Ben Falik (right) is the co-founder of Summer in the City. He graduated from Andover High School in 2000 and Columbia University in 2004. At Columbia, he was an Urban Studies major, the Food Editor of the Daily Spectator and Hooker for the Men's Rugby Team. In keeping with his philosophy -- "Stay in School...as long as you can" -- Ben is now pursuing graduate degrees in law and public policy at University of Michigan. Ben is married to AJ Falik, who is as wonderful as she is short, which is very.

Neil Greenberg co-founded Summer in the City with Ben in 2002. Although Neil is now employed full-time as a transit planner at SMART, he continues to work with Summer in the City. His primary role is managing the money, tabulating volunteer hours, and keeping us up-to-date on all the latest Excel functions. Rest assured, he strives to combat "front office syndrome," seizing every opportunity he can to hit the streets and get stuff done. (There's an amazing amount of spreadsheeting that goes into that.) Neil lives in Midtown Detroit.

Michael Goldberg is the co-director of Summer in the City. After graduating from Groves in 2000, he decided to devote the rest of his educational career to finding his way back to Groves -- this time as a teacher. When he is not moonlighting as a substitute teacher or listening to AM radio, he is a student at Wayne State University, where he studies secondary social studies education. In the fall, he'll spend the semester student teaching at Derby Middle School.

Rachel Pultusker graduated from West Bloomfield High School in 2002 and from the University of Michigan in 2006. After a relatively brief stint as a poet in Scotland, this bonnie lass returned to the States because she missed American craft stores (only half-kidding). Aside from poetry and markers, Rachel also really likes kids and libraries. She also likes kids in libraries, which is why she is studying to become a school librarian.

Erin Parris is a proud first-year staff member for Summer in the City. She graduated from Groves High School in 2000 and from the University of Michigan in 2004, and is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership at Madonna University. When Erin is not picking up trash, weeding organic gardens or mixing concrete with small children, she teaches 8th grade Spanish and French in Plymouth. In her free time she enjoys running, swimming, hosting dinner parties and singing with a band.

David Zwickl just finished his sophomore year at the University of Michigan, where he is an Economics major. He is a Summer in the City lifer, entering his sixth year with the program. As SitC’s Chief Financial Officer, he thinks that he may be the first 19-year-old CFO ever…although he hasn’t done any official research. At U of M, he sings in an a cappella group and spends the rest of his free time playing the piano, reading, and playing sports. Finally, Go Blue!

Andrew Sokoly is a 2007 graduate of Indiana University and is pursuing a Graduate Degree at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. This will be his third fabulous year with Summer in the City. In his free time, Andrew obsessively organizes his Motown collection and plays short stop on any softball team brave enough to have him.

Michelle Heller is a 2008 North Farmington High School graduate. She is off to the University of Maryland next fall studying to become a high school math teacher. Michelle is a sales associate at Justice, and loves dancing and hanging out with her friends. After making the new Summer in the City video last year, this year Michelle is excited to be part of the staff as the director of “Arts and Smarts” at Glazer Elementary!

Mark Belzowski is from Ann Arbor and commutes every day with his co-pilot / sidekick Elise to participate in Summer in the City. Mark graduated from Community High School in 2006 and is currently a junior at Boston University where he serves as secretary of the Cigar Aficionado Club. Mark is also the official Summer in the City Boston representative (sorry Elise). Ten years from now Mark still sees himself shakin’, groovin’, and Motor City improvin’.

Kenneth Rodrigues graduated from Lahser High School in 2003 and the University of Michigan 2007, where he majored in Neuroscience. He is an addict of playing fantasy sports and real sports, and currently plays in adult leagues for ice hockey and softball. His favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip.

Christopher Lecznar graduated from Lahser High School and is now attending Wayne State University. Before college he spent four years traveling the world with the United States Air Force. He came back to Detroit to see what he could do to bring the city back to its former glory.

Mike Steinberger graduated from Troy High in 2005,and he is currently attending the University of Michigan where he is studying History and Economics. Earlier this summer he interned with Senator Carl Levin in Washington DC. At Summer in the City, Mike likes to play sports or make up his own (such as “smash the most stuff with a sledge hammer”). Mike is also a stickler for grammar and punctuation.

Avie Linden graduated from Birmingham Groves in 2001, and is currently studying Anthropology, Art History, and the Environment at the University of Michigan, where she plans to graduate in 2009 Avie enjoys traveling, photography, music concerts, and getting down and dirty.

Sangita Ghosh graduated from Novi High School in 2006, and in the fall she will be a junior at the University of Michigan, where she studies Psychology. She loves listening to all types of music, and is involved in Circle K and the Bengali Students’ Association at U of M.

Will McDowell graduated from the Roeper School and is entering his sophomore year at the University of Michigan where he will continue studying film while attending the Ross School of Business. Last year he was on the men’s crew team, and also devoted himself to Phi Chi Theta, Maize Rage, and lots of other stuff. Will loves U of M sports and making movies, and his favorite college memory is when he danced thirty hours straight for charity.

