Our Team
Staff - Board of Directors - Board of Advisors
Manna Project International (MPI) is a volunteer driven 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving international communities through holistic development. The MPI network is made up of three international sites, twelve university campus chapters, and a growing base of volunteer alumni.
Our international sites are run by 13-month volunteers called Program Directors, who currently come from twelve different universities across the US and Canada. Over the last five years, our Program Directors have represented over 22 different universities.
Additionally, MPI’s university chapters serve communities near their campuses through local programs in addition to promoting our international sites by sending Spring Break trips and 4-week and 8-week summer volunteers.
MPI Staff
Lori Scharffenberg, Executive Director
Katie Messick, Nicaragua Director
Darcy Phillips, Ecuador Director
Dana Zichlin, Guatemala Co-Director
Greg Welch, Financial & Administrative Manager
Lori Scharffenberg
As one of Manna Project's founders, Lori has been a vital part of the MPI team since graduating from Vanderbilt University in 2004 with a degree in Childhood Education. Lori's involvement began when she helped charter the organization in January of 2004. Soon after she went on to teach pre-school in Nicaragua. In the years that followed, she has both overseen the organizational growth and development of the Nicaragua site for three years and has spent the past three years as MPI's Executive Director.
Joel Griffith
After graduating from Palm Beach Atlantic University with a degree in Biology, Joel went a completely different direction helping at-risk youth in the non-profit world for 7 years. Spending half of his childhood internationally in the Caribbean and Europe, Joel was ready to integrate this with his non-profit experience and spent several years as Executive Director for an organization working in Haiti and Nicaragua. This lead to a recently completed M.A. in Intercultural Studies with an International Development concentration from Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, CA. Joel, his wife and their two boys are excited to be back in the Nashville area, while still connected to the international work at Manna. As US Director, Joel handles campus chapter oversight and stateside administration.
Katie Messick
Katie did her undergraduate degree in Sociology and Anthropology from Mary Washington College and then moved to Boston, MA. where she worked for Cultural Survival, an indigenous rights organization. Next she lead 3 international youth travel and service programs for her YMCA in the Berkshires. After doing sales and marketing for an international educational travel organization, Education First, Katie joined Peace Corps and served as an Urban Youth Development Volunteer in Paraguay. Katie graduated in May 2011 with a Masters in International Development Policy from Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy. While at Duke, Katie interned for Save the Children and Restless Development in Uganda. Katie became our Nicaragua Director in the summer of 2011.
Darcy Phillips
Darcy graduated from Xavier University with a degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies and then moved to Ecuador to volunteer with Rostro de Cristo. During her time in Ecuador she taught English, ran an afterschool program and taught a literacy course to children. This experience led her to earn her Master´s degree in Social Justice from Loyola University Chicago, while continuing to work in the field of international development with buildOn. Darcy now brings her passion for service and community development to MPI Ecuador.
As Ecuador Director, Darcy oversees all programs and volunteers at our Ecuador site.
Dana Zichlin
Dana Zichlin, the trailblazer who led the eight-week feasibility trip that preceded the founding of the Guatemala site, hails from Westfield, New Jersey. A long-standing NY Yankees fan and avid candid photographer, she helped build a dam alongside Engineers Without Borders in Tsuraku, Ecuador during college. This confirmed her interest in international development and inspired her to continue working in the field with MPI. Dana brings her leadership skills and fluency in Latin American culture to our newest site, and hopes to continue working abroad in the future. Dana is a graduate of Connecticut College, where she majored in Green Psychology.
Greg Welch
Prior to joining Manna, Greg spent 17 years as a CPA, with the majority of that time being spent as an auditor. He has worked for several public accounting firms in Nashville, ranging from small, local firms, to top 10 largest firms in the country. During this time, he worked with numerous not-for-profit entities in the area, as a service provider and a volunteer. Greg completed both a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Accounting from the Univeristy of Tennessee. Recently he felt a calling to use his talents to help others and joined Manna. Greg, his wife and two children live in Franklin, Tennessee.
Board of Directors
Luke Putnam
Lori Scharffenberg
Greg Pasquali
Marcela Camargo
Maria Domanskis
Zak Schwarzman
Board of Advisers
Anne Dugan
JoAnna Faith
Mark Dalhouse
