Biographies
AASD Leaders
Aaron Ebner – taebner@gmail.com
Aaron Ebner founded Team Peru along with Tina Novero and Adam Stieglitz. He is Vice President of The Becky Fund and a founding member of The Andean Alliance for Sustainable Development. He has been working in the Sacred Valley of Peru since 2006. Aaron spends a lot of time in the indigenous communities and has developed a level of trust with indigenous leadership that allows for a unique working relationship between the communities and our graduate students. He focuses on the agriculture projects but is also involved in other Team Peru endeavors. Aaron enjoys working and spending time in the communities and appreciates the mellow pace of life.
Adam Steiglitz -adamcstieglitz@gmail.com
Adam is originally from South Florida and graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor’s of Business Management and Administration. His international development experience includes teaching English in South Korea, volunteering at a health/medical clinic in rural Honduras, and participating as a member of Team Monterey’s infrastructure project in El Salvador where a potable water distribution was evaluated. Adam obtained is Master’s in Public Administration from the MIIS.
Past Participants
Brian Anderson Dean – brianandersondean@gmail
Brian is a recent Graduate of the Monterey Institute of International Studies where he received an MA in Public administration and International Management. Brian also holds a BA in Global Studies with an East Asian focuses from the University of Minnesota. Over the Course of the summer Brian will be developing a series of Video Blogs highlighting AASD’s various projects, Assisting the Agriculture Team, and also working with various Teams to establish an organizational model that will ensure The AASD’s future growth and improved impact.
Cheryl Hedges – cheryl.k.hedges@gmail.com
Cheryl first came to Peru as a volunteer for The Becky Fund in 2006. She possesses a Bachelor’s in Mathematics from Michigan State University and is pursuing her Master’s of Business Administration and Master’s of Public Policy at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo with an expected graduation date of June 2011. Cheryl is experienced in education management and has been working with the The Becky Fund’s educational greenhouse initiative during summer 2010. During her time in Peru, she has been inspired by the traditional artisans with whom she’s met and hopes to aid in the preservation of the weaving tradition in the coming years.
Christopher Martin Archuleta – charlierockdoc@sbcglobal.net
Chris, a U.S. Army combat medic, was deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom on Aug-2004 to Feb-2006. He was responsible for all medical issues concerning soldiers, civilians, and wounded enemy combatants. Chris conducted health, economic, and security assessments of the local populace. He has multiple decorations for care of patients in non-emergency settings and patients under direct and indirect fire. Additionally, Chris was a 223rd Infantry Instructor and Cadre to new California National Guardsmen. As a platoon Sergeant, he taught field expedient methods for trauma and medical complications while conducting combat operations. He is knowledgeable in TC3 (Tactical Combat Casualty Care), EMT-Basic, CPR, advance airway management, pediatrics, geriatrics, sanitation, nutrition, nutritional based diseases, Intravenous I.V. procedures. OB/Gyn, suturing, minor surgical procedures, and sterilization processes.
Chui Archuleta – worldarchuleta@gmail.com
Chuyoung met Aaron in the middle of a drinking contest in California in which he lost to Señor Ebner. Inspired by Aaron’s leadership, Chui is committed to helping the indigenous communities around the world. He enjoys checkers, parcheesi, and taking naps in the garden. He is currently studying Quechua to improve the quality of his assistance to the indigenous communities in the Sacred Valley.
Danielle Johnson
Danielle Johnson received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Lewis & Clark College and is a Master of Public Administration in International Management candidate at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Her primary interest is gender development in education. While in the Sacred Valley this summer, Danielle, along with her colleague Natalie, will be completing a community needs assessment for the women’s associations in the area. They plan to develop curriculum and tools to improve financial literacy and develop entrepreneurial opportunities.
Elma Paulauskaite
Elma holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the Vytautas Magnus University in her native Lithuania. She has educational experiences, ranging from two weeks to six years, in Macedonia, Kosovo, Portugal and the U.S, where she is currently pursuing an MA in International Development Policy at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Her interest in policy and development grew gradually from my psychology studies focused on social psychology and how individuals are affected by their immediate environments. She hopes to keep this focus on the individual in any a future development endeavors.
Elsa Figueroa
Elsa graduated from the University of Puerto Rico in 2006 with a degree in Translation and Foreign Languages. She worked as an interpreter for three years and currently is pursuing a Master’s at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Translation and Interpretation, in the Spanish program. Her experience with Team Peru this past summer has helped to reinforce the desire to contribute her language abilities to international development projects.
