United States

Bonnie Bamburg is the owner of Urban Programmers, a real estate development consulting firm specializing in the entitlement and constructions phases for creating afforable housing or mixed-use projects. She is particularly interested in the Baltic region after her experience with Rotary International through the San Jose Rotary Club assisting to charter new Rotary Clubs in Estonia, and with students who attend San Jose State University and live in International House.  Ms. Bamburg has participated in economic and cultural exchanges between San Jose, San Francisco and Santa Clara County and the corresponding cities in Taiwan, and Italy.  Bonnie enjoys reading, travel, and being involved in civic organizations.

Carla Dean is the IS Data Security Manager for REI (www.rei.com ) a specialty outdoor retailer in Washington where she has been employed for more than 20 years. REI is the nation's largest consumer cooperative and recognized for its knowledge of the outdoors and equipment as well as for being a friendly resource in helping a novice to the highly accomplished prepare for an adventure. Her goal is to share learning's and she hopes to gain knowledge in leadership effectiveness and people development, corporate social responsibility, and change resilience. Carla is interested in programs for individual career growth and development, especially management development. Carla was an Across Cultures 2004 Business Mentor and is active in the community in Toastmasters International and serves on the board of the Pacific Credit Union and Kent Youth & Family Services. She enjoys anything active including biking, triathlon, camping, hiking, skiing and traveling.

Dr. Carol Trenga, PhD, is a Research Scientist at the University of Washington (www.washington.edu) Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, where she investigates the effects of air pollution on human health. Dr. Trenga has presented research findings at numerous international scientific meetings and is frequently invited to speak about the health effects of air pollution and topics related to nutrition and lung disease. She is a second year Estonian language student of the UW Baltic Studies Program in the Department of Scandinavian Studies. Dr. Trenga enjoys spending time with her family, studying Estonian, music, poetry, reading, hiking, practicing yoga & traveling. Her aspirations include establishing connections with professional women and organizations linked to the Baltic region in order to apply her expertise to collaborative projects in support of environmental health in the Baltics, and honoring her Estonian heritage. Carol also hopes to improve her fluency in the Estonian language.

Christina Bruning is one of the 21 Leaders for the 21st Century, recognized by Women's eNews for stretching her reach across cultures. Christina served as the Manager, Project Management for the US Library Program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Foundation's US Library Program was a five-year, $250 million investment in public libraries throughout the United States, providing approximately 47,000 computers in 11,000 buildings, 62,000 training opportunities, Internet connections, and support to increase access to digital information and software tools for underserved populations. Christina led the coordination of activities to achieve the program objectives. She enjoys traveling, exploring the outdoors, hiking and cycling.   [full biography]

Freddie Barrett is the principle of Resilient Solutions (www.resilientsolutions.com) a coaching and training organization and is a certified Hudson Institute Coach. During the past two years she has functioned as an Organization Development Manager at T-Mobile. She has over twenty years' experience in corporate sales and management positions, designing and delivering complex enterprise solutions. Freddie participated in the International Alliance for Women's Global Forum, The Power of Partnership: Women and Organizations as Catalysts for Change, Washington, D.C., November 2002, is a mentor in Center for Spiritual Living's Coming of Age Program for youth, and served as Vice President of Community Outreach on the Board of Women's Bu siness Exchange, Seattle, WA. Freddie facilitated the Make a Difference Day project "Integration of Cultures" as a part of the Across Cultures 2004 forum. She enjoys traveling, skiing, bicycling.

Heidi Tucker is a marketing and business development consultant providing branding, marketing programs, and public relations to companies nationwide in financial services, legal and technology sectors. She ventured into entrepreneurship following a successful 20-year corporate career most recently as the Sr. Vice President of National Small Business Marketing for Bank of America. Heidi enjoys travel, developing the strength and power of women through voluntarism, and business coaching. She is a Girl Scout leader of twenty 4th grade girls and will foster cultural understanding by offering the opportunity to correspond with a troop in Norway. Heidi participated in an Across Cultures 2004 business mentor luncheon.

Dr. Jennifer McCollum is a Naturopathic Physician trained at Baystr University and owner of Three Moon Clinic (www.threemoonclinic.com) in Burien, Washington. She focuses on helping people achieve a healthy lifestyle, with a multitude of alternative therapies, a healthy diet and physical fitness. It's her belief that a healthy and fit person is a happy, highly productive person. Dr. McCollum is a mother of 3, a reverend, nutritionist and trained in MNLP. She is excited to participate in the exchange and to meet professionals from other countries to see their culture and discover how they address their health care issues. Dr. McCollum is active in the outdoors with her interests in running, skiing, scuba diving, rafting, hiking, and photography. She was an Across Cultures 2004 volunteer.

Joan Probala is an Associate Broker with Windermere Real Estate (www.joanprobala.com) the largest real estate company in the Northwest U.S. with over 6000 agents. She pursues a passion for politics as the Chairman of the Government Relations Committee of the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce. Joan is the President of the Issaquah Kiwanis Club that helps children all over the world, a board member of East King County Chamber Coalition representing over 300,000 workers, the immediate past president of the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce, and the recipient of the Issaquah Business Person of the Year award. Joan co-hosted a cultural day with Issaquah residents and Kiwanis members during the Across Cultures 2004 program. Special interests include meeting motivated professional women, to see and hear what other cultures are doing to plan for their future, to see the country of her Lithuanian ancestors, and to see how easy it is for other cultures to learn from each other. Joan is the mother of 4 children and believes women play a vital role in the success of the world. She enjoys tennis, politics, community service, and traveling .

Nancy Scholl is the Chief Financial Officer for Wright Hotels Incorporated, a hotel asset management company. She is responsible for oversight of Accounting and Human Resources functions at portfolio hotels, investor/lender relations, and financial proforma work on existing and proposed projects. Nancy is a graduate of the Leadership Institute of Seattle Applied Behavior Science program and has a strong interest in the realm of holistic leadership. She looks forward to the opportunity to connect with women from across the globe to learn about their culture and to be influenced by their experiences in business and personal leadership. Nancy was a volunteer for Across Cultures 2004. She enjoys garden and interior design, her relationships with family and friends, cooking-entertaining, and reading.

Sharon Cooper is a second generation American of Lithuanian heritage and is self-employed as a Financial Consultant. She is active in volunteer service as a SCORE counselor for the Small Business Administration, a U.S. government program, where individuals seek information and analysis about how to start, manage, or improve profitability in their businesses. Sharon is an English as a second language teacher and a telephone conciliator and mediator for the King County Dispute Resolution Center . She has previously served as a mentor of the UW Women's Center Re-entry Program. She is interested in expanding her knowledge in intercultural experiences and offering her personal experience in business management and mentoring others who are seeking ways to improve their business opportunities as a starting point for a long-term connection with the women of the region. Sharon 's hobbies include aerobics, ballroom dance, acting, photography, Haiku poetry, and bridge.