Team Members

All Pangea Proxima Consultants are proficient in research and analysis, speak more than one language and specialize in a particular area such as Health, Education, GIS, Natural Building, etc… More importantly, our team members are passionate about creating a world where people and the environment thrive together.

If you are interested in joining our Pangea Proxima Team as an International Consultant or Volunteer please visit the “Join Us” page to learn more.

TREVOR STINE

Trevor Stine is the founder of Pangea Proxima. He began developing the idea for Pangea Proxima in the year 2000, and started acquiring the skills and developing the plans to make it a reality. Trevor’s passion for working on solutions targeting the origins of societal problems stems from his experiences counseling at-risk youth in Florida and Tennessee and while managing several philanthropic campaigns for the United Way. While working on the social development aspects of the concept, he realized how important and how possible it was to utilize and promote sustainable methods during development efforts through a holistic approach. His experiences while traveling in Latin America and living in the MX/US Border Area has accentuated his understanding of and passion for sustainable development. He received his B.A. in Sociology from University of South Florida and M.A. in Latin American Studies with an emphasis in Geographic Information Systems from San Diego State University. Trevor was named, “Volunteer of the Year” twice while attending USF and working for the United Way of the Bay Area in SF, CA. Trevor was the GIS Specialist for the East County Economic Development Council of San Diego and has successfully authored three patents concerning biometric and anti-identity theft technologies for CSID, which was purchased by Experian in 2016 for $360 million. Trevor currently teaches Introduction to Research, Mexico/U.S. Border Studies, World Regional Geography, and Advanced Sociology: Urban Studies at NewSchool of Architecture + Design in San Diego. 
Trevor is extremely proud of the work already accomplished through Pangea Proxima Projects and is excited for the future prospects of working with others on meaningful projects around the world, which aim to alleviate poverty and promote human potential in a sustainable manner.

MARINA MARCUS

Marina Marcus is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, serving in Ethiopia from 2009-2011 on projects related to HIV/AIDS.  She is currently pursuing her Masters in Global Public Health at Columbia University and is working with the World Health Organization on a project to increase access to mental health services worldwide. A native San Diegan, she spent her college years studying psychology at UCSD and volunteering with community-based health projects in San Diego, Tijuana, and Arusha, Tanzania.  Her passion is to participate in work that allows people to live happy, healthy lives and empowers them to have a positive impact on their own communities.  She is proud to join the Pangea Proxima team as an international consultant in order to work toward the goal of creating sustainable, thoughtful projects that eliminate health disparities. 

EVAN RUBIN

Evan Rubin is the Director of Instructional Technology and Design at the Language Acquisition Resource Center (LARC) at San Diego State University, the facilitator of the summer social media workshop, and is the co-coordinator of International Association of Language Learning Technology's webinars series. Evan has presented at national and international language learning and technology conferences on the use of Web 2.0 technology, mobile devices, and E-Learning software for world language learning and teaching. In addition, Evan currently supports the Online Afghan and Pakistan Culture with Language Course, technology and teacher training workshops, and the development of the Social Media Research Portal. Evan received his B.A. in Sociology from UC Santa Barbara and M.A. in Latin American Studies from San Diego State University.  Evan is excited to be part of the Pangea Proxima team of consultants and assist in creating effective educational and training resources and, when appropriate, use communication and information technology as a platform for this effort. 

AMANDA PEREZ

Amanda Perez is a practicing Social Worker who received her master’s degree in social work from San Diego State University. She has spent the past three years living and traveling abroad and returned with a vision to connect global communities through social development and change. Amanda has a long history of volunteer service; including sustainable tourism projects in Panama, home building in Mexico, and student leadership development here in the US.  Currently she is working with Opportunity International, which is opening a new chapter in San Diego in order to spread the word and support for micro-credit in Africa, Asia and Latin America.  The reason she chose to get involved with Opportunity International and Pangea Proxima is their shared approach to social development. Pangea Proxima is creating sustainable social and environmental development by empowering local citizens to be the change in their community.  Each project will lead to lasting improvement in people’s lives and the environment because the necessary research has been done and local communities have been asked to take on the leadership role.  This is a sustainable and effective method to creating a happier and healthier world and she is proud to be a part of this team.

