A list of La Vida Idealist bloggers who are no longer writing for us. Please note that their bio is most likely not up to date, as it reflects the time when they were in Latin America.
Amanda Patterson (manzlpatt)
Santiago, Chile
Amanda comes from the land of the long white cloud – Nueva Zelanda as it’s called en español! An aviation professional for the past 12 years, she’s taken leave from the corporate world to fulfill her dream to travel, write, and assist developing communities as a volunteer throughout her journeys. Her interests range from adrenalin activities (you name it, she’s keen to try it!), to flying, writing, fitness and dancing. She believes everyone has a story to tell and that it’s the people you encounter along the way that make traveling and volunteering so exciting and enticing. It’s her hope that through her own adventures she can inspire others to do the same – to experience a different way of life that’s so rich with living and learning.
Andrea Vogler (radroots)
Tepoztlán, Mexico
Andrea was raised in a small town in rural Michigan as the daughter and granddaughter of factory workers and the great-granddaughter of Polish, Italian, and German immigrants. After high school, she left what she lovingly refers to as her “village” for Western Michigan University to pursue a degree in International and Comparative Politics and Environmental Studies, though she dedicated most of her time to activism, student organizing, and traveling to Mexico, which she now considers her second home. For the past 3 years she has migrated between Mexico, Michigan and British Colombia, Canada supporting her travels by waitressing, migrant farm work, and selling all of her belongings that don’t fit in her backpack. Her interests range from community radio to migrant worker rights to organic agriculture to photography, but most of all she hopes all of these amazing, and sometimes crazy, adventures will lead to a solid writing career.
Andrew Garberson (agarberson)
Antigua, Guatemala
Andrew stemmed from a deeply rooted Midwestern family, preceded by four generations of respected attorneys. Plagued by a Generation Y attention span and unquenchable curiosity, he diverted from the road to success to plot his own course. He spent a summer in Italy while a business student at the University of Iowa and a year in China teaching English following graduation. He dabbled in entrepreneurship and marketing domestically but remained unfulfilled. He has chosen to pursue work with a Guatemalan nonprofit organization, where his work will have a direct and meaningful impact on something wonderful. Andrew loves to travel but hates being a tourist. To counter his fear of Lonely Planet books and American stereotypes, he opts for residence permits instead of 30 day visas, which means he speaks Spanish like a kid, writes Chinese like a child, and comprehends French like a toddler.
Bari Laskow (bjl277)
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala
Before starting medical school in the fall, Bari decided to take two years off to dabble in different areas where she thought her medical degree might take her. After finding out that lab research or sitting behind a desk 9-5 wasn’t for her, Bari ventured off into the world to learn more about health care systems in developing countries. Currently in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala working with Somos Hermanos, a Spanish immersion and volunteer program, Bari hopes to brush up on her Spanish while learning more about reproductive health, as well as trying to eat as much street food as possible without needing to experience the Guatemalan health care system on a firsthand basis.
Becca Mondshein (becca.mond)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
After living for two years in New York City, Becca Mondshein signed up for a semester in Shanghai—and has been living out of a suitcase ever since. Though technically studying the fields of media, culture, and communications, she also enjoys volunteering with children, exploring local music, arts, and literature, and studying cross-cultural differences in bathroom design. She is currently living in Buenos Aires, where she hopes to understand Argentine culture from both the classroom and the avenidas.
Brett Veerhusen (bveerhusen)
Bluefields, Nicaragua
Besides avoiding the stray dogs, out of control taxis and sweltering heat, Brett is the Controller and Microfinance Manager for blueEnergy Group. blueEnergy is an international renewable energy NGO based in Bluefields, Niaragua, which happens to be one of the poorest parts of the country. blueEnergy installs and builds capacity within rural communities along the Caribbean Coast with wind turbines, solar and water filtration systems. As the Controller, Brett is in charge of a small local accounting team in a bilingual office. He manages all financial transactions for blueEnergy and as well as focuses on their microfinance projects with Kiva and the local microfinance institution (MFI). Brett, a former vegetarian, is learning to take the difficult and entertaining with stride. He is adjusting to a fried chicken-based society whilst singing along to the most popular music of Reggaeton and 70’s country twang.
Bridget Barry (bridgeterin)
Nebaj, Guatemala
Having started college as a Pre-Dental, then Classics, then Journalism, then Fruit Crop Production, then English major, it took a while for things to finally click with Bridget. After aligning her passions with Environmental Studies and Spanish, at long last she became overwhelmed with the sudden desire to save the planet from all things awful. It became clear that this new path was going to be filled with lots of time abroad and little money, if any. But as a fresh, young idealist, she was immediately ready and willing to be pulled to any corner of the world. A stint in Europe infused her with the swagger of a traveler, and a placement as an international volunteer seemed to kill two birds with one stone. Building on her invaluable experience in Central America, Bridget hopes to return for her masters in sustainable development. In her spare time, she satisfies her cycling urges by riding a single-speed beach cruiser on the partially-paved Southern Highway of Belize. She is also a master of flicking bottle caps and enjoys impersonating accents poorly.
