Justin Locke

Justin graduated from the University of California Davis with a B.A. in Philosophy and Religious Studies in 2001.  From 2002 to 2004, Justin was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Kiribati. In addition to his responsibilities as a teacher of English and Physical Education on the island of Tabiteuea, Mr. Locke assisted the Taiwanese Government conduct a national needs assessment in order to formulate a national aid strategy.  Justin has worked as and Event Coordinator for the San Diego Convention and more recently as the United Nations Disaster Management Officer for the U.N. Multi-Country Office in Samoa.  Justin is currently the Humanitarian Assistance Course Coordinator at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California where he also holds a masters degree in Public Administration in International Management. 

Steffi is from a small village in the North of Germany which is so boring that she started to travel the world at the age of 16. After high school she left Germany again and found her way to the beautiful valley of Cochabamba where she lived and worked for an NGO for one year. In 2007 Steffi received a joint master’s degree in Social Sciences from the Universities of Freiburg (Germany), KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) and Jawaharlal Nehru (India). She is now working for one of the largest Departments of Tourism at Munich University of Applied Sciences, developing master’s and joint master’s programs as well as a marketing strategy for the department.  Steffi’s hobbies include – apart from travelling – swimming, hiking, dancing, cooking, eating and reading.

Christopher Veit

Christopher was born and raised in the South of Germany, but at the age of 14 his family moved to Southeast Asia. Since then, he has lived, studied and worked in more than eight countries on four continents. His early international experience challenged him to engage with numerous cultures and both witness the joys and sufferings of people around the world. As a result, he feels a sense of solidarity with all life, and is committed to build mutually beneficial relationships across borders – both real and imagined. After receiving a B.A. in History and an M.A. in 'Global Studies', he currently works with a consultancy firm, conducting external evaluations of the development aid programs and policies of the European Commission. Such evaluations aim to investigate the impact, relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and sustainability of EC programs in various fields of cooperation (health, education, environment, etc).

Lynn Rutherford

Lynn earned her Bachelor's of Science degree in Kinesiology as well as her teaching credential from California State University Hayward. She then spent the next 24 years as a teacher and coach in an inner-city school. In 1998 Lynn earned her Master's Degree in Pupil Personel Services from San Jose State University. Lynn is still working for the public school system as a counselor helping at-risk youth realize their full potential.  In addition to being an active member of Sustainable Bolivia’s board Lynn is also SB’s secretary.

Paul Kelley

Paul, originally from the small town of Grand Forks in southern British Columbia, Canada, graduated from Colgate University with a major in sociology. After playing a season of professional hockey and studying French in Clermont-Ferrand, France, Paul enrolled in the Global Studies master’s program. Before receiving his joint master’s degree in social science from the Universities of Freiburg (Germany), KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) and Jawaharlal Nehru (India), Paul worked as a summer intern at the United Nations Headquarters in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Paul is currently living in London, England, and working in the commodities department at JPMorgan. In his spare time Paul enjoys sports, spending time with friends and family, and looking for adventure.

Sue Taylor

Sue grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from the University of MA in 1982 with a BS in Sports Management.  After graduating Sue worked in Professional Baseball with minor league teams affiliated with the Chicago White Sox and the Houston Astros.  Sue then moved to California where she worked for Runners World Magazine. For the past 20 years Sue has worked in book manufacturing and is currently a National Sales Manager for Courier Corporation with her office located in Hayward, CA. At home she keeps busy with 2 dogs, 2 cats, 2 miniature donkeys, 4 hens and a fantastic husband that puts up with all of it! In her spare time Sue enjoys scuba diving, motorcycle riding (current bike is a BMW1200GS) and international traveling.  Sue also devotes much of her time to the Make a Wish Foundation

Mariah Miller

Mariah Miller is a native of Indiana, USA. Shortly after completing her BA in history at Oberlin college, she left the midwest for Changsha, Hunan, PR China where she worked as an English professor in the graduate school of Hunan University. In 2007, Mariah completed an MA in the Global Studies Programme of Albert Ludwigs Universitat Freiburg, University of KwaZulu Natal and Jawaharlal Nehru University. Mariah is currently Director of Emerging Markets for Soler Padro Abogados, a Barcelona firm specialized in international law and business. When not wearing a business suit, Mariah enjoys dancing, swimming, and cooking.

