summer 2015 - alicia whissel

Hello the team!

My name is Alicia. I am from Jackson, WY. Sadly, I will be the only team member from Wyoming this year, as ba Gay made the difficult decision to stay home and will definitely be missed (and really, she is from Nevada now anyway, so there you go). ;)

I will attempt to be as awesome as she is, but as some of you know, she left some pretty big sandals to fill! :) 

Most of you should still be blissfully unaware (at least for a few more hours) of the fact that I will be joining the team, as someone – who will remain guilty and nameless: co binh :) – decided to keep my presence a secret until the team arrives in Taiwan (sneaky, sneaky). This was done in order to surprise several members of the team that I have traveled to Vietnam with on previous COPI missions. 

It has been awhile since I have been able to travel with the team, but I am very excited to be going this year and will see you all soon!

summer 2015 - sam keating

My name is Sam Keating, I am 20 

years old and I have been living in vietnam since the spring COPI trip. I am passionate about helping others and I enjoy the opportunities that COPI has given me! This will be my third trip with the COPI team. 

summer 2015 - barbara lewis (barb)

Barbara Lewis aka Barb

 I’m originally from upstate New York but have lived in Denver more than half my life now, so I guess I’m more of a Westerner than an Easterner although I call both places home.  I am a retired school teacher, but am often told I  “failed” retirement since I’ve been working  part-time for the last ten years.  I love to travel and have visited many wonderful places but not Vietnam.  This is my first mission; I am excited but also a bit nervous about it.  I’m sure it will be an adventure though!

summer 2015 - linh phuong ngo

Linh's mom, Mrs. Hanh (L) and Linh (Ling) (R)
On Linh's graduation day

Xin Chao! My name is Linh Ngo. I was born and raised in Tam Hiep, Vietnam; my family and I immigrated to Denver, Colorado in 2004. I recently graduated with Honors from Arrupe Jesuit High School. I am also a proud Daniels Fund scholar and will be attending Saint Louis University in the fall of 2015. This trip will be my fourth trip back to Vietnam; however, this is my first going to rural areas. I am super excited for this summer’s mission trip and honored to serve with COPI’s hard working and dedicated volunteers. I look forward to meeting you all, peace and love!  

summer 2015 - terry & dennis willis

Dennis & Terry Willis

Terry is a landscape artist and Dennis is a retired Recreation Specialist for the BLM and runs his own small consulting business. We have two grown daughters and five grandchildren ranging in ages from 15 to eight.  

This will be Terry’s fourth trip with the summer COPI team and Dennis will be on his third trip.  Terry is a member of Soroptimist International which supports improving the lives of Women and Girls. 

She also is on the Board of the Local United Way, the Boy’s and Girl’s Club of Carbon County, the Green Team, Price Community Progress Committee, and the Trails Committee.  Dennis serves on the Prehistoric Museum Board and is active in advocating for environmental issues.

We were not able to travel with the team last year, but are both excited to be returning this summer and look forward to meeting everyone and reconnecting with all our friends we have made along the way.

summer 2015 - binh rybacki

Hello team:

I am binh rybacki, it is my honor to have you join us in Vietnam as we will serve at eight clinics in four provinces: Phu Tho, Quang Nam, Khanh Hoa and Vinh Long and my beloved city in Saigon aka Ho Chi Minh City.  Serving on the team with us will be our Vietnamese team members, some are veterans and some are first-timers.

binh and some of her favorite girls in Thanh Ba, Phu Tho

I am sure you have heard about me from one source another, I hope to learn more about you in our two and 1/2 weeks together.  Join me on the leadership team are Co Cuc (Saigon), My Nguyen (South Carolina) and Terry Willis (Utah). Our primary function is to serve you, the team members so you could in turn serve our patients.

Our oldest son Preston and his wife Shannon are living in Saigon.  Preston will be back in Colorado to visit his dad (my hubby, Jack) while I am in Vietnam, we hope that you will be able to see Shannon for a bit in Saigon.  Our youngest son, Spencer lives and works in Chicago.

I can't wait to see all of you in Hanoi.  Peace to our journey.

Hi, I'm Gloria.  I'm so excited! It sounds like a lot of us come from rural backgrounds.  Me, too. I was raised on a farm in North Dakota and raised my family in North Dakota, but now live in Colorado.  I teach ESL at Colorado State University and have been a teacher all my life. Name it and I have probably taught it (math excluded).  My passion is traveling.  When I got married 40 years ago I wanted to go to Paris for our honeymoon.  My husband said, "If you've got the money honey, I got the time".  I've paid for vacations since.  I am a workaholic but the money goes for travel  - 50 countries and counting.  Looking forward to working with you all.

michael douglass march 2015

I was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa where I developed an early interest in American Indian history and culture.  I earned an undergraduate degree at the University of Montana (Missoula) and then attended graduate school in Cooperstown, NY where I studied history museum administration.  

In the late 1970’s I worked for the Wisconsin Historical Society at their open-air museum near Milwaukee, Old World Wisconsin.  After another brief stint in Montana I returned to Wisconsin in the early 1980’s, eventually moving to Prairie du Chien, a city of some 8,000 souls on the banks of the Mississippi River in the southwestern corner of the state.  For 30 years I worked as Site Director for Villa Louis – a historic site owned and operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society. My major work there was directing restoration of the Victorian estate that gives its name to the site. 

I retired in 2013 and today work as a seasonal park ranger for the National Park Service at Effigy Mounds National Monument.  

I have always loved history and historic buildings and currently live in a 100 year-old arts and crafts house.  I am an active hobbyist in War of 1812 and early 19^thcentury Fur Trade re-enactment. I also love to camp, hike, garden and antique and boat on the Mississippi.   

I am active in my Lutheran Church and have been involved in numerous local and regional organizations including Rotary.   I have gone on three Rotary-based mission trips to Guatemala and Peru. This will be my first trip to Asia although I have traveled in the UK, Ireland and Europe. 

I have never been married and have a small family -  today consisting of one brother and three adult nephews and nieces. Oh yeah, and one grumpy old cat. 

tim blaufuss march 2015

Hey all my name is Tim Blaufuss. I am currently a 3rd year Pediatric resident in St. Louis and next year I will be starting my Gastroenterology Fellowship in Kansas City. I am originally from Fargo, North Dakota and yes just like the movie! Interesting fact about me is I am a triplet. This will be my first mission trip and I am really excited. It will be great to meet all of you. 

Courtney Nibbe March 2015

Xin chao! I'm excited to meet you all and very much looking forward to helping out on this trip. Currently, I'm living in La Crosse, Wisconsin and working as a family medicine resident. I'm half-way through residency and learning lots. So nice to be going on this adventure with Jenna and Terry. I am originally from Waverly, Minnesota and grew up in a rural farming community. I've been on a couple international missions trips before and love taking in the culture and tasting new foods. I'll now be able to show off my proficiency with chopsticks thanks to a Korean friend. (I cannot catch a fly with them....yet). Very grateful to all those involved with the incredible organization and planning that is involved surrounding this trip.

Lori Trumbo March 2015

Hi! I’m Lori Trumbo, and I live in Salt Lake City, Utah. My husband, Andrew, and I have 3 children and 6 grandchildren. I am an RN and work in the Newborn ICU at the University Hospital here. I enjoy traveling and love trying and cooking foods from around the world.  I have taught neonatal resuscitation in Mongolia and helped in an orphanage in China. I volunteer as an education coordinator with Love Without Boundaries.

Vietnam has long been on my list of places I would like to visit, and I am excited to be able to do it in a meaningful way with COPI! I look forward to meeting you all!