Mike has worked for experiential learning and adventure companies around the world for 30+ years. Beginning as an outdoor educator in Oregon, Idaho, and California with the Pacific Crest Outward Bound School (now NWOBS), he later served in senior leadership. He went on to work as an Instructor for Outward Bound Australia in 1995-96 and as the Head of Operations for Outward Bound Hong Kong from 2018-2022. Currently in a role at the American Red Cross as the Disaster Program Manager for Western North Carolina and as the Risk Management Consultant for Outward Bound International, Mike also travels the world to consult on risk management in outdoor adventure businesses and regularly presents at conferences on cultural risk tolerance and risk management. He is also a member of numerous boards, including Risk Management Committees in the USA, Hong Kong, China and Outward Bound International. His expertise resides in operations, logistics, safety and risk management and team building. An avid mountaineering and rock climbing guide, sea kayak guide and white-water rafting guide, he has personally climbed and paddled all over the world. A personal accomplishment of his, Mike has mastered 50 first ascents in the US and a first ski descent in the Fairweather Range of Alaska. Mike moved from Hong Kong to Asheville, North Carolina in 2022. In his spare time he loves spending time with his family, exploring the crags of North Carolina, traveling, riding his bike, staring at maps and reading books on safety and risk management.

Rodrigo is a passionate geographer, educator and traveler with experiences in over 40 countries. Born and raised in Brazil, when he is not working and traveling around the world, he enjoys spending his time in his self-built ecological house in the magical island of Florianopolis. During his graduation in Education and Geography, he also studied Human Sciences at the Université de la Rochelle, in France, and Environmental Sciences at the University of Western Australia. Passionate about languages, besides Portuguese and English, he is also fluent in French and Spanish and always trying to learn other ones. In his free time Rodrigo loves cooking with friends, playing music, taking photographs, exploring the outdoors and trying to improve his way into surfing and yoga. He has been a Mentor with GLA in Ghana and Costa Rica and has lots of nice stories and tips about those and many other places to share.

Chris is a co-founder of Global Leadership Adventures and former CEO of the African Leadership Academy. He brings a hybrid background in business and education to his work designing and building educational institutions of excellence. He previously worked with the Procter and Gamble Company, the Boston Consulting Group, The Broad Foundation, and at Oundle School. He holds a BA degree summa cum laude in Economics from Yale University and an MBA and MA in Education from Stanford University. As a graduate student at Stanford University, Chris and fellow GLA co-founder, Fred Swaniker, began to build African Leadership Academy, an institution that seeks to transform Africa by identifying, developing, and connecting future generations of leaders from across the continent.

Rachel first went abroad with her University in 2006 and fell in love with travel and international education. Since graduating in 2011, Rachel has worked within different areas of International Education. She started as an admissions counselor for CEA- Global Education before setting off to teach English in South Korea. After four years in South Korea she moved to Spain to get her Masters in International Education. In 2018, she joined Global Leadership Adventures as a Travel Coordinator and is currently managing the admissions team. Rachel loves working with students and seeing the excitement that travel, especially in high school, brings to each student.

Dave is co-founder and Executive Director of Cornerstone Safety Group. He is also the founder and President of Resilient Solutions, a risk management and emergency response consulting firm serving travel and experiential education organizations since 2011.

He has a risk management master’s degree from Norwich University, has spent the past 27 years in domestic and international travel operations, and has advised over 60 organizations in risk management practices and training.  Dave is also the Secretary of the Gap Year Association’s Standards and Accreditation Committee and has spent time as an ambassador with the Responder Alliance focusing on emotional well-being and the stress continuum.

Before starting Cornerstone, Dave was the Vice President of Health, Safety and Risk Management at some of the largest organizations in the travel and experiential education industries. 

Brenda was born and raised in a small town in California. She fell in love with traveling after studying abroad in Granada, Spain during her undergrad program. Brenda holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications from California State University Monterey Bay and a master’s degree in Bilingual and Multicultural Education from Teach and Learn, Franklin Institute. After finishing her master’s degree in Madrid, Spain, she spent five years as an English Language Assistant where she educated students through various subjects in the classroom and always encouraged them to expand their viewpoints about other cultures in different countries. In her free time, she likes to go to events, day trips, eat delicious food and be in good company.

