PAM RAY

Pam Ray is a native of North Carolina. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Clothing and Textiles. Her work experience includes a career of over 30 years in the apparel industry as a designer, manager of product development and currently as an international sourcing representative of textile products from Pakistan.

From 1997 to 2000, Pam and her family lived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Jakarta, Indonesia. While living in Asia, she worked as a compliance and quality consultant of textile manufacturing facilities in Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Upon her return to the US, she assumed her current position as an independent representative/consultant for textile manufacturers from Pakistan.

Her husband, Ron is retired from the tobacco industry. Their older son, Josh is a health economist in Basel, Switzerland, while their younger son, Alex is completing an education degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While at home, Pam enjoys walking her dog, Pilates/yoga classes and baking. She appreciates international travel and likes to experience traditional customs, traveling to over 25 different countries.
After returning to the US, Pam decided to become a contributing member of her local community which principally involved becoming a member of the Rotary Club of Kernersville since 2005, where she currently serves on the Board of Directors and is the Sergeant at Arms. She has been active in the club’s “Study Buddy” program which tutors elementary school students. Through Pam’s efforts the Kernersville Club has joined forces with the Rotary Club of Faisalabad, Pakistan with the goal of improving female education in Pakistan. The current project is a Foundation Matching grant for a school of female students that are visually impaired. Pam is a Paul Harris Fellow.

During the visit to Taiwan, Pam hopes to visit textile companies to learn how Taiwanese companies manage the increasing trend of globalization and its impact on the outsourcing of textile and apparel manufacturing locally. Additionally Pam is concerned about population growth and sustainable development in her local area and would like to gain an understanding of how the changes have been coordinated in Taiwan to preserve natural resources. She is also interested in the cultivation and processing of Bamboo as a renewable resource.

DENISE BELLAMY

GSE Team Member: Denise Bellamy grew up as a military dependant and spent much of her early years traveling. In 2002, Denise received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro. During her undergraduate studies, she participated in a semester exchange program in Ghana, West Africa. It was through this experience that she was first able to recognize the value of developing higher education programming that incorporates international dimensions and promotes cultural awareness through global exchange.

After graduation, Denise spent 2 years working as a Reliability Engineer for Eaton Automotive in Michigan. She also worked as a Sales Engineer for Rockwell Automation in Milwaukee, WI. After much contemplation, Denise decided to pursue full-time graduate studies in the field of Education in 2005. She attended Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk, VA where she worked as a Study Abroad Advisor in the Office of International Programs. In 2007, she completed a Master of Science degree in International Higher Education. During her graduate studies, she had the opportunity to conduct educational research in London, Oxford, Brussels, Bruges, and Costa Rica.

In her present position as the Assistant Director of Study Abroad and Exchange Programs at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), she assists with study abroad marketing and recruitment efforts. The GSE program will serve as a great compliment to Denise’s current position by allowing her the opportunity to learn more about the innovative activities being implemented by international education professionals in Taiwan. She will also gain important language and cultural knowledge that will allow her to better serve the increasing Taiwanese students population at UNCG.

When Denise is not at work, she enjoys good books, movies and live music. Denise and her boyfriend Josephus, a local Greensboro poet, are fans of the arts and enjoy traveling. Her passion involves preparing students for success in the 21st century through encouraging young people to think, learn, and experience life globally.

Denise would like to visit several universities during her visit to Taiwan (especially Yuan Ze a partner school). Her main objective is to learn more about the role of international education in Taiwanese higher education systems and to uncover the contemporary issues and opportunities facing administration and programming.

ABBY EATON

During the Taiwan visit, Abby hopes to learn more about large scale manufacturing, and would like to visit some furniture manufacturing facilities. She hopes the first-hand experience will help her in her future design career by learning some of the limitations as well as solutions to different design problems. Abby also hopes to learn about the types of furniture most popular in Taiwanese homes. She hopes the experience of seeing the furniture solutions created in a different culture can help spur creativity for designs when she returns.


Abigail (Abby) Eaton graduated from Auburn University with honors in Industrial Design in 2004. She moved to North Carolina shortly after graduating to join the Furniture design firm of Otto & Moore, Inc. Abby has worked in collaboration with several of Otto & Moore’s respected clients and as lead designer for a number of collections such as National Geographic, Country Living, Eddie Bauer, and Lea Kids.


Abby has been a resident of North Carolina for over three years. She has met a lot of friends in the area and enjoys sharing many of the Triad’s activities with them. The area has also fostered many of Abby’s hobbies and interests. Abby loves that North Carolina is great for many outdoor activities. Biking, hiking, Ultimate Frisbee and whitewater kayaking are just a few of her interests. Art has also been a passion of Abby’s. She has worked as a fine artist, as well as arts & crafts since she was a small child.


