David Amador

David Amador has spent most of his professional career in the financial sector in Honduras and Central America beginning with a role as Junior Executive officer in Bancahorro in 1994. By 1996 he became a Senior Executive with the most important portfolio loans in the bank, amounting to $ 85.5 million. In 2000 he was selected to work with the leadership group to management the fusion between the most important banks in Honduras. By 2002 David became the National Branch Manager for Group Promerica in Honduras, overseeing 10 branches with 250 employees under his leadership, between loans, savings, credit cards, and certificates of deposit. At the same time he managed two projects in the bank- implementation of  the electronic bank transactions via website and development of electronic checking accounts for the medium enterprises in Central America where Group Promerica had presence. in 2004, he receive the opportunity to work in the Central America Bank for Economic Integration, and organization considered the most prominent development bank in Central America where David managed  portfolio operations of $108.3 million in three years. In 2007 he moved to United States to live in Naperville, Illinois while his soon received special treatment for an illness. During this time, David worked for the Honduras Consulate in Chicago where he had the opportunity to assist many Honduran immigrants in the Unites States. David returned to Honduras for personal reasons in 2016 and began to worry about the communities in Honduras, thinking of ways to apply is skills and experience to improve lives. He found Global Brigades in March 2017 and joined the team as  Economic Development Director in Honduras.

David is a graduate from the National Autonomous University of Honduras in Business Administration, and also holds masters degrees in Business Administration and Financial Corporations. David plans to continue study to receive a doctorate degree in Economics and begin teaching in private universities in Honduras.

Fabio Blanco

Mr. Fabio Blanco joined Global Brigades Nicaragua in August 2017. Prior to this, his studies earned him a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism Business at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN-LEON) in 2000, and a Master’s degree in rural development from the Polytechnic University of Nicaragua (UPOLI).

In the labor field, Fabio has accumulated a wealth of previous experience with non-profit organizations.  He has worked as a specialist in social and business development processes with young people and adults in the rural communities of the western, northern and central municipalities of Nicaragua.It has formed groups of self-saving and development of small and médium enterprises in chaining of markets in different productive áreas  (BID-World Vision Nicaragua Central American Project).  Through the project, The Future is Young, he served as an advisor for small businesses in the administration of loans to young people in the department of Chinandega, which Fabio executed in coordination with the mayor of Chinandega and funds of the European Union and Lay Movement for Latin America. Also, he was responsible for the organizing component of a sponsorship scholarship program and community training for adults, youth and adolescents financed through funds from the EUROPEAN UNION.

Fabio is currently the Manager of Business and Microfinance for Global Brigades Nicaragua. Together with his team, he is forming community banks in departments such as Jinotega and León in an effort to develop small loans in order to assist community members in starting or strengthening their own businesses allowing them to generate greater income for the welfare of their families.

Currently, Fabio resides in the city of Estelí, Nicaragua, and his interests include technology and travel.

Mel Brown

Migdalys Cunampio

Migdalys joined the Global Brigades team in September 2020 to coordinator monitoring and servicing of loans with business owners through our partnership with Kiva. Migdalys has served as the treasurer of the community bank in her community of Piriati Embera since 2014, an empowered community partner of Global Brigades. In her new role collaborating with the Global Brigades team, Migdalys is excited to work alongside and learn from a passionate team of experts and share her knowledge with them as well as the community partners with which we work.

In addition to her work experience, Migdalys earned her bachelor’s degree in business, as well as additional undergrduate and post-graduate work in accounting.

In her free time, Migdalys enjoys spending time with her family and playing volleyball.

Yohana Jimenez

Yohana Jimenez is the former community bank tresurer of the community of Canglon, (and member of the community) one of the fastest-growing cajas in Darien. Her eagerness to learn, dedication and passion to develop the communities through the power of financial inclusion was decisive in order to join the business team of GB Panama. Thanks to the business brigades and the trainings she learned how to manage the finances of her community bank and became one of the best treasurers across the 20 cajas in Panama.

Jorge Pinto

Jorge grew up in Santiago de Veraguas, Panama, where he got his Commerce Degree at the Omar Torrijos Herrera Institute. He got his Masters from Universidad de Panamá. Jorge previously worked as a business advisor at two recognized financial institutions in Panama, until he saw the job ad for Global Brigades and decided to join the business program. Jorge enjoys interacting with everyone he meets during his field visits, as well as with his co-workers at the office. He also enjoys seeing the positive impact created in the lives of Community Bank members in each of the communities where Global Brigades works.

Jorge has been amazed with the changing mindsets of Community Bank members. He remembers in the beginning while speaking with new members, many said they only earned enough to get by with food, but now they have succeeded in a collective savings of more than $50,000 and more than $65,000 in loans.

In Jorge’s free time he enjoys time with his family, reading, and going for walks.

Denis Perez

Denis grew up in Rio Congo in the Darién province. In school she studied commerce with a focus on computers. She received her degree in informatics. Before Global Brigades, she worked as a promoter for the Redes de Oportunidades project through the Ministry of Social Development in Panama. Her first experience with Global Brigades was as a community volunteer on a GB public health project in Platanilla. Denis currently works on the Business Program team to monitor each of GB’s Community Banks through reviewing their bookkeeping and providing guidance if any issues come up during weekly meetings.

Nicole Lopez

Nicole is the Chairperson for Global Brigades Canada. She is currently studying medicine at Dalhousie University. Her exposure to social justice issues served as a defining moment in her life and has inspired her commitment to address inequality and improve health outcomes as a physician.

In 2015, Nicole graduated from Mount Allison University with a BSc in Psychology and was named a 3x Academic All Canadian throughout her career as a varsity soccer athlete. It was during her time at MTA that she found Global Brigades. Intrigued by GB’s holistic approach and focus on empowerment in sustainable development, she went on her first Public Health Brigade in 2011. Following four years of involvement as a volunteer, Nicole accepted a staff position with Global Brigades and lived and worked in Nicaragua and Honduras. After 2 years abroad, Nicole moved back home to Nova Scotia and continued to build a career with Global Brigades in various leadership roles for the following 4 years, including Volunteer Engagement Manager and Sr. Operations Manager. She is grateful for the opportunity to remain involved with the organization through the GB Canada Board of Directors.

Nicole lives in Halifax, NS with her husband, and her cat Maya (originally from Honduras!) She loves hiking Nova Scotia’s coastline, watching reality TV, and watercolor painting.

Rob Fowlie

Robert is a Chartered Professional Accountant and Partner at MNP LLP, Canada’s 5th largest accounting firm.

He has more than 30 years of experience delivering services in multiple industries, jurisdictions and business cultures in North America, South America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia) the UK, Japan & Australia. He is a trusted advisor to management teams and Boards and has a successful track record delivering projects on sensitive and complex business issues. As a business leader , he is experienced in business and market strategy, financial reporting and performance, recruiting, team building, mentoring and change management.

Rob holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Waterloo. Rob is also a Board member for Food for Life Canada, serving in the capacity of Treasurer and as a member of the Governance Committee.

Rob was drawn to the Global Brigades by its model for volunteer engagement and fundraising and its mission to work with communities to develop sustainable solutions to their health, water and economic needs.

In his spare time, Rob enjoys spending time with his wife and three adult children, hiking, golfing and reading.

Maura Riordon

Maura was first introduced to Global Brigades while studying at Mount Allison University (MTA). She volunteered on MTA’s first Medical Brigade to Honduras in February 2009 and continued to brigade with MTA as a volunteer interpreter until she started working for the organization in September 2015. She worked as a Global Health Program Associate in Panama and as a Medical-Dental Team Champion Program Associate in Honduras which included helping with the Vision Screening Station. In June 2017, Maura transitioned into a new role as Medications Coordinator and worked on procuring medications and supplies for the programming countries. After working for Global Brigades in Central America for three and a half years, Maura moved back to Canada in March 2019 and now works for Infrastructure Canada in Ottawa and holds a position on the Global Brigades Canada Board of Directors.

Maura received her B.A. with a double major in French Studies and Hispanic Studies from MTA in May 2010, her Honours B.A. with a specialization in French-Spanish-English translation from the University of Ottawa in June 2013, and her General Interpreting Graduate Diploma from York University in October 2015. Prior to working with Global Brigades, Maura worked for the Embassy of Peru in Ottawa, Ontario, and at the Language Technologies Research Centre in Gatineau, Quebec, where she translated, revised, and edited numerous documents, helped to organize events, and created website content. In her free time, Maura enjoys baking, salsa dancing, and spending time with friends and family.

Luz Garcia

Luz first joined Global Brigades in 2010 as a volunteer interpreter for a microfinance brigade in Panama. She became passionate about the non profit sector, acknowledging the disruption of poverty and inequalities through education and by empowering communities to their development and sustainability.

She pursued her career in Business Administration and holds a master’s degree in human resources. With more than 10 years of experience in Human Resources, she has worked for Save the Children International (SCI) as Regional HR Manager for the Latin America and Caribbean region. During her time in SCI, she also served as Child Safeguarding Director in Latin America.

Luz moved to Quebec in 2018 and currently works at 4Korners, a community organization in the Laurentian region, as Organizational Development Manager. She enjoys volunteering and is a proud member of the Global Brigades Canada Board of Directors.

Theoren Goosney

Growing up in a small town in Newfoundland, Theoren moved to Vancouver to attend the University of British Columbia, where he obtained his BASc in Engineering Physics and competed as a varsity swimmer. He currently works as a Lead Mechanical Engineer for a technology design company in Toronto, and is working towards acquiring his CFA. His interests outside of work include travelling, camping, spending time with friends and family, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Theoren travelled to Honduras in 2016 with the Memorial University of Newfoundland water brigade. He quickly understood the importance of the work of Global Brigades, and how much it empowered the members of so many communities in Honduras. He returned in 2017 in order to continue helping those in the country, and was able to go back to Cuscateca to see the progress that the community and the citizens had made since he was there the summer prior. After working on his professional career for a number of years and through COVID, Theoren has joined the Board of Directors to help grow the organization and inspire the next generation of brigaders to begin helping individuals and communities in Honduras and other countries around the world.

Cindy Zhang

Cindy first became involved with Global Brigades in 2019 when she joined the chapter at the University of Toronto. Intrigued by GB’s holistic model and mission, she worked in a variety of roles from Outreach Director to Campus Chairperson, and even Media Coordinator where she published media content to spread awareness about ethical volunteering and sustainable development. She is delighted to continue working on upcoming fundraisers with GB Canada!

After leading her first Brigade to Honduras in 2022, she decided to continue her interest in public health education and will pursue an MPH in the upcoming academic year. She is deeply passionate about helping everyone achieve their desired level of health using community-based approaches.

Cindy is currently working in a cardiovascular clinic in Toronto. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, baking, thrifting, and socializing with friends.

Aparna Karthikeyan

Aparna began volunteering with Global Brigades in 2019 at the University of Guelph. During her four years with the medical chapter, she served as the Finance and Fundraising Representative, followed by Chapter President in her final year. In 2022, she took on the responsibilities of Campus Chairperson, working to build a Public Health and Dental chapter as well as leading the Eastern Student Leadership Conference. She also led the chapter on medical brigades to Greece in 2022 and Guatemala in 2023.

She is currently studying medicine at Saba University School of Medicine. She graduated from the University of Guelph in 2023 with a BSc in Neuroscience.

