2008 Board Members
- Gabriel Hamel (Executive Director)
- Erika Hoppe (President)
- Eric Orlinski (Treasurer)
- Hannah Hamel (Secretary)
- Haley Whitley (Board Member)
- Raphel Weber (Board Member)
Gabriel Hamel (Founder/Executive Director)
I was born in the small coast town of Gold Beach Oregon. At seven years old my family moved to Eugene Oregon where I have lived off and on ever since. Prior to Graduating High School in 2000 I joined the Oregon Army National Guard and served with them for 6 years, including a tour to Kuwait and Iraq in 2003-2004 in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. My experience in Iraq is what first opened my eyes to other cultures and the need to help people. After returning home the desire never seized. In March of 2006 I traveled to El Salvador in support of a medical mission and handing out toys to local families in a neighborhood clinic. The need to help was so strong that in August of 2006 some friends and I went back again but this time with clothing and toys for children and families in need. After returning home I began the foot work to begin Humans for Humanity. Presently Humans for Humanity along with Escuela Camino Claro (a DBA of Humans for Humanity) has started a Spanish/English School in the small costal town of Pavones, Costa Rica that provides equal opportunities to both English speakers and Spanish speakers alike. Humans for Humanity is proud to be a part of helping people in need, wherever that might be. As the Founder of Humans for Humanity I hope to touch the lives of people in need all over the world for years to come.
Erika Hoppe (President)
When I was 8 years old we moved from Craig , Colorado to Eugene , Oregon . Since that time I have been involved in doing community service including, but not limited to AmeriCorps National Rapid Response Corps (I worked for a month at Ground Zero following the September 11th, 2001 attacks), handing out baskets to the homeless in the local community, building houses in Islitas, Mexico, and helping take notes for disabled students at Oregon State University. I love helping people, it is really an amazing feeling to know that when you help people you are meeting a need they couldn't meet on their own. I'm so excited to be a part of an organization whose mission is just that! I can't wait to see what Humans for Humanity will be able to accomplish in the future.
Eric Orlinski (Treasurer)
I was born and raised in Springfield, Oregon where I have lived the majority of my life. After graduating from Springfield High School in 1999 I joined the Oregon Army National Guard. In the Guard, I helped fight multiple Oregon forest fires and even spent a year in Iraq and Kuwait during the first year of the war. Since serving in the military for six years, I have graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics. I am currently enrolled at Pacific University working on a Master's degree in Education. I strive to teach high school math and do my part in helping to shape the youth of America. I have also gotten married to my wife Camia and have a five-year-old daughter who is in kindergarten. I love working with young people and helping in general. Being apart of a non-profit organization whose mission is to help people is very exciting and I look forward to accomplishing many great things with Humans for Humanity.
Hannah Hamel (Secretary)
I've lived in Eugene Oregon my whole life. I was a member of campfire USA from 1st grade up until 8th grade and did various community service projects. Though I am no longer in Camp Fire, each year I still help out with Operation Shoe Box witch is a program that gives shoe boxes full of warm items, fun games, and holiday treats for homeless and less fortunate kids in our community. I have traveled to Costa Rica and helped the endangered Leatherback Turtles by collecting there eggs and putting them in a safer environment, along with helping the rain forest by planting new trees while I was there. In the summer of 06' I traveled to El Salvador, bringing clothes and toys to an orphanage, and other poor families in need. It is amazing to see the difference between what we in the US consider poor and what poor is like in other countries. Going to El Salvador made me realize how much we here in the US take for granted, and how such small gestures of kindness mean so much to people who have so little. These are just some of the things that make me want to be a part of Humans for Humanity and be able to help out people who are less fortunate then I am. I am 17 years old and I truly believe being able to help others is a very rewarding feeling. In my future I want to study Early Childhood Education and become a teacher. I want to travel the world and help others as much as I possibly can, in as many ways as possible. My goal is to stay an active part of Humans for Humanity, and I would love to join the Peace Corps when I am finished with college. I am very honored to have the ability to be a part of such great projects, and I am excited to see what happens next.
Raphel Weber (Board Member)
My interest in education, focusing on primary school- aged ESL students, and social services began as an undergraduate at Seattle University in 2002. It was during my studies that I began to work for Seattle's non-profit ESL Youth Tutoring Programs as a staff member and head tutor for two years. The following year my academic interests took me to Granada, Spain, where I studied Spanish at the Universidad de Granada's Centro de Lenguas Modernas. I subsequently moved to Madrid, Spain where I worked as an English teacher at the Booklane Academy while continuing my Spanish language studies at the Universidad de Complutense. Upon my return from Spain, I worked in Seattle's public school system as an ESL reading teacher. I also spent several months in Riobamba, Ecuador working as an intern on an international development project in the Central Andes. During this internship, I worked with the indigenous communities of Riobamba implementing and evaluating a micro- credit project for women and youth. I have worked in international and local social services and looks forward to being a part of Humans for Humanity and taking on even more projects.
Haley Whitley (Board Member)
A native to Eugene, Oregon and the daughter of two teachers, I find my foundation of family and friends throughout the Northwest. After graduating from high school in Eugene, I moved to Seattle, Washington to attend Seattle University and begin studying psychology. Throughout my studies at SU I worked with a number of children's educational services, thus awakening my passion for teaching and tutoring. During my junior year, I studied Spanish at the Centro de Lenguas Modernas at the Universidad de Granada, Spain. Here I began to learn how valuable it was to acquire a second language: Spanish quickly became my second major at SU. After graduating in 2006, my intended three-month vacation to Costa Rica turned into a year long stay in Pavones. I became active in the community by teaching evening English classes for all ages, offering private English tutoring, and helping to set up the bilingual library at the local school. I witnessed all the skills I had gathered through my life experiences and formal education being put to work and, with the help of my friend and colleague Raphel Weber, the business plan for Escuela Camino Claro (ECC) was born. ECC along with Humans for Humanity, two fledgling organizations, are already making great changes: the future is bright for the community of Pavones, Costa Rica.