Ryan Rutherford

Ryan Rutherford, a California native, graduated from the University of San Francisco in 1998 with a degree in exercise physiology.  After working as a strength and conditioning coach, first for the university and then in the non-profit sector, he transitioned into sales and marketing in the fast-paced high-tech industry.  Later, Ryan saw an opportunity to combine his interest in sales with his passion for the medical field.  He moved into business development and sales in the medical device industry with a focus on orthopedics.  Currently, Ryan works in aesthetic medicine for Mentor Corporation and was recently honored with the growth achievement award for being #2 in his company. In his free time Ryan enjoys cooking, sports, traveling and outdoor activities.  Additionally, Ryan values his experience as a Big Brother, a one-to-one mentorship program.

Steve Hubbard

Steve, hailing from Toronto, Canada, completed his honours degree at the University of Guelph with a major in political science and a minor in philosophy. In the spring of 2004 Steve conducted environmental research in Zurich, Switzerland at the Centre for International Studies (ETH) with Professor Thomas Bernauer. From 2005-2007 Steve completed a master’s degree in social science and received a joint degree from the Universities of Freiburg (Germany), KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) and Jawaharlal Nehru (India). While his previous scholarly works dealt primarily with environmental subject matter, Steve’s thesis sought to examine the sociological, political, economic and ideological variables that abet the spread of HIV/AIDS in India and South Africa. Steve is currently married, living in Ottawa, Canada, and undergoing interviews to work for the government of Canada. He enjoys playing and listening to music, traveling, and recently has been spending his spare time learning languages (Spanish, French and German).

Katherine Shoemaker

Kathy is a life-long teacher and coach.  After graduating from San Jose  State University,
Kathy launched her career in the greater Los Angeles area.  Over the years Kathy has worked in California, Utah and Colorado.   She is currently working with pre-school and elementary age children in Denver, Colorado.  Kathy's work helps young children develop socially, emotionally and physically enabling them to lead healthy and successful lives.  In her spare time, Kathy enjoys traveling, exercise and spending time with her two wonderful grandchildren.

Jonathan Kennedy

Jonathan was born and raised in the Southwest of England. He studied History at the University of Nottingham, and then began working in Corporate Finance with Ernst and Young. But Jonathan soon found that, having watched too much of the BBC television series The Office as an undergraduate, he was unable to take his duties in a medium-sized accountancy firm seriously. He left to pursue a Masters in Social Sciences at the Universities of Freiburg (Germany), KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) and Jawaharlal Nehru (India). During this time a student-colleague introduced Jonathan to a Canadian mock-u-mentary television series focusing on the misadventures of a group of trailer park residents, some of whom are ex-convicts, which reinforced his belief that the world of organized work just wasn't for him. He is currently a postgraduate student in the Department of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cambridge, and his research is focused upon the effect of Indian neoliberal economic reforms on the rural poor. In his spare time Jonathan enjoys playing rugby and watching misanthropic television comedy series.

Dirk Gotink

Dirk was born in Haarlem, the Netherlands, only to stay there 3 years before moving to Amsterdam, Miri (Maleisia), Lisbon (Portugal), to come back in Haarlem at the age of 12. University studies in Business and Economics further developed his focus beyond national bounderies with studies in Madrid and internships in Italy and Mexico. Dirk's MA studies took him further to Germany, South Africa and India in the context of the Global Studies Programme. A short spell in working for the European affairs department of the Dutch provincial authorities eventually got him into one of the European Union institutions. He is currently a policy advisor to a Dutch Member of the European Parliament. His fields of work are EU development policy, security and defense and constitutional affairs. He is particularly looking forward to the 2009 European elections and a trip to Mexico this summer!