Professionally prepared with public health and school nurse credentials from University of California and a Certificate of Study Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages from Humboldt State University, plus an intense desire to learn about other cultures, Kathleen has created a life that is filled with international experiences. She has been a sojourner in more than 40 countries, has lived and worked in several Latin American countries, and has served as a consultant in Ghana (CDC/WHO/Rotary Global Polio Eradication Initiative). Kathleen’s first international public health nursing assignment was in Guatemala. Most recently, she served in Guatemala as a health educator and interpreter.  

 

At home in California, Kathleen co-founded and was executive director of a licensed non-profit international adoption agency, served for 17-years as a volunteer with AFS  international student exchange program, and worked as an ESL instructor. She taught Medical Spanish for Health Care Providers and has been a Humboldt Literacy Project and Humboldt County Schools Early Literacy Partners volunteer to promote both Spanish and English proficiency. 

 

Kathleen’s extensive teaching experiences in Latin America include working as an elementary and adult language school ESL teacher, a substitute kindergarten teacher at a migrant labor camp, and a school nurse at the American School. She brings to Adopt-a-Village in Guatemala’s Advisory Council her unique perspectives, extensive volunteer experience, a passion for serving others, and a cross-cultural competency in Spanish-English. Even before the COVID pandemic, Kathleen was channeling her enthusiasm for giving back as a volunteer for Adopt-a-Village in Guatemala. “I am excited to be part of an initiative that will offer innovative new bilingual preschool literacy experiences for children in Guatemala,” she says.