Driven by Global Brigades’ commitment to sustainability, Aparna hopes to integrate the holistic model of care in her role as a future physician.

Josephine Pattberg

Josephine is the head of Global Brigades in Germany and oversees all activities of the GBG e.V. Board. As the German representative in the GBA, she is the link between the international GB entities and the national level.

Constanze Bauer

Constance oversees together with the president all activities of the GBG e.V. Board. In contrast to the international focus of the president, the VP is more in charge of the national level and the university groups.

Julia Carthaus

Julia oversees GBG e.V.s finances. She is the direct contact person in anything related to finances for the GB USA as well as for the university groups in Germany. Furthermore she takes care of legal matters, next to the third management board member and the German CEO.

Elisa Colombo

Elisa takes care of legal matters and is responsible for the registration of the German association. As CEO she is able to take care of financial matters as well and therefore supports Julia as finance manager.

Laura Harrison

Laura is responsible for university and corporate relations. She takes care of long-term cooperations with universities to establish new Chapters and make Brigades part of the curriculum. She maintains corporate relations for funding, mentoring programs and possible professional brigades.

Emmanuel Accensi

Emmanuel got appointed by the German Campus Chairpersons to represent them in the GBG e. V. Board. Hence, Emmanuel is the link between the German board and the university groups.

Pauline Giertz

Pauline is responsible for communication and our public representation. She is in charge of implementing GB’s corporate identity on a national level, creating German marketing materials, keeping the German website up to date and publishing the quarterly Newsletter.

Luissa Olschewski

Luissa is responsible for communication and our public representation as well. She is in charge of implementing GB’s corporate identity on a national level by taking care of GB Germanys social media channels and supporting university groups by taking care of theirs.

Benjamin Straub

Benjamin is responsible for the coordination and monitoring of the pre- and post-departure workshops in cooperation with the university groups. Furthermore, he takes care of the continuous development and quality assurance of guidelines for such workshops. Due to his experience and expertise from working with Global Brigades, he supports us in achieving (long-term) strategic goals through his advice and collaboration.

Anna Spies

As the 3rd board member Anna functions as secretary during national conferences, takes care of administrative matters and is the contact person for the GB Germany Alumni network. As co-founder of GB Germany e.V. she is also an honorary member of the board.

Christine Bock

Christine is an alumni and honorary member of the board and attends to different arising tasks and supports with her experience and expertise from working with Global Brigades, depending on the current demands.

Ciara Baumgärtner

Ciara is an alumni and honorary member of the board and attends to different arising tasks and supports with her experience and expertise from working with Global Brigades, depending on the current demands.

Dr. Shaswath Ganapathi

Shaswath is the Chairperson for Global Brigades UK. He is a doctor in central Birmingham. He studied medicine at the University of Birmingham, completed an intercalated BSc in Health Management and Leadership during his undergraduate studies, and is currently pursuing a Health Professional Education PGCertification. He aims to build a career in Ophthalmology and scale his clinical impact, both in the UK and in under-resourced countries by leveraging his interests in use of artificial intelligence in healthcare, education, leadership and management and continued links with Global Brigades.

Shaswath first became involved in Global Brigades in 2019, with a medical brigade to Honduras. He went on to work as the Campus Chairperson of the University for the next two years and took up a board position in August 2021. He is excited to grow the student leader community in the UK and expand into new campuses.

Shaswath is passionate about Global Brigades’ sustainable model to empower and improve lives in partner communities. He believes that students in the UK will be able to make a big impact through their involvement in brigades, and will also deepen their understanding of the global economic and social circumstances, and the importance of working collaboratively with local professionals and communities in delivering a sustained impact. He also hopes that following a brigade, with mentorship throughout the year, students will have developed transferable skills for their future careers and will be inspired to continue being involved in global development throughout their careers.

Gianmarco Iannello

Gianmarco is currently Treasurer & Trustee for Global Brigades UK.  Based in London, Gianmarco works at Permira – a growth-oriented global Private Equity firm – as an Investment Professional, focusing on large cap buyouts and minority investments within Fintech and tech-enabled B2B services industries. Prior to Permira, he worked at Perella Weinberg Partners, in the M&A and Restructuring advisory practice, covering Technology, Media and Telecom clients.

Outside of work, Gianmarco is a volunteer for the Social Business Trust, a UK charity that provides grants and business advice to established social enterprises with the aim of supporting their growth and helping them to achieve greater social impact. His involvement with Global Brigades started in 2012, when he participated in the UCL Microfinance brigade in Ghana. He has been on the Global Brigades UK Board since August 2021.

Gianmarco holds a degree in Economics from University College London, and is a proud UWC alumnus (UWCAD ’08-’10).

Jess Woodrow

Jess is currently a Trustee for Global Brigades UK. She studied Law at the University of Exeter, and is currently working as a Trainee Solicitor at Irwin Mitchell LLP. Jess will commence her SQE prep in August 2024 at the University of Law, with the aim of qualifying as a Solicitor by 2026.

Jess first became involved with Global Brigades in 2021 when she attended a TeleBrigade to Honduras amidst the pandemic. She went on to become Exeter’s Campus Chairperson, and organised two legal brigades, before taking up a board position in January 2024.

Jess is looking forward to building the Global Brigades student community and expanding into other universities across the UK.

Sharmin Akthar

Sharmin studied her undergraduate degree in Global Health & Social Medicine at King’s College London. She later completed her Masters in Global Mental Health jointly at King’s College London and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Sharmin initially joined Global Brigades in 2019 as a Medical Team Lead where she coordinated the Medical Brigade in Ghana during 2019. She was later nominated as Campus Chairperson at King’s College London in 2021. Within this role, Sharmin managed a Medical Brigade in Ghana with over 30 volunteers, whilst facilitating multiple fundraising events including skiing, O2 climbs and Lake District Hikes. Sharmin is currently the Expansion Project Director as part of the GB UK Board of Directors. Her current role is to promote the growth of Global Brigades UK, namely through managing new projects like the Greece Internship Programme.

Sharmin is currently working as a Wellbeing Project Coordinator for a Local Borough. She has worked previously in various roles such as Mental Health Research and Health Advisory.

Sharmin is passionate about Mental Health and has always been keen to tackle health inequalities which exist around the world.

Samahat Ahmed

Samahat is a second-year medical student completing an MBBS at Kent and Medway Medical School. She previously worked as a student volunteer lead for a national medical book club for the social enterprise MedicMentor. MedicMentor looks to combat educational inequalities by increasing access to Medicine via university application support.

She first came into contact with Global Brigades as Co-Campus Chair for the University of Kent. They went on a Medical Brigade in the summer of 2023. It was gratifying to learn about limited-resource healthcare from an international team and experience a new culture. Especially since her dream is to become a humanitarian doctor. The organization’s work stands out in every sector of global development as it’s underpinned by empowering communities worldwide to grow their infrastructure sustainably. Samahat is excited to work with student leaders who are passionate about propagating global change.

Outside of Global Brigades, she volunteers for the charity StreetDoctors, providing first-aid training to children across the UK. StreetDoctors aims to equip the youth in the face of the UK’s knife crime epidemic and street violence. Samahat also serves in a food truck for people experiencing homelessness locally with some cool neighborhood aunties. She loves going home to Bangladesh, spending time with loved ones, eating out and dancing.

Dr. Shital Vora

Dr. Shital Vora is Co-Founder and CEO of Global Brigades, overseeing Global Brigades’ human resources and talent programs in addition to administrative policies and University relationships. Prior to dedicating to Global Brigades full time, she had spent 4 years working as a Doctor of Physical Therapy focusing on Orthopedics and Sports Medicine for one of the nation’s largest and most successful orthopedic practices in Chicago.

In 2003, while completing her degree at Marquette University, Shital established the very first medical brigade club, which eventually developed into the model that is used today throughout the organization. From one club at Marquette, Shital and the GB leadership team has started over 450 active groups who travel to Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, and Ghana in providing primary health care and education in rural communities. Within Global Brigades, Shital had previously worked as the CEO of Health Programs and Chief Program Officer prior to taking on the human resources role.

Shital has spent much of her time abroad with Global Brigades understanding the importance of health in developing countries. She has been actively involved with not only the expansion of the organization, but overall strategies for staff empowerment. Her focus is to involve staff in these strategies not only to provide communities in need, but also challenge the minds of young individuals who are embarking and building on their professional career. Shital is passionate about creating leadership opportunities for all staff, putting people first, and the “human” side of human resources.

Shital sits on the Marquette University Health Sciences advisory board, and also has been recognized at Marquette University’s Young Alumnus of the Year in 2009. Shital graduated with high honors at with a degree in Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy as well as her PhD in Orthopedics.

Steven Atamian

Inspired by the potential impact university students could make in rural Honduran communities, Steve helped co-found what would become Global Brigades in 2004. In addition to many programmatic contributions around the holistic model, Steve led GB’s decentralized student-led movement and its strategy for financial sustainability.

From 2004-2008, Steve led Global Brigades as a volunteer while employed full-time with Deloitte, where he supported the design and implementation of their corporate social responsibility strategy in the Pacific Southwest region of the United States.

In 2007, when Global Brigades was officially registered as a nonprofit in the United States, Steve was named the CEO by the board of directors and served in that position until 2016. Currently, Steve holds the position of Empowerment Officer and splits his time between high level strategy, budgeting, and pushing to maintain the student-led culture that the organization was built upon.

Steve is a graduate from the University of Southern California. He resides in Seattle with his wife and baby daughter. Locally, he has contributed as an affiliate faculty member at the University of Washington at Bothell, teaching classes in social entrepreneurship and nonprofit management.

Pallav Vora

Pallav is the General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer for Global Brigades, Inc. and oversees and provides legal support to all Global Brigades entities worldwide. Since joining Global Brigades full-time in 2012, Pallav has served as Global Brigades’ General Counsel and works closely with the leadership of all Global Brigades entities to strengthen operations by assessing and managing risk, implementing appropriate practices and controls, and providing advice and counsel on a broad range of legal issues critical to the organization’s mission. Pallav also sits on the Board of Directors of Global Brigades Ventures and the International Volunteer Programs Association.

Prior to joining Global Brigades, Pallav was an Associate Attorney at the Law Offices of Joseph V. Roddy, where he worked as a litigator on a wide-variety of civil and criminal matters in both state and federal courts, including administrative hearings, civil rights litigation, personal injury, appeals and criminal defense. Pallav received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Richmond, and received his J.D. from John Marshall Law School. He is admitted to practice before the Illinois State Bar and U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association.

Nancy Amador

Nancy joined Global Brigades October 1, 2008 as accountant and administrator for Global Brigades Honduras, she helped on the structure of financial and administrative procedures for the grantee entities and provided support to advising and program associate teams. In January 2013 she was moved to be a part of Global Brigades USA finance team as VP of Finance, in this position she has been working with the bookkeeping for Global Brigades USA, Canada and United Kingdom, she also provides support on the audits for these countries and is now running financial compliance auditors for grantee entities.

Nancy received her Bachelor’s degree in accounting from the UNAH and a Master’s degree in finance from UNITEC. Her previous experiences are all related to accounting, administration and finance and each company that she worked with helped her gain more knowledge as well as long lasting friendships. Global Brigades has been a great experience for her as she always wanted to work with an organization where she could be a part of helping others.

