Erik graduated from UC Davis in 2001 with a degree in political science and history. After working for a year as the coordinator of a high school intervention center, Erik moved to Berlin where he conducted research for the ‘think tank’ and development institution, The Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung. Following completion of his research, Erik began a master’s program in social sciences through the Global Studies Programme. He studied on three continents receiving degrees from the Universities of Freiburg (Germany), KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) and Jawaharlal Nehru (India), graduating number one in his class. His thesis was heavily informed by research he conducted while working for the Ecuadorian based non-profit YanaPuma in 2006. After graduating, Erik moved to Bolivia and founded Sustainable Bolivia.  In 2013 Erik worked as a graduate assistant at the University of New Mexico while conducting research toward a PhD in anthropology. Outside of work Erik’s passions include surfing, traditional medicine and traveling.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 her animals and a fantastic husband that puts up with all of it! In her spare time Sue enjoys scuba diving, motorcycle ridingand international traveling. Sue traveled with her husband to Bolivia in 2008 and 2013 to see SB’s work 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.

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.

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).

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.

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 traveling, swimming, hiking, horseback riding, and dancing.

Mariah Miller is an independent consultant on corporate governance.  Since 2009, she has been collaborating primarily with Pensions Investments Research Consultants (PIRC) on proxy voting reports and the development of international proxy voting guidelines.  She also teaches graduate courses related to business in society at the Global Business School Barcelona.  Prior to this, she worked as Director of Emerging Markets for Soler Padro Abogados and Emergia Consulting and taught English in the graduate school of Hunan University in China.  Mariah completed a BA in History at Oberlin College in the USA, an MA in the Global Studies Programme of Albert Ludwigs Universitat Freiburg, University of KwaZulu Natal and Jawaharlal Nehru University and an MA in Corporate Finance and Law at ESADE in Barcelona, Spain.  She speaks English, Spanish and Chinese.  Mariah aims to work toward the development of sustainable, ethical international businesses.  She enjoys growing tomatoes, knitting, and singing in the Barcelona Asian Choir (Coro Asiático de Barcelona).

Eric grew up in upstate New York and graduated from the University at Albany in 2009 with a Masters in Public Administration.  After graduating, he searched for opportunities to work in the non-profit sector in South America, which led to a position working at Sustainable Bolivia as the website manager.  After, Eric moved to California to work as a Communications and Website manager at UC Santa Cruz.  Wanting to work with the latest technologies, Eric recently moved to the Bay Area to work as web developer.  As SB’s current web developer, Eric values being able to share his time and technical skills.  He also enjoys his yearly visit to Bolivia, both personally and professionally.  In his spare time Eric enjoys running, bicycling, traveling, and playing music.

Miranda grew up in Stockholm, Sweden. She lived in Edinburgh, Scotland, for 5 years where she obtained her degree in Anthropology and later on worked on a Scottish Executive funded project advocating minority rights. She has recently completed her PhD in Anthropology at the London School of Economics. The focus of her thesis was agricultural work in highland Bolivia and local concepts of labour. During her two-year fieldwork period in the province of Bolívar, Cochabamba department, she benefited hugely from the help and support of Sustainable Bolivia. Currently she is pursuing research into taxation, benefits and temporality and the perceptions of these within the ‘audit’ society. Her free time is all spent with her family, in particular her three-year old daughter, Edith.

Justin Locke currently holds the position of Disaster Risk Management Specialist within the World Bank’s Latin American and Caribbean Disaster Risk Management and Urban Unit. Justin has over 10 years of international development experience including seven years of experience working on community-based projects in the fields of disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, livelihoods and social mobilization for the United Nations Development Program. He also has extensive experience in post disaster recovery and reconstruction processes with a strong focus on post-disaster community rehabilitation. He has several publications on topics ranging from climate change to participatory programming, and was recently invited to give a key note speech at the International Population Conference held in Marrakech, Morocco. He holds a masters’ degree in Public Administration in International Management from the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California and a dual-bachelors’ degree from the University of California, Davis. From 2002 to 2004, he was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Kiribati.