 | Alice Gugelev Alice has always been passionate about International Development and is excited to finally be applying her skills with The Muskoka Foundation. Her background spans careers in finance and strategy consulting, in for-profit, pro-bono and non-profit companies. Having worked on the trading floor with currency and interest rate flows and on project finance transactions on Wall Street and in Asia, Alice rounded out her development work preparation with Bain & Company Southeast Asia working on corporate strategy specializing in supply chain and logistics, consumer products and commercial banking. Alice spent significant time working in Thailand, India and China and worked and traveled pretty much everywhere else in Asia. In the social sector, Alice started with a short stint at the World Bank in Asia, followed by heading up Bain's pro-bono consulting practice in Singapore culminating most recently in a manager role with The Bridgespan Group in San Francisco working on education. With her experience and degrees from Columbia College in East Asian Studies and Economics, political science from the Stanford Japan Center in Kyoto and an MBA from Harvard Business School in hand, Alice is now FINALLY starting to feel more qualified to make a positive difference! Most of the learning and impact though, Alice anticipates will happen through The Muskoka Foundation's work with on the ground partners and local communities where our approach will be to listen first and learn what really works as we go. You can contact Alice via email at: alice -at-TheMuskokaFoundation.org | ||
 | Jay Shapiro Jay comes to the Muskoka Foundation from a very different perspective. As one of the pioneers of the Internet industry in Asia, Jay had the good fortune to travel extensively throughout Asia, meeting all sorts of different people in different cultures, all unified by two things: 1) the incredible power of the Internet to connect people around the planet; and 2) the impact of entrepreneurship to affect a community of talented individuals and their network of families and friends. Jay grew his own business: "BLUE" from a small Singapore startup of 3 people, to a globally dominant, profitable force in the marketing industry; with offices in London, New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai and San Francisco. When BLUE was acquired by the global WPP network in June 2007, it allowed Jay to begin to focus on leveraging his entrepreneurial skills and broad network to help those in developing communities through his work with the non-profit Muskoka Foundation. Most exciting for Jay is the ability to combine his strong belief about the impact of the entrepreneur, with his passion for overland travel and off-road exploration. Jay is a die-hard Toyota fan, having owned (at various times and in various states of disrepair) a HiLux, a Land Cruiser, a Tacoma and a Prius. Though he admits to (wonderful) distractions along the way of two Jeep Wranglers, a Ford F-650 and a red 1984 BMW 6-series that he never should have sold... You can contact Jay via email at: jay -at-TheMuskokaFoundation.org | ||
 | Katie Clancy Katie Clancy is the Relationship Manager for Latin America. Katie is a Photographer and Educator that moved to Guanajuato, Gto. Mexico two years ago. In January of 2009 she started an after-school art program, eStudio 473, that serves a local girls' home, also a partner of Muskoka, El Buen Pastor. In this time she has worked with Eric Ibarra, Ileana LaTorre and Efrain Martinez to facilitate photography and Capoeira workshops with the girls. Currently she is continuing to develop eStudio 473 into a program that serves multiply communities in Guanajuato. She excited to use the experience and knowledge gained through her time working within various community art projects uniting local community members with both traveling and local volunteers to serve the Muskoka partners throughout Latin America. Katie graduated with a BA in Communications and Photography from Webster University. She spent several years studying Spanish and Art Education at the beginning of her studies. After graduation she returned to the idea of being an educator and worked for several years at the Soulard School, a private elementary school in the city of St. Louis that considers it's approach to be a qualitative research based curriculum. This student interest lead style of learning and teaching had an enormous impact on the development of her teaching style as well as her own interest in studying and observing cognitive and social emotional development. Katie has fallen madly in love with Mexico although still longs to see as much of Central and South America as possible. Apart from travel aspirations she dreams of yurts, artist collectives and organic farming in any form or combination in her future. Please contact Katie if you would like to be one of our partner organizations or have recommendations regarding who we should partner with in Latin America. You can contact Katie via email at: KatieClancy -at-TheMuskokaFoundation.org | ||
 | Margaret Day Margaret established and is the Program Director of our Brazil Program. A native New Yorker with a high threshold for excitement, she has traveled, lived and studied extensively throughout the United States, Europe, South America and the Carribean. At some point a pattern emerged; She kept finding herself most drawn to communities where people were somehow disenfranchised. This interest in social justice led to the pursuit of a BA in Psychology at Hunter College and a MS in Social Work at Columbia University. A love of Brazilian culture, and a specific interest in favelas, resulted in a 2011 research trip to Rio de Janeiro and its favelas. When she arrived she instantly felt a kinship with the people that lived there. She was hooked. As a result, she returned to Rio where she set up our Brazil Program and then conceptualized and ran Olhos da Rocinha (Eyes of Rocinha), the first photography project for children in the favela after its pacification by government forces. While in Rio she also co-founded Cidade Unida, a political organization designed to: You can contact Margaret via email at: margaret -at-TheMuskokaFoundation.org
