With a law degree from the Universidad de Piura, Maricarmen has devoted most of her professional life to defending human rights and promoting civil participation and social development in Peru.  As a student, she joined the Universidad de Piura’s team for the Sixth Inter-American Human Rights Moot Court Competition at American University in Washington D.C. Since 2003, she has worked in human rights and development projects in Cuzco and Piura for NGOs and the Ombudsman office.  Maricarmen has also taught Corporate Social Responsibility for undergraduate and graduate students at the Instituto San Ignacio de Loyola. Currently, she writes articles for ‘El Tiempo’ and is still passionate about development and addressing problems of inequality in Peru.

Kate began as an intern at Nexos Voluntarios in August of 2009, as is now a Program Coordinator at the NeVo office in Lima.  She is responsible for recruiting volunteers and designing customized, strategic programs for them, and she also fulfills a wide array of organizational duties. Kate is dedicated to social development and social justice, and has worked with various non-profits in Lima since she first visited Peru in 2007.  Her love for Latin America originated in Mexico, where she travelled extensively as a child and acquired the Spanish language, before spending her junior year of high school there.

Ian is from New Jersey, USA and he graduated from the Pennsylvania State University in 2008 with a degree in Economics and a focus on International, Transition, and Development Economics. After university, Ian worked in New York City and Washington, DC with micro-business and advocacy for international poverty alleviation, respectively. His passions are music, boxing and playing guitar. In the field of development, he thinks it is most important to listen and work directly with the people that all of us are trying to help, and it is for this he is very happy to be working in Urubamba.

Claudia originally studied Hotel and Restaurant Management in Montemar, in Lima. She found interacting with people and providing good service very appealing, and last but not least she found cooking for family and friends to be very fulfilling. Also she noticed that making a guest feel at home is very important and that taking care of the details is what makes the difference.
At Nexos she takes care of the logistics of the volunteers and all the daily office administrative tasks.

Mariajosé is currently a Nexos Voluntarios ambassador in Montreal, Canada. She is studying to obtain her bachelor’s degree in International Development and Economics at McGill University. During the summer of 2009, she was a volunteer with NeVo working on the community development project in Media Luna.

Bachelor in Business Administration from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and Postgraduate Certificate Program in Tourism Development at Niagara College, Canada. Maria Isabel is an administrator with working experience in international settings. While in Canada she worked as International Project Specialist and was part of a team in a development project for a local community in Arequipa, Peru. She was also a volunteer for the Ministry of Tourism in Ontario, Canada. Her professional background in the private sector includes companies in the mining and telecommunication fields as well as valuable experience in banking and education organizations.

Yovanna began working in the tourist restaurant Casagrande, in Paclamallo, for several years, cooking and cleaning.  Currently, she works with Nexos Voluntarios to maintain the house and the kitchen, and has been working with us since 2008.

Guillermo Velasquez is a magnificent electrician, carpenter and builder. He has worked in several enterprises like Estanco de Trabajo, Enata Tabacalera and Fundición San Fernando. He worked at the Café Teatro assisting several plays with sound and lighting. He also managed a couple of restaurants for five years. Before starting his current job, Guillermo worked at a manufacturing plant called Parkimtec S.A. Since 2001, Guillermo is in charge of the security at the coup-de-sac where beautiful Nexos Voluntarios office is located.