Jonah Kawarsky

Jonah Kawarsky, MBS, the Executive Director of Global Brigades Canada, combines a strong foundation in biomedical science with a passion for community development. A graduate of the University of Guelph, Jonah’s academic background lays the groundwork for his dedication to health and community service.

He first became involved with Global Brigades when he founded the Medical Chapter at the University of Guelph in 2018, leading them on Brigade to Panamá in 2019. Adapting to the pandemic, he led the chapter for two TeleBrigades to Honduras in 2020 and one in 2021. He was Campus Chairperson from 2019 to 2021, helping establish two additional chapters on campus (Engineering and Business) and leading the Eastern Student Leadership Conference in 2020 and 2021. In 2021 and 2022, Jonah worked as a Volunteer Engagement Manager, connecting campus chapters with the greater Guelph Community. He served on the GB Canada Board of Directors from February 2022 to November 2023.

Jonah was inspired to begin his journey with Global Brigades after learning about the holistic model and yearlong community programs such as Community Health Workers. He believes that GB’s long-term goals are sustainable ways of lifting communities out of poverty.

Looking to the future, Jonah is focused on furthering Global Brigades Canada’s impact through partnerships with other Canadian non-profits and increasing the presence of chapters and brigades on university campuses. Outside of his professional life, he enjoys rock climbing, camping, and photography.

Christie Catlin

Christie is a Marquette University graduate with a degree in International Affairs. She first joined Global Brigades in 2011, working for the sustainable development programs in Honduras. She soon grew into a leadership position, and spent the next six years leading the brigade planning and volunteer engagement teams in many capacities. A people person through and through, Christie has hired, trained, and managed scores of team members in support of Global Brigades volunteer program operations in Central America and Ghana.

In 2017, she left the organization to serve as a Disaster Recovery Manager for the American Red Cross, and later the Director of Development for Frontdesk, a travel start-up. In 2020, Christie returned to Global Brigades to serve as Chief of Staff to the executive leadership, before taking on her current role as President of Medical Brigades.

Christie lives in Milwaukee, WI with her husband, son, and Great Dane. She loves traveling, baking, and sailing.

Ben Erker

Ben Erker joined Global Brigades in January 2009 to help develop and coordinate the Water Brigades program in Honduras.  Four the next four years he managed the implementation of numerous clean water projects, while coordinating over sixty Water Brigades.  From 2013 – 2015, Ben worked as Development Program Officer in Honduras, overseeing the operation of the holistic model and its program teams in the country.   Starting in January 2016, Ben began his current position as GB Director of Impact & Evaluation in charge of impact measurement and reporting, program monitoring and evaluation, and supervising local M&E teams in GB’s programming countries.

Ben received his B.S. in Civil & Environmental Engineering from Bucknell University, which included a semester of study in Perth, Western Australia. During his time at Bucknell Ben made his first of many trips to Honduras which inspired him to further pursue water and sanitation issues in developing countries.  Ben went on to receive his M.S. in Civil & Environmental Engineering from the University of California – Davis focusing on water quality, drinking water and wastewater treatment. While at UC Davis, Ben spent a month in rural Uganda working on sustainable drinking water and sanitation solutions.  Before joining Global Brigades, Ben participated in a wide range of research projects investigating the effect of microorganisms on arsenic concentration in groundwater, small water system treatment techniques, anaerobic digestion of food waste, and evaporation effects of development in watersheds.

Lauren Maitland

Bio coming soon.

Juan David Villegas

Juan David joined Global Brigades in December 2014 as a brigade interpreter, soon after that, he began coordinating business brigades full time with GB. In January 2017, Juan David became the Business Program Manager, overseeing all of the Business program’s staff and projects in Panama.

Juan David was born and raised in Medellin, Colombia. From an early age, he has been an advocate of the power of financial inclusion and entrepreneurship in transforming people’s lives. At the age of 17, he moved to Bournemouth, UK, to study and received his Higher National Diploma degree in Business Studies at MLS Management College, England. In the last 7 years, Juan David has been to 25 countries investigating the impact of business, commerce, and entrepreneurship in economic development worldwide.

Juan David holds a certification of Development Project Management by the Interamerican Development Bank and Strategic Managerial Skills Certificate from the Interamerican University of Panama.

Fun fact: Juan David’s first brigade was actually a Medical brigade which he attended as an interpreter and where by chance there was a business brigade staying at the same lodging facility. After a 5-hour conversation with the former Business Program Manager, Juan David fell in love with the program, canceled a flight to Korea, and changed his career path to dedicate himself to working with economic and social development programs with Global Brigades.

Arman Nadershahi

Arman Nadershahi is an entrepreneur and multi-faceted attorney. Arman co-founded Global Brigades, Inc., as well as several successful medical device startup companies, including one startup that was acquired and another that had an IPO on NASDAQ. Arman also serves as the in-house counsel for the Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California. Arman’s legal expertise includes intellectual property, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, nonprofits, and startups. Earlier in his career, Arman practiced intellectual property law at Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, LLP, where he focused on patent prosecution, licensing, and intellectual property litigation in the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices.

Arman graduated with distinction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BA in Zoology and English Literature. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School, a Master’s in Biological Science from the University of Minnesota, an MS in Regulatory Science from the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy, and an MBA from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.

Alexa Schmidt

Alexa Schmidt is a global citizen who acts locally, wherever she is. She joined Global Brigades as a Program Associate in Honduras in 2014, and with a capacity leadership she initiated the Program Associate Manager role. She lived in Central America until 2016, and now serves as the stateside Director of Marketing. In this role, Alexa acts as Global Brigades’ central storyteller and ensures all internal and external stakeholders are well-informed. Her drive to tell Global Brigades’ stories stems from the programmatic accomplishments that happen because of collaboration among community members, staff, and volunteers.

Orion Haas

Bio coming soon…

Luis Torres Quan

Luis joined Global Brigades Honduras in January 2012 when his first role with a brigade was serving as a driver. Since then, Luis has transitioned to various roles including translator, coordinator, HR Manager, Operations Director, Administrative Director, and in 2016, Executive Director. Luis is passionate about the work that Global Brigades does in our communities and likes being able to make a difference in his home country.

Luis graduated from the Catholic University in Honduras with a degree in Finance. He has held previous leadership positions in  the financial sector as he has worked for banks and insurance companies in Honduras. One of his many contributions to the organization was helping expand programs execution to the southern region of the country.

Pablo Garron

Pablo Garron is a consultant/trainer/facilitator, team player and skilled in management of multicultural staff with over 20 years’ experience in international development. He has worked advising the Panamanian government in establishing the microfinance policy and design the regulations for the Microfinance Development Fund. He worked 12 years for The Peace Corps in Bolivia as master trainer and in Panama as a Program manager and as a Senior Programs Manager. He worked as a business development consultant for the UNDP, IDB. FUNDES, REDPAMIF among other organizations.

In 2013, Pablo began working with Global Brigades Panama designing, implementing and monitoring the Microfinance program. In June of 2015, He became GB´s Panama Programs Officer and in January 2017, he was nominated as GB Nicaragua Executive Director.

Pablo has a BA in Economics and and a Masters in Business Administration.

Tina Voulgari

Tina holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the Athens University (Greece) and a Master of Arts in Marketing Communications from Bournemouth University (UK). She is the Executive Director of Global Brigades Greece, working with the local GB team, the Greek Health Department and other partners to provide primary health care for asylum seekers at refugee camps in Greece. Prior to working for Global Brigades, Tina worked for College Year in Athens, where among other duties, she helped US students volunteer with various NGOs supporting refugees and migrants in Greece. Tina enjoys spending most of her free time close to the nature, practicing yoga, scuba diving, hiking, and rock climbing.

Shafiu Shaibu

Mr. Shaibu Shafiu holds a Certificate of Advance Study in Project Monitoring and Evaluation, a Chartered Accountant (CA), holds an MBA in Finance, and a Bachelor of Commerce. He further holds a Diploma in Social Work Studies, a Diploma in Project Management, a Certificate in Understanding Cross-Cultural Communication in International Business, and a Certificate in Inclusion of Minorities in Community Development. He also holds a Post-Chartered Diploma in Cyber Security.

Shafiu has over 20 years of work experience (a) 3yrs – Public service (academia), (b) 17yrs – NGO sector, (c) 5yrs in livelihood-integrated program design and coordination, (d) 9 years in senior-level financial management (partnership, negotiation, and fundraising), (e) 9 years with INGO, and (f) 3 years leading a national non-profit organization with international affiliates.

He has worked as Enterprise Development and Market Access Coordinator, Finance Manager, Director of Finance and Administration, and as Senior Specialist in Accounting and Auditing. He was also an Operations Manager turned Operations Director and finally Executive Director.

Shafiu joined GBO Ghana (an affiliate of Global Brigades Inc.) and shortly afterwards the COVID-19 pandemic called for the services of a leader to steer the affairs of a ship in serious distress. He has been able to manage the organization into its real mission of inspiring, mobilizing, and collaborating with communities to achieve their own health and economic goals. GBO Ghana is now expanding its funding base beyond only student volunteers who are affected by international travel restrictions whenever there is an international crisis.

Denis Gaitan

Denis Gaitán has a degree in Social Communication at Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) in Managua. He also has a Master’s Degree in Social Policies and Rights for Children and Adolescents from the same university. Before joining the team of Global Brigades Nicaragua, Denis worked in non-governmental organizations coordinating various projects of social communication and promotion of the children and adolescents rights . From the age of 12 he was involved in youth groups focused on issues of citizen participation. He also was a Director of a local community radio station and worked a volunteer program, French-speaking from Québec, Canada with whom he promoted south-north exchanges.

Since May 2015, he has been part of the Global Brigades Nicaragua team where he has worked in different roles, including Public Relations, community organization, Monitoring Evaluation Manager and Country Director in Nicaragua from November 2019 until September 2022. Due to the political situation in Nicaragua and the impact of the pandemic, operations in Nicaragua were significantly reduced in 2022, so Denis Gaitan moved to Global Brigades Panama where he currently holds the position of Operations Manager.

In his free time Denis enjoys spending time with his son Javier. He loves photography and historical articles of Nicaragua and likes to spend time with friends and family.

Mario Quan

Mario received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Universidad Catolíca de Honduras , later to receive a master’s in project development from the same institution. Mario first joined the  Global Brigades team in 2012 as a driver, later to apply his skills as Administrative Director to the Honduras office. In 2015, Mario moved to support the operations of Global Brigades in Nicaragua and returned to Honduras in February 2017 to continue his role in organization administration. Prior to Global Brigades, Mario has held positions of  Credit Analyst and Telemarketing Supervisor in two different banks in Honduras. When he is not supporting the daily operations of the Honduras office, Mario enjoys spending time with his family, especially his wife and son.

Philip Bowers

Phil Bowers has been involved with Global Brigades for well over a decade, getting his start in the trenches as a Water Brigades volunteer back in 2010. He graduated from Indiana University, Bloomington with degrees in Geography Information Systems and Political Science. He has worked as a Program Associate in Nicaragua and Panama, and has also supported the Squads Abroad team from Guatemala. In addition to his time with Global Brigades, Phil has also used his talents as a construction foreman at Habitat for Humanity, and manager of ski shops in Colorado and Montana. He currently serves as the Partnerships Coordinator for Global Medical Brigades, working to recruit more volunteers in support of our mission. After all these years, Phil’s favorite part of the job is collaborating with so many great team members across the world.

