Young Leaders Profile
Photo by: Dan Demetriad
Portraits of Hope is especially proud of the young leaders who have sought to get involved in our civic efforts and assumed integral roles in the program. Those selected for leadership roles are hands-on, driving forces for the projects.
Such talented, civic-minded young people are integrated into various program sectors and help lead: civic education and hospital sessions; youth group selection; public outreach, scheduling; logistics, management, and production; volunteer coordination; public presentations; relationship building with NGOs and non-profits; as well as assume roles as media spokespersons, technical-issues coordinators, and government and stakeholder contacts.
Profiles on Portraits of Hope Veterans
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Carrol Chang is a New York native and received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University. In addition to leading civic education sessions, Carrol coordinated public outreach, logistics, volunteer, and taxi industry issues for Garden in Transit. Prior to Portraits of Hope, Carrol worked as a teacher at the North Korean/ Chinese border. She speaks Mandarin and is fluent in Korean. Carrol joined the 2008 Obama campaign and currently serves in the Obama Administration working on immigration policies. |
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Tony Chin-Quee is a native of Brooklyn, New York and a graduate of Harvard University. In addition to leading civic education sessions for Portraits of Hope and participating in hospital sessions, he served as a program ambassador with the public. His enthusiastic youth session orientation presentations are still unrivaled. Tony is currently in medical school and makes annual medical assistance trips to Haiti. |
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Kyla Fullenwider is a native of Louisville, KY and a graduate of Harvard University. She worked on a myriad of elements for Portraits of Hope including leading education and hospital sessions, organizing and overseeing special events, and serving as a program spokesperson. Prior to Portraits of Hope, Kyla worked as an Executive Director and Producer for public theater in Florida and also served as the Creative Director for a Miami based boutique Ad firm. Bi-coastal, she currently produces special events nationally for Good Magazine. |
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Chaya Greisman, a native New Yorker and now a California resident, has been involved with several Portraits of Hope projects throughout the country. She has coordinated Portraits of Hope project sessions in schools and hospitals in multiple states, and led civic education sessions for elementary, middle school, and high school students. Chaya has worked on logistics, volunteer coordination, and program protocol, and gained vast experience working with medically fragile children. She is currently pursuing her graduate studies at CSUN researching youth development methods and the effectiveness of social programs. |
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Katie O'Brien is originally from New Hampshire and received her AB from Harvard College. She joined Portraits of Hope as an education sessions leader and participated in hospital sessions. She also promoted the program in many other capacities. Katie is also an actress, and prior to Portraits of Hope, she gained extensive experience teaching students in the performing arts, both locally and internationally. |
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Julie Palumbo moved to New York from Pennsylvania and received her BA from Fordham University. While with Portraits of Hope she oversaw painting sessions for Garden In Transit and helped manage the studio. Julie is also a textile artist and has worked on youth development projects in Peru, Belize, Jamaica, the West Indies, and New York. |
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Melanie Stevenson is a Glen Ridge, New Jersey native and a graduate of Davidson College. In addition to coordinating daily school and youth paint sessions for Portraits of Hope, she helped generate in-kind donations. Melanie was instrumental in developing Portraits of Hope’s New Orleans’ relationships with the Recovery School District and local officials. Melanie has lived and studied in Spain and is fluent in Spanish. |
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Derek Taylor first got involved with Portraits of Hope while a student at San Francisco State University. He has contributed to multiple projects, particularly through his participation in civic education and hospital session activities. In addition, Derek has served Portraits of Hope by preparing many of the physical sites for program sessions in states from CA to NY, and as an able photographer of the sessions. Derek currently works in government in Calabasas. |
Adam Teitelbaum is a graduate of Ryerson University in Toronto where he studied cinematography. A Canadian who now lives in Los Angeles, Adam joined Portraits of Hope and put his film skills to use by videoing many Portraits of Hope sessions, which helped the program produce project videos, and provide b-roll to media outlets in the U.S. and abroad. Additionally, Adam was a hands-on participant in many youth sessions conducted in hospitals and after-school programs during the airship project. He is a video projectionist who has worked on numerous television productions including American Idol and the Grammy Awards. |
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Laura Weidman hails from New York City where she went to Hunter College Elementary and High Schools. She received her AB from Harvard College. At Portraits of Hope, Laura had her hand in a little bit of everything, coordinating and managing sessions, volunteers, the team, working on special events and media relations, and serving as the organizational hub for many aspects of the project. Laura is currently pursuing her joint JD/MBA at Stanford University. She is fluent in Spanish. |
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Marisa Zeldow moved to New York City from Chicago and graduated from NYU. In addition to managing youth session operations, she was Portraits of Hope’s liaison with the taxi industry for Garden in Transit. Marisa’s tasks were among the most challenging as she had to navigate important taxi industry relationships during turbulent times within the industry that included two taxi strikes and industry tensions with the City resulting from several mandates unrelated to GIT. Prior to joining POH, she developed online marketing and youth documentary workshops. |