EDUCATION
ABROAD &
GLOBAL MANAGEMENT
Consultancy Projects
International Education Design and Assessment
The client: Skyline Community College- Office of Education Abroad in San Bruno, California
Purpose: Design a faculty-led study abroad manual for any topic and any region & design an assessment for the faculty-led study abroad program for underrepresented students to Peru based on acheiving intercultural competency.
This included a pre & post-survey for participants to measure their change in awareness and attitudes towards study abroad and cultural exchange. This consultancy provided added value to the client through a general framework manual for any study abroad destination, a scholarship resource list (for students of color) and IIC curriculum with 14 hours of reflection activities. This process used the following tools: Theory of Change Model, and Logic Model and this was an iterative process.
International Education Marketing and Recruitment
The client: Loyola Marymont University- Study Abroad Office
Loyola Marymount University is a private Jesuit institution located in Los Angeles, California.
Purpose: Design a marketing and recruitment plan for first-generation study abroad students. The First-To-Go Abroad! Program is designed to be short-term and low cost so as to attract non-traditional study abroad students. It is a 10-day, non- credit bearing, study abroad experience to the Dominican Republic. This consultancy provided a market segment analysis, SWOT, marketing and promotion activities, a timeline and budget. By following this plan it is expected to raise awareness of study abroad options, and increase the number of first generation study abroad students.
Comparative IE & Working with Indigenous Communities
The Client: The Alcaldia Indigena de Izalco (the Indigenous City Council of Izalco) and the indigenous community of Izalco. This community is often forgotten and therefore has its own council and is legally recognized by the El Salvadoran national government.
Purpose: To find the Nauht Pipil indigenous population of El Salvador and understand how they preserve their heritage and identity as well as the difference in their education system compared to the national ministry of education’s approach. El Salvador has a very small indigenous population of approximately 600,000 people, which is about 10% of its overall population. This paper is an empirical study of those in El Salvador that auto-identify as Náhuat Pipil. Individual interviews were conducted both via skype and in person with indigenous community members and this topic was examined from a phenomenological and critical theory perspective. Nahuat Pipil is one of two indigenous populations that have been almost completely exterminated.
Developing Intercultural Training in International NGOs
The Client: Case workers and first responders assisting unaccompanied minors from Central America who have recently crossed the border to the U.S.
Purpose: Because case workers and first responders are at the frontline of receiving youth that have been trafficked in detention centers, at the courthouse and during home visits; they need a training to understand the cultural differences, that can be challenges in assisting this population with securing safe housing, legal assistance during trial process, and assisting with adjusting and meeting basic needs.
Through this training, case workers and first responders will gain basic familiarity with the background and socio-cultural context of the clients (Central American Refugees), understand how intercultural differences may play out when working with clients, learn different patterns and models of culture shock and cultural adaptation, and gain understanding what it’s like to navigate in a world where you don’t know the language.
Immigration Issues: US-Latin America
Purpose: Create a video showcasing the causes of migration, the contributions of immigrants and the power to voice via social media, technology and art. It is through this video, that we can bring awareness of immigration issues, to bring about dialogue and discourse that will lead to a change in the way people view immigration reform and immigrants in general.
Qualitative Data Analysis
Purpose: To apply a mix-methods approach to qualitative data sets from a phenomenological lens. This study was able to examine the relationship between the legal system and emotional leverages as mechanisms for human rights abuses among victims of human trafficking. Narrative stories of testimonies from immigrants that have been victims of trafficking and other exploitative crimes while in the US were the primary source of data for the body of this study. Coding and overlapping coding analysis, deductive and inductive propositioning and Necessary Sufficient and Trickster analysis techniques were applied.
Proposal Writing for International NGOs
The Client: ManáOjushte San Isidro is a women and youth led- micro-business that operates in the community of San Isidro, Izalco in El Salvador. They are a relatively new association and have a strong base of volunteers and employees. They have great products and potential to grow and in particular in exportation. However, they do not have the start up funds to invest in machinery, and equipment as well as funds to register their trademark and to have a nutritional study. All of these things need to be in place in order bring ManáOjushte up from an artisan production to one that meets exportation requirements.
Purpose: Create a general proposal that can serve as a boilerplate or template for future fundraising and grant opportunities. The process of writing a proposal also involved developing a mission and vision statement and budget design. A copy of this proposal is available upon request, please me at: pcv.luz@gmail.com
Development Economics
Purpose: Studied indicators within a country to identify patterns, problems, potential growth and provide policy recommendations. In the case of Mexico, the GDP growth, investment in education, employment rate, migration rate and rate of good governance were all analyzed in order to focus on the cost of migration (from Mexico to the US) and how it impacts the children of deportees. Through this study, the direct relationship of the US to Mexico is tied directly to the economy, families on both sides of the border and migration. It is because of this relationship that 13% of immigrants that illegally cross the border consider the US their home. Last summer over 1,000 of unaccompanied Central American minors arrived at the US-Mexico border. Meanwhile, 290,000 American children are currently registered in public schools in Mexico. These are American born citizens that are also children of deportees. The return to Mexico with their parents and have to start their lives over. These countries, these economies, these families are tied together and yet there is no clear policy to assist these children in their acculturation process. Often it takes them one to two years to get themselves into the school, and with established health records. Therefore the US & Mexican border agencies, in collaboration with the US department of Education and the Mexican Secretary of Education should collaborate and create a universal health & school record document that can be used to in-take and track children of deportees. This way these children will have a point of entry and immersion into Mexico.