When he’s not traveling abroad or working for GB, Phil can be found in the great outdoors, primarily backpacking, skiing, or wrestling moose with his bare hands.

Dr. Jenny Najera

Dr. Nájera joined Global Brigades in the Winter of 2006. Her first Medical Brigade was as a volunteer translating for Doctors. That same year, she then began to work as a temporary employee assisting with Medical Brigades.

In November 2010, she was promoted to the Medical Brigades Program Lead, in charge of programming and logistics. She also started establishing relationships with health authorities and developing protocols of safety and security for Global Brigades’ volunteers.

Prior to joining Global Brigades as a permanent employee, Dr. Nájera worked for the Ministry of Health and a Private Clinic as an attending doctor and for 1 year was the official doctor of Honduran Delegation in international events.

Dr. Nájera received her degree as a Medical Doctor in 2005 from the National University of Honduras. She has 2 years of residency in Pediatrics and has participated in several forums and symposiums of vector transmitted diseases (Dengue- Malaria-Chikunguyia and Zika), as well as in various national and international congresses. Dr. Nájera is currently pursuing her Masters in Epidemiology at the Central American Technological University.

Dr. Sandra Gomez Ventura

Dr. Sandra Gomez Ventura brings a wealth of experience and education to Global Brigades.  She received her PhD in Public Health and Sanitary Management from The University of Zaragoza Spain (AECI Scholarship), a Master’s in Public Health from The Braun School of Public Health/ Hebrew University in Jerusalem Israel (Mashav Scholarship), a Project Design, Management and Evaluation Specialty from Emory University in USA (Hubert Humphrey Fellowship scholarship) and a specialty on Child and Adolescent Development from the Catholic University of Chile, and education as a Dental Surgeon from the National University of Honduras. Dr. Gomez Ventura has also completed an internship at the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta-USA and at UMEA University in Sweden.

Dr. Gomez Ventura spent 10 years working with Peace Corps as the Youth Development Director in Honduras. After Peace Corps, She worked as the Head of the Clinical and Professional Education area at the faculty of Health Sciences at UNITEC Laureatte International Universities in Honduras for 6 years. She is one of the co- founders of The COVID-19 Research Consortium in Honduras, and The Frena la Curva Honduras volunteer organization.

In her free time, Dr. Gomez Ventura loves traveling within and outside of Honduras, reading, supporting youth prevention programs, teaching and conducting TOTs, as well as being involved in the development of new projects.

Blase Scarnati

Blase Scarnati, Ph.D., serves as the Lead for virtual university programs with Global Brigades and is currently Director of Global Learning in the Center for International Education and Professor of MusicHistory in the School of Music at Northern Arizona University. He publishes and consults on community-based local and international student engagement/experiential learning and its pedagogies, curricular development, and international education issues. Scarnati is the co-creator of the Global Learning InitiativeatNorthern Arizona University, an across-the curriculum internationalization effort located in all undergraduate programs and majors, for which Northern Arizona Universityreceivedthe 2012 Senator Paul Simon Award for CampusInternationalization presented by NAFSA: Association of International Educators. He also established one of the largest civic agency and community engagement programs in the country at Northern Arizona University, where 600first-year students each year worked with over 40 community partners in Flagstaff, Arizona, and the region on social justice, sustainability, and community empowerment issues, and whose efforts were featured at the Obama White House.

Scarnati has published articles in Global Impact Exchange, Bringing Theory to Practice-AAC&U Civic Series, Higher Education Exchange, Academic LeaderToday, Teacher-Scholar, Diversity & Democracy, the Kettering Foundation Working Paper Series, and the Huffington Post among others, and numerous book chapters on international education, student engagement, and curricular development issues. He has presented papers and preconference workshops at the Association of International Education Administrators Annual Conference, NAFSA: Association of International Educators Annual Conference, National Conference of the American Association of Colleges & Universities, and American Association of State Colleges and Universities National Conference, among others. https://nau.academia.edu/BlaseScarnati

Hassan Malik

Hassan joined Global Brigades in March 2020 as a QA Developer. Hassan is responsible for ensuring our volunteer platform is up and running and supports in deployment and testing of new features.

Azeema Fatima

In love with all life everywhere, a student of computer science and an eager learner, I always had a passion for helping others any way I could. Being absolutely mind-blowingly fascinated with the good work being done by people all over the world, I always wanted to work with an organization where I could utilize my skill set for the good.

In stepped Global Brigades, big time! GB provided me with the opportunity of my dreams of working alongside the best teams in the world, doing absolutely wonderful soul-fulfilling work. Be it helping the volunteers with their tech-based issues, or working on internal website and MyBrigades issues alongside the GB family, I keep on growing and every single day proves to be an opportunity to learn something new something wonderful, and to also be able to feel awesome inside, all the while doing what I love doing and helping others in whatever way I can in this amazing organization determined to make this world a better place, one day at a time. This, for me, is the best feeling in the world!

Yessica Rodriguez

Yessica began working with Global Brigades in January 2018 contractually as a brigade translator, and eventually coordinator. Before joining the team full-time, Yessica worked as a logistics assistant for Empresas Rurales Productivas de Honduras, a micro-credit institution for under resourced communities in Intibuca, Honduras. In her new role she is now excited to connect passionate volunteers to local communities, and empowering both through the process of sustainable development.

Yessica holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Universidad Católica de Honduras as well as a masters in project management from Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana – Both in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. When she’s not empowering our passionate leaders, she enjoys time with family and friends, reading, watching movies, and making small road trips along the country.

Alejandra Silva

Alejandra joined the Global Brigades team in March 2020 as a Program Associate. In January 2023, Alejandra took the role as GB Program Associate Manager. She is excited by the Holistic Model and the opportunity to take part in implementing it in the Refugee context in Greece, and supporting volunteers in learning about global issues. Prior to Global Brigades, Alejandra worked as a project manager at Fundacion Rode (Spain) where she worked with partner organizations in Peru, Kenya, Ivory Coast and DR Congo, and public and private donors to design, fund and implement community development projects (WASH, education, health, agriculture).

Alejandra earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in humanities from University of Navarra in Spain, and later a Masters in Social development from the University of Sussex in England. When she’s not supporting the PA team, volunteers and programming in Greece, Alejandra loves crocheting, spending time with friends and family, and time outdoors.

Madison Sweitzer

Madison Sweitzer joined the Volunteer Engagement team in September 2021.  She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Richmond in 2019, where she studied Global Studies with a concentration in Development and Latin American, Latinx, and Iberian Studies. While at UR, she also spent a semester studying abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina at Universidad Católica de Argentina. Madison earned her Masters in Social Justice and Community Organizing from Prescott College in 2022.

Prior to Global Brigades, Madison worked as a Princeton in Latin America Fellow in the Dominican Republic and the Outreach Director at Highland Support Project in Richmond, VA. Madison is excited to continue working in the international nonprofit sector, and all that I’ll be able to learn from the wide range of projects. She loves the collaborative and team-oriented culture, and the ability to stay connected to Latin America from Richmond.

In her free time, Madison loves to run, read, do yoga, and try new restaurants & recipes for her food blog.

Kiriaki Petsiti

Kiriaki lives in Athens, Greece, and she joined Global Brigades in May 2023 as an Operation and Logistics Executive. She has studied at the Department of Social Work on Greece’s largest island, Crete.

Prior to joining Global Brigades, she had her internship in one of the largest hospitals in the Balkans and the top one in Greece, Evangelismos. While working there, she had the chance to encounter vulnerable groups, such as refugees or addicts, and she assisted them in overcoming their difficulties via networking with key factors in the field or by providing counseling services.

She has also worked as an Accounting Assistant and in the Customer Service sector, thus, strengthening the ability to accustom the needs of people from different backgrounds. Having worked in demanding yet fulfilling work environments, she is now excited to apply the skills she gained and those she advanced in her new role at GB.

In her free time, she loves to read books, hang out with her friends, travel, and attend concerts.

Oscar Fajardo

Oscar joined Global Brigades in January 2014 as a translator in Honduras. He fell in love with the organization from his very first brigade in the community of Palo Verde. Despite the rainy, mud, and cold week in Honduras during the Public Health Brigade, he went home happy and realized Global Brigades was what he was looking for. From there, Oscar has grown to wear many hats for the Honduras operations including coordinating brigades, preparing communities as a medical technician, an operations assistant, and supervisor of brigade logistics. Oscar now takes his experience with Global Brigades to the next step as the first Operations Managers for Global Brigades in Guatemala as we expand our operations.

Prior to Global Brigades, Oscar studied at Escuela Normal Mixta del Sur in Honduras and graduated as an elementary teacher. He then earned a scholarship to obtain an associate’s degree in electronics and computers at Wabash Valley College in Mt. Carmel, Illinois. After school, Oscar started work as a production supervisor in United Hospital Services and later as a production supervisor of a new plan for Harlan Bakeries, Inc. We are thrilled to have Oscar’s passion, energy, and operations experience as part of our team. When he is not supporting the work of passionate volunteers and community development, Oscar enjoys watching all kinds of sports in his free time.

Dr. Gladys Turcios

Dr. Turcios was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. She studied at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Honduras where she graduated on April 2014 as a Medical Doctor.

Dr. Turcios joined Global Brigades on February 2016 as a Program Lead for the Referral Program. The Patient Referral program sources donations to assists patients, identified during Medical Brigades, with procedures and surgeries. Dr. Turcios is also working on the development of Global Brigades’ Surgical program, which which will assist referral patients, as well as other patients from communities near Hospital de Ojojona, where the Surgical Brigades will take place. Dr. Gladys has moved within the organization to support other programs such as the Community Health Worker Program in Honduras. In December 2019, Dr. Gladys moved to Guatemala, where she will take on a new role as Health Programs Manager for Global Brigades operations in Guatemala.

Carlos Romero

Carlos joined the Global Brigades team in February 2014. Carlos was born in the small city of San Marcos in the Carazo department of Nicaragua. throughout his life, he’s spent time living in Costa Rica as well as the USA through which he’s been able to apply his skills and gain vast experiences. Most notably, Carlos spent time with a major US airline in charge of high value customers as well as staff training, often working under high pressure situations like oversold flights and developing solutions. Additionally, Carlos has also worked as the manager of a tour operator, managing group travel packages and handling corporate accounts. Through this experience, Carlos learned much of the leadership and guidance he brings to his team today, and we are excited to have him managing our travel team.

Carlos holds a degree in Business Administration and Tourism from Universidad del Valle in Nicaragua as well as an accounting degree from Richard Nixon Commercial School in Costa Rica. Carlos thinks Global Brigades is an amazing experience because it touches your heart with every project the organizations has and feels very proud and happy to work for a such a wonderful organization full committed to making an impact for many people. When he is not supporting volunteer with travel booking and helping them get to our program countries to make an impact, Carlos likes to spent time with his family, travel, exercise, or go out with friends and to the beach.

Alí Batista

Alí has been working with GB since March 2016, when he completely fell in love with Global Brigades’ programs and, as he puts it, “The model in which people from rural communities and volunteers work together to create impact and sustainability in their lives.”  Although Alí’s educational background is engineering, he got involved in the medical field where he feels comfortable working and where he knows he will never stop learning.

