Tag: Steering Committee
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Roger Ludeman – FFIS Volunteer and Steering Committee Member
A born and raised Midwesterner (South Dakota), Roger Ludeman has found that his life journey has taken him to over 60 countries. He attended college in his hometown and became a school music teacher. In 1965 he was selected to participate in a U.S. government sponsored program to study counseling and psychology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania…
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Suzanne Dassenko – FFIS Volunteer, Steering Committee Member and Secretary
Suzanne Dassenko and her husband Bill joined FFIS in 2010 when they hosted a young lady from Singapore before the winter term started. She joined the Steering Committee in 2011 and has been a very active member and volunteer since. My friend, who hosted students for 35+ years, told me I’d like it and that…
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Tomomi Kurosaki – Lane Community College Liaison to FFIS
My name is Tomomi Kurosaki (黒崎友美) and I was born and raised in Japan. Since I was little, my dream was to learn English. So, I decided to move to the U.S. right after graduating from high school. I took some ESL (English as a Second Language) courses and completed an Associate degree in Hawaii.…
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Rick Obst – FFIS Volunteer, Steering Committee Member and Past Chair
Rick Obst joined FFIS in 2007 after learning about the organization at the Asian Celebration. A few years later he joined the Steering Committee and became the Chair soon thereafter. He served as the Chair through 2015 when Paul Harvey assumed that role. Matthew Fisher is the current Chair. His interest in international students probably…
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Becky Megerssa – UO Liaison to FFIS
I grew up in Naselle, WA, a small rural town with a population of less than 1,000, many of whom were Finnish immigrants and their descendants. I went to school with the children of first generation Finns and learned from them about the culture of sauna, afternoon tea and sweets, and the Christmas tradition of…
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Craig Biersdorff – FFIS Volunteer and Steering Committee Member
Craig Biersdorff has been an FFIS volunteer since 1988, which means he’s entering his third decade in support of our mission! In that time, Craig and his family have established friendships with 40+ international students from several dozen countries around the world. “Having lived overseas and experienced the difficulty adjusting to another culture, I felt…
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Matthew Fisher – FFIS Steering Committee Chair & Treasurer
Matthew Fisher is the current Chair and Treasurer of the FFIS Steering Committee. He and his wife Kassy hosted their first FFIS student in 2009 and Matthew joined the Steering Committee the following year. Their now eight-year-old daughter Margot took her first steps as a one-year-old in Beppu, Japan. “Hosting international students from the UO…
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June Brooks – FFIS Conversation Friend Coordinator
June Brooks serves as our FFIS Conversation Friend Coordinator. She is originally from Ossining, New York, but has lived in Lane County for the past 37+ years. She joined the Steering Committee in 2009 after retiring from a career of teaching special education in Cottage Grove for 23 years. June is married with two grown…
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Cindee Robertson – FFIS Volunteer and Steering Committee Member
Most volunteers with the Friendship Foundation for International Students (FFIS) have experienced life overseas and enjoy interacting with people from other countries. That’s certainly the case with Cindee Robertson. She spent ten years as a teacher in Nepal, Romania, and Tunisia before returning to Eugene to retire in 2014. Working with international students is near and dear to her…
Friendship Foundation for International Students 