Meet Our Team
S.A.V.E's team consists of volunteers from all walks of live.
We have doctors, parents, medical students, college students, and high school students.
Marna Geisler
Dr. Marna first visited Myanmar on a family vacation in 2005. After seeing the state of the country and the life style of the people there, she knew she had to do something. She reached out to fellow doctors and started Student Action Volunteer Effort (S.A.V.E.) Myanmar with a goal of providing much needed medical care to the people of Myanmar and to invite students interested in the medical fields to help make a difference of those less fortunate. Medical Missions where not new to Dr. Marna, from the 1990-2012 she had been on teams in Sierra Leone, Honduras,Nicaragua, Cuba, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka. Dr. Marna is a board-certified pediatrician and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Nebraska, She received her medical degree from St. Louis University School of Medicine and completed her pediatric residency at the University of California, Irvine. She currently practices at California Kids Pediatrics, in Los Angeles, California.
Alison howard
Alison is the Outreach/On-Site Coordinator for S.A.V.E. Embarking on her first trip in 2015, she has since then taken an active role in the group’s organizing. Her roles include reaching out to prospective volunteers, donors, and coordinating tasks while on the ground in Myanmar. Through S.A.V.E Alison has made many meaningful connections with local organizers, initiating resources focusing on sustainability and preventative health measures. Alison is deeply inspired by Aunty Ma Mu, a retired Burmese Nurse who is active in her community not only partnering with S.A.V.E for the past six years, but also participating in mobile clinics and aiding in running a handicraft gift shop to raise funds for women raised in orphanages to attend pharmaceutical schooling. Alison is currently attending The Evergreen State College, hoping to pursue a career path bridging her interests in Reproductive Health, Womxn’s Advocacy, and Public Health.
elizabeth Martinez
abt marna
amy Martinez-hahn
Amy is the secretary on the S.A.V.E board. She attended her first trip as a volunteer in 2016 when she was fourteen and has since become involved in planning trips, facilitating board meetings and helping things run smoothly in our clinics. Amy loves getting to know our patients, doctors and volunteers and learning about making small change through human connection. She currently attends Pitzer College and is exploring a career path in the social sciences.
jessica garff
Jessica is a student representative for S.A.V.E. and attended her first trip in 2018 as a junior at Palisades Charter High School. She learned about the trip through a family friend and began shadowing Dr. Geisler where she started helping to coordinate the volunteer effort. She works to send out emails, coordinate plane tickets, organize finances, and pack/collect supplies. Jessica’s favorite part about traveling to Myanmar is experiencing something completely unique, and interacting with the kids and teens within the monasteries. Jessica is now studying Chemistry at University of California Santa Barbara. Largely because of her experiences in Myanmar, she’s planning on eventually starting a career that is health/policy focussed.
franklyn moreshead
Franklyn is one of the Student Representatives for S.A.V.E. She joined SAVE in 2018 after being informed of the program by Dr. Geisler. Her first trip was in December of 2018 at the age fifteen. Since then, she has revamped the pharmacy system and has been managing S.A.V.E.’s social media. Franklyn’s favorite part of the trips are the hands on medical experience, playing with the kids, and learning from the volunteer doctors. Franklyn is pre-med at the University of Pittsburgh with a major in Health Services specializing in Community Health Assessment. She is hoping to end up working with kids as a pediatric anesthesiologist.