Meet the Project HOPE Volunteers

Continuing Promise 2009 Rotation 3
Project HOPE Volunteers
Panama and Colombia

Tauna Ainslie, a nurse with 29 years of experience in emergency room and ICU care, currently works as a crisis nurse at Queens Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii and also works in the emergency room at a rural hospital, the Kahuku Medical Center. She is working as an ER trauma nurse during the mission.

Kathleen Britton, a certified nurse midwife from Tacoma Community College in Tacoma, Washington, has more than 27 years of experience in nursing, midwifery, women's health care and teaching. She volunteered for Project HOPE in 2008 onboard the USNS Mercy working with patients in Papua New Guinea and Micronesia.

Jane Bower,a nurse from Advance Nursing in Tucson, Arizona, is volunteering as a nurse educator onboard the Comfort. Jane is a first-time Project HOPE volunteer.

Cynthia Cappello from Holy Family Hospital in Spokane, Washington is volunteering for Project HOPE for the first time. A nurse with 26 years of experience in the Navy, she has visited the Philippines, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Russia for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.She is working as a nurse anesthetist (CRNA) on the USNS Comfort.

Sheila Cardwell, a registered nurse from St. Marks Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a former volunteer. She will be serving as a nurse educator during Continuing Promise 2009. An experienced “Hopie,” Sheila’s volunteer experience with HOPE includes a rotation onboard the USNS Comfort in 2005 to help in relief efforts along the U.S. Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina, a rotation onboard the USNS Comfort in 2007 to Belize, Guatemala and Panama and a 2008 mission onboard the USNS Mercy to Vietnam and East Timor.

Elise Chamberlain, from St. Francis Hospital, Federal Way, Washington, has more than 5 years experience as a public health and ER nurse. She has traveled throughout Central and South America and spent 3 months studying Spanish in Guatemala. She is serving as a nurse educator for Project HOPE onboard the Comfort.

Dr. Marshall Cusic, a pediatrician from Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wisconsin, brings 37 years of civilian and U.S. Navy medical experience to his first mission as a HOPE volunteer. He assisted in support of the USNS Mercy during the 2005 Tsunami and follow-on South East Asia deployments. Marshall specializes in pediatric allergy-immunology with experience in tropical infectious diseases. He is a Spanish speaker.

Kendra Dilcher, a premed student from Haleiwa, Hawaii is a first-time Project HOPE volunteer. She is serving in an administrative roll supporting the surgical team onboard the Comfort.

Mary Feury from Greenbrier Valley Medical Center in Ronceverte, West Virginia is a registered nurse with 26 years of experience. While this is her first time volunteering for Project HOPE, she participated in Hurricane Katrina relief with the Red Cross, and worked on a medical mission in Honduras.She is working as a medical surgical nurse during Continuing Promise 2009.

Marley Gevanthor, a nurse with 28 years of experience from San Francisco General Hospital in San Francisco, California is a three-time HOPE volunteer. She served onboard the USNS Comfort in 2007 working in Belize, Guatemala and Panama. In 2008, she traveled to the West African countries of Ghana and Liberia, working on the USS Swift. Later in 2008, she traveled to Papua New Guinea and Micronesia onboard the USNS Mercy. She’s volunteering as a triage nurse for Project HOPE during Continuing Promise 2009.

Anastasia Giglio, a nurse from Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, is volunteering on her second mission for Project HOPE. In 2007, she worked in the Marshall Islands onboard the USS Peleliu. She is working as a critical care nurse during Continuing Promise 2009.

Peggy Holt is a nurse with 35 years of experience, with 15 in high risk obstetrics. labor and delivery and c-section recovery. Her most recent position was at the South Carolina Research Center working as a certified clinical research coordinator. On the USNS Comfort, Peggy is working on the medical/surgical staff.

