2009 Tanzania B leaders: John Linsley and Jessie DavieJESSIE DAVIE: St. Lawrence University, B.A., cum laude, English and Environmental Studies. During her junior year, Jessie spent a semester abroad in Kenya participating in a cross-cultural experiential learning program. She considered this experience so valuable that after graduating from college, she traveled back to Africa and lived and volunteered in a small rural village in Ghana for nine months. She worked for the Kopeyia Ghana School Fund and was responsible for administering activities at the local school as well as teaching English classes to Junior Secondary students. Jessie has traveled to southern Africa, where she explored Mozambique, Swaziland, and South Africa; she has also travelled extensively throughout East Africa, including Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. She worked for Clean Air-Cool Planet as a coordinator for a global warming campaign in New Hampshire. Currently, Jessie lives in Missoula, Montana, where she is pursuing a Master's degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Montana, while also serving as the University’s Sustainability Coordinator. This will be Jessie’s third summer leading a Putney Community Service program in Tanzania. She is proficient in Kiswahili.
JOHN LINSLEY: St. Lawrence University, B.A., cum laude, Government, History, and African Studies; Maxwell School of Syracuse University, M.A., International Relations. At St. Lawrence John studied on the Kenya Semester Program and was president of the Outing Club. Following college John studied Swahili in Tanzania as a Fulbright Hays scholar and then returned to the U.S. to teach high school social studies in Colorado and Vermont. As part of his graduate studies, John developed educational programming for rescued trafficked youth in Ghana with the International Organization for Migration and held an assistantship on the East Africa desk at the National Democratic Institute. He also served as a teaching assistant and was president of the Maxwell Africa Caucus. An EMT for ten years, John has volunteered both on his campus rescue squad and in the local emergency room. He is trained in wilderness emergency medicine and has instructed for the Red Cross. This will be John’s fourth summer leading a Putney Community Service program in Tanzania. John is fluent in Swahili.
