About Us: Staff
If you are interested in joining the team as either a member of our program staff or office staff, read more about available positions with GLA.
Andrew H. Motiwalla
Co-Founder & Executive Director
Andrew has extensive experience operating international educational programs around the world. He served as Senior Vice President for the non-profit international volunteer program Cross-Cultural Solutions, where he helped build programs from scratch into a network of 14 countries and 2,500 volunteers. Andrew is a graduate of Lawrence University and speaks Spanish and Portuguese. In addition to international education, he enjoys studying languages, anthropology and technology, and loves spending time with his two daughters at their home in San Diego.
Fred Swaniker
Co-Founder
Originally from Ghana, West Africa, Fred has lived and worked in South Africa for several years, and spent his formative years in four other African countries before attending university and graduate school in the United States. These international experiences taught Fred that having a worldview is especially important in today’s increasingly inter-dependent world, and provided him with the inspiration to create Global Leadership Adventures. Fred is a graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, USA, and helped to manage one of the top-performing schools in Botswana before attending the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Today, Fred runs a high school in South Africa called the African Leadership Academy.
Michael Shangkuan
Managing Director
Mike’s entire life reflects a passion for travel and immersing himself in other cultures. It began in high school when he took his first trip outside of the States to France. It was a life-changing experience. Since then he has lived in eight countries across Europe, Latin America, and Asia. He also brings significant professional experience to the organization; he has worked at Goldman Sachs, Proctor & Gamble and The Clorox Company in a variety of marketing and finance roles. Mike is fluent in Mandarin and Spanish and likes to travel, lift weights, and sing in his free time. He has a BA in Economics from Yale and a MBA from Harvard Business School.
Jessica Rose Miller
Director of Admissions & Programs
Jessica has a passion for international education, leadership and working with teenagers. Jessica was raised in a rural, but diverse community in Southern Oregon; this fostered her dreams of exploring the rest of the world. Jessica graduated from Oregon State University with degrees in History, Anthropology and Spanish. In past summers, Jessica has directed and managed programs in South Africa, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ghana, Tanzania, China, the Dominican Republic and Peru. She volunteers with the San Diego Natural History Museum and Catholic Charities of San Diego.
Judy Calkins
Controller & Finance Manager
A California native, Judy earned her degree from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA. She has held several finance, leadership and IT positions during that time. She has traveled internationally to Costa Rica, Ireland, Scotland, numerous areas in Mexico and Peru. She has volunteered in Peru, with Big Sisters and in youth sports. She loves reading, hiking, snow skiing and trying new adventures. She has a passion to help broaden high school students’ knowledge of life experiences through international travels and understanding other cultures.
Annabel L. Smith
Academic Advisor
Annabel Smith is a consultant in Global and Community Education. She was previously Director of Global Studies and Community Partnerships at the American School in London and both Director of Global Studies and Service Learning and Founding Chair of the Global Scholarship and Service Department at the Taft School in Connecticut. Originally from England, she has taught at independent high schools in the UK, US, and Kenya and traveled extensively in Europe, the Americas, Asia and on the African continent. Additionally, she has led student trips to South Africa, Russia, Tanzania, The Dominican Republic, Greece, Italy and France. Annabel received a BA in International History and an MSc in Human Rights from the London School of Economics, as well as a PGCE from Oxford University. She served as a GLA Program Director in South Africa in 2006 and 2007, in India in 2009 and in Tanzania in 2011. She currently advises GLA on curriculum development and devising methodologies to mainstream international service-learning in secondary school curricula.
Bridget McFaul
Enrollment Advisor
Bridget is an Enrollment Advisor for GLA and has led programs in Brazil, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Ghana, and Tanzania. She enjoys helping students find international experiences which will benefit them for the rest of their lives. Bridget has a deep passion for international relations, community service, and working with you.
Carly Tucker
Enrollment Advisor
Carly has been to Australia, New Zealand, and numerous countries throughout Southeast Asia and Latin America. Through her travels she has learned to look at the world with open eyes while respecting all cultures. With a degree in Natural Resources from Oregon State University, Carly leads programs for GLA, spending the last two summers in Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands. Carly believes strongly in experiential education as a means of inspiring youth to learn more about themselves and their world.
Korissa Dyle
Enrollment Advisor
Korissa believes that one of the best ways to learn about yourself and the world is through meaningful international experiences. While earning her Spanish degree at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, she studied in Spain and in Mexico and also travelled extensively in those regions. She has worked in travel & tourism in both the U.S. and in Ecuador as well as in the study abroad field. She is thrilled to assist youth in the process of preparing for an experience they’ll never forget.
Kamela Culver
Enrollment Advisor
After growing up in rural Southern Oregon, where she had very little exposure to the rest of the world, Kamela developed a passion for exploring other cultures and developing her own global consciousness. She is a graduate of the University of Oregon, with degrees in History and Sociology. While in school she worked as a resident assistant for college freshmen, a crisis hot-line counselor, and a support group facilitator for high school students. After graduating, she moved to Guadalajara, Mexico, where she worked as a teacher in a bilingual private school. Kamela’s own experience with international education inspired her to join our team and seek out students who aspire to make a positive change in the world.
Vince Bayard
Senior Admissions Coordinator
Vince received a degree in Cultural Anthropology from San Francisco State University. Vince was on the administrative teams for both the San Diego Natural History Museum as well as the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums. Vince has worked in France where he organized educational programs for non-French citizens. He has organized these group tours in Spain, England, Italy, Canada, and Argentina as well as in the United States. He has a great passion for easing the travel process for students and families.
Lisa Likens
Admissions Coordinator
Lisa has always felt a strong commitment to volunteerism. She has staffed the GLA Dominican Republic program and traveled to Costa Rica and New Zealand as an international student volunteer. She is a graduate of San Diego State University and is thrilled to help high school students embark on volunteer and international experiences that will change their lives.
Sydney Miller
Social Media Marketing Manager
Sydney enjoys working with youth and children and is passionate about social issues and travel. She believes that the future depends upon people being thoughtful, dedicated global citizens, and traveling abroad is one of the best ways to achieve this. Sydney has traveled throughout Europe and hopes to help students fulfill their dreams of traveling to other countries as well. Sydney earned her BA from Oregon State University. For the past five years, Sydney was in the field of social work and worked with young children and their families. Additionally, she has staffed GLA programs in Costa Rica.