Dr. Dubansky is the co-founder and Medical Director of Cornerstone Safety Group. He is a Board Certified Emergency Medicine Physician with special expertise in Wilderness Medicine. Dr. Dubansky is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Nevada School of Medicine and serves as Medical Director for the Northstar California ski clinic, three national forests and several outdoor adventure companies. 

Dr. Dubansky received his medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 2010, then trained in Emergency Medicine at UCSF-Fresno where he created and completed an area of concentration in Wilderness Medicine Education in 2014. Dr. Dubansky’s experience includes designing and implementing EMS field scenarios and mass casualty drills, lecturing extensively to medical students, EMTs, nurses, physicians, and National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service Rangers. He has also developed National Park Service EMS protocols as part of UCSF-Fresno’s ParkMedic and Wilderness Medicine Programs. 

Dr. Dubansky is also a co-founder of Tahoe Wilderness Medicine, where he still leads outdoor adventure trips. He has taught for or helped run numerous outdoor programs, including NOLS, Cal Adventures at U.C. Berkeley, Cornell University Outdoor Education, California Canoe and Kayak, ARTA River Trips and Healing Waters San Francisco. Dr. Dubansky volunteers as a National Ski Patrol physician and is a diplomate of the Wilderness Medical Society’s Diploma in Mountain Medicine program.

Patricia was born among the Andes Mountains in Cusco, Peru. As a child she dreamed of learning English to share the beauty of her country with visiting travelers. She went on to complete her Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism from el Centro de Formación en Turismo (CENFOTUR) in Lima. After her studies, Patricia‘s passion for the Peruvian Amazon brought her to a job in which she collected carbon offset data. In 2008, she moved back to the tourism field where she led international travel groups throughout Peru and other South American countries. Patricia joined GLA in 2017 as the Homebase Manager where she provided extensive logistics assistance for all Peru programs. Now, she serves as the Peru Field Coordinator. 

Lisa worked with Terra Education from 2010-2015 as part of the Global Leadership Adventures team and is thrilled to be back on the team after taking several years off to stay home with her two children. She’s happy to provide support for all five Terra segments and enjoys working for a company that lives their values and creates travel and educational opportunities for teens and adults. She moved to San Diego to attend SDSU and hasn’t left since! In her free time you can find her spending time with her husband, two boys, and two rowdy kittens, hiking, reading, or spending time outdoors.

Ilana was raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and attended University there where she received her titles of Teacher and Licentiate in Environmental Sciences. In 2021 she got another degree in NGOs Management and a Diplomacy in Gender, Race, and Injustice. At the age of 17, she went for a gap year program in the Middle East, described as a life-changing experience. Since 2015, she has lived in several countries and traveled around the world. In the last few years, Ilana has been working on women’s projects in rural communities, as well as in Experiential Education and International Travel in different countries across the continents. In 2018 she joined GLA and since then, Ilana has had the honor of directing programs all over the world. Ilana is passionate about life underwater and loves diving. In her free time, she enjoys hiking in the mountains, doing yoga, being in nature, and traveling!

Anna grew up in San Diego and obtained her Bachelors in Accounting at the University of Lynchburg in Virginia.  She enjoys working for Terra Education because it aligns her love of numbers with her focus of being a global citizen.  Anna’s travels and service learning began close to home volunteering at a school in Tijuana, Mexico as a teen.  She has since traveled to many places and hopes to visit Antarctica one day.

Michael Habicht, MD, DiMM, FAWM is an emergency physician in South Lake Tahoe, California. He began his outdoor and travel career as a backpacking and rock climbing guide before going to medical school and emergency residency at the University of California, Irvine. Today, he serves as the Medical Director for Heavenly and Kirkwood Professional Ski Patrol, an instructor for the Diploma in Mountain Medicine course for the Wilderness Medical Society and served in El Dorado County Search and Rescue for 10 years. He continues to travel and climb around the world with ascents including Alaska’s Denali, Ama Dablam in the Himalaya, Kilimanjaro, and countless climbs and backpacking trips all across California with his family. He has trained extensively in travel medicine, high altitude medicine, and has a special affinity for traveling with children and teens as a father of two adventurous boys who have hike and climbed across the world with him. 