Alí’s experience in leading teams in different areas before has allowed him to take on the role of Health Programs Manager within GB Panama, and he is thrilled to be working with so many wonderful people.  Since joining the Global Brigades team he has found a treasure full of medical knowledge, social interaction and culture that’s brings happiness to his life everyday.

Besides his love for Medical Brigades, Alí enjoys outdoor activities, music and pets!

Dr. Cornelius Normeshie

Dr. Cornelius Normeshie, is an alumnus of the University of Ghana Medical School. He joined Global Brigades in the summer of 2012 as a medical officer and subsequently became the medical program lead in charge of planning, assessing, implementing and monitoring all medical brigade activities.He has been committed to not only providing high medical care but passionate about promulgating public health measures including strengthening partnerships that will improve the health of populations in deprived communities.

Dr. Cornelius is an adaptable and responsible person with tremendous leadership skills having led the medical students association of Ghana in various capacities. He has also participated in several global health conferences across Africa, Asia and Europe.

Currently, he lives in Accra with his wife and daughter. He loves reading, watching soccer and playing chess.

Dr. Rosario Giron

Dr. Rosario Giron has been with Global Brigades since 2010.  She began working as a doctor on brigades, and is now the head of the Community Health Worker program in Honduras. She studied at the National University in Honduras where she earned her diploma as a doctor.  Prior to joining the Global Brigades, Dr. Rosario worked with the Ministry of Health for 10 years in a Health Center and was in charge of the tuberculosis and STDs program.  One aspect of her work that she loves is being able to see how our partner communities change with every new program that Global Brigades implements. In her freetime, Dr. Rosario loves watching baseball.

Juan Carlos Prieto

Bio coming soon…

Saul Umanzor

Bio coming soon.

Marco Landa

Marco Landa, a civil engineer by trade, brings extensive experience and passion to the Global Brigades team. Marco has worked from fast food franchising in Honduras, in the telecommunications industry as a resident engineer, and  as independent consultant  and project manager. His vast experiences, diligence and passion for his work,  and  commitment bringing access to clean water and sanitation infrastructure community partners make Marco a valuable member of the Global Brigades team.

Marco earned a bachelor degree in civil engineering from la Universidad Católica in Honduras.  He has been a lifelong longer committed to furthering his education to positively contribute to his work. Since starting with Global Brigades, Marco has completed his Masters in Business Administration with with a focus on finance. Additionally, he´s completed various additional certifications and courses in areas of positioning and funding in NGOs, total quality management, and water system design. When he is not supporting his team or developing partnerships with his program, Marco enjoys reading, spending time with family, traveling, and trying restaurants that serve international foods.

Eduardo Rodriguez

Bio coming soon.

Reina Cruz

Bio coming soon.

Vanessa Romero

Vanessa joined the Global Brigades team in November 2020 as a Program Associate. With a background in International Relations and a MA in Educational Leadership and Management Development, Vanessa has always been drawn to working with at-risk communities and youth-oriented programs. Prior to working with Global Brigades, she worked as an ESL teacher in Taiwan before going back to Honduras to volunteer as a Funding Grant Writer and Funding Options Researcher in Giving Way. 

After reading about Global Brigades holistic approach, vision and mission, and all the efforts this organization put together to empower -not only communities- but people, Vanessa decided to apply for a position at the organization since she felt strongly connected with the core values, and the overall concept that sustainable growth is the way to better lives.  In 2022, she furthered her interests and joined Global Brigades’ Monitoring and Evaluation team.

Vanessa is eager to take part in every initiative Global Brigades proposes to be an agent of change, and to learn as much as she can from everyone involved in this organization. In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching YT videos, and practicing creative writing. 

Erick Morales

Bio coming soon…

Silas Montaya

Bio coming soon.

Elisa Lipari

My name is Elisa Lipari. I am a doctor graduated from the Latin University of Panama, I graduated in 2020.

I started at Global Brigades in July 2022 and I love working here. I firmly believe that we are changing the lives of many people.

Monica Aidoo

Monica Aidoo is one of the original team members who helped found Global Brigades Ghana back in 2011.  Monica earned her degree in education at the University of Education, Wenneba.  She has worn many hats in her career:  teacher, entrepreneur, manager of her own business, waitress at one of the biggest hotels in Ghana, and of course, a coordinator for Global Brigades.  Her teaching skills are apparent on each and every brigade that Monica leads in Ghana.  In addition to teaching, Monica is also very passionate about the sustainable development that Global Brigades is making in her community.  She is inspired by the empowerment of Global Brigades’ staff, volunteers, and communities we serve.

In her free time, Monica loves cooking for her family, teaching young children at school, dancing and singing with her students, and spending time with her family.

John Aryee

John is an industrious person who has over 11 years of work experience, including social work, public and vested land management, production editing, advertising and brand identity design, and computer software and hardware instruction. John holds a Bachelor of Technology in Communication Design and a Higher National Diploma in Commercial Arts from Takoradi Technical University. He also holds a Certificate in Budget Advocacy and Analysis, Diploma in Computer Software, and Diploma in Computer Hardware, all from the Central Automation Systems Computer Training Institute.

As a staff member, John first worked as a Brigade Interpreter in June 2011, to facilitate relationships between brigade volunteers and community participation, and assist Program Coordinators and Facilitators. In March 2012, he was promoted to the position of Brigade Coordinator, in which he fostered an internal culture of empowerment, open communication, and collaboration during and between brigades. John maintains regular communication with Program Managers and officers to communicate the successes of in-country programs. Monitoring program successes and challenges in quantitative studies, and maintaining a positive attitude, and striving towards constant improvement.

John says, “Global Brigades has been a great experience for me, as I always wanted to work with an organization where I could be a part of empowering others.”

Eddy Tian

Bio coming soon.

Jose Castejón

José Castejón joined the Global Brigades team in November 2018 as a Water & Engineering technician. With an academic background in Civil Engineering & Water Resources Management, he was greatly identified with GB’s WASH mission of providing sustainable drinking water and sanitation solutions to our partner communities. At his position, José coordinates the technical activities carried out during the engineering and water brigades. His valuable contribution to the design and construction of sustainable water projects is complemented by his unconditional support to the Public Health Program.

José received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the National University in Honduras (UNAH), which included a year of study as an undergraduate exchange student at the University of Missouri-Columbia. During his time at Mizzou, José attended the Intensive English Program, where he was able to develop his language skills, taking afterwards some Engineering courses at the Civil Engineering Department. In 2016, José obtained his Masters Degree in Water Resources Management from the BOKU University in Vienna, Austria. After his return to Honduras, José worked for two years as a hydrologist for a leading engineering company. He has also worked in the academic world as a junior researcher and lecturer in the field of Hydrology and water resources management. 

When he’s not working along with GB staff, partner communities and volunteers, or looking for sustainable ways to improve water and sanitation access in rural Honduras, you can find him spending time with his family, cooking, exploring Honduras or enjoying a hot cup of coffee while listening to relaxing music.

Luis Bonilla

Bio coming soon.

Jose Luis Moncada

Bio coming soon.

Alejandra Pavón

Alejandra joined the Global Brigades team in September 2020. Alejandra brings experience working as a medical interpreter with volunteer groups for three years, as well as work as an employment and training officer with a solar energy project. Shes’s excited to collaborate with volunteers and teams to plan and develop engaging brigade experiences while improving health and economic outcomes with community partners.

Alejandra earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Universidad Catolica de Honduras and completed graduate coursework, earning a master’s degree in business administration from Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana in Honduras.

When she’s not sharing her energy for community development work with volunteers, Alejandra enjoys swimming, singing (she considering herself quite the karaoke enthusiast), and cooking for family & friends.

Sandra Avila

Sandra joined Global Brigades in November 2022 as a Program Associate. She lives in Honduras and is studying Social Management and People Development (Gerencia y Desarrollo Social) at Universidad Metropolitana de Honduras.

She has honed her communication skills and developed a keen ability to understand and meet the needs of customers from diverse backgrounds. The combination of non-profit and customer service experience throughout her professional life has made Sandra a uniquely versatile and empathetic professional, able to navigate complex situations with grace and compassion.

She has remained committed to the values of service, community engagement and is a dedicated advocate for those in need, and strives to make a positive impact in all aspects of her work.

Jimmy Gribbin

Jimmy joined the Volunteer Engagement team in January 2024. He graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelors in History and Minor in Spanish. He received his ESL certification through Oxford Seminars. During a summer in college, he worked as a volunteer teacher at an elementary school in Arequipa, Peru.

Prior to Global Brigades, Jimmy worked as a Volunteer Coordinator for the All Stars Project in Chicago, IL and as a Field & Volunteer Coordinator for Sky Island Alliance in southern Arizona and northern Mexico. He’s also worked in logistics, sales, and marketing. Jimmy is excited to be able to continue his mission driven career with an amazing, noble organization like Global Brigades; one that aligns with his passion for working in developing communities and being able to introduce our programs and experiences to students.

In his free time, Jimmy loves to spend time with his wife and their dog Emma, read, hike, watch documentaries, and listen to history podcasts.

Claire Sabers

Claire joined the Global Medical Brigades team in February 2024. Her passion for humanitarian work began when she was in university and traveled to Nicaragua, ultimately leading her to volunteer in India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Serbia, and Ecuador. She graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in Business Administration and a Minor in Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies.

After graduation, she moved to Europe and spent time working across Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and France, running essential aid warehouses and leading field teams to support the refugee crisis. When she returned to the United States, Claire continued her advocacy by assisting with refugee resettlement and supporting older adults through community engagement initiatives.

The ability to travel, be immersed in various cultures, and work alongside groups of local and foreign volunteers had a profound impact on Claire’s future, and helping to shape her thought process, studies, career path, and life. In her role as a Volunteer Engagement Associate, Claire is excited to share those same life-changing experiences with Medical Brigades volunteers.

Outside of work, Claire enjoys outdoor adventures with her dog, Grizzly, and exploring new cultures through travel. She’s to collaborate with international partners and volunteers, and is committed to making a positive impact on communities worldwide!

Gabriela Gimenez

Gaby first joined the Global Brigades team in December2018 as a Medical Coordinator. She graduated from University of Louisville in Panama earning a bacherlor’s degree in communications. Gaby is motivated by empowering communities through a holistic model that seeks to help them break out of the poverty cycle in a sustainable way. Shes excited to be part of all of this with the support of students and young people from around the world, who she believes hold great power for change.

When she’s not supporting future changemakers, Gaby really enjoys to binge watch shows, good foreign films and watching sports -especially Soccer.

Marco Calix

Bio coming soon…

Mery Castejón

Mery first joined the the Global Brigades team as a translator on brigade in January 2013 and has supported the organization in various ways since then. She is no stranger to the work of our organization and engaging with volunteers and community partners. Mery studied at Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Francisco Morazán  and earned a degree as a an English language teacher. She has since worked as a second and third grade classroom teacher as well as teaching English grammar, reading, and writing at the high school level. Most recently, Mery was working as an English Teacher for students at Universidad Pedagógica Nacional before joining the Global Brigades Program Associate team in March 2020.

Mery is excited to be pat of the life-changing that happens through the development work of Global Brigades full-time. She loves to help the people of her country and make an impact in their lives, as well as the lives of the volunteers shes supports through educating and engaging with them.  When she is not supporting volunteers, Mery like to swim, spend time with family and friends and travel.

