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ProWorld Staff
ProWorld Directors and Project Coordinators are experienced, capable, veteran travelers, and dedicated community leaders. Staff teams are composed of local and international development workers and range in size from 3 to 12 staff members per site. Local staff provide invaluable insight into their country and communities, while international staff relate to the cross-cultural challenges that participants face. For every eight program participants there is at least one in-country ProWorld staff member.
ProWorld staff members are part of every aspect of the program experience, encouraging cultural immersion, providing support, and often becoming friends as well as guides for the volunteer’s journey.
Richard Webb - Founder and President
Born in
ProPeru expanded in 2002 to include ProBelize and again in 2004 with ProMexico - the combination that forms the core of the new umbrella company, ProWorld Service Corps today. ProWorld Service Corps focuses on integrating Fair Trade into its projects, capturing volunteer-added value and utilizing a sustainable revenue model.
Having recently finished his MBA course as a Skoll Scholar sponsored by the
Keenly interested in the potential for effective development work with volunteer participation, Richard has served on the executive committee of the International Volunteer Programs Association (IVPA) and is currently the legal representative of the Municipality of Urubamba, Peru in the
Still learning every day, Richard enjoys being inspired by the ProWorld team and the individuals of the communities in which it operates. Spending between two and five months a year on the project sites, Richard enjoys the additional perks of his work such as the opportunity to practice photography and getting his hands dirty at the work sites.
Nick Bryngelson was born and raised in a family dedicated to public service and helping others achieve their maximum potential. These commitments to excellence and community service form the foundation of Nick's core values and his role as the Director of ProWorld Operations.
Nick holds a Masters Degree in Business and Engineering Management from the University of Colorado as well as a degree in Civil and Architectural Engineering. During his graduate program, Nick was awarded the National Science Foundation fellowship in Community Education and Outreach. Nick has taught engineering, physics, economics and business classes to graduate, undergraduate, and high school students. Individuals in the US and in South America have benefited from Nick's commitment to experiential education.
Seeking to serve our global community Nick and his wife, Precious, sold their possessions and bought one way tickets to Peru in 2000 searching for meaningful volunteer work. Working with multiple international development agencies Nick directed major infrastructure and sustainable development projects in small communities in Ecuador and Peru.
While in Peru, Nick was introduced to Richard Webb and the meaningful community development projects of ProPeru. Recognizing the sustainable positive impact the ProPeru programs have on local citizens and program participants, Nick joined forces with Richard to form the ProWorld Service Corps.
Nick and his family currently reside in Bellingham, Washington splitting their time between the US offices and each of the program locations.
Jonny Roman - Director of Programming
Jonny grew up in southern Connecticut and later attended Temple University in Philadelphia. Nurturing a desire to travel, Jonny taught English for a year in Andalucia, Spain (2000 - 2001).
He fell in love with the highlands of Peru and became interested in development work. When a staff intern position with ProPeru opened the next summer he jumped at the chance.
He then progressed to the full-time position of Student Affairs & Project Coordinator for the Cusco semester and NGO internship programs. In December of 2006 he moved to the same position with ProBelize and in April of 2007 he became ProBelize Country Director, and held that position for 2 years. He then returned to Peru to replace the Country Director there and assume the new role of Regional Director of Latin America in February 2009. After spending a year in this position, Jonny then became Director of Programming for all ProWorld, and currently resides in Urubamba, Peru.
In the summer of 2002 he volunteered with ProPeru in Urubamba working at Radio La Salle and reconstructing a playground at a government-funded school and since leaving wanted to find a way back to Peru. He got that chance in 2006 when he joined ProWorld as a full-time staff member and moved to the ProPeru Cusco site where he helped with marketing and recruitment. In 2008 he moved to the ProMexico site in Oaxaca to help lead the team of program and placement advisors. Adam now directs ProWorld marketing and customized group programs and recently moved to Colorado. He enjoys reading, writing, movies, hiking and good food.
Elsie Storm – University Relations Advisor
Elsie grew up in northern Minnesota, skiing in the winters and swimming in the land of 10,000 lakes in the summers. She graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth with a B.A. in Communication and minors in Psychology and Business Administration. After graduation, she worked as a ski instructor and horticulturist, until she moved to Missouri to work at the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. While she loved working at the medical school, living in small town Missouri wasn’t exciting enough for her, so she decided to get adventurous and applied to be an intern with ProWorld Belize. Elsie went to Belize as an intern in 2008 and fell in love with everything Belizean.