JOSH MINCEY

Josh Mincey is an educator with a passion for the technologies that connect people from various regions, backgrounds, and cultures.  He has a Master’s degree in Post Secondary Education (Instructional Technology specialty) from Troy University.  Josh has taught in alternative education programs, traditional and vocational high schools, and even had a stint as a counselor with the University of New Orleans.  Josh is currently a certified teacher in the states of Florida and Tennessee.  His goal as an educator is to bring a high quality education to every child and he feels that technology is the way to bring that education to all corners of the globe.  Josh lives in the beautiful city of Knoxville, TN and is proud to be aligned with Pangea Proxima with the goal to spread life-changing educational initiatives to children and communities around the globe.

MONICA ALMEIDA

Monica Almeida, originally from Brazil, is working as a GIS Specialist at TRNERR- Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve near on the border of San Diego, CA and Tijuana, MX. She graduated in 2006, with a Geography degree from UDESC (University of the State of Santa Catarina) in Florianopolis, Brazil. While in Brazil, Monica worked with the Center of Environmental Studies leading workshops focused in Environmental Education in schools and women's correctional facilities. After moving to United States, Monica volunteered for "Nos de Chita", a group that demonstrates Brazilian folk dance, capoeira, body percussion and Brazilian rhythms and teaches Brazilian history to school children. Currently, Monica is nearing completion of certification to be a GIS technician in the Geographic Information System Program at Mesa College in San Diego. She is very motivated to combine her skills in Environmental Education and GIS in order to further more projects and ideas for Pangea Proxima.

HANNAH EVANS

Hannah Evans' experience is in International Development with particular emphasis in Sustainable Agriculture in Latin America. She recently returned from rural East Panama, where she was working last year with Indigenous communities on organic agriculture and waste management education programs. While abroad, Hannah also worked as a non- profit consultant for an online social mobilization platform and subsidiary of the international non- profit, Global Brigades, Inc. Hannah is now working and living in Newport Beach, California, and hopes to continue the study and analysis of food justice and health promotion in Central and South America in graduate school next year. Hannah gained her undergraduate degree in Environmental Policy and Natural Resource Conservation Geography from San Diego State University, and spent her collegiate career working with non- profits focused in marine conservation, such as the Surfrider Foundation and San Diego Coastkeeper. Her passion is to be involved with work that helps communities access basic tenants necessary for development and to empower individuals through education and resource acquisition to become beneficiaries in society. She is proud to join the Pangea Proxima team as an international consultant in order to work toward the goal of creating sustainable, thoughtful projects that eliminate health disparities.

AUSTIN & MICHELLE DRILL  

(Co-Founders, Casa de Tierra)

Since meeting each other as students at Florida's Rollins College, Austin & Michelle have wandered the world together – discovering, collecting and igniting ideas and inspiration.  In 2005, they made their first trip to Nicaragua, and fell swiftly in love with the vibrancy and authenticity of San Juan del Sur.  They slowly transitioned their lives to Central America, where they put their ideas into action, and dedicated their time to establishing Casa de Tierra, an ecologically and ethically minded endeavor that practices structurally-sound, economically-efficient, and environmentally-responsible building methods to create homes, schools and community projects.  They believe that sustainable development answers the need for effective, efficient, and affordable housing, and are proud to become members of Pangea Proxima’s global initiative to foster a world where people and the environment thrive together.

M ABDULLAH ABU DIYAN

M Abdullah Abu Diyan is a Conservation GIS and Remote Sensing Analyst, who received his MSc in Geo-Spatial Technologies from a consortium of three universities of Portugal, Spain and Germany; and BSc in Environmental Science from Bangladesh. Diyan has spent last five years volunteering, working, training, studying, and living in Australia, Europe and USA. He is now working independently in Bangladesh as a Conservation GIS and Remote Sensing Analyst. He has worked as Research Assistant at the Institute of Geoinformatics of University of Muenster in Germany, as forestry field worker for Department of Sustainability and Environment in Victoria, Australia; Volunteered as a GIS analyst for Birds Australia; and various conservation projects in Bangladesh including a dolphin conservation project funded by WCS. He is motivated to combine his Geo-Spatial and Environmental Science expertise to contribute to Pangea Proxima’s sustainable projects.