Maritza Zhen

Maritza Zhen is born and raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Her parents decided to migrate from China in order to escape poverty. She studied at a bilingual school all her life. With the language capabilities that she has, she was able to work in various areas of interest. She has worked for various non-profit organizations as a translator for seven years.

She started volunteering at a young age and progressively getting involved with children’s education in at-risk communities. Later on, she joined Global Brigades in December 2018 as a translator. She fell in love with the work Global Brigades does with communities. Empowering the community and volunteers. One year later she became a coordinator. And now she continues to work passionately in Global Brigades as a Program Associate. She enjoys meeting new people and spending time with her family and friends.

Katherin Bonilla

Katherin first joined the Global Brigades team in April 2018 as a brigade translator. After facilitating meaningful intereactions between volunteers and communities on her first brigade, she realized how much she cared about the work Global Brigades was doing with community partners and wanted to further be part of it. Katherin continued working with Global Brigades as a translator before becoming a Brigade Coordinator at the end of that first year.

Katherin studied at Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Franscisco Morazán in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and graduated in 2017 with a degree to teach English. Before her time with Global Brigades, Katherin worked at the university as part of her teaching practicum and is now excited to bring her passion for education to our team with volunteers. She is excited to con

She is excited about serving the communities of her country in her current role and being able to make an impact through empowering volunteers, communities, and staff.  When she’s not sharing her passion for our work with volunteers, Katherin loves to singing, dancing, reading, and spending time with her family.

Susan Reynoso

Susan Reynoso graduated from Universidad Católica de Honduras with a degree in International Relations. She has always been passionate about learning and understanding the different relationships that exist between countries and cultures. She is always challenging herself to learn new things.

Another of Susan’s biggest passions has always been helping other people. She started volunteering as a Medical Brigades translator from a very young age and she fell in love with the entire experience. Many years later, she now works for Global Brigades as a Program Associate and is delighted with the opportunity to return to something she loves and is passionate about.

Daniela Ochoa

Daniela joined Global Brigades in January of 2018 as a translator. She lives in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and graduated from Pharmaceutical Sciences, which gave her the opportunity to work in Global Brigades as a Pharmacist on Medical Brigades. She’s passionate about cooperation for sustainable development and helping her fellow Hondurans achieve sustainable goals.

Before joining Global Brigades as a Program Associate, Daniela started her master’s degree in Universidad Tecnologica Centroamericana, and is eager to practice her knowledge in helping the healthcare system in Honduras to succeed.

She likes watching good movies, going to the gym to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and having good and plenty of time with her family. Her bright personality is a wonderful addition to our Program Associate team.

Jorge Savillón

Persuaded by the Holistic Model and the organization’s Mission, Jorge joined Global Brigades as a Program Associate in January 2022. He is from Tegucigalpa, Honduras and he’s excited to work with international students that share the same ideals as him.

Prior to joining Global Brigades, he graduated from the Universidad Católica de Honduras, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering. With his skills and knowledge acquired from his alma mater, he believes that he will make an impact in vulnerable communities with volunteers and Global Brigades team

In his free time Jorge listens to music, likes to travel and he’s always open to experiencing new things.

Chrisa Petsiti

Chrisa joined Global Brigades on November 2022 as a Program Associate. She lives in Athens, Greece, and has studied Social Work at the University of West Attica.

Before Global Brigades, she worked as a Social Worker in a Greek NGO that ran an accommodation program for refugees. She is really inspired by the volunteers’ dedication to making an impactful change in the communities. Also, having experience with vulnerable populations, she knows what a difference, a holistic model approach makes in a community in the long run.

When she is not supporting Global Brigades, she enjoys reading, traveling, going to the theatre, and spending time with her friends.

Dulce Corea

Dulce joined the team in 2021 as a Program Associate based in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. She is a Psychologist with a passion for sustainable development and holistic well-being. With experience in Learning & Development, social responsibility initiatives, and program management, she has seen the profound influence that volunteering work has in creating positive change. Inspired by Global Brigades’ holistic approach, Dulce is committed to ensuring inclusivity and leveraging the organization’s volunteer programs to empower communities and ensure equitable access for all.

Ana Villareal

Ana has been part of Global Brigades’ Program Associate team since September 2021. She lives in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and graduated with a degree in International Relations. She’s passionate about cooperation for sustainable development and achieving sustainable goals.

Before joining Global Brigades, Ana was a math teacher in a school for kids of all ages, that was when her passion for education also began. She thinks that through new education methodologies, we can accomplish many goals on the agenda.

Some of her hobbies include cooking, watching good movies, and going to the gym to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Ana also hopes to pursue her master’s degree in International Cooperation for Sustainable Development.

Nicole Marques

Nicole joined Global Brigades Team in March 2022 as a Program Associate and is excited to guide chapters committed to making an impact and being part of the holistic model of Global Brigades.

She studied Psychology with complementary studies in project management for development and social interventions in Panama. She has always been passionate about sustainable development and has volunteered and collaborated with several local and international NGOs focused on access to human rights, mental health, well-being promotion, and preventing and responding to gender-based violence. With her experience, she learned how to support and empower others in taking action on causes they felt inspired by.

When she’s not supporting volunteers, Nicole enjoys learning, trying new restaurants with friends and family, and going to the beach.

Stefany Chacón

Stefany majored in Foreign Languages with a TELF concentration at the Universidad Nacional de Honduras. Her passion for learning about cultures and languages made her join Global Brigades in late 2019 as an interpreter for in-person and TeleBrigades in Honduras, eventually, she became a coordinator in Guatemala and as of February 2023, she joined the Program Associate team. She’s very enthusiastic about GB’s holistic model implementation in our partner communities with the aim of supporting their road to sustainability. For her, there’s nothing more rewarding than seeing volunteers, local teams, and community leaders collaborating to create a better world for future generations.

Prior to joining the Program Associate team, she was part of the 2022 Taiwan’s ICDF Youth Mandarin Training Program for Latin American and Caribbean Countries at Ming Chuan University representing her home country.

When she’s not supporting Global Brigades’ mission, she enjoys listening to music, learning languages, reading, going on walks, watching k-dramas, and taking pictures of nature.

Melissa Alvarado

Melissa, an empathetic and driven individual, embarked on her journey with Global Brigades in 2018 as a translator, quickly realizing her passion for helping others. In 2023, she took the role of Program Associate, solidifying her commitment to community empowerment. Born and raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Melissa understands the importance of uplifting her community. 

Currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, she eagerly anticipates utilizing her acquired skills to support international volunteers during their brigades. 

In her leisure time, Melissa is delighted in immersing herself in different stories and worlds through books and movies, cherishes the company of friends, and believes that a cup of coffee is an invitation to connect and share meaningful moments. With an unwavering dedication to empowering communities and a deep love for her work, she strives to have a long-lasting positive impact on the lives of individuals.

Paola Palacios

Paola has a background in dentistry but is passionate about Global Health and has a strong desire to make a difference. She first started her journey in Global Brigades as a translator in 2016. She moved to Beijing, China in 2017 to work in dentistry but after a few years in that field, she came back to Honduras. Her time as a translator and her time abroad shaped her perspective on global issues and the impact on accessible healthcare. Paola believes in the transformative power of education as the best resource for health maintenance. As a Program Associate, she hopes to outreach even further Global Brigades’ mission where everyone has access to essential services and opportunities.

In her free time, Paola enjoys new cultures through travel and learning from diverse perspectives.

Dr. Daniella R. Montero Szeredy

Daniella graduated from Medical School at the University of Panama in 2024. Her journey in Global Brigades began in 2023, when she joined the organization as a language liaison in Medical-Dental Brigades. The more she worked with the organization, the more she was able to see, firsthand, the impact it had in poverty alleviation in rural communities in Panama. For this reason, she decided to apply as a Program Associate in order to contribute to GB’s holistic model on a greater scale.

Daniella has always been passionate about volunteerism and social impact. In high school, she was Vice-President of the Eco Committee and member of the Social Actions Club. Moving forward, whilst in Medical School, she decided to join Circle K International in 2019 and held the position of Committee President during her last year as a student. Likewise, she was President of the Student Council of the Central American Chapter of the American College of Physicians, contributing not only to the education of students in Internal Medicine but also volunteer work in the Chapter, awarding her the title of “Outstanding Medical Student of the Central American Chapter”, as well as awarding the Chapter with a special recognition due to their volunteer and philanthropic endeavors, in the XLVI Annual Chapter Meeting held in Panama in February of 2024. During her free time, Daniella loves listening to music, dancing, connecting with nature, hanging out with friends, and spending time with her cat (Stitch).

Daniella is eager to be a part of the GB Team as a Program Associate, and can’t wait to contribute to Kambia programs all over the world, providing some much needed social, health and economical impact to rural communities in different countries.

Noelia Quintanilla

Noelia was born and raised in Managua, Nicaragua. She received a  degree in Electronic Engineering from the National University of Engineering, but has never worked in that area because she has been involved with customer service in the airline industry.

Prior to joining Global Brigades, she worked 15 years for American Airlines and 1 year for Delta Airlines at the International Airport in Managua. She joined Global Brigades in November of 2013 when Global Brigades started in-house flight booking for volunteers, and has worked as both a Program Associate and on the Travel Team.

Noelia loves the work that all volunteers do through Global Brigades programs to improve other people’s lives.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and swimming.

Daniela Gutierrez

Born and raised in Nicaragua, in a small city located 30 miles south from Managua, Daniela joined Global Brigades in March of 2016 as part of our Travel Team, providing guidelines to all brigades from the different countries, supporting volunteer chapters in their travel process, deadlines, requirements from the different airlines. During the pandemic, Daniela worked on the Program Associate team to continue supporting groups with brigade preparation on all levels.

Daniela received a degree in tourism from the Universidad Centroamericana UCA in 2006 and a Diploma in English from the Institute of Languages at Ave Maria College. Prior to joining Global Brigades, Daniela worked for Delta Airlines for 5 years at the International Airport in Managua, Nicaragua.

Daniela loves spending time with family and enjoys free time outdoors.

Karol Girón

Karol was born and raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. She joined the Global Brigades team in 2018 as a translator and fell in love with the organization and its holistic approach.

Karol is a BA Marketing student with focus on social services and it’s a real pleasure for her to visit all the beautiful communities Global Brigades works with and connect with the community volunteers. She has previously worked with other NGOs that are involved in community development and promote vulnerable population advocacy. Now as the virtual program assistant for GB Virtual programs she is excited to collaborate with volunteers to create impact through this new format.

In her free time she enjoys traveling and learning about new cultures, motorcycle rides and hanging out with friends and family.

Aiby Wendy Ardila

Wendy joined Global Brigades in the summer of 2012 originally as a part-time employee, but soon she began working full time for the Accounting team in Panama. She was drawn to the multicultural environment and the diversity of people that supported one another in the organization. Being able to support the mission the organization has with both indigenous communities in Panama and with volunteers that come from other countries has been highly energizing for Wendy. Although, her work is mostly focused on the administrative side of the organization she has had various opportunities to visit communities. She remembers one time when she was in the community of Metetí for an informal celebration with community members. She was nervous to try an unfamiliar beverage and then learned it was tamarindo or known in English as tamarind. She was very touched at the hospitality and generosity of communities that are said to have so little in resources, but are always delighted to share with visitors.