Carly Barrie (cbarrie2)
Santiago, Chile
Carly graduated from the University of Illinois in May of 2010 with a degree in International Business and Spanish. Instead of attending career fairs and endless job interviews, she spent her senior year receiving a TEFL certificate and researching South American countries. At the ripe old age of 22, Carly felt it was time to take a break from the real world she hadn’t even started. She’d known too many people to say “I wish I could something like that,” so instead of following in their footsteps, she chose to actually go through with it. Carly plans on teaching in Santiago until February, after which she will spend two months traveling South America. After that the plan gets a little cloudy, but before returning to the U.S., she wants to check volunteering in Ecuador off the list.
Celeste Hamilton (cellyham)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Celeste grew up in the first suburb of Levittown, NY. After 18 years of living among cookie-cutter houses, she realized there was more to explore and pursued her love of literature at Boston College and University College Dublin. Lured by the desire to help people and the prospect of having a pet monkey, Celeste joined the Peace Corps upon graduating. In Guyana she taught reading at a high school, dreamed of finding a baccoo (just ask—she’ll tell you all about them), and perfected her karaoke skills. From the equator she moved north to Chicago where she worked with gay youth and pretended to be a music journalist. Her time in the Midwest was brief; cacti and chili peppers drew her to the desert of Arizona where she found a job in HIV prevention. She later returned to her home state and began working with Action Without Borders. She’s now living in Portland, where she is working on storytelling projects, helping spread good ideas and building a global community of idealists for the nonprofit Idealist.org. Celeste is also a freelance journalist who has written about various subjects from dancehall to bowling, and is currently working on fulfilling her dream of becoming a Bollywood star.
Curtis Fox (curtisfox)
San Francisco, Peru and Buenos Aires, Argentina
Curtis received his BA in Political Science from the University of San Francisco. During school, he spent every dollar and free minute traveling whenever possible, from New Delhi to New Zealand. After school Curtis drifted between a variety of professional career and volunteer positions before ultimately deciding to follow his life goal of learning Spanish and working abroad. These days you can find Curtis, and his fabulous girlfriend Carly, living in an an adobe home high in the sierras outside of Piura Peru. As volunteers for Mejor Communities, the two are helping to train a dynamic group of Peruvian Youth Health Advocates. Their lessons cover subjects such as basic hygiene, CPR & first-aid, leadership and of course sex education. Outside of classes, Curtis spends his days digging in the community garden, playing soccer and eating all the fresh bananas and hand made chocolate he can find.
Dante and Alex Harker (danteharker)
Guatemala
After a less than perfect upbringing in a tiny northern mining village, Dante first escaped the village and then escaped into creative writing. He finished his first novel at 20 and promptly realized that he didn’t know enough about the world to write anything worth reading. He has spent the last 16 years doing his best to rectify this. After training as a horticulturist to explore his love of plants and nature, he later retrained as a psychotherapist to explore more about human nature and to move into the voluntary sector to support people with mental health issues. During this time, Dante has traveled extensively throughout Europe and, at 32, he spent a year in South East Asia with his partner, mixing traveling with volunteering and writing. Dante’s current plans are to brush up his Spanish in Guatemala before travelling to Mexico to train as a diving instructor. After this he’s not entirely sure what his future plans hold. He, like you, will just have to wait and see.
After an upbringing in Cardiff’s most ‘interesting’ neighborhoods, Alexander Harker dreamt of a career as a high-flying paleontologist, followed by a glitzy career as a stage actor. After training, and a realization that he didn’t particularly enjoy/was any good at either, he embarked on an adventure across South East Asia with his then partner, now husband, Dante. Upon returning to the UK, Alex trained as a pastry chef and knocked off so many cakes, he lost count (and narrowly avoided diabetes!). He has a love of reading, writing and drawing, and whilst getting used to the temperature levels and early starts as a dive instructor, he plans to learn Spanish and practice his painting. (not to mention, break the world record for number of sweet treats consumed by a human being!)
Dan Malin (danmalin)
Cotacachi, Ecuador
Ever meet someone from the class of 2009? While they are generally smart and capable young people, they also face the worst job market in a quarter-century. This has forced many recent graduates to brainstorm alternatives to finding that dream job straight out of college. As you might have guessed, Dan is one of them. He left Brooklyn and his part-time jobs behind to volunteer as an Intercultural Coordinator for Casa Interamericano, a nonprofit based in Northern Ecuador. Dan is thrilled to be back in the country where he studied abroad, which he swears has the best selection of fresh fruit found anywhere in the world. Dan is also a graduate of the George Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs.
Emily Mew (emily337)
Camoapa, Nicaragua
Emily first fell in love with Latin American culture back in 2001 after taking her first trip to Guatemala during her senior year of college. However, after graduating with a degree in cultural anthropology she went straight into the social service field working mostly with at-risk youth and their families in Western MA. Too many years of this caused her to get burnt out dealing with the oppressive social systems in which she was operating. Rather than resigning to a life of banging her head against the wall within these systems, she decided to do something about them. She returned to UMass, Amherst to get her Masters degree in Public Policy and Administration so that she could have a hand in possibly changing what it was that was making her so frustrated. She graduated this past May and decided to take a very low paying job in Camoapa, Nicaragua in order to take the very first step in changing the world. There she works in program development at a small nonprofit organization for children. Other than deciding to take on this ominous task, she also likes to let loose and have fun by playing sports, spending time with funny people and dancing.