Heather is from San Diego, California. In 2018, she joined the Global Leadership Adventures Admissions team in Costa Rica and has called it home ever since. She loves helping students and their families prepare for life-changing programs abroad and sharing her passion for meaningful travel. She earned her B.S. in Elementary Education from Northern Arizona University, and her Master’s in Education (TEFL) from Alliant International University. Heather has worked in International Education and study abroad programs for teens and university students since 2009. A lover of languages, Heather speaks Spanish and Portuguese (and tries her best at German). She is a passionate water woman and marine life advocate, who loves to spend her free time surfing, free diving and exploring the outdoors.

Daniel has lived all his life in Costa Rica. He has extensive experience in travel operations, tourism and different topics from his country of origin. After finishing school, Daniel worked for several companies dedicated to different travel topics, such as volunteering, social travel, and more. During Spring 2008, he joined the Global Leadership Adventures Team and has been with the organization ever since. Daniel manages our many different programs throughout Costa Rica and gives support in the field when needed. Daniel’s university studies were in Business Administration, English as a Second Language and Accounting.

Originally from Texas, her first big trip abroad was the summer after high school and it really got the travel bug going. She studied a semester in Luxembourg and earned a BS in Accounting from Miami University (OH). She lived and worked in Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth for 7 years before leaving the corporate life behind to travel and live abroad. Rather than just ticking places off a list, Lauren enjoys spending more time in one place to really get to know the culture and people.

Margaret, along with her role with Cornerstone Safety Group, is the Executive Director of Talisman Programs, a camp in Western North Carolina serving adolescents and young adults with ADHD and on the Autism spectrum. She also currently serves on the Association of Experiential Education Accreditation Council. She formerly held the positions of Director of Operations and Director of Risk Management and Compliance at Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness (2021-2024), Health Director at Open Sky Wilderness Therapy (2017-2021, and Program Director, Case Manager, Staff Mentor, and Head Guide at Alaska Crossings (2010-2016) and has worked with commercial rafting, canoeing, and kayaking companies. She is formerly the Best Practices Committee Chair on the Outdoor Behavioral Health Council Board. 

Margaret has enjoyed traveling and exploring the world and has also had incredible opportunities to live in Minnesota, Alaska, Colorado, and now is based in Asheville, North Carolina with her husband, two beautiful children, and dogs.

Lauren discovered her love for international travel after studying abroad in Granada, Spain in college. She earned her B.A. in International Studies from the University of California at Irvine, and her Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of California at San Diego. She started her career working for The Leatherback Trust and Upwell Turtles in Costa Rica as an Education Coordinator. Then, in an effort to learn more about the field of Marketing, she moved back to the US and eventually became a Marketing Communications Manager at Dytran. Lauren loves working at Terra because she loves knowing that her work is contributing to teens’ transformational travel experiences. When she isn’t working on Terra’s latest marketing campaign, she loves spending her free time doing yoga and traveling.

Michelle Lange, Psy.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. In addition to her work with Cornerstone, she is a Senior Lecturer of Psychology at Christopher Newport University and the owner of Relaction, a private therapy practice. She has over 15 years of experience working in the areas of college student and adult mental health, and in mental health education. She is a steadfast believer that investing in mental health affords us the ability to enhance resilience, cope with life’s challenges, foster positive relationships, and achieve overall well-being.

Eden began her quest for adventure at a young age. She grew up in southern Illinois and attended Loyola University Chicago were she received her B.S. in Anthropology. In 2014 she moved to Costa Rica and fell in love with the nature and people. She has many years of experience teaching English, working in tourism, and traveling. Her passions include learning about different cultures, history, and all things relating to science and technology. Her favorite sport is rugby and in her free time she enjoys hiking, biking, and crafting. Eden speaks Spanish and excited about learning Portuguese and German.

Steph was born in England but has lived in multiple countries around the globe. Through her experience, she has developed a deep love for people, food and exploration. After working in the non-profit sector for five years in South Africa, Steph delved further into community development while researching non-profits in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on education, sports and fair trade standards. After running multiple successful programs with TED and TED Education, she went on to publish two books and multiple research papers. Her passion for youth enrichment and development lead her to focus her studies, within the Psychotherapy sector, on early childhood trauma. Steph loves the outdoors, exploring new places and finding the local beach hot spots. From seeing the incredible influence travel can have, she loves to share that passion while connecting students and families with the perfect programs for them.