After she completed her internship in Belize, she moved to Minneapolis where she worked for the University of Minnesota. During this time she kept in close contact with her friends in Belize and the ProWorld staff. When she was offered a job with ProWorld in the spring of 2009, she thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to continue her love of travel, adventure and development work. Elsie is currently a traveling nomad and works out of our offices in Mexico, Belize and the United States. In her spare time she enjoys having spontaneous adventures, skiing in fresh powder, swimming in local watering holes, jamming to music while playing the viola and sharing in contagious laughter with friends and family.
Elanna Mariniello – Program Advisor
Elanna was born and raised in the California Bay Area. After living there for 18 years, she decided to try out the seasons and moved to New York, where she attended Sarah Lawrence College. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence with a B.A. focusing in Spanish, Italian and Translation Studies. She spent her junior year abroad in Florence, Italy, where she enjoyed beyond-wonderful food and a true feeling of cultural immersion she could have never predicted at the start of her experience.
Prior to joining ProWorld, Elanna worked for the Sarah Lawrence Office of Advancement and was an intern at a Catalog Marketing Company in San Francisco. She is currently working for ProWorld in Oaxaca, Mexico and consistently looks forward to exploring everything the fascinating city has to offer.
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After graduating, she began working for a variety of public and private institutions including serving as the director of the Charity Pharmacies of Cusco. Additionally, she worked for many different municipalities as a supplies and logistics specialist, and held the post of Administrative Director for the Municipality of Urubamba, before joining ProPeru as the accountant in 2005. In May 2009, Milagro assumed the post of Administrative Director of ProPeru and in January 2010 she assumed the role of Peru Country Director.
Currently, she is pursuing a Master's degree in Administration with a focus on Tourism at La Universidad San Antonio Abad del Cusco.
Eliza Wethey – Cusco Site Coordinator
Eliza was born and raised in Columbia, SC. She holds a B.A. in Latin American Studies and Anthropology from Tulane University as well as a Master's in Anthropology and Development from the London School of Economics.
While at Tulane, Eliza studied abroad with ProPeru in Urubamba and fell in love with Peruvian culture. During her study abroad with ProPeru, she participated in the cleaner burning stoves project, studied women's and men's roles in the community of Chicón, and worked at a women's shelter in Urubamba. After finding her passion for Latin American culture, she has returned to Peru at every opportunity, completing research for her senior thesis in Chinchero and working in Cusco for 18 months with the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco and the Instituto Cultural Peruano Norteamericano after finishing college.
After working at Oxfam American in Boston for a year for their programs in South America, Eliza hoped to return to Latin America and was excited to find a position at ProPeru in the fall of 2008. She now works as the Cusco Site Coordinator.
After seeing firsthand the poverty in the townships of South Africa, visiting an HIV/AIDS orphanage in Vietnam, and sleeping in a Dalit village in Southern India, Kate’s eyes were opened to an exciting, but complicated new world. Returning to school with a newfound passion for development work abroad, she interned for Project Concern International.
Graduation came, and Kate was feeling the itch to travel again. She found ProPeru, and felt it was the perfect opportunity to practice her Spanish, and gain valuable professional experience in the field. In March 2009 she started as an intern working on the cleaner burning stoves and water filters projects. Kate was then asked to stay on as summer staff, and in September 2009 moved into the Site Coordinator position at the Urubamba base. She is excited to continue living in Peru, and loves spending time with the interns on-site and her fellow staff members.
Jaime Domingo Olave Quiñonez - Portfolio Manager - Stoves and Infrastructural Development Projects
Over time Jaime's responsibilities have evolved, working first as the Agrotourism Project Coordinator and running ProPeru's mini projects. He now leads the Cleaner Burning Stoves project, one of ProPeru's most successful projects, as well as all Infrastructural Development/Construction projects.
Prior to working with ProPeru, Jaime worked in tourism at a famous local hotel, primarily as a waiter, but he also worked with horses and performed other odd jobs.
Lisbeth Nina P. - Portfolio Manager - Health Projects
Lisbeth Nina P. is trained as a Dental Surgeon. She was born in Cusco and graduated from the Unversidad Andina del Cusco. She also completed a course in Public Health at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima and worked in the Peruvian Ministry of Health’s San Jeronimo Comunidades Locales de Administración de Salud (CLAS) in Cusco in 2007.