Erin Barnhart (erinb)
Portland, OR
Erin grew up in Roseburg, a small timber town in southern Oregon, and got her B.A. in Geography at the University of Oregon in 1997. After volunteering for a year with AmeriCorps*NCCC in the central United States, she worked with a social change initiative in Portland, OR and earned an MPA in Public Policy and a Graduate Certificate in Not-for-Profit Management. From 2004-2005, Erin studied volunteer centers in British Columbia and the Yukon on a Fulbright Scholarship to Canada. She then returned to Portland where she began work on a Ph.D., joining Idealist in 2006. Erin serves on the founding board of the Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement (ALIVE), the Editorial Board for the International Journal of Volunteer Administration (IJOVA), and the Oregon Committee on Volunteerism. She also co-hosts the Volunteers and Technology forum on TechSoup.org and chairs both the National Organizations Volunteerism Network (NOVN) co-convened by the National Assembly and AARP as well as the Effective Practices Workgroup of the Brookings Institution’s Initiative on International Volunteering and Service. In addition to world travel and seeing every film directed by Woody Allen, Erin enjoys piña coladas, getting caught in the rain, and disappearing into the time/space vortex that is Powell’s City of Books.
Flora Lindsay-Herrera (vidauruguaya)
Montevideo, Uruguay
Flora first boarded a plane when she was just three weeks old and has accrued miles and guilt about carbon emissions ever since. For the past two years as she managed volunteer teaching programs in Latin America for WorldTeach, a Cambridge, MA-based international education non-profit, she spent the whole time trying to convince friends that she really did live in one place, with signed lease in hand. Since her protestations were futile, Flora finally conformed to expectations, packed up five boxes of books (her second vice), and moved to Uruguay (without the books…well, most of them). For the next nine months she will be implementing a research project about environmental education initiatives in addition to volunteering at a middle school in one of Montevideo’s most underserved communities. In the off-hours, Flora can be found at choir rehearsal, in a used book store, or puzzling out new ways to cook a boniato.
Gabe Friedman (gabefriedman)
Manaus, Brazil
Seventeen-year-old Gabe accepted a generous invitation to live with a warm, loving family in Niterói, Brazil for a summer. He fell hard for the Brazilian way of life and the lilting language that danced across dinner tables, pleaded with soccer stars on TV, and purred with the joy of being alive. At summer’s end, Gabe promised to return, next time with some Portuguese in his repertoire. While studying history at Yale University, Gabe took several semesters of Portuguese, which strengthened his desire to go back to Brazil. Thrilled to receive a Fulbright Grant to teach English in Manaus, Gabe packed his summer clothes, waved goodbye to loved ones in the U.S., and set off for the heart of the Amazon. Gabe spends his days at ICBEU, a binational center, teaching, working with colleagues to infuse English lessons with American culture, and assisting the school’s academic coordination team. During his free time, Gabe explores the city and the nature surrounding it and enjoys the company of new friends. Upon his return to the United States…Hold up. What return?
Jamie Worms (Acoirac)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Jamie Worms was born and raised in a Hamlet located just north of New York City. In college, she spent a great deal of time caving and backpacking while attending Syracuse University, University of Maryland, and the George Washington University. Under the guise of a geography student, she traveled across the US, and also to Canada, Spain, Italy, Australia, England, and Brazil. So far, Brazil has proven most interesting, and Jamie has returned six times. Last year Jamie spent six months in Rio de Janeiro studying how social capital affects development in lower income communities. Clearly, Jamie has an obsession with traveling. For this reason, she finds herself recently graduated with a master’s degree in Geography, once again living in the neighborhood of Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Jen Johnson (jenbetweendots)
Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, Costa Rica
Jen grew up in Calgary, Alberta, among polar bears and dog sleds (although she has yet to see either in the wild). In late 2009 she quit her job in the petroleum industry to pursue her dreams of travel and adventure. Obtaining the CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) was one of her most rewarding experiences thus far, and came in handy as she traveled through Central America – volunteering at several small elementary schools along the way. Jen has an unnatural affinity for semi-colons, postcards, waterfalls and colorful pens. She is fluent in English and French, speaks some American Sign Language and is rapidly improving her Spanish, making lasting friendships, and expanding her knowledge of all the amazing plants and animals while volunteering as an EFL Coordinator at a conservation center, deep in the rain forests of Costa Rica.
Joe Sigrin (sigrinj)
Huehuetenango, Guatemala
Shortly after graduating with a degree in Anthropology in the worst economic climate of his generation, Joe did what so many other slackers, hippies, and aimless college grads have done before: He joined the Peace Corps. Previous treks through Mexico, southern Africa and Europe had prepared him for international travel, but coordinating a public health program in Guatemalan schools was entirely foreign. Hiking through the mountains, dodging rabid dogs, and gorging on tortillas in the service of the US government has been—like all worthwhile things—simultaneously terrifying and thrilling, difficult and satisfying. An avid blogger, Joe has also worked at various times as a waiter, medical researcher, web designer, textbook barcoder, and professional yo-yoer. Currently, Joe splits his time pretty equally between searching for that next great experience and avoiding major life decisions.