Stephanie Steinberg has volunteered with Summer in the City the past 3 summers and is now a SitC intern. Besides running activities at Glazer Elementary, Stephanie compiles and writes articles for the weekly Summer in the City Scoop emails. She will attend the University of Michigan in the fall. This summer, Stephanie is also interning for The Detroit Jewish News and working at Dairy Queen at night. Come see her for a blizzard after a hard day of volunteering!

Masha Zilberman graduated from Troy High School this year and will attend the University of Michigan in the fall. A few of her favorite words include “casserole,” “pop” (the sound, not the drink), and “amoeba.” In her spare time, she likes to express herself with over-the-top hand gestures, jump on trampolines, and sing 90’s hits with acquaintances, or alone, on long or short car rides.

Paul Talpos graduated from The Roeper School in Birmingham in 2007, and spends the offseason learning stuff at Kalamazoo College. Originally lured into Summer in the City through the presence of free food at an informational session, Paul is now entering his third year with the program, mostly because he’s way too old to go to summer camps anymore. Paul’s interests include ultimate frisbee, soccer, defeating Will in whatever competitions he can imagine, and Arizona Green Tea.

Elise Kulik graduated from Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor in 2007, and is currently studying Psychology at Boston University. Despite her loyalty to the Red Sox and current residence on the East Coast, Elise remains very much a Midwesterner. She loves cities, Spanish, and singing…but mostly God and Michigan.

Sarah Parker is going to be a senior next fall at Michigan State University. She plays ice hockey, pool, guitar, and the drums. In her spare time, she likes to eat rice, work on calculus, drink bubble tea, watch anime, drive badly, sing karaoke, take lots of pictures, and rummage through her Hello Kitty backpack.

Kaitlin Baker, a Troy High graduate, is looking forward to strong winds and 5-hour car rides as she will attend Loyola University Chicago in the fall. On a recent two-day trip to Dearborn, Kaitlin packed eight pairs of shoes…and wore them all. She has spent the past few years attempting to perfect the British accent (in hopes of meeting Prince Charming), but has only succeeded in sounding extremely Irish.

Megan Sharkey graduated from Southgate Anderson High School in 2006 and currently attends Wayne State University as a Business major. She hopes to one day own a restaurant in the city of Detroit. She is also a member of the national service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega. In her spare time, she likes to play volley sports, especially Ping Pong, Badminton, and Volleyball.

Natalie Klein is graduate of Groves High School. She will be attending the University of Michigan next year to study Political or Social Sciences and Spanish. She has spent past summers at Camp Tanuga for seven years, as well as summers aboard in Spain and Ecuador. She is the president of the youth board at Orchards Children's Services and a member of the National Honors Society.

Alana Abdal is a transfer student from Western Michigan to Wayne State, where she is in the Pre-Dietetics program. She participated in Alternative Spring Break in Detroit. At Wayne State she is involved in campus life and intramural sports. She is a huge advocate for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, as well as hummus and pita chips.

Jen Rusciano is proud to be from the high five of the U.S.(Michigan)! Jen graduated from Andover High School in 2006 and currently attends Colgate University. When she isn't baking cupcakes or rocking out to shweet tunes, Jen can be found measuring populations of indicator species and moving massive shipments of humanitarian aid across international borders. Jen looks forward to wrangling kangaroos in the fall at the University of Wollongong.

Marissa Stern graduated from Seaholm High School in 2007, and is currently a student at Michigan State University. As a daughter of the president of the SitC board, she works hard to follow her own leading path in the shadows of her prestigious mother. When she is not biking around the city (following Neil’s ideal form of transportation), she spends her time living in the moment with friends, acting like a kid, and eating lots of fruit.

Liz Davisson was born and raised in Rochester Hills and just recently graduated from the University of Michigan. Her hobbies include sand volleyball, visiting museums, painting murals, and talking. In September she is moving to Germany for a while... but she'll be back to Detroit eventually! This is Liz's first summer with Summer in the City!

Lauren Moll is a sophomore at Michigan State University, where she is studying American history. Her favorite things on earth are bicycles, oversized eyewear, and antique stores. This is her second summer interning with Summer in the City, and she is extremely excited to be back after a brief hiatus during which she worked as a camp counselor.

Erin Becker is a first year staff member with Summer in the City. She lives in Dayton, Ohio where she is an elementary school teacher. She attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio and completed her master's degree at the University of Dayton. She is enjoying being a part of the youth program for SitC and has found working with inner city youth to be very rewarding as well as challenging!

DeAndre Glover graduated from University Prepatory High School near downtown Detroit in 2007, and is currently an Engineering major at the University of Michigan. He ran cross country in high school, and now spends his time pursuing an active life of playing sports and adventuring outdoors.

Ashley Maloff recently graduated from Berkley High School. Come fall, she will attend Michigan State University as a Special Education major. She enjoys reading, writing, traveling, and has recently developed a new appreciation for her hat collection. You may get a taste of Ashley's many hats when you see her volunteering.

Lisa Crowley exists on cereal and Pop-Tarts alone. She lives in Detroit with her small dog and enjoys Robocop, scientific theory, and recently the Harry Potter series. This is her second summer with Summer in the City. She works in the Somerset Collection during the week, except Fridays, which are reserved for volunteering in beautiful Detroit.