She started in January 2008 as ProPeru’s Health Project Coordinator in Urubamba and the Sacred Valley of the Incas. She enjoys improving the health of the Andean communities where she serves. Her research has included the oral health of communities in San Jeronimo and the confidence of patients compared with the attention of health providers.
He has held a variety of other jobs including working as a salesman at CARSA, a local electronics store, and working for a tourism agency.
Caroline Osinski - Program Development and Delivery Coordinator
Caroline grew up in Belgium, Russia, the US, Germany, Poland and the UK. Moving around throughout all her life had a great impact on her in terms of adaptability, catching the travel bug, and developing interest in other cultures and people.
She finished her BSc in Sociology and Social Research at Surrey University in the UK, during which she completed a one year placement at the Anthropology Department at Goldsmiths, University of London. This experience initiated her interest in development, and she decided to continue her education and do a Masters in International Communications and Development at City University in London, UK. All throughout her university years she worked as a tour director, taking American and Canadian students around Europe. She heard about ProWorld after a summer of working with their associates. She was captivated by ProWorld’s mission and decided that it would be a great learning experience.
Adriana Robertson - Volunteer Coordinator
Adriana graduated from the George Washington University in May of 2010 with a degree in International Affairs, concentrating in Latin America, and a minor in Psychology. While at GWU, she volunteered for a social development organization in Mancora, Peru and studied abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina in the spring of 2009. Upon her return in the fall, Adriana interned for The Center for Democracy in the Americas for four months and went on to work as a mentor and tutor for Jumpstart, an AmeriCorps organization, in the spring of 2010. Adriana will be spending her fellowship year in Peru, working for ProWorld Peru. She hopes that this will give her hands on experience and help her achieve her future goals and ambitions in the field of Latin American development.
Stephanie Kraemer - Princeton Bridge Year Coordinator
Stephanie grew up just outside of Boston, Massachusetts and attended school at the University of Colorado – Boulder and Skidmore College with a Bachelor’s in Social Work. She spent her junior year studying in Madrid, Spain which sparked a passion for international issues and the Spanish language. As a result, she joined the Peace Corps in El Salvador from 2003-2005.
Upon completion of her volunteer service, Steph moved into a Program Manager position for a new Youth Development Program of Peace Corps El Salvador, where she stayed for four years. By the end of her six years in El Salvador, Steph was absolutely convinced that her personal and professional paths would always include bicultural living, international development work, volunteer service exchanges and Latin American culture.
Upon leaving El Salvador, Steph enrolled in a Master’s Degree Program in Service, Leadership and Management with a focus in Non-Profit Management at the School for International Training in Vermont. The Princeton Bridge Year Coordinator position with ProWorld will ultimately fulfil the field-work component of her degree.
Lauren Johanson - Volunteer Coordinator in Cusco, Peru
Lauren grew up in Natick, Massachusetts. She attended American University in Washington, D.C., where she received a Bachelors degree in Literature with a Spanish minor. While at American, she spent a summer interning at a dance theater in London and a semester abroad in Madrid, Spain, experiences that fueled her belief in the importance of intercultural exchange and understanding.
After graduation, Lauren spent five years working in Boston for the state arts agency, funding cultural non-profit organizations and arts education programs in schools. During this time she completed a certificate in Museum Studies at Tufts University with a concentration in Museum Education. She decided to fuse her interests in arts and culture, education, and language and is currently pursuing a Masters degree in International Education at SIT Graduate Institute in Brattleboro, VT. The Volunteer Affairs Coordinator position with ProWorld Peru will fulfill the practicum portion of her degree.
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Nicole Andrewin - Country Director
Nicole grew up in Florida and later attended the University of Cincinnati in Ohio. Nicole was always interested in Belize as a child and at the age of twenty had the opportunity to travel to Belize to work on an organic farm in a remote Kekchi Mayan village. There, she learned about sustainability and the traditional Mayan culture.
After five years in Belize she got married and moved along the coast to the only traditional Creole village left in Belize, Gale’s Point. There her daughter Indira was born. In the village, Nicole was a very active member of the local conservation team, which worked to protect the hawksbill turtles and the manatees abundant in that region. She also volunteered countless hours assisting with the village council, and helped run a drum school which helped the culture continue to thrive.
