Justin Locke
Justin Locke currently holds the position of Development Specialist with the United Nations Development Program Regional Pacific Centre based in Fiji. Mr. Locke has lived and worked in the Pacific Region for 7 years, working on community-based projects in the fields of disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, livelihoods and social mobilization. Mr. Locke also has extensive experience in early recovery processes and post-disaster community rehabilitation. He has several publications ranging from climate change to participatory programming, and has presented at the International Population Conference held every 4 years. He holds a masters degree in Public Administration in International Management from the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. Mr. Locke graduated from the University of California Davis with a B.A. in Philosophy and Religious Studies in 2001. From 2002 to 2004, he was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Kiribati.
Robert James
Rob obtained his PhD in molecular biology from University College London in 2007, for the investigation of functions of neurotransmitter receptors in the developing brain. He has held research management positions at the Royal College of Art and the Wellcome Trust in the UK, and has conducted research at SymbioticA at the University of Western Australia. Rob has been working as a teacher and conservationist in Australia and Latin America since 2009 and lived in Cochabamba, alongside Sustainable Bolivia, for six months during 2010. Rob now works for the Corcovado Foundation in Costa Rica as Director of the Drake Bay Sea Turtle Conservation Program.
Steve Hubbard
Steve, hailing from Toronto, Canada, completed his honors 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. He is the founder of a Canadian telephone company called CampusCom. Aside from running his business, Steve enjoys playing and listening to music, traveling, and recently has been spending his spare time learning languages (Spanish, French, Arabic and German).
Lynn Rutherford
Lynn, a California native, earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Kinesiology at California State University Hayward. After earning her teaching credential in physical education, Lynn spent the next 24 years teaching and coaching at an inner-city school in San Jose, CA. During this time Lynn was an instructional team leader, district mentor, teacher and Honor Coach. In 1998 Lynn earned her Master’s Degree in Pupil Personnel Services from San Jose State University. She and her husband relocated to Santa Barbara CA in 2000. Lynn is currently working for Santa Barbara schools as a counselor helping young people realize their full potential. When not at work, Lynn is a competitive master swimmer and loves entertaining. In addition to being an active member of the Sustainable Bolivia’s board, Lynn is also the SB secretary.
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 boundaries 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.
Steffi Blicke
Steffi is from a small village in the North of Germany which is so boring that she started to travel 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 2004 and 2005 Steffi worked for the foundation Proyecto Ijatz in Guatemala organizing scholarships and education programs for students from rural areas. 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 as the Executive Assistant to the President at Munich University of Applied Sciences and as a moderator in processes of strategy development and change management. Steffi’s hobbies include travelling, swimming, hiking, horseback riding, and dancing.
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 traveled with her husband to Bolivia in 2008 to see the work of SB first hand. She made a very positive impression on the staff and was able to visit many of Sustainable Bolivia’s partner organizations as well as motorcycle all over the country. Additionally Sue also devotes much of her time to the Make a Wish Foundation.
Jonathan Kennedy
Jonathan was born and raised in the Southwest of England. He studied History at the University of Nottingham, and shortly thereafter he began working in Corporate Finance with Ernst and Young. He left his job to pursue a Masters in Social Sciences at the Universities of Freiburg (Germany), KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) and Jawaharlal Nehru (India). Jonathan Kennedy is currently a PhD student in the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Cambridge University. His research concentrates on the relationship between dominant societies and indigenous peoples. In his spare time Jonathan enjoys playing rugby and watching misanthropic television comedy series.
Kathy Shoemaker
Kathy, a California native, graduated from San Jose State University with a degree in Physical Education. Kathy launched her career in the greater Los Angeles area teaching and coaching inner-city youth. Kathy’s passion for teaching and coaching has stretched over 35 years through three states; California, Utah and Colorado. Kathy has been acknowledged as a premier age group swimming coach. 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. Kathy has also been an office manager and major fund raiser for her swim team. In her spare time, Kathy enjoys traveling, entertaining and spending time with her two wonderful grandchildren.
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 IT 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, he works in aesthetic medicine for Mentor Corporation. Ryan is a very active board member bringing his business experience to Sustainable Bolivia to assist in fundraising and recruiting in the US marketplace. In his free time Ryan enjoys cooking, sports, traveling and outdoor activities. Additionally, he values his experience as a Big Brother, a one-to-one mentorship program.
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 Programme. 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.
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).
Mariah Miller
Mariah Miller completed her BA in History at Oberlin College. Following this, she served as an English professor in the graduate school of Hunan University in the PRC. Subsequently, Mariah completed an MA in the Global Studies Programme of Albert Ludwigs Universitat Freiburg, University of KwaZulu Natal and Jawaharlal Nehru University. Mariah has served as Director of Emerging Markets for Soler Padro Abogados, a Barcelona firm specialized in international law and business, and Director of Research for Emergia Consulting, a Barcelona consultancy which aids European companies in successfully responding to the challenging environment of emerging markets as well as providing assistance to companies from emerging markets seeking to enter Europe or other emerging markets. Currently, Mariah is specializing in corporate governance preparing analysis of global companies and proxy voting advice for the European Corporate Governance Service (ECGS) and Pensions Investments Research Consultants (PIRC).