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 | Jacob Cranz Jacob is the Co-Concept Designer and Instructor at the Nossa Communidade Project in Brazil. He grew up on a farm in Namibia where life is very much based on improvisation. He finds inspiration in the differences of the world so has traveled a lot: by bicycle through Uzbekistan, Swaziland and Cuba, hitch-hiking through the Balkan countries and Turkey and by car through the deserts of Southern Africa. Jacob spent his high school years in Cape Town, South Africa, then moved to Austria and then Germany where he worked as a blacksmith and set designer. Jacob seeks to find creative ways through art, design and documentation to explore, understand, communicate and finally solve the problems that effect people. In his studies he works mainly with design in public space. Jacob has experience in forging, casting, welding and constructing all kinds of metal, as well as woodwork, printmaking, graphic design, stage design, film and photography. He believes that design is not only a profession for aesthetic creations and useless objects, but a chance to improve life quality. In his eyes, there are many bridges to be built between the creative sector, sociology and even politics because designers learn to view problems holistically from many angles and then combine the right professionals to solve those challenges. However, the field of what "design" is has to be widened. This year he will receive his BA in Product Design at the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee (KHB) in Berlin. On Jacob's most recent journey he spent five months in Brazil, four months of which he lived in Favela da Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro, where he co-conceived and co-facilitated the photography/video project at Tio Lino's Art School. So far his ability to improvise has served him well.
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 | Nick Bradshaw Nick is the Photography Program Manager for South Africa. Nick joins Muskoka having recently completed a 366 day long “honeymoon in a Land Rover” with his wife Vicki. Nick has a passion for photography and loves to shoot in black and white formats with his trusty Canon 5DMKII. “It’s been a life long hobby of mine that I have recently put to good use for the charity Solar Sister. I am excited to be now doing this here in South Africa with Muskoka”. Whether its getting lost in the desert near Algeria or crossing the Congo in a remote part DRC, Nick loves to explore the road less travelled and always aims to capture the people and vistas along the way using his camera. You can read more about his travels and photography at www.langebaan-sunset.com Nick graduated with a PhD in Environmental Chemistry from the University of Wales and has spent 15 years working in the technology industry in business development and project management functions in Europe, USA and Canada. He has worked for global corporations, start-ups and as a consultant and is currently writing a children’s book series to raise awareness in both children and adults about the destruction of the environment and natural resources in Africa. He is also a contributing author to Overland Live and an approved photographer for the Overland Journal. You can contact Nick via email at: nick -at-TheMuskokaFoundation | ||
 | Elvis K. Tamkloe Elvis is our Africa Regional Coordinator and is originally from Ghana but has been living in Mexico since 2009. He is due to complete a degree in Chemical Engineering in early 2013 in Mexico after having completed two other degrees in Ghana and the UK. He has not travelled much but has had the opportunity to interact with people from different cultures all over the world due to his studying opportunities. Elvis enjoys being at service to others having worked with different clubs and serving on different societies in Ghana. He has had the opportunity to interact and live with people who have different types of physical disabilities when he had to take care of a friend in an orthopedic hospital in Ghana. "It was a great moment to learn and appreciate what life has for each one of us." Elvis enjoys going to the movies, cooking and a glass of red wine after a long, stressful day.You can contact Elvis via email at: elvis-at-TheMuskokaFoundation
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 | Mary Beth Maslowski Mary Beth is the Digital Content Manager for the Muskoka Foundation. She has worked for a variety of non-profits in the medical and governmental fields and has been a journalist and web editor for over twenty years in New York, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Germany. You can contact Mary Beth via email at: mb-at-TheMuskokaFoundation.org | ||
 | Mara De Guzman Mara is the Social Media Manager for the Muskoka Foundation. She graduated with a BS in Hotel and Restaurant Institution Management with a major in Hospitality Management at De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde. After internships at St. Benilde's college-owned restaurant and a 5-star hotel, she is enjoying her work with several private individuals and startup companies as a social media manager and occasional blogger. Mara's interests include traveling, eating out, reading novels, listening to different kinds of music, watching movies, TV series, and tennis tournaments, and photography. Being a social media manager, she made herself familiar with social media and uses different social networking websites herself. She plans on doing more travels, domestic and international, in the future and meeting different people from all over the world. You can contact Mara via email at: mara-at-TheMuskokaFoundation.org | ||
