Rohit Shenoy
Rohit, President. Boston is my third stop in the US since 1997, when I arrived in Gainesville Florida to start college. After 3 semesters in Florida, I transferred to Purdue University where I got a degree in engineering and then moved to New England for work. I’m one of those weird people who actually likes the winter, at least for a couple of months a year. This is mostly due to the fact that I grew up in the middle east where the average summer temperature was a blazing 108F!! While at Purdue, I helped run a volunteer organization called AIESEC. AIESEC is a student-run work exchange program that is actually the largest student organization in the world with representation in 80+ countries. These days, apart from YAVA, I keep busy working as a marketing manager for a software company in Natick, MA. To me, YAVA is the ultimate volunteering organization for busy young people like me. I joined because YAVA let me volunteer whenever I wanted and as much (or as little) as I wanted. Without a definite time commitment or even a membership fee, it seemed like a no-brainer to at least try it out, and I have not looked back! My goal is to reach as many people as possible, who haven’t tried to volunteer, and show them how YAVA can help them help others. You can find me at YAVA events sporting my red YAVA T-Shirt and wristband and talking really really fast!
Deb Katzman
Deb, DIO (Director of Internal Operations). Hey YAVAers and soon-to-be YAVAers, I’m Deb Katzman, your Director of Internal Operations. I grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts, and graduated from UMass Amherst (I lived in Orchard Hill and then Pufton Village, for the other alum). After spending 21 years in Amherst, I decided to jump ship and spent two years working and living in Los Angeles. During this time, I traveled a lot: Puerto Rico, Seattle, the Grand Canyon, and many trips to Vegas, DC and Boston. Man I miss those cheap flights out of LAX. I lived by the beach in Hermosa Beach for a year and in Pasadena for another year. Now I am living it up in the North End trying to take on volunteering, Boston style. I started with becoming the Community Service Director of my engineering society and continuing my family tradition of helping to cook and serve Thanksgiving dinner at the Amherst Senior Center (we’re at 5 years and counting). To find me at YAVA functions, I’m the girl with the curly hair usually laughing uncontrollably at a joke, dishing on the latest celebrity gossip, or getting down and dirty scooping food and planting trees. I’m all about bringing volunteering back, and making it fun and easily accessible. When I’m not busy planning and coordinating YAVA events, answering emails, or working at my full-time job as a civil engineer, I’m usually indulging in Law & Order marathons, or the occasional chips and salsa with a margarita. I’m always thrilled to meet new people, so don’t be a stranger!
Sam Feldman
Sam, DEO (Director of External Operations). I grew up in Watertown,MA and I spent four glorious years just across the border at Brown University. There, I sort of fell into swing dancing, building installation art, drumming up Ghanaian rhythms. I even ran our Swing Club for the last two years that I was there. It was only natural that I get my bachelor’s in Business Economics. Flash forward and I’m back in Beantown, it's the dead of winter, I'm reading the Weekly Dig. I happen to stumble across an interview about YAVA. YAVA sounds really cool, and I decide to look into it. I knew that this city was chock full of cool and interesting people, and YAVA was gonna help me meet all of them. Yeah, and there was also some volunteering. Alright fine, that was pretty great too. I joined in January, and I have had an awesome time ever since. In July, I became the newest member of "The Board" as the Director of External Operations. That means it's my job to meet other like-minded organizations, get YAVA sponsors, and help plan cool events. Oh and don't worry, the Borat mustache is gone.
Boris Masis
Boris, Technology Consultant. I grew up in dark, cold, and bear-infested mother Russia. A place very different place from the cold, dark, and bear-infested New England where I live in today. I'm into film and photography and I ballroom dance. It's good times. On occasion I work. YAVA has been a fun way to meet people, and I've been honored to be able to help with technical questions when they arise. Cheese is my favorite food group. (I also drink too much tea). On occasion I post things at borism.net
Allie Corless
Allie, Founder. I grew up in southern New Hampshire…Candia, to be exact. I have a brother who is 3 years younger than me and two pretty weird (but in a good way) parents. I started skiing when I was seven years old, then at age fourteen discovered the wonderful invention that is snowboarding, and have been hooked ever since. I graduated from Central High School in Manchester, New Hampshire, in 1999 and started college at Northeastern University in September 1999. I was an environmental geology major for a year, during which time I discovered that I hated the ambiguity of rock and mineral identification, so I changed my major to civil/environmental engineering. I like math a lot, so that was a major improvement! I spent far too much time at the library and far too little time at the gym until May 2004, when Northeastern finally set me free. YAY! I spent Summer 2004 living on the south side of the Hawaiian island of Maui, riding my bike everywhere and going to the beach every day. It was wonderful!! But then that ended, and I came back to Boston to begin my career as a working stiff. Camp Dresser & McKee employed me for about a year, but they weren’t my style so I traded them in to work for Tetra Tech NUS. TtNUS rocks the house, and mostly the work is pretty cool. YAVA fell out of the sky for me in December 2005, and I have been SO pumped on it ever since! I served as President until March 2007, but have since handed over control to three extraordinary individuals. My career as an engineer officially wrapped in June 2007; my next big adventure is pursuing an MBA from Harvard Business School. By the way, I ate cottage cheese and Kashi cereal for breakfast this morning. High protein and high fiber! Allie’s MySpace Page