Dr. Kenneth Iserson joined Continuing Promise 2009 in Antigua and will continue through the end of the mission, serving as Project HOPE’s Medical Director. A first-time Project HOPE volunteer, Ken is a Professor Emeritus of Emergency Medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson.He has more than 40 years delivering prehospital and emergency medical care. He has traveled and taught in many countries around the world, including Argentina, Peru, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Zambia, Israel and England.

Paul Kline is a professional photographer from Washington D.C. In his spare time Paul works on the “Silent Children Project,” a photo essay project to increase awareness of orphaned children around the world. Paul is volunteering his photography skills in Panama during Continuing Promise 2009.

Tracey Kunkel is an operating room nurse from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She retired from the U.S. Navy after 21 years and has specialized in areas such as Mother/Baby unit, Labor and Delivery, Orthopedics and Podiatry, General Surgery and Pediatrics. Her Navy experience also includes humanitarian assistance deployments on both the USNS Mercy and the USNS Comfort. She will serve as Project HOPE Operations Officer for the remainder of Continuing Promise 2009.

Kelly Magee a nurse from Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York is a first time volunteer for Project HOPE serving on the entire four-month long Continuing Promise 2009 mission.She is working as a perioperative nurse on board the Comfort.

Elizabeth Malloy is a registered nurse from the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. A first-time Project HOPE volunteer, Elizabeth is working as an ICU nurse onboard the USNS Comfort.

Melanie Mullinax works in the communications department for Project HOPE in Millwood, Virginia. Last year, she accompanied Project HOPE volunteers on their mission to Liberia. Melanie is working as the Public Affairs Officer in Panama during Continuing Promise 2009.

Barbara Perdikakis is a registered nurse from San Clemente, California. A returning Project HOPE volunteer, Barbara brings 35 years of nursing experience. Currently, she works in her specialty area of interventional radiology in Newport Beach, California. Barbara has volunteered yearly for the last 10 years on various medical missions in Central and South America. In 2005, when volunteering in Biloxi, Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina, she met some Project HOPE nurses which led her to join the team. She volunteered with Project Hope serving on the USNS Mercy in 2006 in Indonesia. During Continuing Promise 2009, she is working as a critical care nurse/PACU.

Marina Rivera is on her third volunteer mission for Project HOPE. An X-Ray technician from Colorado Springs Health Partners in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Marina brings more than 20 years of experience in radiology to the mission. She also is retired from the U.S. Army. Marina worked in Liberia for Project HOPE in 2008 and just returned from her second mission to West Africa to Ghana in March of 2009. She is serving as an advanced X-ray technician onboard the Comfort for the remainder of the mission.

Megan Rohm is a first-time volunteer for Project HOPE. A nurse from Harborview Medical Center - University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, Megan is serving as a medical surgical nurse onboard the Comfort.

Iilene Smith, a nurse from the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison, Wisconsin, is a first–time HOPE volunteer with experience coordinating medical teams to assist in Haiti. She is serving as a nurse educator during the Continuing Promise 2009.

Eliza Speakman,a first-time volunteer for Project HOPE, is a nurse from AMN Healthcare - St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut. She is working as perioperative nurse onboard the Comfort.

Carolyn Springman is a first-time Project HOPE volunteer from University of California, San Francisco in San Francisco, California. She is volunteering as a triage nurse and will also be helping with immunizations. Carolyn speaks Spanish.

Ellen Tierney, a first-time Project HOPE volunteer from Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine, has several years experience as a travel nurse. She is working as a NICU nurse onboard the USNS Comfort.

Dr. Sharon Weintraub is a general surgeon from Sinai Hospital of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland. A second-time volunteer for Project HOPE, Sharon worked aboard the USS Kearsarge in 2008 in the Dominican Republic.She is performing surgeries onboard the USNS Comfort during Continuing Promise 2009.

Kristen Wilson, from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, is also a member of the International Medical Surgical Response Team-East. She is a returning Project HOPE volunteer, serving on the USNS Comfort in 2007 in Belize, Guatemala and Panama. On Continuing Promise 2009, Kristin is serving as a critical care nurse/PACU.

Support the Project HOPE Volunteers