About

I am an international educator and lifelong learner who is eager to connect with people from the most diverse backgrounds. I find pleasure in expanding my knowledge of the world by learning from others' different perspectives, and sharing culture in the name of peace, respect and mutual understanding.

I was born and grew up in Iowa to a Midwestern mother and a Mexican-Lebanese father. Through exposure to anthropology at an early age and periodic visits to Mexico and other countries, I had the chance to experience cross-cultural learning while developing my multicultural identity. I chose to double major in International Studies and Anthropology and minor in Portuguese at the University of Iowa because it satisfied my passion to learn about culture, language and international experiences. During my undergraduate degree I studied abroad twice in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil where I took classes at local universities, volunteered with at-risk children and researched the impact of state-sponsored cultural tourism with the Stanley Grant for International Research.

After graduation, I spent 14 months abroad on a Brazilian volunteer visa to work with the Instituto Central de Cidadania (ICEC) an alternative school in Bahia. With ICEC, I worked with children K-12 by organizing and teaching various after-school classes in Portuguese including reading, writing, computing and dance. While in Brazil I also worked closely with a group of Hip-Hop artists-educators called Independente de Rua who utilize Hip-Hop as a medium for social work and education in at-risk peripheral communities. With Independente de Rua I edited grant proposals, taught dance classes and helped organize community events.

Once back in the U.S., I continued work with after-school programs as a Youth and Parent Resource Coordinator for the non-profit community based organization Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County (NCJC). At NCJC I was involved in various capacities including being an after-school program coordinator, youth educator, English teacher and bilingual family support worker.

In February 2012 I dove into the world of international education by being hired as the coordinator of the new Education Sector of the Consulate-General of Brazil in Chicago. While in this capacity, I structured and coordinated the new Education Sector in accompaniment with the launch of the historic Brazil Scientific Mobility Program (Ciência sem Fronteiras). I worked closely with the Brazilian Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Ministry of External Relations, the Institute of International Education, LASPAU and numerous universities in the Midwest U.S. and Brazil. I promoted government-sponsored international education exchanges and provided support to Brazilian students, researchers and host university administrators. Without a doubt, my great experience with the Consulate-General of Brazil is what has propelled me to pursue a master's degree in international education.

In July 2014 I left the Consulate-General for the Middlebury Insititute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS) where, through the Master of Arts in International Education Management, I gained the cross-cultural and administrative skills necessary in order to mature in the field of international education. I am currently finishing my degree while working as a Graduate Intern at the University of California - San Francisco's International Students and Scholars Office. My next steps are carefully being planned as I search for a permanent position starting in January 2016.