Staff Photos & Bios
Program Staff
International Director - Justin Nichols
Justin Nichols, born and raised in Florida, completed a B.A. in Ethics and the Social Economy at York University in Toronto. After which, Justin worked for three years as an Associate Faculty Member at Pickering College in Newmarket, Ontario. Justin has just completed his Law Degree at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, where he has resided for the past two years. A life long lover of learning and travel, Justin has visited cities all around the US and Canada, as well as Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. In his free time he likes to read novels, play guitar and make woodworking projects with his two dogs, Casper and Bear, at his home in Miami. Justin is excited to experience the wonders of Costa Rica with the GLA students this summer.
Local Director - Marbella Martín
Marbella is originally from Venezuela, but has lived in Costa Rica since 1976. She has dedicated a lot of her life to teaching Spanish to foreign students coming to Costa Rica and also has a passion for arts and music. She is the mom of two teenagers and loves nature and wildlife. Marbella was also a Spanish teacher for GLA interns in San Jose and it is her third year as Local Director and second year returning to The Initiative for Children.
Mentor - Elizabeth Sohmer
Elizabeth is originally from Belle Mead, New Jersey. She studied Leadership, Ethics and Organizational Sustainability at Saint Joseph’s University. She studied abroad in Santiago, Chile in 2014 and has been living there on and off for the past ten years, making it a second home. She is passionate about social and environmental sustainability, having worked as an international volunteer for non-profits dealing with homelessness and migration and also with Fair Trade Certification. In the summer of 2023, she was the International Director for the Surf, Sports and Sustainability program for GLA in Costa Rica. She’s a lover of the ocean and traveling and in her free time you can catch her dancing, doing yoga listening to music or connecting with nature in the outdoors!
Mentor - Emily Velken
Emily was born and raised Lafayette, California where she learned her deep love for helping others! She has been involved in mentorship since she was 13 years old, facilitating outdoor education as well as recreation camps. While attending UCLA, she furthered her interest in other people by involving herself in the Mentorship at UCLA program and taking a quarter off to work in the special needs classrooms in her hometown, while completing a B.A in Socio-Cultural Anthropology. Currently, Emily is back at the Lafayette School District working in the special needs department and spends her summers traveling and learning languages. She hopes to relocate soon to Europe for a cultural exchange.
GLA Staffing - Roles
GLA staff are native to the host country and international, usually from the US, Canada or Europe. All staff are highly qualified adults with college degrees. Most of our staff are educators and/or working professionals with higher degrees of education. All of our staff have extensive experience working with teenage students, international programs and/or a specific knowledge of the program country.
GLA staff consists of a local program director, someone from the host country with extensive experience working with international students and also an international program director, someone from the west with extensive global experience working with this age group, who together bridge any cultural differences. Mentors work with the students on a day to day basis. Staff ages usually range between 25 – 35 years old. In addition, we maintain a student to staff ratio of 6:1.
Local Director
Local Program Directors are responsible for co-managing the overall experience alongside International Program Directors. First and foremost, they protect the health and safety of students at all times, reinforcing standards of safety and community culture. The Local Program Director is also responsible for planning excursions, speakers, and community service projects
International Director
International Program Directors are responsible for co-managing the overall experience alongside Local Program Directors. Along with the Local Director, the International Program Director protects the health and safety of students at all times, reinforcing standards of safety and community culture. The International Program Director is also responsible for structuring a dynamic learning environment by developing curriculum, facilitating the implementation of GLA’s service-learning workshops through group-wide discussions
Mentor
Mentors are also responsible for structuring a dynamic learning environment by working as part of a team to implement GLA’s service-learning leadership curriculum; leading daily discussion, reflection or journaling sessions with small student groups; and helping Directors plan additional workshops and activities to engage students in their “free” time.
Program Administrator
Country Administrators are responsible for managing the overall experience of multiple programs in a certain country. Along with the Local Director, and International Program Directors, the Administrator protects the health and safety of students at all times, reinforcing standards of safety and community culture. The Country Administrator is also responsible for structuring a dynamic learning environment by developing curriculum, facilitating the implementation of GLA’s service-learning workshops through group-wide discussions.
In-Country Coordinator
Our In-Country Program Coordinators are people with close ties to the local community. Their connections are what allow our groups to be welcomed as friends into a community, and their knowledge of the challenges facing local people allow our work to be a meaningful and valued contribution.
Program Manager
Our Program Managers support the International and Local teams over the course of summer programming. The Program Managers have extensive training in risk management, cross cultural communication, student and group dynamics, mental health protocols, staff management and GLA policies and procedures. Program Managers posses and in-depth knowledge of each program site, partner, service activities, and excursion. The Program Managers communicate weekly with each team in the field and provide ongoing support during the summer to ensure safe and successful programs.