Founded in 2008, Few for Change began as a few students studying in Panama through the School for International Training.
BOARD MEMBERS
ALYSON DAGANG
Dr. Alyson Dagang is the academic director of the School for International Training (SIT) Panama program, the program through which many of the Few for Change members first were introduced to Panama and the Ngäbe-Buglé. She has worked on numerous projects in Panama with focuses that include gender, agroforestry, sustainable agriculture, community development, environmental education, and conservation.
ABBY OUTTERSON
Abby is a master’s student at Boston University’s School of Public Health, where she works as a Public Health Post Fellow, translating public health data, research, and interviews into easy-to-understand stories to start new conversations about health. She spent her fall 2014 college semester in Panama with the School for International Training and has completed a film and photo documentation project in the Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca.
AMY LAMB, SECRETARY
Amy is the Secretary of Few for Change, maintaining meeting minutes and overseeing external communications including the quarterly newsletter and the social media team. Amy is the data manager for the New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau, where she maintains the statewide database of rare plant, wildlife, and exemplary natural community records and occasionally enjoys field work documenting NH’s biodiversity.
ARIADNE PRIOR-GROSCH, VICE-PRESIDENT
Ariadne is the current Vice-President of Few for Change, managing communications with Panama-based volunteers including the scholarship application process, annual ceremony, disbursement of funds, and scholar support. Ariadne joined the board of Few for Change in 2009 while living and working in Panama for a conservation NGO. Ariadne is the STEM Department Lead at the Academy for Software Engineering, a public high school in New York City.
BROOKS WINNER
Brooks is a founding member of Few for Change and has worked to grow the organization since its founding in January 2009. In his day job, Brooks is a Senior Clean Energy Specialist at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council in Boston, Massachusetts.
KATIE CLAY, PRESIDENT
Katie is currently the President of Few for Change, overseeing strategy and working with Few for Change volunteers in the U.S. and Panama to manage organizational operations and ensure that Few for Change is focused on the priorities of its students and their communities.
TIM SOO, TREASURER
Tim is a founding member since its start in January 2009 and also serves as the current treasurer of Few for Change. Outside of Few for Change, Tim is a physician specializing in emergency medicine.
Yariza Jiménez
Yariza Y. Jiménez officially joined the FFC board of directors in 2022 following more than a decade of supporting FFC’s operations in Panama. Yari has supported Few for Change since its inception with guidance, advice, as well as critical logistical support. Currently, Yari manages the disbursement of funds in Panama to scholarship recipients.
Junta directiva (Ngäbe Board of Directors)
RAMÓN PINEDA, President
Ramón Pineda is the President of the Few for Change Advisory Board. He also serves as the the president of the Consejo Municipal (similar to a city council) of the Nole Duima district, and was elected to serve as the government representative from his home corregimiento of Jädeberi (similar to a county in the US) for a five year term, 2019-2024. Hear from Ramón in one of our Faces of Few for Change videos!
DORIS GALLARDO, VICE-PRESIDENT
Doris is a community leader in the town of Quebrada Guabo. As the former president of the Ngäbe women's association ASMUNG (Asociación de Mujeres Ngäbe-Buglé) she has worked to empower, organize, educate and improve the quality of life for women and their families in the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé.
AGRIPINA SANDOYA, TREASURER
Agripina lives in the community of Hato Chamí and works at the Hato Chamí Education Center where many of the FFC scholarship recipients attend middle school and high school. Agripina is currently enrolled in a Social Work bachelor’s degree program at a university in the city of David. She has helped FFC improve communication with students and their families in the remote mountainous communities in the Jädeberi township. Hear from Agripina in her installment of our Faces of Few for Change video series!
Vianca SIRE GALLARDO, FISCAL
Vianca Sire Gallardo is a community leader in the town of Quebrada Guabo. From a young age Vianca has supported herself as an accomplished artisan, creating traditional Ngäbe handicrafts to sell. Professionally, Vianca has worked for the Panamanian Ministry of Social Development (MIDES) as the administrator for the municipality of Nole Duima.
ROGELIO MONTEZUMA, secretary
Rogelio Montezuma lives in the community of Hato Chamí where he works as an accountant for the Hato Chamí Education Center (C.E.B.G. Hato Chamí) which include the primary and secondary schools for the area. He is also the father of current FFC university scholar Edwin. Rogelio brings with him a wealth of organizing experience as the former President of the Coordinator for the Defense of Natural Resources and the Rights of the Ngäbe-Buglé and Campesino People.
FELLOWS & Interns
KATYA SPARKS, EDUCATION ACCESS FELLOW
Katya was born in the Chiriqui province of Panama and moved to the United States at the age of 7. She is an English language teacher who has taught English to over 500 students from 32 countries. Katya currently resides in Belgium where she is building her own business within the e-learning industry.
VOLUNTEERS
OLMEDO Morales
Olmedo is a Biology Professor for the Panamanian Ministry of Education (MEDUCA) at the Centro Educativo General Bilingüe Kusapín. He graduated in 2018 with a Masters degree in Biology with a specialization in Plant Biology from the Universidad Autónoma de Chiriquí in David (UNACHI). Olmedo’s incredible life story and inspiring work ethic is featured in one of our Faces of Few for Change videos.
RONALD POLANCO
Ronald works for MEDUCA (Ministerio de Educación de Panamá), the Panamanian Ministry of Education, as the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé Regional Coordinator for MEDUCA’s school gardens program. In this capacity, he travels around the Comarca Ngäbe-Bugle bringing resources and knowledge sharing to the many diverse and distant schools across the mountainous terrain.
BAILEY MORITZ
Bailey studied abroad in Panama with the School for International Training during the Fall 2014 semester. While there, she worked on a project with lobster fishermen in a different Comarca, Guna Yala, and since then has continued to work on projects related to sustainable livelihoods development. She has a Professional Science Masters in Ocean Food Systems from the University of New England in Portland, Maine and is currently working for World Wildlife Fund on seaweed aquaculture projects far and wide.
MORGAN Oestereich
Morgan graduated from Davidson College in 2021, with a B.S. in Environmental Studies and a minor in Studio Art. She studied abroad with SIT Panama in the fall of 2019. Currently, Morgan is studying to become a Registered Dental Hygienist while working as a barista on the weekends.
TARA BEATTIE
Tara is in her final year of pursuing her B.S. in Natural Resources Ecology at the University of Vermont. After graduation, she hopes to focus on environmental and social justice issues in her community. Tara studied abroad with SIT in Panama in the spring of 2019, and did her independent research project in the Ngäbe-Buglé comarca.
Johanna mazer
Johanna is an Environmental Analyst conducting water quality projects in the Long Island Sound. She studied abroad with SIT Panama in the fall of 2019. Johanna supports data analysis and follows the academic journeys of the scholars with Few for Change.
Katie McErlean
Katie studied abroad with SIT in Panama in the fall of 2019 while attending the University of Colorado Boulder. She graduated in spring of 2020, majoring in both Environmental Studies and Geography.
