FLI Staff
Eve Penny Cowen, Ed.M.
Eve is the Founder and Executive Director for The Future Leaders Institute.  Eve has created, implemented and managed three successful service and leadership programs for young people, one of which now serves thousands of high school students annually nationwide.  Eve’s roles within numerous experiential education organizations have allowed her to work with a wide variety of youth and adult populations.  She studied developmental psychology and education reform models as both an undergraduate and in graduate school, and received a Master’s degree in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.  Eve’s research and practice focused on educational approaches that inspire young people to take active responsibility for their future and the future of their community and environment.  Eve serves on the Board of Directors for Youth Tracks, a nonprofit organization that serves Southern Ute Native Americans through outdoor experiential education.  Eve also loves to rock climb!  E-mail Eve.
 
Marc Lionetti, FLI Guide – E-mail Marc
Marc is thrilled to be a staff member for the pilot program of FLI at The Athenian School.  Marc has been teaching music at Athenian for the past eight years, but is preparing to make a career transition from music education to service learning in the coming academic year.  He studied music and education at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, where he earned his public school teaching credential.  When not teaching at Athenian or working with FLI students, Marc can usually be found playing music, either at home with friends, or at venues all around the Bay Area (including fundraising concerts for FLI!).  His original singer-songwriter music is available at www.swbmusic.com.
 
Susan Tinsely Daily, FLI Guide – E-mail Susan
Susan Tinsley grew up backpacking, climbing, and paddling in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. She majored in English and Environmental Studies at Swarthmore College, then earned her Masters at Tufts University in Education. She has worked as an Instructor and Course Director for the North Carolina Outward Bound School for the past eleven years, and has also worked as an Instructor and Risk Management Director for Where There Be Dragons, an organization that leads trips for high school students to Southeast Asia. Susan loves to mountain bike, read poetry, make quilts, play pool and dream about starting a school in her free time.
                                                                              
Mary Papadoupolous, Grantwriter – E-mail Mary
Mary Papadopoulos, as a freelance Grant Writer, seeks opportunities to build lasting relationships with emerging and established nonprofit organizations through researching potential funding sources and creating documents for use in the application process. Mary supports groups that emphasize the importance of voluntarism, compassionate community, and environmental responsibility. Mary holds a Bachelor of Science in Forestry and Wildlife Resources (Environmental Resources) from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where she also conducted additional non-degree graduate studies in multiple areas including Remote Sensing Imagery Analysis, Literature, and Animal Husbandry. Mary resides in Floyd, Virginia, where she raises organic vegetables and day-ranged poultry.
 
 FLI Board of Directors
 Ken Barnes, CPA, MBA, Board Member and Treasurer
Ken Barnes, CPA, MBA, has worked for and with Not-for-Profit organizations for over 25 years.  Ken currently serves as the Controller for an international educational 'think tank' in the San Francisco Bay Area.. Among their many efforts they provide scholarships to low income K through 12th  grade students. Ken has served on three previous educational and environmental nonprofit Boards.   Ken received his MBA  with a concentration in New Product Development from the University of Michigan.  For his  accomplishments as a CPA he won an Elijah Watt Sells Award (1977).
 
Christine Fife, Board Member and Media Relations Director
Christine has eight years of experience managing high school exchange student programs. As a teenager she spent four months in Istanbul, Turkey which led her to a strong desire to help others understand the benefits of cultural awareness and diversity. Christine is in the process of starting a J-1 visa cultural exchange program called Peace4Kids, which will bring foreign teenagers to the U.S. for one year to live with host families and attend high schools. She holds a BA in Theater Arts and is pursuing a MS in Integrated Marketing Communications at Golden Gate University. She works full-time as a general operations manager and public relations associate for an IT start-up company in San Francisco. In addition to professional and academic pursuits, Christine has served as the vice president of Community Volunteers in Action, a volunteer organization in Connecticut, and she has participated as an active volunteer with Hands on San Francisco. Christine lives with her beloved kitty, Shadow.  E-mail Christine
 
Joanne Haruta, Board Member
 As a Founding Board Member, Joanne Haruta has been able to assist with marketing research and business strategy.  She has held various positions at financial organizations including Morgan Stanley and Crystal Asset Management.  Before that, Joanne attended the Haas Business School at UC Berkeley where she received her degree in business administration.  Some of her past time activities include reading, playing chess and hiking.  She believes that this program is significantly helping to empower youth and is bringing change to society. 
 
Noel Sirivansanti, Board Member and Secretary
Sofia is a graduate of the previous program that Eve created and managed through the Student Conservation Association.  Sofia grew tremendously from the program, and is committed to providing such an opportunity for growth for as many others as possible. 
 
Sophia Tesfaye, Board Member
Sofia is a graduate of the previous program that Eve created and managed through the Student Conservation Association.  Sofia grew tremendously from the program, and is committed to providing such an opportunity for growth for as many others as possible.  A graduate of Bishop O’ Dowd High School in Oakland, Sofia was President of her senior class, and now studies political studies and international relations at San Francisco State University.  Sofia is involved in fund development for FLI. 

Loan Trinh, MBA, Board Member
Loan is an accountant and has her MBA, and also serves as FLI’s bookkeeper.