@stylin take a look at this plugin: http://community.elgg.org/pg/plugins/project/384903/developer/DementiaArmand/riverdashboard-with-user-menu

P.S. Do your homework xD

thanks rjcalifornia. That was helpful. but the new members aren't displayed correctly. I have members listed vertically (one member per row) rather that in a grid like fashion ( 6 members in each row). Any help will be highly appreciated. Thanks.

modified newestmembers.php files to get it fixed. simply changed the div class to members_icon from newestMembers.