BULA's BOARD OF DIRECTORS

  

 




BULA's Board of Directors is an amazing group of committed volunteers with a variety of skills, experiences and interests.  Without their dedication, we would be lost!

Melissa Fricke - President

Melissa is the founder of BULA.   She is forever grateful to the amazing people listed below, to all those mentioned on the website and to the rest of you who have made all of our work possible.

Weebale nnyo!

Andrea Procopio, Vice-President

Andrea Procopio went to Uganda in 2007 after taking a leave of absence from her teaching job in Rhodes Island.  Three months into her stay there, she met Melissa who was there to follow through with BULA's plans to reconstruct St. Kizito Primary School.  Andie happened to be teaching at this very same school and immediately jumped on board.  Andie proved to be a tremendous asset to the project and to BULA generally.  After the construction, she committed herself fully to BULA's work and has done tremendous work along the way.

Andie has primarily lived in Uganda for the past 3 years running all projects.  She was responsible for selecting and arranging our next school project and facilitates all educational needs at BULA Children's Home.  She keeps everything going!

Andie received her BA in Psychology and Labor Industrial Relations in 2003 and her Master's in Special Education from Rhodes Island College in 2007.

Thomas Fricke, Vice-President

 Tom Fricke is Melissa's wonderful and supportive father.  He has been behind BULA since the very beginning and it was his initial encouragement that motivated Melissa in BULA's founding.

Tom is a humble buisness owner and active community member.  He is the Vice President of Alan E. Fricke Memorials.  He has served as community Little League President and Booster Club President and is always ready to get involved wherever needed.

Amanda Thorman, Treasurer

Amanda went to Pace University where she played for their soccer team.  She graduated in 2006 with a degree in Mathematics.  She currently works in Research at Cablevision.  Along wtih Director, Shauna Dixon, Amanda spent time in Costa Rica working as a volunteer and traveling through the country.

Caitlyn Densing, Secretary

Caitlyn attended University of Rhodes Island where she polevaulted for their track team and earned a degree in Communications.  Caitlyn hit the Appalachian trail in 2007 and excluding a small patch along the way she has nearly completed it.  She is now nearly finished with her Master's at Pratt in Art Therapy.

Joseph Charchalis, Director

Joe graduated from Hofstra in 2006 with a degree in Computer Science.  After a year off, he enrolled in Law School at Hofstra.  He successfully completed his Law degree in 2010.

Shauna Dixon, Director

 Shauna graduated from Emory in 2006.  Since then, she has continued her educational development.  In 2010, she earned her MS in School Psychology and now she is working on her Ed.M in Mind, Brain and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. 

Kathleen Flynn, Director

Kathleen is a Board Member and has been involved with BULA since Melissa founded the organization.  She was drawn to BULA because of Melissa’s dedication and commitment to the organization, as well as her passion for helping children to learn and thrive in both the U.S. and abroad.

Kathleen holds a B.A. (cum laude) in Political Science from Stonehill College and a M.Phil in International Peace Studies from the University of Dublin, Trinity College.  She is currently working in Investment Management as a Senior Associate for the Global Fixed Income Group at Eaton Vance Management, a Boston based firm.  Kathleen is also a Community Based Mentor (or Big Sister) at the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston, as well as a volunteer at the Boston MSPCA. 

Favorite quote: “The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution which has to start with each one of us?”-Dorothy Day

Karen Fricke, Director

Karen is Melissa's mother who has taken on an incredible role at BULA.  She keeps everything going here in NY, never forgetting the minute details of everything we do.  Behind every successful fundraiser, is Karen's hard work.  Karen traveled with her family to visit Melissa during the school construction and speaks of it highly.  The experience was a profound one for her and she has since devoted much of her self to advancing our work there. 

Mary Elizabeth Roarke, Director

Mary Elizabeth Roarke she graduated Molloy College in 1977 with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing and has worked in the field for over 30 years. She now works full time in clinical research with a major pharmaceutical company on HIV compounds.

 

During her nursing career she worked in various clinical settings. In 1987, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, she along with 2 other nurses opened the first designated AIDS unit on Long Island.  After 2 years she started working as a research nurse conducting clinical trials at the AIDS clinical trials unit at Stony Brook University hospital. In 1998 Mary Elizabeth started in the pharmaceutical industry. During this time she worked cross therapeutically but always maintained a concentration in the HIV/AIDS area of R&D.

 

She is pleased to volunteer as a board member for BULA (Better Understanding of Life in Africa) since 2007.

 

 In 2008 she went to culinary school and earned a certificate in Pastry & Baking Arts. She bakes alongside her daughter, a chef, in their business, NR Catering on Long Island where she lives with her husband and their four children.

 

Mary Elizabeth has written a chapter for a book titled, Potluck Wisdom for the Pharmaceutical Professional. This opportunity sparked her interest in writing and she went onto combine her love of baking and sharing recipes in the Country Comfort cookbook series. The fourth book in the series will be published by Random House in May 2011.

Stacy McLoughlin Taylor, Director