e–mail: Lee Shainis
Lee is co-founder of Intercambio and author of "What Every Immigrant Needs to Know". Lee has helped the organization establish four offices, complete a capital campaign to purchase a building in Boulder, raise over $3,000,000, train 3,000 volunteer teachers, and provide English classes to over 6,000 immigrant adults since its inception in 2001. Lee's prior experience includes the development of a volunteer program at a psychiatric treatment center and supervision of an afterschool program. His other volunteer work has included mentoring developmentally challenged individuals and facilitating writing workshops for prison inmates.
Lee has a BA in Business Administration from the University of Michigan and studied Spanish in Costa Rica, where he volunteered at a home for the elderly. Lee has received the Boulder Daily Camera Pacesetter award in Education, the Entrepreneur of the Year award from the University of Michigan's School of Business, the Community Action Program (CAP) multicultural award, and the JCI Colorado Young Outstanding Coloradoan award. You can read more at Lee's Blog.
e–mail: Eliberto Mendoza
Eliberto is responsible for the Longmont program of Intercambio with duties such as increasing services, building new collaborations and nurturing existing partnerships. In managing the Longmont program, Eliberto matches volunteers with students, arranges facilities for group classes and workshops, and manages the Longmont intern and outreach program.
Eliberto was born in Mission, Texas. As the son of migrant parents, he spent most of his childhood between Illinois and Texas. Feeling a deep desire to help others, Eliberto spent time working for the Texas Department of Human Services as a caseworker while finishing his BA in History at the University of Texas Pan American; he also served as an interpreter for several short-term mission trips to Mexico. After college he spent a year teaching in a Pre-K Bilingual classroom and then moved to Fresno, California to attend Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary from which he received his M. Div. While in seminary he interned at a local church for two years working primarily with Hispanic youth and their families.
e–mail: Kathy Damas
Kathy began her association with Intercambio as a volunteer teacher in 2008 and was hired as part-time Office Manager a few months later. She is responsible for keeping the office organized and supporting Lee in day-to-day operational tasks. She has worked as an office manager in both the private and public sectors for many years. Kathy is a native of Boulder and has lived in or traveled through all but two U.S. states. She has also traveled to Australia, Norway, and central Europe. She has a B.S. in Biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder which she utilized as a plant biologist for 14 years.
e–mail: Shawn Camden
Shawn is the co-founder of Intercambio Boulder and our first affiliate in Denver www.intercambiodenver.org
For the past two years, Shawn has been developing a structure for a national headquarters and a support system for future affiliates. Working with staff members, he has been developing Intercambio training manuals to be used by our existing organizations and to train future affiliates. He also co-develops Intercambio's English curriculum for teachers and students
Apart from his work with Intercambio Shawn is President and co-owner of a company called LACI (Latin American Cultural Immersion) www.lacisite.com. His company currently offers Spanish immersion courses and will be opening study abroad language schools in Mexico and Peru in 2009. He also is the lead singer in a Latin and American rock fusion band called Los Cheesies.
e–mail: Susan Corbett
Susan Corbett has joined the Intercambio team as Development Director after volunteering as a teacher with Intercambio since 2004. Susan began her community development career in 1976 as a Peace Corps Volunteer, working in a health clinic in Liberia, West Africa. In 1979, she joined Save the Children Federation as a program coordinator for cooperative and small business projects in Burkina Faso. In 1982, Susan returned to the States to work in drug and alcohol prevention for runaway youth in San Diego, CA. Susan moved to Boulder with her husband and 2 small children in 1991 and worked for the Boulder County Prevention Connection, building healthy communities. She has served on the Boards of Directors for Planned Parenthood, Blue Sky Bridge, Emergency Family Assistance Association, Boulder Valley Women's Health Center, and Solar Cookers International.
Susan has traveled to over 40 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Pacific and Caribbean, and Central and North America. She holds a BA in International Relations from Scripps College, an MA in Cross Cultural Management from World Learning, School for International Training, and is currently working toward her Certificate in Fund Raising Management from the Fund Raising School, Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.
e–mail: Maria Velasco
Maria is responsible for organizing Boulder/Lafayette English classes, coordinating resource workshops, and planning intercultural events in Boulder and Lafayette. Maria Velasco was born and raised in Salamanca, Spain and has traveled and lived in Mexico and South America. Before joining Intercambio, she managed the Language and Cultural Services Department at Mason General Hospital where she facilitated access to healthcare to multicultural individuals and provided cultural competency training to physicians and clinical staff. She has a BA in Business Administration from the Economics University of Salamanca. Maria is an advocate of social justice and is passionate about teaching the importance of celebrating differences as well as being open and receptive to different cultures.
e–mail: Norma Perea
Norma works with all of our students in the Longmont area. Her job is to assure that they are evaluated, assessed, and receive the best English classes possible. She first got involved with Intercambio as a volunteer in 2006 and then started classes with us in 2007. She joined our staff in 2008. Norma is from Chihuahua, Mexico, and has lived in the United States for fourteen years. She brings lots of community experience to Intercambio, having worked with Head Start and the Family Literacy Program. Her passions and positive attitude contribute every day in helping and teaching our community.
e–mail: Rachel Fuchs
Rachel is a Boulder native and has traveled throughout Central America. Before joining Intercambio, Rachel served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica with the Community Economic Development program. In Costa Rica, she worked with locals on planning income-generating projects as well as on developing the skill-sets necessary to personal and community advancement. She has experience in adult English education in both formal and non-formal settings-domestically and abroad. Rachel studied Economics and Public Policy at The University of Chicago where she was involved in local community issues facing immigrants.
e–mail: Jenny Desmond
Jenny joined Intercambio in early 2010 as the Assistant Program Coordinator for Boulder and Lafayette. Jenny, who graduated from Wheaton College (IL) with a B.A. in Spanish and a minor in Human Needs and Global Resources, spent a semester studying in Costa Rica and a six month internship in Nicaragua working with an NGO in public health. In 1995, Jenny returned to Boulder County determined to pay off her college debt and get back to Latin America as quickly as possible. Fifteen years later, she’s still here and her career has taken her through various roles, including working at the Boulder County Jail, Lakewood Police Department and Moving to End Sexual Assault. She is currently working on her Master’s degree at Regis University in Leadership for Nonprofits. She is excited to be at Intercambio where her “Latin American soul” can be fulfilled.
e–mail: Bonnie Gosler
Bonnie joined Intercambio as the Communications Coordinator after almost a decade of working in the High Tech industry. She graduated with a degree in Computer Science from the Univerisity of Texas at Austin in 2003 and has since worked in the field of technical communications, including as Director of Communications for Terra Soft Solutions. In 2010, she decided that she needed a change and began volunteering at the Boulder office, which - much to her delight - turned into a staff position helping with Marketing, PR, and writing website copy.
