Meet Our Team
LEAP to:
New Canaan |Stamford | Kibera
New Canaan, CT
Abby Herman
My name is Abby Herman and I am 16 years old and in 11th grade at New Canaan High School. I really enjoy reading, hiking, skiing and other outdoor activities. In school, my favorite subject is science and when I get older I really want to be a doctor. I have 5 siblings, including 3 boys and 2 girls that are all younger than me!
I really enjoy coming to LEAP because it gives me an opportunity to lead and work with so many different people. I look forward to getting to communicate with Kibera, Kenya every week!
Will Cuoco
Austen Deery
My name is Austen Deery and I am 16-years-old. I am currently working on the Garbage2energy Project within LEAP and hope to connect more on a daily basis with the kids from FAFU, Kibera, Kenya. I go to New Canaan High School, which is about a 15 minute drive from my house, and I run track and field for my school. In school, I take photography and film as extra classes and hope to be in the film industry when I grow older.
I have two siblings, a younger sister a younger brother. My sister is named Abigail and my brother is named Drew. Abigail is 13-years-old and Drew is 10-years-old. Even though I am 16-years-old, I still have not started the process of getting my drivers license as I am more focused on track and school at the moment.
Being an aspiring filmmaker, my favorite movie has to be the Shawshank Redemption, even though I could name about 50 other movies that are on that list as well.
All in all, I am a very active person who wants to be in the movie business when I grow up.
Stamford, CT
Chistele Thomas
My name is Christele Thomas and I am 15- years-old. I am in 9th grade at Stamford High School. Both of my parents work. I have 2 brothers and 3 sisters. My grandma has a sickness on her foot and just got out the hospital. I was in the hospital for 6 months when I was a baby. I have asthma. I stayed back in kindergarten and that it is why I am in grade 9.
The first time I went to LEAP, I was scared, but then I started to love it. LEAP is fun and I never knew that bullying was affecting so many people. Now I am going to try to change it.
Kelaiah Robinson
My name is Kelaiah Robinson and I am 11-years-old. I am in 6th grade at Stamford Middle School. I live with my mom, brother, and grandma. My mom works. My grandma takes care my baby cousins, and my brother is in preschool. He is about to go to kindergarten. My grandma does not work but take care of kids. I just got my report card on Friday and I am kind of proud of it. I want to be a baby sitter and a singer. My goal is to get a good college education. I also want better grades on my report card this year and hope to get all As.
I’ve been in LEAP for two months now and I really enjoy it. I learned that bullying is not good. I realized I have been bulling people and I have learned how to not be a bully. LEAP has really changed me. In LEAP, we are talking about going to Africa. We are also talking about doing a play on bullying. It is going off-track, but we are trying to make it work.
Chrismide J. Chery
My name is Chrismide J. Chery and I am 13-years-old. My birthday is February 11, 1999. I am in 8th grade at Stamford Middle School, and my grades are somewhat good. I try my best in school and I am very serious when it comes to my school work. My favorite subjects are Technology and Art class. I was born in Manhattan, NYC and I am originally from Brooklyn, NY. I am Haitian/Dominican and I live with my Mom and Dad. I have 2 sisters and 1 brother. I am friendly, sweet, and I like to chat. I think I have a good sense of humor and I like to laugh a lot. There isn’t one day where I’m not laughing. I also like to dance and sing. My goal this year is to get all As in school and I hope to graduate middle school. I would also like to become a better dancer and singer. In the future, I would like to become a cop, but I also want to be a lawyer.
Leslina Dangler
“My understanding of leadership would be that you are breaking out of your shell. You are standing up for yourself and showing self respect.”
–Leslina Dangler
My name is Leslina Dangler and I am 15-years-old. I was born June 27, 1997. I attend Stamford High School. I have 2 brothers, Koran is 11-years-old and Jyrese is 7-years-old. I live with my grandparents. My parents are away. I am Dominican and Black. I love the color purple. My favorite number is 3 because it’s shaped like half a heart. I also like 7 because it rhymes with heaven, which I truly love! My favorite subjects are math and civics. I would love to become a Psychologist or Nurse. Im attending a program at school called Avid. Avid is a program where it helps you develop skills for college and also help you get a scholarship for it. Avid stands for Advanced Via Individual Determination. I was also recently nominated to go to a program at my school called Upward Bound. Upward Bound is a program also for financial aid and preparation for college. In my case, I would like to attend Rutgers University or Southern University. I am able to go to UConn in Stamford to learn on campus. I encourage myself to accomplish my goals daily by saying “I know I will accomplish my goals and it will be done.”
Norvens Charlestin & Brandon Wolfe
Kibera, Kenya
Kibera is a neighborhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya, three miles from the city center. Generally considered the largest slum in in Nairobi and the largest urban slum in Africa, Kibera, whose population varies between 170,000 and over 1,000,000 depending on which slums are included in defining the area, often lacks the daily resources that even lower-class Americans take for granted.
But beyond the physical problems that certain communities face, LEAP also looks to identify personal problems faced by its youth in order to shape them into the talented leaders of tomorrow. Children in Kibera, many of whom struggle with poverty and disease, are at an immediate disadvantage, despite being as and sometimes more driven than their American counterparts. Many have desires to become lawyers, doctors, teachers and leaders with the power to change lives and ensure that no one has to face the same struggles that they do.