Jon Brandt (jgbrandt8)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
For as long as he can remember, Jon Brandt has been interested in learning about and experiencing other cultures. After backpacking through Europe at age 17, he knew he wanted to study abroad, and did so in Sevilla, Spain. While abroad again doing volunteer work in Montevideo, Uruguay, he realized he wanted to immerse himself for longer, this time in Ecuador as a volunteer English teacher with WorldTeach for 11 months. Now, recently finished with WorldTeach, he’s moving on to Buenos Aires to see what opportunities await him. Jon graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and History in 2008. Aside from his work, he loves to travel and write.
Jonah Brill (jonahbrill)
Cusco, Peru
Muhammad Yunus once said, “Charity takes the initiative away from the poor.” After volunteering in countries like Rwanda, Honduras, and Ecuador, Jonah, a 21 year-old senior a Cornell University, understood that there were more efficient means of reducing poverty than simply volunteering. Seeking to analyze the interplay of government and non-government actors in the implementation of micro loans, Jonah will be interviewing the many different recipients hoping to find means of improving and expanding the program for Arariwa. In his free time, Jonah likes to fly planes, read, and play chess.
Kati Mayfield (katimayfield)
Santiago, Chile
Eternally curious about the human condition, Kati wants to write her own life story about the stories of people she meets on her journeys. Serving as a Kiva Fellow (currently in Honduras and soon in Chile), she interviews recipients of micro-loans and shares their historias with the worldwide community of Kiva activists and investors. Kati feels honored to be a binding link between under-represented entrepreneurs and their sources of capital, and to be given an intimate view of poverty and inequality in Latin America. Using her time abroad to reconcile her ideals with reality, Kati challenges herself to be an “evolving idealist.” Still, she remains convinced that empowerment and opportunity are the keys to sustainable development, and is excited to contribute to this blog which inspires readers to explore their own vida idealista.
Kelsey Gryniewicz (kelsjoy)
La Guácima, Costa Rica
After graduating from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a BA in Sociology and Integrative Physiology, Kelsey faced the all-too-common “what now?” scenario. She had interned with several nonprofits, taking sips of different job titles, but no matter the job, these sips just were not quenching her thirst. The solution? Thirsty for traveling, helping others, and botching the Spanish language, Kelsey paused her career search and set out for her first international volunteering experience. Deeply passionate about equality and women’s rights, Kelsey looked for a program which allowed her to exercise her passions. She found the perfect fit with AIDE, where she will be in La Guacima, Costa Rica, working in a home for adolescent mothers who come from extreme poverty and have been abused and/or exploited. As a first timer to international volunteering and Central America, Kelsey could not be more ready to quench her thirst. In her spare time, Kelsey also has a hankering for writing, pickles, jamming to throw-back songs, and daydreaming about changing the world.
Kent Green (kentgreen)
Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica
Kent drifted through life in suburban Chicago until he was 20; then he studied in England through his community college. He wrote about it for the school paper, sparking two passions that would enrich his life and drain his bank account: travel and journalism. He studied the latter at the University of Colorado, with a minor in snowboarding the physics of objects descending mountains. After two reporting stints at small-town papers, he wanted to live in Chicago. He took a job at a business information service where he learned the horror of desk work. To nourish his soul, he volunteered at the 826CHI writing center, falling in love with teaching and learning Spanish. In January 2010 – recession be damned — he gave up his stable job to start teaching English as a volunteer in Costa Rica through ALIARSE. He now teaches five nights a week, employing silly drawings and outlandish miming exercises to help students.
Kent and Canaan Nolen (wearekandc)
Quito, Ecuador and Buenos Aires, Argentina
Having grown tired of cookie-cutter definitions of success and happiness, Kent and Caanan decided to mix things up a bit. Without much of a plan, they said “adios” to corporate America and leaned into their goal of experiencing more of the world by checking out all seven continents. An incredible visit to Africa and an extended volunteering/exploring journey to South America cemented some new ways of looking at life. Believing that we’re all connected, their goal is to make the world a little more hospitable for everyone while getting the most out of life. They now spend a lot of time growing their virtual business so that they can make a living and make a difference as they travel the world.
Kimberly Friedland (KFriedland)
Cusco, Peru
Kimberly graduated from UCLA in 2009 with a B.A. in political science, a Spanish minor, and a drive to see the world and make a difference. Having worked extensively towards equality and social justice in the legal sector and with children, Kimberly has had an “idealist” mindset for about as long as she can remember. She thinks it might have something to do with the Bay Area drinking water. Kimberly is currently serving as Program Manager for GirlSportWorks, which seeks to enhance the lives of Peruvian girls through athletics. With one co-worker, Kimberly runs all on-the-ground operations, including sports classes and English teaching. They have also expanded the GSW curriculum to include a book club and work in a safe-home for teen mothers who are victims of sexual abuse. In her spare time Kimberly volunteers for Kiva, where she interviews microloan recipients. Kimberly loves the Cusqueñan life, living among Inca walls and tasting every rocoto relleno and lomo saltado the city has to offer.
