Rotary International District 5170

Mike Conniff directs the Global Studies Initiative at San Jose State University. A native of San Jose, Mike tracked toward a career in Latin America following a Peace Corps tour in Ecuador. He worked in foreign aid but ended up becoming a history professor (Ph.D. Stanford 1976). His experiences include study in Panama (1965-67), research and teaching in Brazil (1971-75), and 3 Fulbright tours (Panama 1981, Brazil 1987 and 1990), a total of 13 years' residence in the region. He has led or accompanied groups of students, administrators, professors, and civic leaders to Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. Mike has been a member of San Jose Rotary for 3 years and is active in various committees. He is married to Anne (Anita) Fountain, a native of Buenos Aires, and has four children.

Zakiya Sullivan is the Program Director at the Mt. Madonna YMCA in Morgan Hill, California, working with a predominantly Hispanic clientele. She helps children, youth, and adults to be successful in life and to be productive members of their community. She hopes some day to have her own foundation or community center, where she can deliver educational and spiritual services to persons in need. She intends to use the GSE experience in Buenos Aires to network with other service providers in community settings and to improve her mastery of Spanish. She is single and earned degrees at Tennessee State University (BS) and Vanderbilt (MTS) and is currently working on a Master of Arts in Apologetics. She enjoys athletics and travel.

Laurie Holland is a guidance counselor in Northern California. She has traveled to Kenya and Zambia to work with AIDS-orphaned children and hopes to start a non-profit program that can continue this work. She hopes that work in counseling services will help to bridge differences in race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, and gender. She is single and is finishing her master's degree in Counselor Education at San Jose State University. She also earned a BA in Cross-Cultural Studies from Northwestern College.

Kenny Flanagan has worked for two years as a public accountant but one day would like to move into teaching. He has lived and studied in Colombia (where his mother was born), Spain, and the Dominican Republic. His large family includes many educators, and he has participated in his sister’s school. He expects to use his experience in business to promote social advancement, especially in cross-cultural settings. The GSE trip to Buenos Aires will give him new perspectives on Latin American culture and introduce him to business techniques in that country. He is single and holds a degree in Liberal Studies from Santa Clara University.

Denise Louie has worked in federal land management for the past 15 years and currently serves as naturalist at the Pinnacles National Monument in California. Her program includes endangered species protection and habitat restoration, in cooperation with other public and private agencies. She has traveled in Mexico and Central and South America, in order to immerse herself in the cultures and languages of the region. She is devoted to increasing environmental sustainability throughout the world and sees this Rotary GSE trip as an important way to achieve this. Denise is a single and earned degrees from Virginia Tech (BS) and Sul Ross State University (MS).