Systems Thinking
The Client: ManáOjushte San Isidro is a women and youth led- micro-business that operates in the community of San Isidro, Izalco in El Salvador. They are a relatively new association and have a strong base of volunteers and employees. They have great products and potential to grow and in particular in exportation. They wish to advance their business from bring ManáOjushte up from an artisan production to one that meets exportation requirements. In order to do so, they need a clear picture of their streangths and weeknessesin order to understand the opportunities that they might be able to access.
Purpose: Analyze the function, process relationships that interplay within the micro-business. Through this process, I developed a system worldview, which incorporates learned models and frameworks of systems thinking. Perhaps the biggest influence in my worldview has been through the PICO principles of organizing. Much like Rodgers’ approach on dynamic systems, informal self-organizing conversations; or as PICO would call -”one to ones” are key to capacity building.
These principles have taught me the discipline: of strategic questioning, learning from others, collective research & reflection. It is through those steps that stakeholders come together, approach circumstances from different angles and reframe our view, proposing solutions. Sustainability is achieved by creating a system that is based on mutual self-interest, and genuinely reflects the voices of those directly involved.
When I moved to El Salvador, I experienced living and working with the community of San Isidro during my time in the Peace Corps. It was there where I really began to live on the “edge of chaos.” I didn’t go into town with a bunch of ideas of how to improve things, I went in humble and dumb, and observed and learned from others. Eventually I saw the patterns, and things began to self-organize, suddenly the youth I worked with at the high school became excited about the Manájushte project, injecting into it life and purpose. It continues to amaze me that they are still involved and their numbers are growing. A copy of this document is available upon request, please email me at: pcv.luz@gmail.com
Finance Functions for Nonprofits
The Client: Resonate is a nonprofit that was founded and piloted in Rwanda in 2013, uses storytelling to empower women and girls to build self-confidence and unlock leadership potential. Resonate partners with organizations focused on livelihood and skill building, growing capacity by incorporating narrative-based leadership training into existing programming. Resonate pulls from leadership and empowerment theory to create a unique and applicable training. The course explores the importance and power derived from storytelling, coaches individual narratives, and explores the practical application of creating and telling stories. Participants develop a story that represent who they are, connects to the shared experiences of communities, and moves others to action - whether to build allies, raise funds, forge partnerships, inspire others, or organize communities. Resonate offers a “train-the-trainer” follow-on workshop for staff and participants who wish to coach others through the course, thereby multiplying the impact of the training beyond those who are in the room.As of December 2014, Resonate has built confidence and leadership skills for over 475 women and girls through 18 partners with their Storytelling for Leadership curriculum, 126 women and girls through Resonate’s professional readiness program, and 32 women and girls completed the Training of Trainers program.
Purpose: To assess Resonate's current financial system and propose a process to respond to the finance function challenges by streamlining and organizing financial activities, provide a break-even analysis of their workshops, and recommend a business model of 1-1 or 505/50 models.
Organizational Sustainability for Social Change Organzations
The Client: Salinas Valley Dream Academy ('Dream Academy') is a nonprofit youth leadership academy composed of 100 high achieving and dedicated high school students most of whom live in east Salinas. The central mission of the Dream Academy is to inspire, engage, and empower high school students through powerful experiences so they can become the leaders of today. They do this through numerous community service activities, community impact projects, a dynamic speaker's series and the fundraising that students do to raise funds to be able to take a year-end trip to the east coast. Throughout the last several years, besides taking in all of the amazing tourist attractions in D.C. and New York City, the Dream Academy students have been able to witness both of President Barack Obama's inaugurations, visit with then United States Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta inside the Pentagon, experience a first-class tour of Columbia University and NYU (New York University). At the end of this school year, students will experience a leadership training inside the White House and another training at the United Nations.
The Dream Academy works in conjunction with the Salinas Valley Chapter of the Ivy League Project (ILP), a non-profit organization that serves underrepresented students who are excelling academically and who want to dramatically change the course of their lives by attending an Ivy League institution. The ILP helps these students create a winning formula/portfolio, develop their networking skills, and instructs them on how to write essays/statements that will get them noticed by Ivy League admissions officers. During spring break of this school year (April 2015), these students will be traveling to the east coast to visit with admissions counselors and students from these elite institutions.
Purpose: To assist the Dream Academy in addressing sustainability challenges that is of interest to them, which can include any theme affecting organitiona's sustainability. A deeper analysis of said challenge was carried out and action to improve the problematic issues or opportunities within. The sustainability challenge, that was focused on is: How might the Dream Academy develop organizational structure and roles that effectively distribute leadership to serve their longer term needs? How might this be adequately resourced? These questions were answered by the Dream Academy staff through a series of participatory research activities that Luz facilitated. This was an terative process, in which the Dream Acamedy solidified a internal communication process, created a vision and mission statement, and organized activitites into thematic programs and developed program descriptons. Below are diagrams of the process as well as photos of the youth, staf and consulting team.
Design Partnership Management Innovation (DPMI Certificate)
The Client: United Way of Monterey County is a place where children succeed, people are financially stable, and each of us can lead a healthy productive life. The core services that the United Way of Monterey County provides are health care, education, financial stability, and housing.
DPMI is an opportunity to apply classroom theory to the real world. Through intensive, hands-on activities that are applied to contemporary development challenges, DPMI participants gain practical skills to manage development projects in a variety of contexts. With the United Way of Monterey County I provided an assesment that addressed their challenge in Moving from old business model to new business model with service providers, while addressing the need to raise awareness around the definition of homelessness in Monterey County.
Key skills that were acquired and applied to the United Way of Monterey County are: the Problem Tree, Results Framework, Log Frames, Core Competency Mapping, Facilitation Session Plan, Project Design Summary, Network Analysis, Action Research and Behavior Change Strategies.
