Yale Alumni Service Corps (YASC) in Miami 2025: Lotus House Women's Shelter

Andrew Burgie teaches Global Environmental Health as an assistant adjunct professor in the New York University School of Global Public Health. He also serves as an industrial hygienist and assistant research scientist who manages the NIEHS Worker Training Program Grant that administers Hazardous Waste Worker Training for various New York-based groups as part of the Atlantic Center for Occupational Health and Safety Training Consortium run by Rutgers School of Public Health. As former Co-Director of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at the CUNY School of Public Health, he specializes in Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response training for both City and State agencies as well as private organizations. Trained as an industrial hygienist with an M.S. in Environmental and Occupational Health Science from Hunter College CUNY, he has also conducted numerous indoor air quality inspections, lead-based paint assessments, and general environmental health investigations for commercial and residential properties for various consulting firms over the years. Andrew Burgie was the producer for the YASC program in Puerto Rico 2023. He is the Chair of the YASC Board having been on ten trips.

Victoria Varela is the Community Outreach Director for Lotus House, working with their community to help uplift the lives of the women, youth and children sheltered nightly at Lotus Village. In partnership with her team, Victoria manages the organization’s fundraising events, community outreach initiatives, marketing materials, community events, volunteer management, social media and other projects bringing awareness, funding and in-kind support to the very vital programs at Lotus House. Victoria also contributes to programming's efforts in bringing laughter and love to those served through supporting the foundation’s yearly holiday events, volunteer efforts and corporate sponsored activities at the Village. Victoria and her team lead and manage the foundation’s Lotus in the Neighborhood initiative, bringing vital resources and support to the residents of Overtown – one of the poorest neighborhoods in Miami, and home to Lotus Village- on a monthly basis. Prior to joining Lotus House, Victoria spent over a decade working in education and non-profit, working to make an impact in our community.  She graduated from Smith College with a Bachelor’s in Government and has a Master's from Florida State University in International Relations.