Wendy was born and grew up in Columbia and has been in Panama for the last 10 years. She is currently in her fourth and final year at the University of Panama to earn a degree in Applied Informatics. Each day in Global Brigades brings with it new experiences and Wendy looks forward to what lies ahead.

Karen Fonseca

Karen learned about Global Brigades through a friend and currently works as an accountant, managing the bookkeeping for Global Brigades Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. She earned a Secretary degree at a young age and then in 2010, received her Bachelors Degree in Public Accounting and Finance.

Karen has experience working with several companies, mostly in administration. In the future, she would like to obtain a Masters of Human Resources and complete her English studies.

Claudia Corrales

Claudia came to the organization through a friend who shared an available opportunity with her, she joined Global Brigades on January 1, 2017 as an accountant for Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. Her previous experience was always in the accounting, administrative and human resources areas. She has a degree in accounting and is currently studying a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration at Ceutec in Honduras, her main interests are to finish this degree and English studies which she started this year.

Erika Amador

Erika joined Global Brigades in the summer of 2014 as an accountant assistant providing accounting and financial support for the accounting process making transfers, processing refunds, posting manual transaction on dashboard ans helping with accounting reports. Starting in 2017, Erika is taking responsibility in the Canada and United Kingdom accounting process.

Erika received her Accountant degree from the Autonomous National University of Honduras in 2014 and a English Diploma from The National Pedagogical University in 2015. Prior to joining Global Brigades, Erika worked as accounting assistant for a chemical factory. Erika was always interested in working with a company like Global Brigades, which helps people in need.

Emmanuel Yorke

Bio coming soon.

Carlos Rodriguez

Carlos is a member of Global Brigades’ international accounting team, based in Honduras.  He began working with Global Brigades in 2012, where he helped to organize the pharmacy, and has also worked in the compounds.  Carlos loves being a part of the mission of GB. He is particularly inspired by the leadership of the community health workers, basic sanitation committees, and cajas rurals, and how they seize the opportunity given to them to develop their communities.

Carlos earned his degree in the Instituto German Gmeiner, and loves spending time with his family.

Marlon Lemus

Bio coming soon.

Ana Acosta

Ana is an interior designer and architect from Honduras. She is currently studying in Germany to earn her master’s in architecture with a focus on design for the built environment. She started at GB in 2013 as an interpreter and was given the opportunity to participate in most of the programs, not only assisting students and communities but also becoming a coordinator.

She is currently working as a facilitator for virtual business programs with high schools and university students in Global Brigades. Ana anticipates that her future studies will lead her to a career in rural and municipal development, where she may help those with genuine needs and modest hearts.

Daniela Meraz

Daniela is a Bachelor in Marketing from the CEUTEC. She then worked at Mapfre, a multinational insurance company and currently continues accumulating experience in the insurance field as a management assistant in an insurance brokerage.

Inspired by the community service previous invitations, she became a member of the local club Rotary International Organization and currently serves as the Green Rotaract Director.

Daniela recently joined Global Brigades as a Business Virtual Program Client Liaison, assisting as a contact and interpreter between the client and the students.

Eduardo Cardona

Eduardo is a business administrator with a master’s degree in project management in Honduras. He started working in Global Brigades in early 2023 in the business program as a Client Liaison, assisting as a contact and interpreter between the client and the students. Eduardo is fully committed to the noble cause of Global brigades of helping other people in their pursuit of growth, well-being, and sustainability.

José Eliceo Alvarez

José Eliceo Alvarez, 34, was born in Honduras and then moved with his family to California, USA, where he studied his first years of school. He later moved back to Honduras to finish his High School and started his college career. He now lives in Ojojona, Francisco Morazan and is an active member of his church.

He has worked in the engineering departments for the Secretary of Education of Honduras and Municipal Office in Tegucigalpa among others. He is currently the contact for The Shepherd’s Project, based in Louisiana, USA, overseeing different projects. Eliceo works as a Medical, Public Health, Community Development and WASH Virtual Program facilitator in Global Brigades.

Roxanne Castejón

Roxanne is a business student based in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. She joined Global Brigades in early 2023 as a Telebrigade Facilitator for Business programs. Roxanne hopes to help students assist and empower different community entrepreneurs. She has experience working with different communities in Honduras through educational, medical, and ecological programs.

Vasti Gomez

Vasti Gomez began her Global Brigades journey in 2020 serving as a medical lecturer in the Medical Virtual Program. Besides being a Global Brigades Family member, she also is a full-time doctor in the Honduran Social Security Institute, she is currently a Nursing and Medical Programs Facilitator.

Her parents always taught her love for helping others and seeing how Global Brigades works and the results it generates in rural and urban communities, she realized the value of the project and the organization.

Ylaska Tejeda

Ylaska Tejeda began her Global Brigades journey in May of 2015 serving as a translator and eventually as a coordinator. She has an International Relations degree from The Catholic University of Honduras. While in Global Brigades, Ylaska partook in Water, Engineering, Public Health, Legal Empowerment, Dental and Medical in-person Brigades, and is currently a Virtual Program Facilitator for the Business and Medical Programs.

Ylaska found her love for Global Brigades when she witnessed her first water project completed as she was able to see the impact that brigades had on many people’s lives. She’d always had a love for humanitarian work, having worked in an orphanage and mission trips, but it wasn’t until Global Brigades that she realized humanitarian work was her true calling.

Dr. Bryan Carias

Dr. Bryan is 36 years old, Honduran, and a general practitioner who graduated from the National Autonomous University of Honduras, and is currently studying for a master’s degree in public health and disaster epidemiology from the Erasmus program in the European Union, for which he currently resides in Spain.

Dr. Bryan has experience working in Honduras’s Ministry of Public Health and also as a primary care clinician in the public and private sectors. He started working in Global Brigades since January 2019, starting as a brigade doctor and then in September 2020 as the medical doctor at the first urban clinic in Tegucigalpa. Later, due to his studies outside Honduras, he started working as a Virtual Program Facilitator for Medical and Nursing Programs in 2022.

Grethel Zavala

Grethel Zavala joined Global Brigades in 2022 as a Virtual Program Facilitator for WASH Programs.

Grethel earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from UNITEC and also has studies in City and Regional Planning and Project Management. Her professional experience includes working in real estate projects, road paving and rehabilitation, and rehabilitation of health centers, among others. She always valued the importance of education and believes that giving back to our communities may be done in different ways.

Dr, Gema Tellez

Dr. Gema started working with Global Brigades in 2015 as an interpreter and in 2018 she started as medical doctor. She has been taking care of the health of numerous communities in Honduras and Guatemala, and during 2020 crisis she joined the HCPA Program to continue with her labor.

She is now a Medical Doctor Lecturer for the Virtual Program and is proud to continue offering the opportunity to get health services in rural areas that are in need through Global Brigades.

Dr. Duffy Casey

Duffy Casey, MD completed his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point in 2003, and received his Doctorate of Medicine from Eastern Virginia Medical School in 2009. He completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Hawai‘i John A. Burns School of Medicine in 2013 and works at the Malama I Ke Ola Community Health Center on Maui.

Dr. Casey is passionate about international development and creating holistic programs which focus on poverty alleviation. In 2003 he co-founded Global Brigades, Inc., and currently serves on the Board of Directors. Dr. Casey was a recipient of the Gold Medal for the United States President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2008 for his work with Global Brigades.

In April 2021 Dr. Casey co-founded Angel Protocol, a decentralized autonomous nonprofit organization (DANO) focused on bringing the power of Endowment Accounts to charitable organizations around the world, empowering them to achieve financial freedom. He currently serves as Angel Protocol’s Chief Impact Officer.

Catherine Berman

Over the past decade Catherine Berman has co-founded several successful mission-driven ventures, including Deloitte Center for Leadership & Community, the Information Technology Consortium and most recently, Global Brigades – the world’s largest student development organization.  In the past, Catherine maintained a host of management positions, including Chief Executive Officer, GB Panama, Strategy and Operations Manager at Deloitte Consulting, LLP, Director of Marketing at Redefining Progress and Vice President of Evins Communications, LLC. Her international work experience spans from India to Israel with extensive work in Central and South America.

Catherine graduated magna cum laude from Boston University and received her MBA from Oxford University, England, where she founded the Oxford Women in Business Network.

Dr. Angelo Passalacqua

At Global Brigades, Angelo has been co-founder, Treasurer and President of Global Brigades in the UK.  While President, he oversaw the growth of the UK organization from 3 to 23 volunteers and donations of over £380,000.  At the association level, Angelo was integral in devising the methodology and conducting the analysis for assessing country risk in Africa, ultimately leading Global Brigades to expand to Ghana. He has also contributed to the association’s SWOT analysis.

Angelo is currently the CEO of a translation agency in Chicago, USA.  Previously, he was a management consultant for the healthcare industry, helping Pharma price and valuate potential medication, and held a teaching positions at King’s College London and the North China Institute of Science & Technology.  He is a certified ISO 9001:2004 Lead Auditor, Associate at the Higher Education Academy and holds a PhD in Biostatistics and BSc in Management.  Angelo speaks English and Spanish fluently and maintains conversational fluency in Mandarin and French.

Gabriela Valencia

Gabriela is based in Panama City, where she currently works as Executive Director of Fundacion Calicanto. A community-driven and non-governmental organization working to reduce gender-based violence and economic insecurity in Panama City. She holds a certificate degree in Nonprofit Management and recently earned accreditation to teach Architecture Design at the University of Panama. Through the years, she has had the opportunity of leading several community-led development initiatives while managing the cultural and non-traditional learning experience of over 3,000 students from around the world. In the past, Gabriela maintained the position of Operations Manager and Executive Director at GB Panama.

Gabriela received her B.A. in Architecture from the University of Panama and a Master’s degree from Ball State University, Indiana, studies she was able to conduct by earning a Fulbright Scholarship in 2007.

Alex Dang

Bio coming soon.

Andrew Bird

Andrew Bird is a Senior Manager at Deloitte & Touche. In his spare time he advises nonprofits on growing their revenues through the application of leading edge business marketing practices. Andrew has over 30 years of experience in complex project management, marketing strategy, leading diverse teams, and developing future leaders. He is the co-author of the bestseller “Putting the Profit in Nonprofit! 5 Power Fundraising Strategies for Nonprofits.”

He currently serves on the Board of Global Brigades USA. He earned his BS in Business Administration from New York University, an MBA from Loyola University, and an MA in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica.

Dr. Toby Peters

Dr. Toby Peters has been involved with the mission of Global Brigades since its inception at Marquette University. He served as an advisor to the group of students that journeyed to Honduras for the first medical brigades. He has traveled to Honduras and Nicaragua on numerous occasions participating in medical, public health, and water brigades. Additionally, he has assisted his wife, Dr. Mary Kay Ellis, an ophthalmologist, staff vision stations with the medical brigades in Honduras for the last two years.

During his career in higher education at Marquette and Syracuse Universities he served the students and institution in the areas of administrative and student services, student affairs, academic affairs, and auxiliary services. Toby’s leadership background in administrative, consulting, and faculty roles provide him a unique blend of experiences that he enjoys bringing to and sharing in a learning environment. He received a Doctorate in Educational Policy and Leadership from Marquette University and a MBA and a BS degree from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.

