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PROJECT DOWNTOWN GAINESVILLE, INC.
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION
Executive Board
2019-2020
Project Downtown Gainesville's Executive Board is elected every Spring by our active volunteers. Any individual that has volunteered at least 6Â hours a semester, or 18 hours a year, is eligible to run for a position.
Raafi Zaman
Executive Director
Raafi Zaman is a senior at the University of Florida. He is very excited to be a part of the 19-20 board as the executive director. Raafi has been coming to Project Downtown since freshman year and quickly fell in love with it. He loves meeting new people and serving those in need. He hopes to bring more volunteers to PD so they know just how wonderful of an experience it is. Raafi wants to be a Dentist because he loves to see people smile and PD is another way of always making more smiles.
Nuha Chowdary
Internal Coordinator
Nuha Chowdary is a senior at the University of Florida studying Electrical Engineering. As a member for the last 4 years, Nuha has watched Project Downtown Gainesville stay consistent in its mission and also grow exponentially. Community service is one of Nuha’s passions, and nothing is more fulfilling to her than bringing a smile to someone’s face. Project Downtown has given her a platform to meet new people and provide to those in need with the help of dedicated volunteers and sponsors. She hopes to continue the great work of the previous boards while broadening the scope of the organization.
Omar Beck
Treasurer
Omar Beck is a Senior majoring in Biology and is honored and excited to serve as the Treasurer for Project Downtown Gainesville. He is a strong advocate of the underserved and aims to see the lessons and experiences he gains from his role with the organization into his future career as a physician.
Saif Memon
Secretary
Saif is a senior at the University of Florida studying applied physiology and kinesiology. From his first service as a freshman, he knew PD was special. He is a firm believer that service does not have to be time-intensive or involve some sort of compensation- a small gesture such as a smile can have an everlasting impact on someone. For Saif, PD is more than just giving to a community that does not have many resources, but it is about making bonds with those individuals, and allowing them to have a voice. His favorite part of PD is an event known as PD mornings where the organization and its volunteers bag 250 lunches to distribute to the wider underserved community of Gainesville. Saif hopes to grow PD by expanding services to accommodate for individuals that may have a dietary or physical restrictions.
Shumail Zaidi
Outreach Coordinator
Shumail is a fourth year Civil Engineering student at the University of Florida. Shumail first got involved with PD because he was inspired by a story that he was told about someone who from riches to rags. This inspired him to want to help those who were underserved because you never know who could be struck my calamity and cause them to be in need. He thinks that Project Downtown is one of the ways to not only help those who are underserved but also help to really understand those who are homeless. With the amount of volunteers that come out he hopes to increase PD morning to twice a month and help the new volunteers experience more than they see at service hoping that they too want to help PD grow.