In 2018, Global Leadership Adventures sent Brooke to Peru as a Program Mentor for the summer season. Captivated by the mountains, culture and artisanal heritage of the Andes, she decided to make Cuzco her new home, and today, she serves as the Regional Director of International Programs for South America and the Caribbean! An IE Business School MBA candidate and graduate of the American University with a BA in International Studies, Brooke is interested in sustainable international development initiatives through social business. In her free time, Brooke likes to hike, visit artisanal communities and eat delicious Peruvian food!

Becca developed a passion for travel after participating as a student on a GLA program to Ghana in 2015. After graduating from the University of Minnesota Morris in 2019, she joined the GLA team in Costa Rica as an intern. Becca came back to the GLA team as a mentor in 2021 and then joined full-time as an Admissions Coordinator in the fall of that year. Since then, she has graduated with her Master of Education – Language, Literacy and Culture degree from the University of Washington and loves having the chance to help students discover their biggest passions through experiential travel, both through the admissions process and as a mentor on program. In her free time, you can find Becca at the gym or cuddling with her dogs.

Maureen MacConnell, PMHNP-BC, PSY-M, is a board-certified Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner providing mental health consultation and training in over 60 countries globally. She has advanced degrees in Clinical Psychology and Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing, and is pursuing a Doctorate in Education in Human and Organizational Learning. Maureen joins Cornerstone with fifteen years experience as a mental health clinician both domestically and internationally. She believes in providing continuous, adaptive support for travelers and is passionate about navigating the complexities of international healthcare.

Jessica (Jess) has always had passion for leadership development and initiating personal change as she is proud to be a first generation college graduate. Her passion for international education and social entrepreneurship stems from various experiences studying, living and working abroad. Jess joined the founders at GLA in 2007, ignited by the mission of the organization and its relationship to the African Leadership Academy. She has overseen and supported GLA programs consistently since 2007, and had the honor of facilitating GLA programs all over the world over the years. She is a graduate of Oregon State University, where she studied history, anthropology and Spanish. She believes in the genuine inspiration and transformation of the next generation through authentic, international learning experiences. Jess currently lives in sunny San Diego with her husband, two sons Adryan and Kieryan, and their leopard gecko Sunny!

Matt has loved photo and video from a very young age, when he and his father moved to Costa Rica for a year during his freshman year of high school. This experience not only taught him the benefits of experiencing new cultures and the love of capturing footage and photos from unique destinations, but created a passion to help pass that learning on to the next generation. After graduating with a Cinema Studies degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Matt moved out to San Diego to pursue his career in media and marketing. Joining the team at GLA in 2018, Matt has captured the life-changing experiences of students from across the globe on GLA programs.

Peter is a co-founder of Global Leadership Adventures, as well as its Terra Education sister organizations Discover Corps, Teen Travel Network and Summer Springboard. He spent 15 years working across Africa before joining the company full-time in 2016, where he now serves as Executive Director of Terra Education. Peter was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company in Duesseldorf before transferring to Johannesburg. He later co-founded and co-ran Tana Africa Capital; now a leading Africa-focused investment company. Peter is a German citizen; he holds a Master’s degree with honors in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Aachen, an honors degree in Law from the University of Hagen, and a degree in Economics from the University of Bayreuth. In his limited spare time (Peter and his wife Busi have three children, which are a great joy), Peter likes to meet friends and play chess.

Elijah firmly believes that the world’s future rests in our ability to transition decision-making power to today’s youth. He has lived in India, South Africa, and Mexico working to help young people develop leadership skills. He is the former Operations of Director of the AIF Clinton Fellowship for Service in India and a co-founder of the 360Plus Leadership Collective. Eli holds an M.A. in International Studies and Diplomacy from the University of London (SOAS) and a B.A. from the Evergreen State College, emphasizing cross-cultural communication.

A South Carolina native, Madison had her first international experience at the age of 17, which sparked her interest in international education and inspired her subsequent world travels. After graduating from the University of South Carolina (the real USC!) with a degree in Journalism & Mass Communications, Madison lived and worked in Australia, South Korea and Chile before serving as GLA Program Mentor in the Dominican Republic and becoming inspired by GLA’s mission and values. She’s since worked as the Programs Hiring Manager for GLA and managed programs in the DR, Thailand and Bali before moving to manage Central & North American programs. Madison brings her enthusiasm for international education and communication to GLA, and loves being a part of helping teens discover the world and become the next generation of global leaders and ambassadors.