SABRINA COSTA

Sabrina has solid experience in developing projects through the establishment of cross-sector partnerships and she believes that no one alone is better than a cooperative effort. She has a B.A. in Marine Biology, and a post-graduation degree in Environmental Management through a consortium of the United Nations Environment Program and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Sabrina has over nine years of experience in environmental assessment and territory planning for sustainable development and for the past five years she had worked with a non-government organization promoting the conservation of biodiversity and the recognition of the environmental services in supporting human well-being. While coordinating the planning and decision-making sectors, she provided support through landscaping analysis utilizing GIS for several initiatives in the Atlantic Forest. She also created the platform of interactive maps, which have been used to support Brazilian stakeholders to better manage the landscape. Recently, she became a fellow member of LEAD Europe (The Leadership for Sustainable Development), where among several tasks; she identified the opportunities and proposed suggestions for sustainable business for rural areas in Portugal in order to face the economic crisis. Sabrina has a strong desire of promoting sustainable development and she looks forward to contributing her skills and knowledge to Pangea Proxima's projects, inspiring positive environmental and social changes by innovative ideas through technologies, education and collaborative tools.

HELMUT BRUECKLER

Helmut is a self-employed GIS professional with his business located in Vienna, Austria. He received his BSc degree in Geographic Information Systems via a joint study from Carinthia University of Applied Science (Austria) and San Diego State University (USA). He is currently pursuing an MSc degree at the Vienna University of Technology majoring in Geodesy. His major professional and research activities include Web-based GIS & Cloud Computing, GIS Workflow Modeling, GeoMarketing and Spatial Decision Making. Helmut is passionate about traveling and exploring new places. During his stays in Latin America and San Diego (US/Mexican border region), he became aware of the massive problems and deficits those regions face. Helmut is excited to join Pangea Proxima as an international consultant with the goal of making a positive contribution to sustainable growth, by developing methods and strategies how to use our powerful state of the art technologies in combination with our social visions to achieve this goal.

BRIAN R. SMITH

Brian is the Director of Land Design for a leading design consulting firm, EnSite, Inc., in Fort Myers, Florida. Brian received his Bachelors of Landscape Architecture at the University of Florida. Brian possesses 14 years of professional practice, exceptional skill and knowledge in community planning and design that are applicable to any project, regardless of location, size or land configuration. Brian brings a value‐added service to the consultant team. His involvement brings design expertise to a project that includes the resources and expertise of the entire EnSite team. With emphasis on sustainability as a core value, EnSite offers leading edge design that embraces the balanced approach as it pertains to society, economy and environment. The passion that created EnSite is derived from a commitment to community. Whether it’s designing to provide basic services and needs to individuals or re‐developing regional areas that improve the quality of life, the design concepts from EnSite encourage a healthy lifestyle and promote neighborhood vitality. Brian is honored to join the Pangea Proxima team as an international consultant to assist with site selection, design, and community visioning/involvement on projects around the globe.

  

PANGEA PROXIMA INTERNS

MADDIE OWEN

Maddie is currently a junior, studying Psychology and Spanish at University of San Diego. She is originally from England but wanted to study abroad as she loves to travel and experience new cultures and settings. Maddie have a keen interest in community projects and has a strong belief in living and working among those who need help in order to fully understand and help alleviate the problems they face, especially in third world countries. Maddie spent three months volunteering in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, working on community and environmental projects. The first involving the construction of a fully functioning well in order for the community to have access to clean water. The latter, involved clearing pathways and creating overflow channels through a national park so that there would be disabled access and increased tourism to the area. Maddie wanted to be a part of Pangea Proxima because she has an interest in working in the non-profit sector and would like to learn more about sustainable development and how it can better the lives of those less fortunate than herself.

DANIELLE HOFFER

Danielle is finishing her BA in International Relations with minors in Economics and Leadership Studies at the University of San Diego. She spent six months studying and traveling abroad last year, which embedded a love of experiencing and understanding other cultures. Her passion for international projects was renewed when staying in a rural village in South Africa for a short time this past summer. Her goal for after graduation is finding a job where she can assist with creating sustainable international projects in villages all over the world. She is a large proponent of the belief that giving others the tools to help themselves is the best way to make a positive difference in the lives of others. 

KRISTIN HUGHES

Kristin is currently a student at the University of San Diego after transferring from Hawaii in the Fall 2013 semester.  She is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Pre-Medicine. A native of O’ahu, she hopes to one day practice Trauma Medicine back home in Hawai’i after completing medical school and traveling the world to assist in medical care. Joining the Pangea Proxima team as an intern is a source of excitement for Kristin, as she can’t wait to combine her interest in medicine and health with her passion for people in researching health disparities and other health concerns in Central and South America.  Working with other Pangea Proxima interns and consultants is something she looks forward to, as well as watching her work improve the lives of others across the globe.