In 2005 she left Gale’s Point and moved to San Ignacio in search of better education for her daughter. Nicole has worked with many medical teams and volunteer groups over the past 15 years in Belize. In 2006 she joined ProBelize as a project coordinator.
Yesenia Yacab - Accountant & Office Manager
Yesenia was born in San Ignacio, Belize to a united and God-fearing family that helped her grow spiritually and morally. As a child she enjoyed studying and dancing which helped her find a unique place in the community.
After graduating, she was hired at a local non-governmental humanitarian organization holding the post of Office Manager. There she enjoyed working with the accounts but most of all she loved helping out in humanitarian activities.
After a year with the organization, she found out about ProBelize. Yesenia believes ProBelize is just the right place for her love and passion for accounting and humanitarian services.
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Alma Burciaga Gonzá
Alma is originally from Cuernavaca, Mexico. She studied International Relations and received a Masters Degree in the Theory and Practice of Human Rights from Oslo, Norway where she lived for 2 years. She moved to Oaxaca in March for her thesis research on commercial sexual exploitation of girls and boys.
Before going to Norway, she worked in women's rights issues in Mexico City and Juarez, Chihuahua. She was moved to work with ProWorld because she started as a human rights activist volunteer. That opportunity as a volunteer helped her to decide her future and to affirm that the best job you can find is the one that you're passionate about.
She hopes to be able to help others to find what they are passionate about as well and to change people’s lives just like hers did when she had the chance to take what interested her the most from theory to practice.
Agustin Escobar – Project Coordinator
Agustin was born and raised in Oaxaca, Mexico. He spent five years traveling and working throughout the United States where he learned to speak English fluently.
On his return home to Oaxaca, he worked with Manos de Ayuda for seven years, which is an organization that brings medical groups to Oaxaca to volunteer their services in small villages throughout the state of Oaxaca. Agustin started working with ProMexico in March 2006 as the Project Coordinator.
He has many contacts in local NGO’s to provide a wealth of project options for volunteers. He enjoys spending time with his son and driving his black VW bug.
Leigh Newman-Bell – International Education Coordinator
Leigh was born and raised in northwest Washington state and attended Western Washington University. She is currently studying international education at SIT Graduate Institute in Brattleboro, Vermont and plans to use her practicum at ProWorld Mexico to learn more about the inner workings of international education programs with service learning components. In particular, she is interested in the effects of student interactions with partnering communities and how ProWorld’s organizational structure compares to other international education programs in the field. As well as getting first-hand experience, she will be writing her capstone paper while she is with ProWorld. In the past she worked for a NGO in Ecuador that focused on social and environmental development with indigenous people.
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Bharat Bhushan Sharma - Country Director
Bharat, nicknamed Monty, was born in the small town of Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, in northwest India. At 18 he moved to the capital of the state, Shimla, where he finished his schooling. Monty received a Bachelor’s degree from the JSS School of Pharmacy in Mysore in 2006. Before joining ProWorld, Monty worked as a Medical Representative with Cipla Ltd. Influenced by Mysore´s strong heritage of yoga, he has also finished Ashtanga Yoga Teacher´s Course at Sthalam8, where he presently leads classes attended by yoga students from all over the world.
Monty has throughout his life been exposed to different cultures within India. Apart from speaking his mother language Mandyali, he also speaks Hindi, English, Urdu, Punjabi and Kannada. He has traveled throughout India and lived in various spots, ranging from smaller villages to major cities. Monty has developed a deep understanding of India´s social infrastructure, and has innate knowledge of the many faces of life in India. From early childhood he has had an interest in improving the quality of life for his fellow humans and thus happily joined ProIndia in November of 2008.
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David Jackson - Thailand Country Director
David Jackson was born in the UK but attended college in the US, graduating from the University of Colorado at Boulder, with a B.A. in Sociology. He first came to Thailand in 2003 and loved the country and the people ever since.
After working as an English teacher in Bangkok for two years, he decided to become a volunteer for Burmese refugees living along the Thai-Burma border. The volunteering position eventually turned into a full time job working to create higher educational opportunities for Burmese. He speaks fluent Thai and continues to volunteer for a variety of Thai organizations.
David enjoys designing websites, reading about culture and history, and learning about Thailand. He assumed his position as ProThailand Country Director in April of 2009.