Andrew is a founder of Terra Education and has helped to launch Global Leadership Adventures, Discover Corps and Summer Springboard. His latest venture is the Good Life Abroad, which offers upscale living for 1-3 months in beautiful cities across Europe for those ages 55+. He has extensive experience operating international educational programs around the world, including serving two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras. His overseas volunteer experience ignited a passion to share that experience with others, and he became vice president at a non-profit international volunteer organization. There, he helped build programs from scratch into a network of 14 countries and 2,500 volunteers, before going on to co-found Terra Education. 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.

Like many, Stacey fell in love with travel while studying abroad in France during college. She earned her B.A. in the Social Sciences with an emphasis in International Economics and Anthropology from San Diego State University. Her career started early, and she carved out a path of her own. She began to cultivate her business experience right out of high school by managing her local martial arts school while training to become a World Champion in Tae Kwon Do. Her years building a thriving martial arts business helped her fall in love with marketing, which led to her obtaining her Master’s in Business Administration from the University of California, San Diego. Her MBA helped her to build her marketing skills and tap into her creative side. Stacey loves working with Terra because she believes that travel offers the perspective and experience essential to creating future leaders. When she’s not working at Terra, her hobbies include immersing herself in different cultures and cuisines through her travels, training for her next black belt, or diving in the nearest ocean.

Yente is proudly South African! Growing up on the sunny east coast of the ”Rainbow Nation” of the world, she developed a deep passion for changing the world through community development, travel and adventure from a young age. Following getting her masters degree in creating safe spaces for youth, Yente gained experience through working with locally based NPOs across Africa & Asia. She was deeply moved by the transformative experiences of travel as a teen and student and hopes to inspire other young people to be educated about the world around them through the programs in her region and become energized to become changemakers in their communities once back home.

Amelia is from Aurora, Oregon and now lives in Cahuita, Costa Rica. She has been working as an Admissions Coordinator for two years with GLA! Amelia loves to learn and is passionate about regenerative farming, functional health, human development and how to create connections. She worked in Early Childhood Development for 23 years and finished her bachelor’s degree in that same field ,before going on to study Human Resources as a master’s degree – “It’s like adult development in group settings!” – at least that was the part about it that was most interesting for her. She has always loved to travel and believes that seeing new places, experiencing new cultures, and stepping away from her everyday routine/expectations is what sparked and continues to nurture the most growth and development in her life. She wants to inspire other people especially teens to do the same, and that is why she loves Global Leadership Adventures!

Jenica discovered her own passion for international travel while studying abroad in central Mexico during college. Upon her graduation from the University of Oregon with a degree in English Literature, she was determined to enable other young people in their own life-changing experiences abroad, which she has been doing through GLA since 2014. From staffing programs in Asia and South America to working with GLA Student Ambassadors to leading GLA’s non-profit organization (GLAIF), Jenica has seen all sides of the organization.

Anna Caroline grew up all over the southern states of the US, and is now living out a long term dream with her husband, Caleb, as digital nomads in Buenos Aires, Argentina. With a Bachelors of Arts and Master of Divinity from Lipscomb University, she spent 6 years in the university’s call center, and also spent 4 years as a youth minister. AC loves working with teenagers and their parents, cooking, snuggling her cats, and exploring our beautiful world with her husband.

Lisa hails from the Philippines. Her degree in Management and Entrepreneurship has served her well, providing the foundation for her foray into the exciting world of small-scale home-based businesses. Her true passion, however, is in meeting people and experiencing the beauty of their land and culture. Her love for travel and adventure reignited in 2016 as she started working for GLA. She calls this a match made in heaven as she gets to serve in a company that believes as she does that travel and education infinitely expands one’s horizon and can serve as a catalyst of change in the world.

Victor is passionate about learning, and this has brought him to a few different places including Singapore where he finished his masters and currently South Korea for his PhD in Religion and Culture. He has also completed coursework in Master of Management, the learnings of which he has put to good use in his previous jobs managing teams in the areas of training and customer service. In 2014, Victor started working with GLA and he has not looked back since, embracing GLA’s vision to be an agent of transformation as something that resonates with his passion for economic and social justice.

