Biographies
Longitude depends heavily on our network of dedicated volunteers. Our success is due to the tireless work of our Staff and our Board of Directors.
Meet the Board of Directors
Longitude’s board of directors has been working together since the summer of 2007. This small but dedicated group meets four times a year to strategize and promote Longitude’s work both locally and internationally.
KWAKU AFFUL grew up in Accra and moved to the U.S. 6 years ago after meeting his wife Lizzy. He is a member of the Fante and Ga tribes of Ghana. In his spare time he enjoys rebuilding cars and playing with his newborn daughter, Ada. Also known as Prof, he enjoys helping family back in Ghana and visiting whenever possible.
CRISTINA MAVRELIS is a first grade teacher in Providence, RI. Cristina has analyzed and worked with cultural diversity since childhood and continues to explore different cultures and customs in the classroom with her students. Cristina started a non-profit at the age of 13 with the help of her family. She lives with her husband Stephen and her dog Zion in West Hartford, CT.
JAYASHREE NIMMAGGADDA lives in North Smithfield, RI with her husband and two sons. She is a Professor in the School of Social Work at Rhode Island College, where she teaches primarily in the MSW Program. Her teaching focuses on social work practice and human behavior, and she specializes in qualitative research.
LAURA WESTBERG co-founded Longitude in 2005 after volunteering with the Association of Relief Volunteers in India and Profesa in Ghana. With a background in international and domestic architecture, Laura currently works in design/build and raises her two sons. She lives in Providence, RI with her husband, Shawn Rubin.
DANA BORRELLI is an applied anthropologist currently working as the Director of Expanded Learning Time at Highlander Charter School in Providence RI. A native Rhode Islander, Dana's interests lie in the intersections of race, class, gender and education policy. She holds Master's Degrees in Anthropology and Urban Education Policy.
MARY COPP lives in Providence RI with her husband Allyn; they have 2 sons and a daughter. Mary has recently produced two award winning documentary films, Home Across Lands and Leh Wi Tok. She has extensive managerial and board experience in non-profit organizations and is director of a small foundation.
BRETT DAVEY is Director of Public Relations at Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence, RI. He has an extensive background in public relations and journalism. Brett is also president of the board of the Furniture Bank of Rhode Island. He and his wife Jen live in Cranston, RI with their two sons.
MICHAEL BURGER is an associate professor at Roger Williams University School of Law in Bristol, Rhode Island, where he teaches Environmental Law, Law & Literature, and other courses. He holds degrees from Columbia Law School, New York University’s graduate program in creative writing, and Brown University. He has traveled throughout India, Nepal, Europe, and the United States, and has volunteered for service projects in the British Virgin Islands and on the Crow Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana. He lives in Providence with his wife and daughter.
MARY ELLEN LYNCH serves as the Volunteer Coordinator for the Refugee Resettlement Program at the International Institute of Rhode Island in Providence. She holds a Master’s Degree in International Educational Development from Boston University and completed her thesis project in Costa Rica by volunteering with a non-profit organization that worked to eliminate child labor by building schools in rural communities. Mary Ellen and her husband enjoy traveling abroad and have trekked throughout South and Central America. Mary Ellen lives with her husband in Newport, RI.
NICOLE CUSHION is an event planner for MAX Ultimate Food in Boston, Massachusetts. She holds a Bachelors Degree of Science in Business Administration with Concentration in Marketing from Bryant University. She currently also serves on the Big Sister of Greater Boston’s Young Professional Board as their Program Officer as well as the Horizons for Homeless Children’s Young Professional Group. Nicole has been a Big Sister for over 4 years. She currently lives in Boston.
Meet the Longitude Staff
BRITTANY NICOLAIDES is Longitude's Executive Director. She lives in Providence and is a recent graduate of Rhode Island College's Master of Social Work program. Her work is focused on international human-rights policy and social program development. She enjoys international travel and experiencing new cultures as a hobby and has volunteered in India with ARV.
MESHACH BONDZIE started the PROFESA Secretarial Academy in 2000 by purchasing 6 hh typewriters and teaching classes out of his dad’s church. Meshach is a highly dedicated member of his community. He also serves as secretary of his town’s city council.
RAVI KUMAR leads the Association of Relief Volunteers and specializes in human rights awareness, advocacy, and intervention. As a member of the Dalit community (formerly known as the Untouchables caste) he has faced oppression and discrimination throughout his life and is committed to improving rights for others.
SHAWN RUBIN founded Longitude with his wife Laura Westberg in 2006. In addition to running Longitude, Shawn teaches kindergarten at an urban, public charter school. Shawn lives in Providence, RI with his wife, two sons and dog named Cuddles.
JOHN P MORGAN is a world traveller, entrepreneur and Non-Profit Marketer who met Shawn through a friend in 2007 and has been hooked on helping Longitude ever since. John serves as Longitude's Fundraising & Marketing Strategist from his current home in London, UK.
ANNIE FALCH first volunteered with Ravi in December 2007. Since that trip her life was forever changed and she began supporting, empowering and helping the Dalits of India wholeheartedly. She hopes to help Ravi achieve his vision of Dalit empowerment and serves as Longitude's Director of Advocacy and Outreach from her home in Gunma, Japan.
SHIRLEY KINSEY is a retired middle school administrator from the Providence School District who currently works as an adjunct professor at URI in the Communication Studies Department. She has been volunteering for Longitude since 2009 and now serves as Longitude's Director of Volunteering for Ghana.
KASEY HAAS is originally from Charlotte, NC and is currently a student at Brown University in Providence. She is majoring in political science and is a member of the Brown gymnastics team. She has been working with Longitude since 2009 as Longitude's web master.
KRISTIN NAMIMOTO is a freelance publicist in Los Angeles and has been a Longitude volunteer since May 2008 when she visited GP village. Inspired by Ravi's work and the people she met, she led a volunteer group back to GP six months later. Kristin currently serves as Longitude's director of public relations.
ERICA DEMICHELE grew up on Peaks Island, Maine. Currently, she is a Junior at the University of Rhode Island, living in Narragansett, RI; She is majoring in Italian, with a minor in International Development. She is the captain of the URI Women’s Ultimate Team and she loves to travel. She has been working with Longitude since September 2010 and is currently the Director of Volunteering for India.
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EMMA PARFEY has volunteered in India three times, two of these times leading the trip. These experiences have profoundly changed her forever, and through her work at Longitude Emma hopes to continue to change the lives of her friends in India by successfully bringing volunteers to where they are most needed.
EMILY HAYDOCK has been a Longitude volunteer since 2006, when she first traveled to Kothasatram/Indiranagar. Inspired by the work she saw Ravi accomplishing, she decided to lead a volunteer group and has been helping Longitude ever since. She currently serves as Longitude's Director of Development.
