The second general assembly of La Paz Community School proudly announces the three newly elected board members for the second school year! These new members offer new skillsets that will be invaluable to La Paz as it moves into land expansion, a capital campaign, and construction next year. The general assembly met at 5:30 pm on Tuesday July 1st, 2008 to nominate and elect the new board.
New Board Vocal #4: Dr. Carlos Hernandez – A registered engineer in Costa Rica since 1972, Mr. Hernandez is presently the Director of Operations at the local resort Reserva Conchal. Prior to his work with Reserva, Mr. Hernandez spent 12 years as a professor and engineering supervisor with expertise in agricultural resource and waste management at the world renowned Earth University of Costa Rica. With over 15 publications and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University in Resource Development, our newest board member has also consulted on projects such as creating waste management systems at several local area 5 star hotels and acted as a regional coordinator for a United Nations Environmental Program in Central and South America focusing on reducing pesticide run-off to the Caribbean Sea.
New Board Vocal #5: Caroline Lemaire – Ms. Lemaire has worked extensively with La Paz over the past year as the association aggressively sought accreditation from the Costa Rican Ministry of Education. Due do her diligence and perseverance, La Paz Community School has been able to exceed all first year expectations. As the Vice President and founding member of CEPIA (Culture, Education, and Psychology for Infants and Adolescents), Ms. Lemaire has significant experience in local event and fundraising organization. Her degree as a Trilingual Executive in Administration from Aix en Provence University, France affords her the ability to effectively communicate with and unite people from various cultures and socioeconomic levels.
New Board Fiscal: Jim Cramer – In 2004, having completed six years of work as president of World Learning based out of Brattleboro, Vermont, USA, Mr. Cramer decided to move home with his family to coastal Guanacaste. During his term as president, the endowment of World Learning and its branches, the School for International Training (SIT), The Experiment in International Living, World Learning for Business, and World Learning for International Development (WLID), increased from $8 million to $38 million. Having traveled around the world in the name of progressive education, Mr. Cramer has a keen interest in the success of La Paz as an educational organization that works to bridge cultural and socioeconomic gaps within the local community and beyond.
Abel McClennen (President): Mr. McClennen is the administrative representative on the board and visionary behind the project. A bilingual, certified secondary school physics teacher, Mr. McClennen graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine, USA with a degree in Physics. Mr. McClennen's teaching experiences began at Souhegan Public High School in New Hampshire, renowned for its pioneering work with the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES); a progressive educational movement initiated by former Dean of Harvard University School of Education, Ted Sizer. After three years in New Hampshire working as an AP Physics teacher and faculty representative on the Personnel Policy Committee, Mr. McClennen and his wife Kerry spent time away from the United States teaching at CNA language schools in Brazil and Colegio Interamericano in Guatemala, before arriving in Costa Rica to fulfill their vision of starting a non-profit community school.
Jose Gerardo Brenes (Vice President): Mr. Brenes comes to us as an active community member in the coastal communities of Guanacaste. He is the President of the Bandera Azul Ecológico (Ecological Blue Flag Association for assessing and establishing ecologically sustainable communities) and the Associacion de Pescadores del Pacifico Norte (Association of Fishermen of the North Pacific). He is also one of the founders and board members of CEPIA, a non-profit association out of Huacas, CR that is devoted to the cultural, educational and psychological development of infants through adolescents.
Gregory Casillas (Treasurer): Mr. Casillas is presently the part owner and manager of the popular RipJack Inn and Restaurant at Playa Grande, CR. A native of Oklahoma, Gregory brings an unprecedented amount of non-profit and fundraising knowledge to the table. With a masters in psychology, he has worked with and/or helped found several philanthropic endeavors in California including SuperFriends-San Francisco and the Shanti Project.
Laura Cascante (Secretary): Laura Cascante, a native Costa Rican, has lived in the Guanacaste coastal town of Tamarindo for the past 7 years. She has completed her studies in Psychology and graduated from university as a certified preschool teacher. She is the founder and director of CIFI, a local preschool that focuses on the integration of foreigners and locals at a young age. Recently, Laura opened the SER Holistic Center in Tamarindo that focuses on Alternative Holistic Therapy for emotional and physical issues.
Dr. Lisa Porter (Vocal): Dr. Porter's doctoral thesis, "Transnational Spaces: US expatriates recreating home in Costa Rica", has been part of the inspiration behind the La Paz Community School vision; a vision that strives to integrate the diverse populations of Guanacaste regardless of ethnicity or socioeconomic level. She will be assuming a professorship in the United States at Bridgewater College in Virginia. Dr. Porter previously served as the Director of Liberal Studies at the University of La Verne in Southern California.
Dr. Jose Ma. Garita Monge (Vocal): A native of Costa Rica, Dr. Monge is a licensed pharmacist and owner of the well-known Farmacia Cruce in Huacas, CR. He has been integral in the process of bringing in and improving the medical services in the coastal Guanacaste region. Before coming to Guanacaste, Dr. Monge previously worked with Pfizer Central America as a marketing executive.
Brian Crites (Vocal): Mr. Crites is a founding educator of La Paz who is the teacher representative on the board and acts as the general chair of the non-profit program of the school. Also, a board member on the World Children's Project based out of Portland Oregon, Mr. Crites has been integral in establishing the relationship between WCP and La Paz so that the US non-profit organization can accept donations on behalf of the school.