Raised in Pennsylvania, it didn’t take long before Lauren hit the road in search of cultural adventure by means of service work. After earning her B.A. in anthropology, sociology and art at Guilford College, Lauren started her career in international education — teaching in schools in Thailand, Costa Rica, and Mexico. Sustainable community development has guided her global path. On that trail, she has worked variously to place and aid asylum seekers, to organize and empower women, to strengthen free libraries, to promote art and music, and to support artists in those fields. Lauren treasures her five years of experience with GLA as an International Director on programs around the world and is thrilled to join the Program Management team. In her free time, Lauren can be found enjoying Mexico City parks or dancing Cumbia with friends.

Lisamarie is a New Yorker residing in Germany. Her passions of connecting with people, learning about cultures and traditions, and traveling has guided her through many experiences such as, serving in the Peace Corps in Ghana, completing two GLA programs, as a mentor, held in Ghana and multi-county Europe, and traveling solo around South East Asia. Lisamarie is excited to be supporting families in the journey towards and through an amazing summer experience!

Brett describes his job as connecting people from digital spaces to real-life places. He graduated as a Journalism and Communications Fellow from Elon University and has been incredibly fortunate to travel to five continents so far – Europe, Africa and Asia, as well as North and South America – on his journey to visit them all. Brett began at Global Leadership Adventures in the spring of 2014, and his very first day on the job was during the annual Program Directors Training session in San Diego that year, an incredible start that combined meeting all the GLA HQ staff as well as all summer program team members getting ready to staff sites around the world.

A native Brit now living in San Diego, Hannah’s curiosity for exploring other cultures and world wide travel was established at a young age. Having embarked on a service learning program to Costa Rica as teen and then traveling independently throughout Latin America, South Africa, Australia and many European countries Hannah is a strong believer in the personal growth and priceless global perspective obtained from educational, international travel. With a background in sales and marketing from both the UK and the US Hannah brings expertise and passion to Terra Education.

Zak is from a small town in Michigan, and he stayed local to attend Siena Heights University. During his time there he was lucky to have a professor push him to leave the United States for the first time in his life and spend a semester in Costa Rica, where Zak discovered a love for travel. After graduating with degrees in Business and Spanish, he decided to return to Costa Rica as part of the Global Leadership Adventures team. Zak now resides back in Michigan, and is excited to continue sharing his passion for growth through traveling with GLA students and their families.

Maria is a San Diego native who originally joined Global Leadership Adventures in 2016. A San Diego State University graduate with degrees in IT Management and Philosophy, she is passionate about the impact of both higher education and international travel. Maria has visited GLA programs throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and is proud to work for a company that not only empowers the students who attend their programs, but also the many amazing communities and local organizations that they partner with. Outside of work Maria enjoys music, art, going to the gym, and traveling with her family.

Elizabeth is originally from Belle Mead, New Jersey. She studied Leadership, Ethics and Organizational Sustainability at Saint Joseph’s University. She studied abroad in Santiago, Chile in 2014 and has been living there on and off for the past ten years, making it a second home. She is passionate about social and environmental sustainability, having worked as an international volunteer for non-profits dealing with homelessness and migration and also with Fair Trade Certification. In the summer of 2023, she was the International Director for the Surf, Sports and Sustainability program for GLA in Costa Rica. She’s a lover of the ocean and traveling and in her free time you can catch her dancing, doing yoga listening to music or connecting with nature in the outdoors!

With a degree in Natural Resource Management and a deep admiration for the outdoors, Carly believes the world is our classroom and the most effective type of education is through experience. Carly started working with GLA in 2010 and spent 4 consecutive summers abroad directing GLA programs throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Carly has been deeply moved by the transformation that occurs when one extends themselves beyond their borders and she works every day to ignite that passion while increasing empathy for every student and staff member who passes on through our programs each year.

Fred is a co-founder of Global Leadership Adventures and was honored to be named to the Time 100 list of the Most Influential People of 2019. 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 interdependent 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.

Brayan is a native of Nicaragua where he earned a Bachelor of Social Work. Brayan has extensive experience managing leadership development and service-learning programs across Latin America. He worked with GLA for the first time in 2019 as a Program mentor in the Dominican Republic, and later in 2022 returned as Program Mentor in Costa Rica. He is passionate about traveling, Yoga, and gastronomy. He has lived in 6 countries including Ecuador and Guatemala.

Born and raised in a small town in Maryland, James’s first introduction to a larger world came to him by way of the dozens of foreign-exchange students his parents hosted in their home. With exposure to a world of stories, cuisines and languages at the family dinner table, it was at a young age that he knew that his life would be dedicated to meaningful international experiences.

