SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
Five area professionals will leave Reno this Saturday, Jan. 16, on a four-week cultural exchange to the southern Indian states of Kerala and Tamilnadu. The team was selected by representatives of local Rotary clubs and made possible by donations of local Rotarians through The Rotary Foundation. The program is known as Rotary Group Study Exchange (GSE) and selects four non-Rotarian, young professionals (ages 25-40) and one Rotarian group leader to spend four weeks in another country to learn and share business and cultural information.
The exchange is organized and funded by Rotary District 5190 (consisting of 54 Rotary clubs in northern Nevada and northeastern California) in cooperation with Rotary District 3201 in India. The District in India will send a reciprocal team of business professionals in April.
During the exchange the GSE team will tour large and small communities, visit local businesses, meet with business leaders and be hosted by local Rotarians. The goal of the Group Study Exchange program is to promote goodwill and international understanding while giving the opportunity for business men and women from different countries to share new ideas and concepts that may lead to innovative approaches within their respective professions.
This year’s outgoing team is as follows:
Jon Greene (team leader, Rotary Club of Reno Sunrise, NV)
Greene has been a member of the Rotary Club of Reno Sunrise since March of 1998. He has served the club as treasurer, secretary, fundraising chair and membership chair and was club president in 2003-04. Currently he is the webmaster for the Rotary Club of Reno Sunrise and an advisor for the Rotaract Club of Reno. Greene has been a member of the Rotary Youth Exchange District Committee since 2002 and has served as the executive secretary for District 5190 Rotary Youth Exchange program since 2003.
Patrick Brutsche (sponsored by the Rotary Club of Reno Sunrise)
Brutsche moved to Reno to open the Northern Nevada TEKsystems office. Currently, he is enjoying growing this new TEKsystems office as well as teaching technology courses at Morrison University in Reno. In his spare time, Brutsche enjoys tennis and basketball while also serving on the board of directors for the Project Management Institute–Northern Nevada Chapter, the Northern Nevada Software Developers Group and New2u Computers (a Disability Resources company).
Brenda Igler (sponsored by the Rotary Club of Grass Valley, Calif.)
Igler is a graduate of the nation’s leading school in ayurvedic medicine, the California College of Ayurveda (CCA). A dedicated practitioner, Brenda holds certifications as a clinical ayurvedic specialist and as a pancha karma specialist. Her knowledge in herbal medicine spans from the sustainable and organic cultivation of plants on through to the preparation of specialty formulations. As the director of herbalism, coordinator of the internship program and a member of the teaching faculty at the CCA, Igler is kept busy managing the college’s herbal pharmacy, supervising interns or teaching in the classroom. Igler also conducts her clinical practice at the college’s Mind-Body Health Center, providing private consultations and body therapies in the Pancha Karma Clinic. Igler is a compassionate and inspiring practitioner of ayurvedic medicine committed to providing service to humanity.
Jennifer Spina (sponsored by the Rotary Club of South Lake Tahoe, Nev.)
Spina teaches physical education part time at a community college. This provides opportunities for her to educate and encourage students to find a sport or activity that gives them pleasure as well as health benefits. She is also the international education coordinator at the college, where she uses her own travel experiences to arrange study abroad experiences for local students, as well as also to recruit international students to the mountain community college.
Nichole Wasson (sponsored by the Rotary Club of Carson City Sunset)
Wasson has a bachelor’s degree in business administration with honors from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. She has worked in the insurance industry for the last seven years and currently works for an insurance agency in Reno. Wasson is also involved with the Builders Association of Western Nevada, serves as the vice president of the Women’s Council and is a member of the Government Affairs Committee. She also is a member of Toastmasters.
Additional notes
Rotary District 5190: The district consists of 54 clubs located in northern Nevada and northeastern California. It is the largest Rotary district in the contiguous United States, equivalent to the area of Germany. More information about our district can be found at www.rotarydistrict5190.org.
Group Study Exchange
More information about the GSE program can be found at the Rotary International website (click for GSE Link) and at our district website (click for District GSE Link). To follow the progress of the GSE team go to GSE Team Leader Blog.
