2010 Mission Volunteers

SONJA SIMMONS

Sonja Simmons co-founded The Davis Moon Project after seeing firsthand the children in Ethiopia's desire to learn and be stimulated by books. There are so few resources in Ethiopia for children of humble means and it seemed so simple and meaningful to deliver books to Ethiopia. She hopes to empower children and create advocates for child literacy through these volunteer missions.

HALEIGH HAGGERTON

Haleigh Haggerton co-founded The Davis Moon Project after a trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2008. She fell in love with the spirit of the country and the people in dire need. She currently runs The Davis Moon Project and attends The University of Texas at Austin. She is working towards her Masters in Social Work with an emphasis on international development. She hopes to one day hold an international position and continue to fight poverty one country at a time.

D'LEE MARSHALL

D'Lee English Marshall has a passion for growing hope in children. She is the founder of the Pay It Forward Project which is a curriculum based project that teaches children that they can make a difference through their own ideas, planning and work. D'Lee believes that without education, children cannot begin to realize their potential. She serves on the Board for the Davis Moon Project and cannot wait for her next journey to Africa for this mission trip!

MARK & TRICIA TRAEGER

Mark currently volunteers with various Austin organizations that support the arts, education and children, and he serves on the Board of the Candlelight Ranch. His background and skills involve helping organizations and projects find efficiencies, profitability, logistical and mechanical solutions in the private-sector and non-profit community. He likes to design and build things. His friends call him "MacGyver." Mark co-founded The Rugby Foundation where he served on the board for over 7 years. He also served as a board member for the Moore-Weis Children's Center of Austin for over 7 years. Mark is a business graduate of The University of Texas at San Antonio.

Tricia is retired from high-tech corporate communications. She currently spends her time consulting and volunteering with non-profit organizations. Her most rewarding interests lie in serving the poor, particularly children. Tricia currently serves on the board of People's Community Clinic where she chairs the communications committee. She has also served in board, committee and/or volunteer positions with American Red Cross, Austin Art Alliance, Bikes for Kids, Breakthrough Austin, Candlelight Ranch, El Buen Samaritano, the Moore-Weis Children's Center of Austin, the Women's Fund of Central Texas, and other Austin-based charitable organizations. Tricia has a Communications degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She grew up a military "brat" which offered her a childhood spent living in many different states and countries and instilled in her an interest in and love for travel and service.

HEATHER ACORD

Friends of Rob and Sonja's for more than 10 years, Heather Acord is continuously inspired by the giving nature of their family and the fact that they are raising Davis with that same awareness. Heather encouraged the fruition of The Davis Moon Project and committed early on to dedicating her time and energy to the effort. This will be Heather's first mission-related travel experience and her first trip to Africa, a long way from her home in the Washington, D.C. area. Heather says she has been looking for a volunteer effort that was meaningful and personal and can't imagine a better organization than The Davis Moon Project to feed her passions for knowledge sharing and fostering our human connection.

Follow Heather's journey while she blogs about her
adventure prior to and during our 2010 Mission!

PORTIA LAKE

Portia Lake is a TV News Anchor in Macon, Georgia. Portia is excited to join the Davis Moon Project Team in Ethiopia and share her love of literacy with Ethiopia's children. Portia's favorite books to discover are literary classics, nonfiction and historical fiction. In addition to being a passionate public speaker, Portia is an active community leader and mentor. A New Orleans native, Portia enjoys reading, traveling to exotic places and training for an upcoming marathon in Costa Rica in September.

MARSHA COOPER

Marsha grew up in Houston and moved with her husband to the Texas Hill Country in 1997, and now resides in Wimberley, Texas. She has always worked in the banking industry, and has been manager of Broadway Bank in Wimberley for 5 years. Marsha has 2 cats, 2 grown daughters, and 3 grandchildren. She is active in her community, and serves as the Secretary to both the Rotary Club of Wimberley and the Hays County Food Bank. Her hobbies include gardening, reading, and singing in her church choir.

ANNE MARIE KNISLEY

Anne Marie was born and currently resides in Chicago. She attended Northeastern University in Boston and is currently pursuing a teaching degree at National Louis University. She looks forward to teaching kindergarten! Anne Marie is passionate about helping children and promoting literacy. Teaching children for a living, Anne Marie understands and values the freedom and knowledge that children can acquire from reading books. She feels this organization offers a unique experience to help children across the world expand their dreams and help them build upon their imaginations. Anne Marie is excited to be a part of the DMP mission team traveling to Ethiopia.

KASEY FAULKNER

Kasey Faulkner is originally from Baltimore, MD, but is currently living in Coral Gables, FL and attending the University of Miami. Kasey is a neuroscience premed major as well as a member of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority and MAPS, a premedical organization. Kasey hopes to one day be a pediatrician. She loves working out, especially running, spinning, and kick boxing.

TESS ALLEN

Tess Allen was born in Texas and has lived overseas in many countries including Cameroon, Africa. A soon to be graduate of Wimberley High School, Tess will be attending Pepperdine University in Malibu, California in the Fall of 2010. Tess hopes to continue working with non-profits like The Davis Moon Project in the future. She is excited for her future and awaits all the crazy adventures ahead.

NORA TURNER

Nora has always loved to travel, especially to less developed areas of the world. Traveling as a tourist was less satisfying than traveling to embrace the culture of a country. Nora visited India in 2009 to take part in an immunization day against polio and to work on village projects. Nora is currently "retired" and owns and operates Curves in Wimberley, Texas.

JONATHAN GREEN, GREEN INC. PRODUCTIONS

Educated in England and the USA, Jonathan started his working life as a journalist and news reporter on both sides of the Atlantic, before moving from news to sports. In 1990, Jonathan joined the newly-formed BSB as a Sports presenter and reporter on their flagship show "Sportsdesk". A year later, he joined another start-up channel, Star TV in Asia, which was later taken over by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. He became the station's lead presenter, alongside Brian Langley, presenting Formula One, MotoGP motorcycles, NBA Basketball, World Superbikes, the Winter Olympics, Grand Slam Tennis and World Cup Rugby. In 1998 he did a full season with ESPN in the USA as their Formula One on-side pit reporter and presenter and he formed his own production company "Green Inc."

ENRICO PARENTI

A former IDEP (Barcelona) film student, is an Italian-American free-lance filmmaker. He is the author of a documentary on a Brazilian traveling circus a reportage on the plight of blindness in Ethiopia and “Standing Army” a feature length documentary on U.S military bases. He has also worked as director of photography on various documentaries for the RAI television and on a number of independent documentaries.