After graduating from Salisbury University with degrees in International Studies and Journalism, James spent nearly a decade working as an experiential educator, leading and directing teen-oriented outdoor adventure and travel programs around the world, sharing his love of cultures, wildlife, and transformative hands-on learning. Outside of leading programs, James channels that love into inspiring others to step out of their comfort zone and explore, as GLA and Terra Education’s Marketing Copywriter.

James is also an avid photographer, having had his photography published in a variety of media outlets, including The New York Times, as well as a long-distance hiker, and in 2021, thru-hiked from Mexico to Canada on the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail.

Jose is from Costa Rica. He has worked with international service organizations since 2002. He graduated with a degree in English Literature from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. He also taught US History in Civic Education in Washington D.C. He is now finishing his master’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy. He has taught English as a second language and speaks Portuguese. He is passionate about International Education, history, and languages.

Pacifique grew up in Rwanda and is currently living in Kigali City. She studied international business and trade at African Leadership University. During and after her university years, Pacifique worked for different companies in her home country before joining Terra Education in 2022. She also devotes time to a startup that her and her friends started that provides consulting and finance services. She is so thankful and proud of this work. Working with Terra Education is something she never dreamed of. She is learning, appreciating, and enjoying every moment with the accounting department and the Terra team. In her free time, she loves listening to her favorite podcasts, YouTubers, and music, or spending time with her family.

Ash was born and raised in San Diego and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Behavioral Psychology from UCSD. She has visited GLA programs in Guatemala and Costa Rica, and she believes in the power of experiential education and the valuable life experience teens can gain from volunteering abroad, embracing new cultures, and experiencing life from a new perspective.

Colette joined Global Leadership Adventures as an Admissions Coordinator in 2022. As an avid traveler, she has visited over 30 countries and enjoys helping families from all over the world. She has a passion for experiencing other cultures and loves sharing that passion with GLA students and families. She believes in the power of travel and how it fosters personal growth, especially in teenagers. If you speak to Colette, feel free to ask her where in the world she is that day, the answer will surely be different each time.

Airon is originally from southern Mississippi, and comes from a family of artists. She studied Sustainable Tourism and Development Management at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. After graduating, she stayed in Hawaii for seven years, working in various roles for some of the biggest hotels on Waikiki Beach… and learning how hard it is to be a surfer.

After Hawaii, Airon joined the Peace Corps in Costa Rica, where she worked in tourism development in small, rural areas and joined the GLA family soon after as the Local Director for the Beachside Service Adventure program in Costa Rica. She then went on to get a dual Master’s degree in Business Administration and International Policy and Development from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California.

Airon has worked for several international education programs and has led over 400 students throughout Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, Asia and Africa. She owns and runs a small art and yoga retreat center in southern Mississippi. In her free time, she enjoys teaching and practicing yoga, a good relaxing beach day, exploring new cultures, and teaching the world’s travelers about the importance of responsible and sustainable travel.

Lisa first discovered Global Leadership Adventures in 2014, when she was looking for a way to combine her overriding passions for experiential education, travel and community engagement. After graduating from Colorado State University with a B.S. in Human Development and Family Sciences, Lisa spent several years working and traveling in New Zealand, Southeast Asia and Australia. She has been a Mentor and Director for GLA in Tanzania, Costa Rica and Fiji, and is excited to continue supporting programs around the world.

With a Master’s of Education in College Student Services Administration, Lisa brings a holistic lens in creating curriculum and inclusive spaces for students to develop and express themselves. She feels fortunate to witness the discovery that takes place for both students and staff in understanding their strengths, interests and potential. Lisa loves jumping on her bicycle, swimming in lakes and is always up for a new adventure!

As a Green Bay, Wisconsin native, Korissa is a proud All-American Cheesehead! However, she found her home as a global citizen and uncovered a deep passion and curiosity for the new cultures and experiences found though education abroad while studying abroad in Mexico and Spain. She has since worked tirelessly towards helping others grow through international education and travel. She has worked with travel, tourism and university study abroad programs in both the US and Ecuador. She has been working with the GLA Admissions team since 2011 at both the San Diego Headquarters and in Costa Rica. She has had the pleasure of visiting many of the GLA programs and loves to see the process and transformation from a student requesting a catalog to then coming home with a new-found perspective and curiosity for the world.