Abby is very close to her family. Her parents, Tom and Louse live in North Atlanta, Georgia and she tries to visit often. Her Brother, Tyler recently moved to Dallas, Texas with his wife. They have just had their first child, and Abby is thrilled to be an Aunt!


Abby has had opportunity to travel to, as well as live in many different places. She has always enjoyed new experiences and getting to see people and cultures first-hand. She was thrilled when she was selected as a GSE Team member and looks forward to all the new opportunities the team will experience in Taiwan.

KIM HERZING

Kim Herzing is originally from Buffalo, New York. She spent half of her childhood in Houston, Texas. She has called Greensboro, North Carolina home for the last 14 years. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Psychology and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Last year she completed the clinical requirements to practice counseling in the mental health field to both adults and children in the state of North Carolina.

Through out her career in the human service field, Kim has had the opportunity to work with several diverse populations (at risk youth, adults and children with developmental disabilities, and substance abuse). Currently, she works full-time for the Guilford County Department of Public Health providing in-home psycho/social counseling and case management to women of low socio-economic status. These women have recently given birth and are at risk for having a subsequent poor birth outcome due to medical/psychological/or social risks. She works part-time providing counseling and suppervision to three therapeutic foster care homes in Randolph County. In addition, Kim is in the process of opening up a part-time private practice in Greensboro where she provides both individual and family counseling

When she is not helping others, Kim can be found flying the friendly skies. She has a passion for aviation and has been a licensed pilot for 10 years. She holds a single-engine land rating and has future plans to get her license to land on the water. She enjoys international as well as local travel. Kim loves to learn about other cultures, customs, and religions. She spends her free time with family and close friends enjoying good conversation and a variety of activities.

Through the Group Study Exchange, Kim is hoping to learn more about the medical and mental health care system in Taiwan. Currently, the infant mortality rate in North Carolina is higher than in Taiwan. She would like to learn about specific policies and practices around interconceptional and prenatal care that has helped Taiwan to have a lower infant mortality rate. Kim is very interested in learning about the beliefs and practices around mental health with both adults and children. She is looking forward to making new connections and forming new friendships. She would love to have the opportunity to increase her job skills, step outside of her comfort zone through public speaking, and increase her knowledge base so that she can share this information with other professionals as well as better serve the families she works with.

SAM SEIFERT

Sam Seifert was born and raised in Henderson, North Carolina, a small tobacco and textile town with a population of approximately 16,000. Sam’s mother, Betsy, was a stay at home mom and his father, Donald, ran the Henderson Coca-Cola Bottling Company. Sam has a large family – 2 brothers, 1 sister, 5 nieces, 4 nephews, 3 brothers-in-law and 2 sisters in-law. Sam has been married for over 5 years to Amine and on November 16, 2007, they welcomed the birth of their first child, Kate. Sam and Amine are thrilled to have Kate in their lives!

Sam attended high school at Kerr-Vance Academy and graduated in 1995. While in high school, Sam played basketball, soccer, golf and tennis. Sam then spent 4 years at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC and graduated in 1999 with a major in Religion and a minor in Psychology. He graduated in 2005 from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) with a Master’s degree in Health Administration.

Sam’s first job out of college was as a Health Insurance Underwriter with State Farm Insurance Company from 1999-2002. In 2002, he became a full-time graduate student in Health Administration. After two years of coursework and as part of his curriculum, he accepted a position as an Administrative Resident at North Carolina Baptist Hospital (NCBH)/Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (WFUBMC) from 2004-2005. After completing the residency and graduating from VCU, he stayed at the Medical Center as an Operations Analyst. In July 2006, he switched positions and became Divisional Administrative Manager, a position he currently holds. In his current position, he reports to a hospital Vice-President of Operations. Sam works on a variety of special projects that focus on many aspects of divisional and hospital operations and finance. Components of the Division in which Sam works include: Surgical Services (Pre-Operative Assessment Clinic, Pediatric/Inpatient/Outpatient Operating Rooms, Anesthesia, Post Anesthesia Care Unit, Endoscopy, School of Nurse Anesthesia, and Heart-Pancreas-Kidney Transplant Services), Facility Services (Clinical Equipment Management, Facility Engineering, Power Plant Operations, Housekeeping and Laundry), Materials Management (Central Sterile/Central Processing, Purchasing, Receiving, Stores, Distribution), and Mail Services and Parking Services.

Sam is excited to visit Taiwan to experience and learn more about Taiwanese culture. As a Religion major in college, he is interested in the various types and role of religion in Taiwan. In addition, he wants to further his knowledge of the healthcare business by examining the healthcare financing and delivery system in Taiwan. He hopes to have the opportunity to visit Taiwanese healthcare organizations (hospitals, clinics, etc) and speak with hospital leaders and clinicians about the strengths and opportunities for improvement within their system. Sam is interested in learning more about the principles of Taiwan’s National Health Insurance and the effects on healthcare cost, access and quality.