Get To Know Us
Staff
Alex Van Dewark
Chief Operating Officer
Alex is a husband to an amazing wife Lindsay, and a father to the most amazing human he has met, his daughter London. Alex lives in Chico, CA located just above Sacramento. He has worked as a Firefighter/Paramedic for a decade and he also owns a small business. He has worked for 6 years for a team-building and leadership training company called Odyssey and grew up working for his father's construction company. He has too many hobbies, some of which are music (both playing and listening) tinkering with his motorcycle, woodworking, and brewing his own beer. He also loves traveling and learning and trying new things.
Alma Garcia
Team Leader
Alma Garcia is a leader who has a history of supporting initiatives that empower young girls and women. Inspired by her experience volunteering as a mentor for Big Brothers & Sisters of Central Texas, she went on to Serve as the Executive Director of Dream Angels, Inc., a nonprofit organization focused on empowering at-risk girls and providing the support and opportunities necessary to provide them with the best tools possible to achieve their professional and personal dreams. Alma has served as BLV’s Community Engagement Specialist as well as being a seasoned Program Leader guiding groups in our host communities abroad.
Catherine Greenberg
Founder & Managing Partner
Catherine Greenberg is the idea architect and founder of U.S. based education and leadership nonprofit Bright Light Volunteers. She is an advocate for global education and believes that only through study, action, and building authentic relationships with our global brothers and sisters can we combat hate and cultivate peace and understanding in our interconnected world.
Scott Jennings
Team Leader
Scott Jennings is one of our earliest volunteers, and he brings fifteen years of management consulting experience to our team. Scott leads programs and assists behind the scenes with business operations and strategy. He has contributed to programs in Cambodia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru. When he isn’t volunteering with us or working with his clients you can find him training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in San Diego, California.
Interns
Riley Galante
Summer 2020
Riley is a rising junior at SMU studying Computer Science. He is from Seattle, WA, and enjoys golf, driving, and music. He aspires to create something that will make a lasting impact on the world, at the very least providing a service that will better the lives of the people using it. He has experience with creating applications through React, and with using Javascript, Java, and C++.
Grant Ayers
Summer 2020
Grant is a rising junior at SMU studying Computer Science. He is originally from Kansas City, Missouri but is now living in Dallas. He is interested in developing software that could make life easier or more enjoyable for the people who use it.
Tim Desmond
Summer 2020
Tim is a Finance and Computer Science major and rising junior at SMU. He is from Phoenix, Arizona, and enjoys hiking, camping, and actively contributing to his community. He is working towards becoming a management consultant and he wants to help spread ideas and drive change to help improve society. He has experience with AdWords, worked with Catherine this past semester with Consult Your Community, a student-run consulting firm at SMU, and worked at a law firm managing CRM last summer.
Hetal Patel
Summer 2020
Hetal is a rising senior at UT Dallas, majoring in Information Technology and Systems. She enjoys learning about Artificial Intelligence and aspires to be a Data Scientist in the future. Her hobbies include painting, gardening, and playing Chess. She has experience in Java, SQL, Tableau, and Database Creation. Hetal is a part of "Women in Tech & Business" club at UT Dallas, and recently got a place in the Cisco Networking Academy.
Steve Shoemaker
Summer 2020
Steve is a rising junior studying Computer Science and Philosophy major at Southern Methodist University. Additionally, he is the trip manager for SMU’s Outdoor Adventures program during the school year, which provides outdoor experience and learning trips to the Students and Faculty of SMU. He has experience writing full stack applications using Mysql, Nodejs, React and Angular. His current career goal is to get a masters in Computer Science then go to law school to practice IP law.