WVP Board of Directors
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Your patience is appreciated!
Tom Johnston-O’Neill, Ph.D. – Executive Director
I am an anthropologist and founder of The Worldview Project. I was born and spent my early life in Philadelphia. My first experience with learning about other cultures came in high school where I took a course in Asian history. After high school, I attended Callison College, a college that offered a degree in Cross-Cultural Studies. While at Callison I had the opportunity to live in Japan for a year studying Japanese culture. Upon returning to the United States I studied anthropology at U.C. Santa Cruz. For graduate school, I attended Princeton University where I earned a doctoral degree in Anthropology. For my doctoral fieldwork, I spent nearly 3 years living in West Sumatra, Indonesia. My dissertation is a cultural history of a Minangkabau village and its 400-year transition from a divine Hindu-Buddhist kingdom to a practically-oriented modernist Muslim community. I have been the Program Director for the nonprofit student abroad program, Princeton in Asia, and was also an in-country Academic Director for World Learning in Vermont. I taught Anthropology at Grossmont College in San Diego. I founded the Worldview Press in 2000 to promote public interest in and understanding of world cultures and peoples. I have the unimaginable fortune to be able to work with an incredibly diverse, talented, and forward-thinking group of volunteers, interns, and board members.
Olivia Chang – Board Treasurer
I spent my early childhood in Singapore and have worked in and traveled extensively throughout Asia and Europe. I have a BA from Northwestern University in Evanston, with a double major in Cognitive Science and Linguistics, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. I worked for several years as a CFO and General Manager in the for-profit industry and I currently focus my time on supporting exemplary non-profit organizations. I have enjoyed working with the Worldview Project team and am excited to be part of this family.
Chris Bengs – Board Member
I am a consultant in the area of program/project management in the government and technology industry and have degrees in International Business and Anthropology. I have been working with The Worldview Project as both a volunteer and Board member for two decades. It has been my pleasure to contribute to such a great organization that does so much for the San Diego community, a place I’ve called home my entire life. Cross-cultural awareness, understanding and engagement are critically important to me. I enjoy learning about different cultures and participating in all the many events happening in and around San Diego!
Shari Johnston-O’Neill – Secretary of the Board
I grew up mostly in Southeast Asia and have lived in Vietnam, Taiwan, Laos, Burma (Myanmar now), Thailand (where I went to High School), and the Philippines. Upon my return to the United States I attended UCSD, UCSC and Rutgers University where I was awarded a B.A. in Chinese Studies. After graduating college I engaged in nearly 3 years of ethnographic research, on a Fulbright Scholarship, in a small agricultural village in Indonesia. Since then I obtained a certification in advanced project management and have worked in the health insurance industry managing systems implementations. I am currently a Senior Manager, Project and Program Management, Membership Administration Systems & Support Services at Kaiser Permanente. My interests include reading international fiction and nonfiction, archaeology, camping, attending cross-cultural events, eating my husband’s exquisite culinary creations and sailing. I have traveled extensively throughout Asia, India, Europe and the Americas. I am extremely excited to be part of The Worldview Project.
Monica Emery – Board Member
Growing up in a cross-cultural family in New Jersey, I was fascinated by the role of culture in relationships between people of different nationalities. My curiosity grew into deep interests in transnational competence, cross-cultural success, cultural preservation, intercultural communication, international peace and diplomacy, and education. Volunteering with The Worldview Project allows me to share my passion for cultural understanding with other globally-minded people in San Diego.
I have worked in the field of international education since 1998 which includes 5 years in Japan, working with an international peace and conflict think tank in Washington, D.C., consulting with Princeton in Asia, and directing, teaching, and coordinating international programs at the University of Maryland and Rutgers University. I have a B.A. in international relations from American University in Washington, D.C., and an M.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. Since 2015 I’ve been the Executive Director of the Center for World Music in San Diego, CA.
William James – Board Member
I grew up in Dallas and moved to California as an officer in the Marine Corps. I now work as a Social Work Supervisor for the County of San Diego. When Tom and Shari pitched the idea for The Worldview Project, I was sold and have enjoyed being involved as a board member since the very beginning, 2001. I am proud to be contributing to activities that bring multi-cultural events and stories to our community.
Elizabeth Blomstedt, Ph.D. – Board Member
I am a Lecturer in the USC Writing Program. Before coming to USC, I was the Assistant Director of the Warren College Writing Program at UC San Diego. Prior to moving to California, I grew up in south Texas and later studied rhetoric, composition, and pedagogy at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Houston. Through my undergraduate and graduate coursework and my experience teaching first-year writing at diverse universities, I became passionate about cross-cultural education and awareness. As a teacher and scholar, I am interested in honoring diversity on college campuses through curricular and assessment practices that honor students’ cultural backgrounds, especially through challenging white language supremacy and creating spaces for them to share their own unique stories in writing courses. I admire the Worldview Project’s commitment to providing the San Diego community an opportunity to learn more about different cultures and about cultural sensitivity, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this organization.
Jonathan Choi – Board Member
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Ana Pinpin – Board Member
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Dennis-Michael Broussard – Board Member
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Keshav Damoor – Board Member
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