Meet the solace team
Nicole Wang
Co-President/Co-Founder
Nicole is a fourth year pre-medical student, majoring in biology and minoring in Portuguese. She adores volunteering within her community and wanted to start Solace to bring the same level of volunteer care to areas of the hospital that were in need. She enjoys spending her free time with friends and family, baking, listening to podcasts and spending time outdoors.
Nicole Wang
Co-President/Co-Founder
Michael Contu
Chief of Membership
Michael is a fourth year biology student at the University of Florida. Some of his hobbies include cooking, riding the peloton, volunteering within his community and studying at his favorite library West, with his friends.
Michael Contu
Chief of Membership
Abigail Williams
Chief of Community Affairs
Abby is a fourth year biology major and will be pursuing a career as a Physician Assistant. When she has free time, she enjoys Cross-fit, going to cute coffee shops, and traveling. She’s from Sarasota, Florida and loves to spend time at the beach with her family.
Abigail Williams
Chief of Hospital Affairs
Grace Hufford
Chief of Communications
Grace is a first year pharmacy student working towards earning her Doctor of Pharmacy degree. She enjoys volunteering in the Gainesville community and can’t wait to serve through Solace. Grace adores spending time with loved ones, watching movies, playing board games and taking her dog on long walks.
Grace Hufford
Chief of Communications
Coming Soon
Chief of Hospital Affairs
coming soon.
Coming Soon
Chief of Community Affairs
Kiah Coleman-Spradley
Volunteer Coordinator
Kiah has been one of UF Health Shands Hospital’s incredible Volunteer Coordinators for over 4 years, and has been working with the Solace team since the Spring of 2020! She is a proud mother and loves working with all of her UF volunteers. She is a wonderful asset to the Solace team and provides an unparalleled amount of support and guidance to our members.
Kiah Coleman
Volunteer Coordinator
Ashlyn Gionis
Co-President/Co-Founder
Ashlyn is a fourth year pre-medical student, majoring in biology and minoring in public health. She is passionate about serving her community and always knew she wanted to leave a lasting impact at UF. By joining forces with Nicole, Co-Founder, she was able to make this dream a reality by starting Solace. When she’s not studying, she enjoys spending her free time cooking, running, reading, and spending time with friends and family!
Ashlyn Gionis
Co-President/Co-Founder
Sydney Ross
Chief of Finance
Sydney is a fourth year business management major with a minor in real estate. She has lived in Tampa, Florida all her life but found a new home in Gainesville 4 years ago. She enjoys playing tennis with her friends, volunteering within the UF community, and spending time with her dogs whenever she visits home.
Sydney Ross
Chief of Finance
Carly Beverly
Chief of Programming
Carly is a third year student, majoring in health education and behavior with hopes to go to PA school after college. Her ideal day would be spent in the sunshine, with family and friends, meaningful conversations and lots of coffee.
Carly Beverly
Chief of Programming
Rebecca Shakour
Chief of Fundraising
Becca is a fourth year pre-medical student, majoring in biology and minoring in Spanish and will be attending medical school this fall! She is passionate about serving others and believes every experience is an opportunity to show kindness. In her free time, Becca enjoys baking, running, playing with her dogs, and spending time with friends and family.
Rebecca Shakour
Chief of Fundraising
Dr. Diba Mani
Organization Advisor
Diba Mani, Ph.D., is a lecturer in the Department of Applied Physiology & Kinesiology at UF. Alongside teaching, she is dedicated to research in the field of geriatrics and enjoys the human component of any work she is engaging in. Dr. Mani also enjoys being an international judo referee in her free time! We are so lucky to have her as a part of our team!
Dr. Diba Mani
Organization Advisor
Elaine Delvo-Favre, DNP
Administrative Director
Coming soon.