Lauren Foukes (laurenfoukes)
Tumbaco, Ecuador
Lauren is a proud University of Michigan (Go Blue!) alumna where she received a Bachelors in Business Administration. After graduation, Lauren spent two years working in brand management at Kraft Foods. While she loved her time there, she was interested in merging her personal interest in the nonprofit sector with her professional expertise. She chose to spend a year as an AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer with Chicago Community Ventures, a small business development nonprofit. Her work with small business owners in the communities of Chicago solidified her desire to provide business skills in the social sector. Upon completing her AmeriCorps year, Lauren moved to Ecuador where she is now teaching English to elementary age children (140 of them!) and volunteering with a microfinance organization. This is Lauren’s first experience living abroad and she absolutely loves learning Spanish, spending time with her family here and immersing herself in the culture.
Laurie Norton (tacogirl)
Ambergris Caye, Belize
Even though Laurie (aka tacogirl) had great friends and family around her throughout her life, it never really felt like she was in the right place or doing the right thing. She was not following any particular career path and therefore was not tied down in that respect. Her significant other Paul (aka tacoboy) knew that moving to the tropics was non-negotiable in her future and although he had not been anywhere tropical, he was willing to give it a try. Little did they know when they booked their vacation to Ambergris Caye a small island off the coast of Belize how fast they would both fall in love and how much it would change the course of their lives for ever. It made them realize just how ready they were to step outside the box and escape Canadian winter. After making the move,and not really knowing anyone, volunteering became a natural way to integrate themselves into their new community and meet people. Moving to Belize also also led tacogirl to become a full time blogger, finally pursuing a career that she felt was right.
Lianne Gonsalves (liannegonsalves)
Current location: Caracas, Venezuela
Lianne graduated from North Carolina State University in May 2010 with a double-major in International Studies and Biological Sciences. A generous offer from the Fulbright Program was all she needed to pack up her life (into two VERY overweight bags) and relocate to Venezuela for eight months. Lianne spends her days in Caracas, negotiating a city described as dirty, dangerous, chaotic, choked, diverse, vibrant, ridiculous, and utterly fantastic. She works as an English teacher and American-culture resource at a Venezuelan-American Binational Center in a country where the party in power has a laundry list of unpleasant words synonymous with ‘American’. She spends her free time taking assorted dance classes, traveling around the country, exploring Caracas, and getting into sticky situations. Lianne returns to the United States in July; unable to escape the classroom permanently, she’ll enter a Master’s program in International Health at Johns Hopkins University in August.
Lindsey Chapman (lindseychapman)
Santiago, Chile
Lindsey grew up in a suburb of Minneapolis, MN and went on to earn a degree in biology from Bethel University. She put her degree to good use by moving to the thriving metropolis of Cedar Rapids, IA to work as a sales rep for a large paint company. After three years of entry level sales experience she needed a change of scenery. Recently she’s chosen to volunteer for a nonprofit in Santiago, Chile called VE Global in hopes to add purpose to her own life and bring meaning to others. VE partners with eight different institutions and orphanages within Santiago. Lindsey will be working with young kids over the next three months at Colegio Anakena, which is an elementary school for disabilities. She has three years experience working as a PCA for a boy with downs syndrome so this is a great fit and she embraces the challenges ahead in working with disabilities. This is her first time to Chile, but her second time to South America after taking an interim course in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. Lindsey will tell of the life lessons she learns from traveling, working at Colegio Anakena, and partnering with VE, as well as provide comic relief with stories of misadventures with the kids.
Lisa Hetzel (Lisa Hetzel)
Antigua / Guatemala City, Guatemala
Lisa studied Sociology and Gender and Women’s Studies at Grinnell College in Iowa, including an eye-opening semester of research in Costa Rica. Longing to get back to Central America, in 2003 she made a quick transition from government statistician in Washington, D.C. to full-time teaching volunteer in San Salvador, El Salvador. There she had an amazing experience through the Organization of American States, teaching computer courses to adults with physical disabilities. Later the same year she became a long-term volunteer with Common Hope in Antigua, Guatemala, a nonprofit with an innovative approach to helping low-income children succeed in school. Lisa fell in love with Common Hope’s approach and work environment during her year as a volunteer and became the Human Resources Director, her current position, in 2004. She currently braves Guatemala’s highways during her daily commute between Guatemala City and Antigua, her time for catching up on This American Life and Idealist.org’s latest podcasts.
Lizzie LaCroix (elacroix)
Quito, Ecuador
Lizzie was born in Washington, DC, grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, was educated in Vermont, California, and Japan – and never meant to go to South America. Having graduated in the ill-fated class of 2009 with an Asian Studies major, she managed to snag an internship with an international nonprofit called Asylum Access. She was inspired by Asylum Access’s vision of a world where refugees are seen as people with rights, not just victims with needs. But she soon had to make some decisions: live below the poverty line in the Bay, or hit the road and do her fundraising work while based in the Asylum Access Ecuador office. So thanks to the Internet, Lizzie is having the adventure of a lifetime, and enjoying her failed attempts at lesbian dating and workouts at 2,800 meters. She loves climbing volcanoes, helping refugees, mangoes, and the (now rare) occasions when she gets to practice her Japanese.