Jeanne Amrein
A new addition to Team Peru, Jeanne is working with the NGO Networking program and the Health and Wellness programs. Previous professional experience managing and organizing international exchange programs for the US Department of State and the US Agency for International Development adds a new dimension to the already experienced group. Jeanne earned her B.A. in International Relations from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio and is currently a Masters of Public Administration candidate for May 2012 at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Excited to work with the team and the locals in the Sacred Valley, Jeanne hopes to improve her Spanish skills and further increase the impact of the programs for the Andean Alliance for Sustainable Development.
Kat Gordon – katgordon4@gmail.com
Kat obtained her Bachelor´s in International Development with a concentration in South America in addition to a Minor in Conservation and Resource Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. Kat worked with several environmental and development organizations during and after her undergraduate studies. Currently Kat is an International Environmental Policy Masters candidate in the sustainable development track at MIIS. Her focus is on small scale sustainable agriculture systems for achieving food security and ecological health. With Team Peru, Kat works on the agricultural projects. She hopes to expand community led, sustainable agriculture projects in the region and, above all, to continue learning the extensive agricultural knowledge held by the local farmers.
Hilda Diaz – hildapdiaz@gmail.com
Hilda immigrated to the United States with her family in 1986. The socio-economic challenges that her parents encountered as immigrants forced them to send her back to El Salvador in 1990 at a time of political tension and the end of an 11-year civil war. In 2000 Hilda moved back to the Bay Area to pursue higher education. She completed a Bachelor’s in Raza Studies with a minor in International Relations at San Francisco State University. As an undergraduate she participated in an academic exchange program in Mexico City that focused on studying Mexico’s economic tensions, political discordance and the effects of trade, migration and globalization. Currently, she is a graduate student at the Monterey Institute of International Studies pursuing her Master’s in Translation and Interpretation. She has recently participated in a development practicum in El Salvador as part of the Interpretation and Translation team. Hilda is the lead Interpreter and Translator for AASD.
Marina Savinovich
Marina was born in Dubrovnik (Croatia) in 1979. She has lived in Croatia, Germany and Austria. After graduating high school of Economics in Dubrovnik, she decided to move to the US and continue my college education. She earned AA degrees in sports medicine, physical education and liberal arts. Simultaneously, she opened up a restaurant with her brothers, which allowed her to attend San Jose State University, where she earned a BA in Spanish with a minor in German. The restaurant was also a jumping board for bigger and better investments. Along with her brothers, Marina currently own a successful nightclub, which allows her to pursue a MAIPS in conflict resolution at MIIS. After successfully completing her first semester at MIIS, she joins Team Peru agriculture team to gain knowledge of hands-on challenges of this summer’s development projects. She would like to explore some of the obstacles, as well as internal conflicts that will arise within the communities as well as team members. Specifically she will research food security issues. Marina believes once food security is no longer a major issue for the communities; the safety net created by the greenhouses will foster further development of the communities.
Marina Sophia Flevotomas – mareehna@gmail.com
Marina, a Greek-Cypriot, attained a Bachelor’s in Sociology at the University of Central Michigan (USA) in 2008. She is currently completing a Master’s in Humanitarian Action through two Universities: The Institute for Peace and Armed Conflict, Bochum (Germany) and Conflict, Peace-building and Religion at Uppsala University (Sweden) under the Network of Humanitarian Action (NOHA). Through her studies, Marina has been trained and educated in the areas of Law, Anthropology, Geopolitics, Medicine and Management in Complex Crisis. Marina is interested in bridging humanitarian action with environmental challenges. Her current research focuses on the protection of climate displaced people and environmental refugees. Throughout her studies, Marina has been involved in humanitarian responses to human rights issues and environmental protection.
Natalie Sherman
Natalie received her Bachelor of Arts in International Business and French from Georgia State University and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Administration degree at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, focusing on social enterprise and development. Her primary area of interest is using social entrepreneurship and digital media to foster innovation and self-sufficiency for women and youth. She is extremely excited to be working with Team Peru and the women of the Sacred Valley to develop a sustainable textile enterprise and learn more about the magnificent history and culture of the region.
Tina Novero – tnovero@middlebury.edu
Tina obtained a Bachelor’s in International Relations with a concentration in Third World Development from San Francisco State University in 2005. Upon graduation she worked for various non-profits and was an immigration legal assistant in San Francisco, CA. She is also co-founder of the MIIS student club Women of the World (WOW). Her primary interests revolve around Millennium Development Goal #3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women. While in the Sacred Valley this summer, Tina’s primary goal is to conduct nutrition/cooking classes using the new produce grown in the greenhouses and organize textile workshops with 3 different communities. She is also developing a prototype and business plan for laptop cases made from indigenous weavings.
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