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Kirsty McMahon - Country Director
Kirsty was born in Hamilton, Scotland. She attended Glasgow Caledonian University where she obtained a BA with honors in Social Sciences: Politics. Kirsty then continued to The University of Glasgow where she completed her Master of Philosophy in Development Studies. International development was always something close to her heart and something that she wanted to understand on more than an academic basis so after University she spent time seeing development in practice through travel and volunteering. Kirsty has volunteered throughout Scotland for several UK-based charities and done yearly work in Bosnia and Hercegovina for almost a decade. She has traveled independently throughout Europe and also taken part in international volunteer programs in Morocco, Romania and Ghana. It was through ProWorld that she experienced Ghana for the first time in 2009 and this led to her joining the ProWorld Ghana team in 2010.
Lawrence Ekow Arhin - Project and Volunteer Affairs Coordinator
Lawrence is an industrious, determined and humble Ghanaian native of Cape Coast. He studied at St. Teresa’s Seminary for seven years, obtaining both Ordinary and Advance level certificates, before leaving the seminary and pursuing a professional diploma in marketing from Cape Coast Polytechnic.
He has worked in various capacities including as a classroom teacher, public relations officer, project manager and volunteer coordinator. In 2003 he founded a local community based NGO, CEJOCEP- Center for Job Creation and Environmental Protection (CEJOCEP), for which he remains the executive director. CEJOCEP supports a primary school, a food processing group, a cultural and drama group, and a peer educators club. Lawrence joined the ProGhana team in March of 2009. He is married to Pepertua Howard and blessed with two daughters; Rhodalyn and Clara Arhin.
Michaela Brown - Project Coordinator
Michaela grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and received her bachelor’s from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in journalism and minors in English and ethnic studies. During college she cultivated her love of community service, leadership and teamwork with a number of organizations. Her pledge to service brought Michaela to ProWorld Peru as an intern in September 2009. After her internship she traveled in Spain and Holland independently.
The combination of different cultures, languages, visual masterpieces, and social and economic needs Michaela experienced in Peru gave her a lasting adrenaline rush and a solid sense of purpose. She felt more connected to others and she was making a more significant difference in people’s lives than she could working in an advertising agency, an aspiration she had been striving for during college. When she was presented with a job opportunity in advertising and for ProWorld in Cape Coast, Ghana, her heart told her to start her career in development work. Michaela became the Project Manager for ProWorld Ghana in the summer of 2010. She enjoys live music, running and playing soccer, but most of her free time is spent reading and writing.
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Pedro Robson Andrade Almeida - Brazil Country Director
Pedro has always been interested by other cultures and languages, as well as discovering and appreciating the differences and similarities with his owns. Prior to graduating from the Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA) with a Bachelor in Business, Pedro went on an exchange to Sweden, where he learned about the culture, the language and the social security system there. That experience opened his mind and his eyes for the problems existing in his own country of Brazil, such as the high level of inequality and poverty. Those great insights helped him decide which career he would like to pursue and also helped him write his thesis on social issues in Salvador da Bahia.
Before becoming a member of ProWorld, Pedro worked as a Business Consultant for his Business School, as well as an administrative assistant at a local engineering company. Pedro always had a passion for working with NGOs and when he found ProWorld he thought that it would be a great fit for him. Pedro joined ProWorld in July 2009 and currently serves as one of the two Brazil Site Directors.
His favorite quote is "Be the change you want to see in the world" by Mahatma Gandhi.
Angela Moreira - Brazil Country Director
Angela Moreira, is a journalist, educator, storyteller, artist and permaculturist. She graduated with a B.A. from Desmond Jones School of Mime and Physical Theatre and École Phiipe Gaulier. Angela then received her M.A. in theatre for the development of community from King Alfred’s College. She also obtained a certificate of Permaculture Design from the Instituto de Permacultura do Cerrado (IPEC). She lived in London from 1990 - 1999, where she co-created the Tata Didi Theatre group. Angela toured with Doctor’s Zingaro’s play in many European Festivals, including Edinburgh International Theatre festival, London Mime International Festival and Perrigot Mime Festival. She also worked in London with dance therapy and Theatre for Development at Holloway Prison and Fundacion Ninõ de Los Andes, Colômbia. Angela went back to Brazil in 1999 and co-created the Little Feat Puppet Theatre Company. She also worked as an actress , taught theater, and ran an English program called “English for Fun”. Since 2006 she has been working with OPA, where she is a General Coordinator, and in July of 2009 she began working for ProWorld as one of the two site directors in Brazil.
Ana Aguirre Aranguren - Volunteer Coordinator
