Photography Credit: Anson Stevens-Bollen, Art Director @ Santa Fe Reporter
Nandita is an educator and author in San Francisco, originally from Tamil Nadu and Kerala in India, working at the intersections of writing and social change. She holds a PhD in Drama from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. An alumna of the United World College movement, Nandita has conducted community-based theatre projects in Kashmir, India, the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. In 2017, Nandita was awarded the Elliott Hayes Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dramaturgy by Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas. Currently she is working on writing projects across literary genres and topics, and as an independent consultant with organizations that centre on education, the arts, and/or social impact.
Bowie is an award-winning multimedia artist, writer and designer in Oklahoma, USA, and proudly neurodivergent. She has a BA in Creative Writing and Literature and an MFA in Creative Writing. Bowie has taught at both universities and arts programs and through virtual programs. She is a coach to private clients and a trip leader for an international series of writing workshops. She is currently supporting gap year students from around the world, helping them document their experiences through creative writing while processing and integrating their hopes for the future, being mindful and supportive of each of their cultural contexts. Creative writing is Bowie’s passion and she is energised by cross-cultural exchange and co-creation.
Claudine is a TEDx Speaker and Harvard Graduate from Singapore. Her mission is to identify and harness the leadership potential in every child, especially in the area of mental wellness. To achieve this, she believes they must learn how to tell creative and powerful stories about themselves and the world around them. She has built an education company from scratch, serving more than a thousand children and youth in developing their leadership skills. Claudine has also self-published 5 books as well as trained more than a hundred teachers to facilitate the teaching of 21st-century skills such as creativity, critical thinking, effective communication and social-emotional skills to future generations.
Mariana is from Cordoba, Argentina, where she is an English teacher. She specialises in using writing, in both English and Spanish, as a tool to help her students develop critical thinking skills. She is a mentor for World Learning’s Youth Ambassadors between Chile-Argentina and the United States, sponsored by the US Department of State. Mariana is passionate about education and youth empowerment. She volunteers with at-risk youth in a vulnerable area of her home-town. She is also a mentor for young women who want to carry out civic engagement projects in their communities, helping them to identify the problem, develop the project and implement it.
Jawhar is from Tunisia and is a highly experienced Virtual Exchange Coach and Facilitator for Soliya. His journey began with a simple idea to bring people together and promote tolerance. He stumbled upon virtual exchange by chance, after which it turned into an amazing adventure where he discovered cultures, traditions, and even more about himself. He has written creative short stories in both his own dialect (Tunisian) and Standard Arabic. The impact these stories and characters have had on his community has been impressive!