Children's Health mostly because I feel we have the capability of making a difference in young lives. I am looking most forward to getting to know the participants and bringing back everything we learn on our trip to help our own Gainesville community!

Bryant Shannon

Bryant is a second year Environmental Engineering Major and Public Health Minor from Portland, Maine. Last year, he was a participant on the HIV/Aids trip that traveled to Belize to spread awareness about the disease. He is passionate about eliminating extreme poverty in impoverished nations. Bryant is particularly excited to lead this year's Poverty and Development Trip and to meet his participants!

Esther Ko

Esther is currently a junior majoring in Economics and French. She loves to dance, sing, design, and be a couch potato with her friends. Esther loves FAB and everything it stands for, and hopes you do too! She is extremely excited about an amazing year with her all of her FAB lovers.

Carlye Gates

Carlye is in her third year at UF, studying Sociology and Environmental Studies. She is most interested in issues of development, natural resource use, environmental injustice and sustainable farming. She loves to travel, hike, read and explore new places. She studied abroad in Prague this past spring, but no, she does not speak Czech. She is one for spontaneity, scrumptious vegetarian food, bikram yoga and snowy winters. She considers joining the PeaceCorps and eventually moving to the Pacific Northwest, or Chicago, or the Northeast. She participated in the FAB Immigration Issues trip during the spring of '07 and loves the idea of learning more about social issues through engaging in hands-on experiences.

Elizabeth Hernandez

Elizabeth Hernandez is a 3rd year Wildlife Ecology and Conservation major with a Sustainability minor. Elizabeth has been a participant in 3 Florida Alertnative Break trips inlcuding: adult mental health (Spring 2006), global warming (Summer 2007) and Animal Refuge (Winter 2007). This Spring she is co-leading the international water conservation trip. Elizabth is very passionate about the environment, natural resource conservation and the human dimension of ecology which is why she can't wait for the Spring. Overall, Elizabeth is excited about the trip because of learning more about water conservation in a global context and meeting amazing people.

Lewis Curtwright

Lewis Curtwright is a senior from New Port Richey, Fla. He is double majoring in Spanish and Portuguese and is a 2008 Winter/Weekend alternate site leader. He has spent every undergraduate spring break with FAB, each time going to Washington DC to advocate for Immigrant and LGBTQ human rights. This is his fourth trip overall and second time site leading. He is excited to be an alternate since he is passionate about many social issues that the organization addresses. He has also advocated for students as a member of SG Senate, Board of College Councils, and many others.

Michelle Ziperstein

Michelle is a second year Chemistry major. This year she will be participating in her first FAB trip and cannot wait! She loves the broad range of topics that the trips focus on and is looking forward to a memorable experience. Her interests include eating, sleeping, micropipetting, and perfecting her technique at the billiard tables.

Crystal Norman

Crystal is a 3rd year Health Education & Behavior major from Miami, FL. She is a Spring Break 2009 alternate site leader. Crystal has previously participated in the HIV/AIDS trip to Birmingham, Alabama in the Summer of 2007 and the Homelessness & Poverty trip to Atlanta, Georgia in the Summer of 2008. Crystal and her fellow participants from the HIV/AIDS trip were so inspired by their trip they decided to bring awareness of HIV back to the Gainesville community and UF's campus. They created a student organization called Gators for HIV Education (GHIVE) which is dedicated to spreading awareness and educating others about HIV. The HIV/AIDS trip was such an amazing experience that she knew she would continue her involvement in future FAB trips. Crystal is passionate about FAB and is dedicated to FAB's mission of creating life-long leaders that are committed to community service through education and service.

William Dobbins

My name is Billy Dobbins and I am a second year accounting major. I am from Bay Village, OH which is a little town just West of Cleveland, OH. In high school I was heavily involved in mission trips through my church ranging from homes for the mentally retarded to helping the poor in the Appalachians. When I came to UF I wanted to find an organization to fill that void that I left behind and FAB was it. I went on Disaster Relief in New Orleans last year and wanted to inspire new and old FABers like my site leaders did for me.

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