As a faculty member at Marquette University he designed and taught Organizational Behavior courses featuring a blended learning management system. He focused on many of the areas of organizational behavior and development including; challenges for managers, motivation at work, learning and performance management, stress and well-being, communication, work teams and groups, leadership and followership, conflict and negotiations, organizational culture, and managing change.

Toby served as the Associate Senior Vice President at Marquette University. Under his auspices, he had the responsibility of leading hundreds of employees ranging from entry level to senior executives. He managed high level projects including serving as liaison with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation during the six-year reconstruction of the Marquette Interchange that bordered on three sides of the university. He also served as the co-chair during the university’s assessment of institutional effectiveness that led to a successful reaffirmation of accreditation. Through these experiences, Toby managed conflict, communications, negotiations, and strategic planning, all while promoting a strong and cohesive team.

Toby also has expertise in emergency management planning having led response teams and managed the planning and execution of the exercises. He was also charged with identifying means to maximize resources to provide better service through efficiency, productivity, and quality improvements. He implemented process improvement assessments through Value Stream Mapping and Lean Management principles.

He has consulted on a variety of topics including: assessment, strategic planning, construction, organization structure and review. In addition, he has presented and published on topics including transformational and servant leadership, retention, development, assessment, volunteerism, cultural competence, construction, renovation, unrelated business income taxes (UBIT), unfair competition, and Ignatian pedagogy and spirituality.

In 2014 he earned the honor of Loaned Executive of the Year for United Way of Greater Milwaukee for his assistance and service with the annual community fundraising campaign. In Milwaukee, he is a board member for InTandem, a local theater production organization. He was a board member with Variety Children’s Charity of Wisconsin and a regular volunteer at the United Community Center serving the Latino population of Milwaukee.

Toby is now a faculty member at the Federal Executive Institute within the Center for Leadership Development for the federal government.

Jason Hirsch

Jason is a medical student at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He earned his undergraduate degree from Northeastern University in 2021 with a B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience.

He started volunteering with Global Brigades in September 2018 and went on two in-person medical brigades, to Panamá in 2019 and Honduras in 2020, which he led as Chapter President. He played a central role in organizing our 2021 Student Leadership Conference where he led discussions on ethical volunteering and chapter best practices. He served as Northeastern’s Campus Chairperson his senior year and is currently serving as one of our Student Board Representatives until Autumn 2023. He is committed to amplifying the student voice in this role. He can identify with many of our pre-health undergraduate volunteers, which helps guide his input in board meetings.

As a future physician, he is interested in cultivating meaningful relationships with his patients, taking on a leadership role at an academic medical center, and remaining actively involved in community health. He is most passionate about narrowing the barriers to care in the community as well as teaching and mentoring future healthcare leaders.

Dr. Richard Lee

Inspired from volunteering with Global Brigades, Richard has pursued a career in health care. He works as a clinical pharmacist, pharmacology professor, biotechnology manager, and biomedical entrepreneur. He has volunteered and led multiple brigades from the University of Washington (UW). As campus chairperson, he helped develop a professional school-focused brigade program with the UW School of Pharmacy leading interdisciplinary trips alongside diverse healthcare disciplines in Central America and Western Africa. He currently serves on the Global Brigades Board of Directors as a student representative to continue the movement to support students and patients globally.

Richard is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Pharmacy with focused training in global health, health economics, clinical trials and has earned an MBA Technology Entrepreneurship Certificate. Richard has completed fellowship training in technology commercialization with CoMotion, Amazon.com, and the National Science Foundation (NSF). His work with Global Brigades has inspired him to address health care disparities by increasing access to medications for all patients with technology, through MedsForAll. His current research focus includes population health, telehealth, oncology, gene therapy, and pharmacy practice. Current projects of interest include supporting COVID19 vaccination efforts. He plans on leading a brigade with a focus on needs assessment, health capacity building, and the implementation of COVID19 vaccination programs for at-need communities that desire access to vaccines.

Cassie Laibly

Blase Scarnati

Blase Scarnati, Ph.D., serves as the Lead for virtual university programs with Global Brigades and is currently Director of Global Learning in the Center for International Education and Professor of MusicHistory in the School of Music at Northern Arizona University. He publishes and consults on community-based local and international student engagement/experiential learning and its pedagogies, curricular development, and international education issues. Scarnati is the co-creator of the Global Learning InitiativeatNorthern Arizona University, an across-the curriculum internationalization effort located in all undergraduate programs and majors, for which Northern Arizona Universityreceivedthe 2012 Senator Paul Simon Award for CampusInternationalization presented by NAFSA: Association of International Educators. He also established one of the largest civic agency and community engagement programs in the country at Northern Arizona University, where 600first-year students each year worked with over 40 community partners in Flagstaff, Arizona, and the region on social justice, sustainability, and community empowerment issues, and whose efforts were featured at the Obama White House.

Scarnati has published articles in Global Impact Exchange, Bringing Theory to Practice-AAC&U Civic Series, Higher Education Exchange, Academic LeaderToday, Teacher-Scholar, Diversity & Democracy, the Kettering Foundation Working Paper Series, and the Huffington Post among others, and numerous book chapters on international education, student engagement, and curricular development issues. He has presented papers and preconference workshops at the Association of International Education Administrators Annual Conference, NAFSA: Association of International Educators Annual Conference, National Conference of the American Association of Colleges & Universities, and American Association of State Colleges and Universities National Conference, among others. https://nau.academia.edu/BlaseScarnati

Mohamed Abdel-Kader

Mohamed Abdel-Kader is the founder and principal of Radial Global Advisory. He is a trusted advisor to Fortune 500 companies, leading NGOs and multi-lateral organizations, foundations and educational institutions, as well as government agencies in addressing their most pressing challenges. He served in the administration of President Barack Obama as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International and Foreign Language Education at the US Department of Education and later led the Aspen Institute’s Stevens Initiative, an international ed-tech program. Mohamed has also served several postsecondary institutions in international strategy and major gift fundraising roles. He speaks fluent Arabic and basic Spanish, is a Truman National Security Fellow, an Eisenhower Fellow and is the author of a children’s book about stereotypes. Mohamed is a trustee of the Longview Foundation for International Education & World Affairs.

Harvey Charles

Dr. Harvey Charles currently serves as Professor of International Education at the University at Albany, SUNY after having served the institution as Dean and Vice Provost for International Education. Prior to joining the University at Albany, Charles served as Senior International Officer at a number of institutions around the US, including Georgia Institute of Technology, Northern Arizona University, and San Francisco State University. Charles has made important contributions to the field of international education, including serving as President of the Association of International Education Administrators, the world’s only organization focused on serving Chief International Officers at colleges and universities. Apart from his deep administrative experience, Charles has published on issues including leadership in international higher education, internationalizing the curriculum and comprehensive internationalization. He regularly trains and mentors new professionals in the field, serves on a number of advisory boards, frequently consults and gives addresses on international education issues in the US and around the world.

Darla K. Deardorff

Darla K. Deardorff is Executive Director of the Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA). In addition, she is a research scholar at Duke University’s Social Science Research Institute and holds faculty positions at universities in several countries, including as a research associate at Nelson Mandela University (S. Africa), Meiji University (Japan), Shanghai International Studies University (China) and adjunct faculty at North Carolina State University. She is on the faculty of Harvard University’s Global Education Think Tank and has served as faculty for Harvard’s Future of Learning Institute as well as the Summer Institute of Intercultural Communication in Portland, OR. With over 20 years of experience in international education, she has also held national leadership positions with NAFSA and with Forum on Education Abroad. She is the author/editor of 11 books and over 60 book chapters and articles. Her most recent publication is an open access book entitled Manual for Developing Intercultural Competencies: Story Circles (Routledge/UNESCO, 2020) available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Russian at https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000370336. She regularly gives invited talks, trainings and workshops around the world on intercultural competence, international education assessment, and global leadership and serves as a consultant and trainer on these topics, including with UNESCO and OECD.

John J. Doherty

John J. Doherty is currently the head of Teaching Learning and Research Services at Northern Arizona University’s Cline Library. Dr. Doherty leads a team providing high quality and innovative research and information services to the NAU campus and online communities of students, faculty and staff. His team is also currently designing an information literacy tutorial for inclusion in a new General Studies program and exploring access to affordable learning materials. Doherty formerly built and led a team of instructional designers for NAU’s e-Learning Center, where he also led the implementation of the Quality Matters course design template at NAU and introduced the ACUE Effective Online Teaching certification for faculty. Doherty was a co-recipient of the Online Learning Consortium’s Effective Practice award for 2015. As an author, Doherty has focused on online learning pedagogies and practices and their impact on instructional design.

Ken Nesbett

Ken Nesbett has been the Study Abroad Advisor at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa since August 2010. He serves as the principal source of information for Kirkwood faculty, staff and students on all matters related to Global Learning Experiences including Study Abroad programming and Virtual Exchange programming, ensuring Global Learning student learning outcomes are maintained and assessed. Kirkwood Community College was selected as Senator Paul Simon Award recipient in 2019 for Comprehensive Internationalization. In addition, the College has been nationally recognized by the Institute for International Education several times as a leading institution among Associates Degree institutions and was selected as a Top Producer for Students With Disabilities and Career Technical Education in 2021. Ken has held a variety of leadership positions in the field of global education, serving as a selection panelist for the Critical Language Scholarship Program and the Gilman Scholarship Program and serving on a committee on Best Practices in Education Abroad for the Forum and Education Abroad. He was awarded the Outstanding New Professional in International Education by NAFSA and 2013 and the Excellence Award by the League for Innovation in the Community College in 2018.

Daniel Palm

Daniel Palm is the Associate Vice President for Global Affairs (SIO) at the University of Arizona. In this capacity he leads the Arizona Global office with nine component units. He is responsible for expanding the university’s reach and reputation globally through the development of large-scale academic programs; supporting and increasing enrollments of international students in all educational modalities; and spearheading international mobility opportunities for University of Arizona students. Palm joined the University of Arizona after successfully serving as the Senior International Officer at Northern Arizona University. During his tenure, NAU’s Center for International Education was awarded the IIE Andrew Heiskell award for Innovation in International Education, climbed to 6th in the nation for the number of students engaged in long-term study abroad and grew its national and international prominence for its groundbreaking international programing. In 2019 Palm was appointed by Arizona Governor Ducey to the Board of Directors of the Arizona-Mexico Commission and in 2020 was selected by the Arizona Center for Civic Engagement as a Flinn-Brown Fellow.

JY Zhou

Dr. JY Zhou is the Director of Global Engagement and Senior International Officer at Stockton University. Her work and research are on internationalization of higher education, global learning, and assessment and teaches courses on global learning and pedagogy. She keeps an active research agenda and has published a series of articles on introducing a new theoretical framework to define and assess comprehensive internationalization. She designs curricular and co-curricular projects to integrate and enhance the roles of technology, languages and cultures, community engagement, and collaborative teaching in global learning initiatives. AAC&U has recognized her work at Stockton as a campus model for global learning. She is frequently invited to consult on a variety of campuses and to share her ideas at prominent conferences. As the Interim Chair of the Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum (CLAC) Consortium, she coordinates across more than thirty higher education institutions dedicated to integrating CLAC approaches to transforming the curriculum to better prepare global citizenship.