Matt Aaron (mabogota)
Bogotá, Colombia
Matt is new to the Idealist.org community. Born and raised in Maryland, he received a degree in marketing from University of Maryland – College Park in 2006. That summer, he moved to Houston, where he worked for an interactive marketing agency. In May 2007, Matt started an internet consulting business. A fan of traveling Latin America, Matt has spent time in Buenos Aires and Panama. Now, he is living in Bogota, volunteering with FuturoJuvenil. In his free time, Matt enjoys attempting to learn Spanish, reading, sports, and meditation.
Matthew Finch (Booksadventures)
Ayacucho, Peru
Matt Finch, Ph.D., is a globetrotting British writer and educator. He has taught all age ranges, from 4 years old to 40, in schools, universities, and community outreach schemes. He received an award from the UK Research Councils for his pioneering work introducing primary-age pupils to postgraduate-level research. In 2010 he spoke at the House of Commons on literacy education and received an ABCTales Prize for his children’s story ‘Shark with the Mind of a Rabbit’, which was broadcast on UK radio. More recently, Matt has worked as an educational consultant with businesses and non-profit organizations in the UK and the US. He blogs on education, literacy and storytelling here. His favorite places on Earth are New York and Patagonia. His life’s ambition (as of last month!) is to play the villain in a Nollywood movie. If you can help to realize this dream, you know where to find him.
Meg Gray (mgray2noti)
San Jose, Costa Rica
For several years after graduating from Bowdoin College, Meg worked at a nonprofit in Cambridge, Massachusetts focused on promoting family self-sufficiency and the healthy development of young children. While she enjoyed her work, it didn’t seem like what she wanted to do forever. In an effort to decide if she wanted to work in the USA or abroad, she applied for a number of positions in Latin America before being accepted as a Kiva Fellow. In her role as a Kiva Fellow, Meg provides technical assistance and other support to Fundación Mujer, one of the microfinance institutions partnered with Kiva.org. Meg just completed her first three month placement in Managua, Nicaragua and is starting her second stint as a Kiva Fellow in San Jose, Costa Rica in late January. Besides microfinance and poverty alleviation, Meg is extremely interested in food, sustainable development, and eco-tourism, interests Meg credits to growing up on an organic farm in Oregon. While she is in Costa Rica, she hopes to capitalize on these interests by learning to cook like a Tico and exploring the country on her weekends off.
Megan Kaseburg (practicalmeg)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Megan celebrated her 23rd birthday by quitting her job and buying a one-way ticket to Mexico City. Visiting 15 countries in 13 months, she reaffirmed her love for Latin America culture and politics, and has never looked back. This time around, Megan is more than happy to stay in one place and make Buenos Aires her home. She will be working with volunteers from around the globe at Habitat for Humanity Argentina, trying ensuring that they have the best experiences possible. She is very interested in what motivates individuals to volunteer, what volunteers hope to gain from their experiences and how NGOs can benefit from their volunteers’ enthusiasm. Megan knows that she has her work cut out for her and believes this will take lots and lots of mate.
Megan Wood (megawoo)
Tavapy Dos, Paraguay
Megan was cautioned her very first day in training as a Peace Corps Volunteer that Paraguay gets under your skin. Duly warned, she nevertheless spent two years as a Youth Development Volunteer. While in Paraguay, Megan applied the skills she learned as a Social Work major and intern at Planned Parenthood, teaching everything from family planning to oven construction in her rural community. She finished the requisite two years of service and then headed to Asia with her husband to enjoy the luxuries of spicy food and sandy beaches, all the while maintaining her love of tereré. More like an omen than a warning, Megan’s now back in landlocked Paraguay, helping her husband start a fair trade Yerba maté company with her former neighbors. When not insisting she isn’t pregnant, Megan can be found in the garden, reading, or doing Pilates on the dirt floor in her house.
Mehr Amin (pinkberrystew)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The land of sidewalk drum beats, samba and the rainforest beckoned. Mehr’s longtime admiration for the music, scenery and favela life of Brazil led her to quit her PR job in Dubai and head to Rio with her amigo Zainab. Now Mehr and Zainab can be found teaching English at the i2i institute in Rocinha, the largest favela in Latin America. Beyond the social stigma of living in a slum run by local drug lords, it isn’t all gloom for favela dwellers. The i2i Institute offers residents the chance to learn new skills, gain a sense of pride and give something often in short supply: hope. The favela also has a deep well of talent but few opportunities. Mehr hopes this blog will be used to shine light on the favela’s rich cultural traditions through the eyes of two Dubaians.