 | Daniel Anggara Daniel is the Travel Site Relationship Manager for the Muskoka Foundation. He came to Canada in 2005 from Indonesia via China and traveled all around China for two years to learn Mandarin (it was just an excuse since he wasn't sure what to do in life at the moment). In Canada, he decided that he wanted to learn more about the business world, inside and outside the classroom. After attaining his Finance degree from western Canada's Sauder School of Business (University of British Columbia), he started working for and being mentored by a Canadian serial entrepreneur that has established over 15 businesses some grossing over $US 15 million. At the moment he is away from his “home”, Vancouver, away from the things he loves about the city: her snow-capped mountains, gorgeous beaches, right-in-your-backyard nature and wildlife, the best hockey team in the world (that's right!), all the cycling routes where you can ride your bike with your eyes closed without the fear of being hit by a car (not recommended), All-You-Can-Eat sushi places, and the legendary White Spot. He willingly left behind all those lovely things as he responded to his mentor’s challenge and invitation to take on a humanitarian project in the Southern Philippines. After the project ended, he felt that his involvement in the Philippines isn’t over yet. True enough, a few months later he got the privilege to be a part of the Muskoka Foundation’s team, along with some other opportunities that he is now a part of. Being a traveller himself, he looks forward to seeing what impact the Muskoka Foundation’s network can have in various different communities in the world. You can contact Daniel via email at: daniel-at-TheMuskokaFoundation.org | ||
 | Ashish & Richa Agarwal Ashish and Richa are both from India and are passionate travelers. They're also Muskoka Ambassadors for India. Ashish and Richa have traveled in India extensively and have been married for the last two years and are looking forward to their adventures across the globe. Ashish is working as a Product Manager and Richa is a Media Professional. Ashish brings many skills to the Muskoka Foundation like IT, Business Management and Photography and Richa excels at Healthcare and Nutrition. Their next trip will be to Jaipur, Rajasthan to shortlist partners for the Muskoka Foundation. | ||
 | Mike Welch Mike Welch is a Bay Area California native currently living in Bangkok and the Muskoka Ambassador for Thailand. In 2010 he traded in a corporate America life for one of adventure, travel, volunteering, studying and teaching. He is now teaching English at the university level and studying in an International MBA program in Bangkok. When he is not in the classroom he enjoys traveling throughout Thailand as well as other countries in Southeast Asia and sharing his experiences on his website Go PowerKick! Mike is also a volunteer at the Mercy Centre in Bangkok, where he tutors kids in Math and English. You can read more about Mike and his adventures on his website. | ||
 | Sherry Ezhuthachan Give a big shout out to Sherry, our Travel Coordinator. After six years of saving, Sherry left her engineering and project management roles in the corporate world to follow her passions for travel and photography on an around-the-world journey. After 17 months of traveling both physical and emotional mileage she has rediscovered her passion for women's rights and social entrepreneurship. She is now figuring out how to combine her skills and passion to drive change for the issues she cares about. In the meantime, she hopes to inspire more people to grow via travel and use that growth to give back to the world. You can learn more about sherry, read her latest travel blog posts and find links to her photos here: http//about.me/sherryje
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Our Alumni
| Vicki Muylaert Vicki served as our Relationship Manager for Africa. Vicki joined Muskoka having recently completed a 48,361km overland journey from London to Cape Town with husband Nick in a 14-year-old Land Rover. She visited 33 countries, traveling across the Sahara, West Africa and through Central Africa before returning home on the West Coast of South Africa. You can read about her travels at www.langebaan-sunset.com. No stranger to charity work, Vicki has previously worked with the Reach for a Dream in South Africa and during her travels supported the charity Solar Sister an organisation that promotes female entrepreneurship via the sale of solar powered light products for the developing world. She promoted the work of the charity using a variety of media including photography, radio, podcast, Blogger, U-Tube & Twitter. Vicki has a professional background in Restaurant Management and has worked in the care and pensions industry. She has a keen interest in outdoor activities and enjoys exploring the remoter parts of the planet in a 4x4. Being fluent in Afrikaans enables her to communicate on a deeper level with local people in South Africa |
 | Eric V. Ibarra Eric V. Ibarra was our Global Photography Program manager. Eric is a self-taught, Los Angeles based photographer. He founded Las Fotos Project, (www.lasfotosproject.org), a nonprofit organization empowering Latina youth through photography. Eric has facilitated two remarkable photography programs in downtown Los Angeles, California and Guanajuato, Mexico.
