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Consult a Travel Advisor! |
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BridgeVolunteers
Staff
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Dedicated to providing you with quality volunteer programs around the world. |
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Jean-Marc Alberola Founder |
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The founder of BridgeVolunteers, Jean-Marc was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he spent most of his youth before moving to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Jean-Marc began his career in the language business as Director of the Washington, D.C. office of Linguex/Telelangue Systems, a France-based language company catering primarily to US government agencies. He then returned to South America where he spent the next 10 years co-founding Linguatec Language Centers and opening language schools in Brazil, Chile and Argentina.
Linguatec's acquisition of Bridge International, a Denver, CO-based language company, brought Jean-Marc to the US. He now acts as president of the resulting merger: Bridge-Linguatec. His work in the field of language education, particularly in Brazil, led to the establishment of the very first Teaching English and Youth Outreach volunteer projects in the favelas (shantytowns) of Rio de Janeiro.
Jean-Marc has backpacked and traveled extensively in Central and South America, Africa, Europe and Asia. He has a BA in Economics from the University of Vermont and is fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French.
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Lisa Rooney Director, Outbound Programs |
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Originally from Rhode Island, Lisa studied Secondary Education at the University of Rhode Island and received her MA in French from Middlebury College in Vermont. She began her career teaching French and Spanish to American adolescents, and taught English in France on a Fulbright Teacher Exchange. She also taught French and Spanish to preschoolers in Maine for her own company called Global Kids.
Lisa joined our team in 2003, first as an English teacher at BridgeChile, then as a BridgeTEFL trainer in both Chile and Argentina, and finally as director of our office in Argentina. After five years in South America, Lisa returned stateside in 2008 when she became director of outbound programs at our Denver headquarters. In her free time, Lisa can be found dancing, listening to music, or playing instruments. She also loves to cook and to spend time with her dog, Pogo, whom she rescued from the streets of Santiago, Chile.
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Matt Clark Volunteer Travel Advisor, USA |
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At the age of 13, Matt participated in a volunteer trip to the Dominican Republic in which he assisted a local community build hurricane-proof homes. That experience shaped many of the core beliefs he holds about volunteer work and is also one of the main reasons he has chosen to pursue a career in the field.
Originally from Colorado, Matt received his B.A. in English Literature from Wichita State University in Kansas, where he also played for the men's basketball team. In 2006 he joined the Peace Corps with his wife and spent 26 months teaching English in Ukraine. During his travels in Eastern and Western Europe he developed a passion for other cultures and languages. He possesses an advanced knowledge of Russian and is currently studying Spanish.
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Marie Brandt Volunteer Coordinator, Chile |
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Marie is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA. She studied abroad in Santiago, Chile at La Universidad Católica in 2006 and that same year graduated from University of Milwaukee - Wisconsin with a B.A. in Spanish and Communication. She volunteered as an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher at The Milwaukee Achiever Literacy Center for a year before deciding to get her TEFL certification.
Marie has been with us since 2007, when she got certified through our BridgeTEFL teacher training program in Santiago. She then worked as an English teacher for us before becoming our Spanish & Volunteer Coordinator in 2008. She really enjoys working with people and volunteering her time to those who need her help. |
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Bruno Pazzi Volunteer Coordinator, Argentina |
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Bruno joined the BridgeVolunteers team in April of 2008. He was born in the city of Bahía Blanca and came to Buenos Aires to study sociology. Bruno has many years of experience in the non-profit sector. He has taught English to adolescents and has volunteered in many institutions, both with children and the elderly.
At BridgeVolunteers, Bruno connects volunteers from around the world with local organizations that need support. Bruno enjoys his job because he understands the importance of the men and women who volunteer their time and energy to assist people in need.
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