Mia Scavone (miascavone)
Córdoba, Argentina
As Director of the Institute for International Perspectives at MiraCosta College, Mia has been the one international students come to for information, help and hand-holding. Her days are filled with passports, paperwork and lots of questions. While Mia sits at her desk, she watches students adjust to life in a new country. As the calendar turns to 2010, Mia has become the student in a new world. With the support of her executive team and colleagues, Mia begun a leave of absence from her work arriving January 1 in Argentina. She is currently in the midst of a new adventure involving three months of Spanish language practice and finding ways to contribute in a new environment. Mia looks forward to sharing her love of meeting new people, overcoming the anxiety of learning a new language, accomplishing her goal of improving her dancing and tennis skills all the while experiencing life as a student, a volunteer and a woman traveling alone in Latin America.
Noah Sidman-Gale (noahrsg)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Noah was born and raised in Santa Cruz, one of California’s most famous surf-towns. At a young age Noah developed an insatiable taste for adventure and the unknown. So far this has brought him all over the world from Oaxaca, Mexico to Chefchaouen, Morocco. Noah earned his undergraduate degree at UC Davis where he studied journalism, psychology and anthropology. While at Davis, Noah became a Sigma Chi, a recognized writer, an excellent boyfriend, and an extraordinary Words With Friends player. While in Argentina, Noah plans on becoming a tango fiend, a gelato connoisseur, and siesta guru.
Paul Kearney (officiouslydespondant)
Rancagua, Chile
Paul is a 29-year-old Australian who spent eight months teaching in a school in a small town in the South of Chile. He had an interesting and exciting experience, in a beautiful place, with interesting people. He didn’t kow any Spanish before he went. He found that teaching school children English without going completely mad and fitting in to a new family, not to mention communities of school and the village, take effort but is definitely worth it. He will be posting on different aspects of his time teaching and what happens when he tries to do things. For Paul, the most interesting parts of his time in Chile are the teaching, the family, being alone, being a foreigner, and learning a new language. Right now, he’s working in Rancagua for International Centre, teaching English to managers from the biggest mining company in Chile. He’s living in a house with eight other people and has a curfew and a “no visitors” rule for the first time in a long while. It’s already been a great deal of fun.
Rebecca Stumpf (beckarie)
Copey de Dota, Costa Rica
It all began with a high-school exchange trip to Japan. That’s where Rebecca discovered her desire for something beyond the ordinary. From that first trip, to now, it has been quite a circuitous route. To sum it all up…it went a little like this: Psychology, Photography, Psychology, Photojournalism, Journalism, Intercultural Youth Development, Peace Corps (in which all of the above is currently combined into one). Her true passion is photography and youth work – i.e. sharing her passion for photography with kids, allowing them to share their view of the world through images. Rebecca’s personal photographic work is humanitarian-focused because she believes in the power of images for social change. Rebecca is obsessed with all things food related and cooking, and she could eat breakfast for every meal, 365 days a year. Yoga, hiking, painting, gardening, and killing very large, black spiders in her house are also on her list of usual activities.
Rob Packer (robpacker)
Barranquilla, Colombia
Rob is originally from London, England. He studied modern languages at university and then moved into an investment bank, passing through London and Hong Kong before deciding to make the jump and move into something more philanthropic in Latin America. He joined Kiva as part of their Fellows Program in October 2009 and spent his first placement in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia—his Russian skills were more in demand than his Spanish ones. Now in Latin America, he is currently based in Barranquilla, Colombia and will be working with the Fundación Mario Santo Domingo, a completely new Kiva partner and foundation looking at the development of the Caribbean Coast region.
Roxanne Krystalli (roxannekrystalli)
Colombia and Guatemala
Since her graduation from Harvard University, Roxanne has survived a car breakdown in the deserts of Northern Syria, a bout of malaria in Northern Uganda and a bath next to an anaconda in the Amazonian jungle. As a conflict management Fellow with Insight Collaborative, Roxanne designs and executes service projects that benefit women in conflict and post-conflict zones in affiliation with international, non-governmental and community-based organizations. This professional journey has brought her from Egypt to south Sudan and India to Colombia, where she has worked with female ex-combatants, victims of conflict, women in politics, indigenous populations and children to apply principles of conflict management and development to communities of need. She is looking forward to sharing some of the stories of these women with you.
Sarah Kelly and Arthur Richards (sarahadapting and awjrichards)
Guadalajara, Mexico
Sarah and Arthur left the comfortable inspiring bubble of the Bay Area, CA to start their own organization, Adapting to Scarcity, which is based in Oakland, CA and Guadalajara, MX. Currently collaborating with the Mexican Institute for Community Development (IMDEC), they are creating a documentary on the effects of Guadalajara’s water consumption and waste, running popular education based video workshops and developing digital tools to empower and connect communities adapting to water scarcity. Sarah received a BA in Environmental Policy from Colby College, and has since gone on to work toward sustainable food and water resources, with a focus on community building. Passionate about using technology for positive social change, Arthur has a BA in History from Oberlin College and is a software developer by trade. Lovers of good food, Sarah is currently trying to address her avocado addiction and Arthur is trying to curb his penchant for spicy salsas (he can often be seen weeping as a result of pain and pleasure in many neighborhood taquerias).
