Erik Taylor: Executive Director

Erik, originally from California, graduated from UC Davis in 2001 with a degree in political science and history. After working as the coordinator of a high school intervention center, Erik moved to Berlin where he conducted research for the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (German think tank and development institution). Erik received a joint master’s degree in social science from the Universities of Freiburg (Germany), KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) and Jawaharlal Nehru (India). Erik completed his studies number one in his class and was nominated as the best foreign student in Freiburg. His thesis, which attempted to identify some of the deeper cultural and structural forces which constitute the practice of ecotourism, was heavily informed by research he conducted while working for the Ecuadorian based non-profit YanaPuma. His work in Ecuador demonstrated the potential developmental, conservational and educational merit of ecotourism. Prior to founding Sustainable Bolivia, Erik worked as the Director of Ecotourism for another non-profit based in Cochabamba. In his spare time Erik enjoys sports, listening to music and traveling.

Arminda Boria Villegas was born in Oruro, on August 25th, 1984. She studied at Maria Auxiliadora High School in Santa Cruz-Montero, and earned her law degree from the University of San Simon, Cochababma in 2005. She interned at the Chamber of Commerce and Services of Cochabamba in the Center for Conciliation and Arbitration. In 2006 she was part of the team of promoters in the National Registry, providing information about the Referendum on Autonomy and the Constitutional Assembly. Additionally, she worked as a project coordinator for a Constitutional Campaign aimed at including environmental protections within the Bolivian Constitution. Boria’s hobbies include playing the djembe, traveling, dancing and making traditional handicrafts.

Fatima, a native of Cochabamba, was born on November 12th 1974. She completed her secondary studies at Esclavas del Sagrado Corazón de Jesus before attending the University of San Simon where she earned a degree in Public Accounting. After graduating, Fatima moved to London, England where she studied English for three years and computing for an additional year at the English College. Fatima has a range of personal and professional experience in both Bolivia and abroad. At the age of 24, she was elected city representative of her home town Sacaba. For three years she helped organize the international and ecological fairs in Cochabamba. She worked as a supervisor and manager of a cleaning and maintenance company in London. She also worked as the Director of Finances for another non-profit institution before joining us at Sustainable Bolivia. In her free time Fatima enjoys cooking and dancing.

Kimi is originally from Minnesota, U.S.A., and graduated from the United World College of the American West, an international high school, in Montezuma, New Mexico in 1992 before receiving her dual degree in Latin American Studies and Spanish from the University of Minnesota at Morris in 1995. She worked as a journalist for a daily newspaper for two years, and then attended law school at the University of Denver College of Law, receiving her juris doctorate in 2000. Kimi has practiced law for seven years, working with a non-profit organization representing migrant farm workers in the United States, and also representing university students. Kimi´s legal experience has ranged from practicing immigration law to federal civil litigation, always representing people in need of assistance. In 2007, Kimi and her spouse began a trip through South America in fulfillment of a long-term dream, and this traveling eventually brought Kimi to Cochabamba, and Sustainable Bolivia. In her spare time, Kimi enjoys yoga, bicycling, reading, writing and traveling.

Originally from Bridgeport, Connecticut, Tiffany graduated from the University of Southern California in May 2007 with Bachelor Degrees in International Relations and Theater. Through the School of International Relations, Tiffany studied international politics and security as well as gender and global society. In fall of 2005 she spent her semester in Managua, Nicaragua, where she stayed with a host family and attended classes at a local university. She also completed an independent study project that examined Nicaragua’s popular theater movement and it’s affect on societal change. In her free time, Tiffany enjoys trying new foods, dancing, and watching comedies.

Kristina was born in Phayao, Thailand on 12th October 1982 but grew up in Dubai, U.A.E. She completed her secondary studies at Luostarivuoren Lukio in Turku, Finland before moving to Brighton, England where she earned a degree in International Relations and Spanish from the University of Sussex. This also included a year of study at the Universidad Anahuac del Sur in Mexico City. Kristina’s main focus in the final year was on Global Politics and Violence and she wrote her dissertation on the genocide in Rwanda and Western intervention. Since graduating in 2005 Kristina has travelled extensively and also spent time teaching English in Thailand. Future plans include studying for a MA in Humanitarian Action. In her spare time Kristina enjoys listening to music, swimming, dancing and travelling.

Lilly Fink Shapiro is a student at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, working on a degree in cultural anthropology. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, she learned to appreciate life with two older brothers and the delicacies of skyline chili and graeter’s ice cream. Lilly loves to explore the wilderness by foot, bike, or boat, and worked as a guide last summer leading a month long sea kayaking trip in Canada. She’s thrilled to be studying Spanish and sustainable development in Bolivia, and in addition loves to dance, camp, write, and sample all the Cochabambino dishes under the sun.