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 | Ileana LaTorre and Efrain Martinez Ileana and Efrain were the Program Coordinators for all of our partnerships in Latin America, from Mexico down to Chile. They have run several successful photography and Capoeira programs with youth throughout Mexico and Central America and the youth are very attached to them! Ileana and Efrain are also great travelers and have started MotoNomadas-Explorando el Sur, an incredible journey of riding a motorcycle (Morcega) with a sidecar (Morceguinho) across Central and South America (www.motonomadas.com). While Ileana and Efrain achieve one of their biggest dreams, they would like to contribute their part to the less fortunate, by raising awareness and funds to help street kids in Latin America to get education, food and clothing. Ileana was born and raised in Puerto Rico, finished her Bachelor Degree in Environmental Science in 2004, and was motivated to continue and finished a Master Degree in Hydrogeology (2008). Through all these years of study, Ileana always envisioned traveling around the world to truly appreciate some of the major natural settings and most importantly the cultures. Efrain is a Biologist born and raised in Colombia, where he used to participate in different outdoor activities, including mountain biking, rock climbing, camping, and performing POI (fire spinning). After finishing his college studies in 2004, he moved to Charleston, South Carolina with the hard mission of learning English and working as a Biologist in a foreign country. Ileana and Efrain met at the Charleston, SC Capoeira group where they realized their joint passion of exploring the world and traveling the Americas on a motorcycle while “doing good as they go.”
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| Catherine Gargan Catherine worked as our Global Photography Program Manager. She was born and raised in New York, however she has also lived in Florence, Prague and most recently Sydney. After almost 2 years in Australia she moved back to New York this past November to continue her career. She has worked in magazines as a Photo Editor for the past 5 years for titles such as Men’s VOGUE, Gotham and InStyle Australia. Travel and Photography are Catherine’s two greatest passions. She picked up her first camera at 10 and hasn’t put it down since. She has a BFA from NYU in photography and imaging. When she isn’t working, she’s exploring the world. She has been to over 25 countries and just finished up a tour of Southeast Asia this past September. Catherine hopes to do her first Muskoka trip at the end of the year in either Africa or South America. |
 | Brian Croak Brian served as Muskoka's Traveler Relations Manager and was reponsible for everything from recruiting and vetting new travelers, to advising and routing existing travelers. Brian came to the foundation with a hope for a positive impact on the world around him. Brian has traveled extensively through the USA and Canada, and brings that passion for travel and experiencing the world with him. He has a Masters Degree from Chaminade University of Hawaii, and a BA from Colorado State University. His professional background is as an experienced Air Force Reserves Officer, and Clinical Chaplain Counselor for the local State Hospital. He also has over twenty years of experience in off-road and backwoods vehicle travel, has spent a great deal of time exploring the four wheel drive roads of the USA, and guiding others on trips and route planning. Due to his significant time in the American wilderness, and his father's life long love of photography, Brian is also an avid amateur photographer, outdoors man, and back woods camper.
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| Nathan Stone |