Sebastian Kindsvater (sebastiankindsvater)
San José, Costa Rica
Sebastian has many friends back home who simply don’t understand what he is doing in Costa Rica! He seemed to be on a perfectly normal path in acquiring his commerce degree from McGill, and now he’s turned into some kind of social “misfit” with long hair, identifying with injustices in all parts of the world. Although he craves human interaction as much as any of us, he tries not to let his peers drag him down into the trap of complacency and premature cynicism which is so often used to justify non action. Sebastian is unhappy with the general level of acceptance that exists among his peers in the West regarding global poverty and social problems in general. At the same time, he is very excited to be alive in a time when so many amazing individuals and groups are spearheading the charge for social change, and achieving impressive results. Many people see problems and feel it should be up to someone else to solve them. Sebastian feels it is up to all of us.
Shala Racicky (shalaracicky)
San Jose, Costa Rica
Shala has called the glacially-carved Puget Sound region home for most of her life. Growing up swimming and boating off the Straights of Juan de Fuca she developed a deep appreciation for natural habitats and the process of exploring them. After graduating from Western Washington University with a degree in environmental science, she was motivated to teach outdoor education in northeast Georgia, and later in her home state of Washington. While traveling though Guatemala, Panama and Ecuador in 2009, Shala was fascinated by the growing volunteerism movement, specifically the disconnect between the vision of a volunteer organization and what the volunteers where actually able to do on the ground. This fascination with “human resources” led her to work as the Volunteer Coordinator for the Sarapiquì Conservation Learning Center in rural Costa Rica. After 14 months of work with the organization, Shala will spend the next twelve weeks traveling through Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia before returning to the United States.
Sheethal Shobowale (LethalSheethal)
La Paz, Bolivia
A native New Yorker, Sheethal attended Columbia University for both her undergraduate degree in Economics-Mathematics and her graduate degree in Strategic Communications. She has worked in investment banking, investment management for Columbia’s endowment, and managed the data, analytics and research group of an online media agency. Combining her passions for social change, technology and community building, she founded Leap Work, a consultancy that works with non-profits and small businesses in their online marketing communications. Sheethal teaches financial literacy to youth and adults and coordinates her local block association. Beginning her dream of working in microfinance, she has served as a Kiva Fellow at microfinance institution Asociación Arariwa in Cusco, Peru and is currently serving as a Kiva Fellow with Emprender in La Paz, Bolivia. She speaks a bit of seven languages, from French to Kannada. Sheethal is also an avid rock climber, rooftop gardener, foodie and international travel fanatic.
Suzy Marinkovich (suzypm)
Ayachuco, Peru and Cochabamba, Bolivia
Suzy proudly hails from sunny San Diego, California. With a passion for poverty alleviation, she joined the Kiva team as a Fellow in May 2009 to help the organization connect borrowers with lenders. She showed up at Kiva’s doorstep after working with several nonprofits and spending a summer volunteering in East Africa, where she grew tired of watching heartfelt monetary donations slip through the cracks of the projects to which they were bestowed. Suzy truly believes that loans change lives, and wants to be a part of a new wave of development that tries its best to look for solutions instead of problems, while celebrating idealism as a tougher path than cynicism. Her first placement is in Peru’s Central Andean town of Ayacucho, and she will be moving to Cochabamba, Bolivia to work with a brand new Kiva partner in early September. Back home in San Diego, Suzy is a proud member of the San Diego Padres PadSquad, sling-shotting t-shirts and riling up fans. Suzy speaks fluent Spanish, a sprinkle of Swahili and Quechua, and plans to tackle French next. She aspires to attend law school and pursue a career in human rights law.
Tiago Genoveze (tiagolmg)
Solentiname, Nicaragua
Tiago believes in the importance of seeing life from a variety of perspectives, which is why he is so passionate about photography. Born in New York to Brazilian parents in 1986, Tiago would develop an identity crisis from his family’s constant changes in residency. By 15 he had lived in New York, London, São Paulo, and Grand Cayman. Then, he went to a boarding school in Florida and spent one of his summers studying Spanish in Madrid. Moving onto the world of higher education at Boston University, Tiago developed his passion for literature and photography through his studies in English, Italian, and photojournalism as well as satisfying his wanderlust by studying abroad in London, England and Padova, Italy. Rather than complicating his identity crisis, these travels helped him realize that he need not only identify with one place. Now, it’s off to Solentiname, Nicaragua, an isolated archipelago in the southern reaches of Lake Nicaragua, where Tiago strives to share his passion for photography with children and adolescents who lack many resources and extracurricular activities.
Whitney Devin (whitdevin)
Copan Ruinas, Honduras
It all began with a high-school exchange trip to Japan. That’s where Rebecca discovered her desire for something beyond the ordinary. From that first trip, to now, it has been quite a circuitous route. To sum it all up…it went a little like this: Psychology, Photography, Psychology, Photojournalism, Journalism, Intercultural Youth Development, Peace Corps (in which all of the above is currently combined into one). Her true passion is photography and youth work – i.e. sharing her passion for photography with kids, allowing them to share their view of the world through images. Rebecca’s personal photographic work is humanitarian-focused because she believes in the power of images for social change. Rebecca is obsessed with all things food related and cooking, and she could eat breakfast for every meal, 365 days a year. Yoga, hiking, painting, gardening, and killing very large, black spiders in her house are also on her list of usual activities.
