Our Team

Josh lived in Latin America for over eight years since 2001.  After studying abroad in Costa Rica and volunteering in Ecuador as an English teacher, Josh arrived to Chile in 2005 as the Field Director for WorldTeach, a Harvard-affiliated NGO working in International Education.  Josh has been an active member in the educational and nonprofit communities of Santiago, having served as both an educational consultant to and board member of the Instituto Chileno Norteamericano.  Josh studied Political Science and Spanish at North Central College and has an MA in Spanish Literature and Linguistics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison .

Brooke has a long history of community service in Chile, having led volunteer trips to northern Chile in high school and studying abroad at the Universidad de Concepción as part of his B.A. degree program in Latin American Studies at Wesleyan University. In 2005, he began collaborating with Luke Winston and the VE Global team in his role as the President of Community Outreach Committee for Business News Americas, where he was working as Product Manager. Subsequently, Brooke became VE’s second Executive Director of VE Global from 2008-2010. In addition to his duties as Executive Director, Brooke volunteered once a week at the children’s home Hogar Pléyades. He graduated from the Darden School of Business with an MBA in 2012 and is now working as a product marketing manager for Microsoft Corporation.

Jonah Berman served as a VE volunteer from December 2005 through April 2006 in the Casa de Guaguas of Hogar Esperanza. He joined the board of directors upon returning back to the U.S. in May of 2006, and served as board president from 2008 through 2012. Jonah has extensive experience in development, program management and leadership training, having worked for a variety of non-profits including Action for Children in Chicago, IL, United Way of Massachusetts Bay in Boston, MA, and the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics at Boston College. Currently, he is a Senior Account Manager in Online Sales in the Cambridge, Massachusetts office of Google, Inc., where he works with large businesses to help them meet their advertising and marketing goals. Jonah holds a bachelor of arts in sociology and a bachelor of music in jazz performance, saxophone, from the Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio, and an MBA from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College.

Luke was awarded Harvard University’s Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Fellowship in 2003, which brought him to Santiago to work and live in the children’s home Hogar Esperanza for one year. Witnessing the need for volunteer support in many of Santiago’s children’s homes beyond Hogar Esperanza, Luke teamed up with six Chileans to create VE Global. Although he originally planned a stay of only 12 months, Luke stayed a total of five years, serving as the founding executive director of VE until he returned to the United States in July of 2008. Hoping to combine his bachelors studies in chemistry & physics with his international experience, Luke transitioned to a career in sustainability. He has since worked with the Environmental Defense Fund on international climate policy and GreenOrder Management Consulting to help Fortune 500 companies develop and implement sustainability strategies. Luke now works as a strategy consultant for Siemens Corporation. Luke holds a Masters in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government and a Masters in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.

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An original member of el equipo that founded VE in 2004, Pablo Jorquera remains actively involved in the organization today.  Pablo lived at Hogar Esperanza, VE’s first Chilean organizational partner for two years, volunteering by providing hands-on support to the Hogar Esperanza team.  Inspired by the collaborative efforts of foreign and Chilean volunteers alike, Pablo helped to create the VE community.  With a degree in Mathematics and Education in 2000, Pablo worked for several years at an educational printing company on math curriculum and instruction design.  In 2010, Pablo joined the team of Creamás, a nonprofit organization providing educational support to children and youth at risk by means of professional volunteers that give support to underperforming schools in vulnerable neighborhoods throughout Chile.  In 2015, Pablo returned to the classroom at Colegio Santa Marta in Santiago.  As VE Chile’s Board Vice President, Pablo continues providing active support in organizational administration and management today.

María  José has been involved in volunteering and social work activities since high school.  Understanding the reality of families living in informal settlements, Mapuche communities in southern Chile and finding ways to join forces with others that are passionate about service, motivated her to study social work. Fundación Pléyades was the first social service organization that opened its doors to María José when she was hired on as social worker and volunteer and project coordinator, where she worked from 2005-2008.  At Pléyades, María José became involved with VE Global volunteers and was struck by their enthusiasm.  She became  involved with VE instantly and actively committed to supporting its work.  In 2009, María José began to work at Fundación Coanil, a Chilean social service organization serving children, youth and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  She served as their Volunteer Coordinator for the Metropolitan Region through 2011.  Convinced that the support given by VE volunteers can generate real, lifelong change, María José continues to be involved as Treasurer of VE Global Chile today. Currently, María José is teaching yoga in Santiago and is working on nature and environmental-based projects that create spaces for social sharing.

Graduating with a law degree from the Universidad Católica, Alejandro Rojas is a lawyer and currently works as a legal advisor in the Chilean Ministry of the Interior. He became involved with VE Global through his work at the law firm Morales y Besa, Ltda.  In 2007, Alejandro was a member of the initial team assigned to provide VE Global with probono legal counsel in Chile.  Despite his transition from the law firm into his new role as Legal Advisor in the Chilean Government’s Ministry of the Interior in 2010, Alejandro’s passion for civil service, equality of opportunity and volunteerism convinced him to stay involved with VE.  After spending a year in London where he completed his Master’s in Law, Alejandro has returned to work with Morales y Besa, Ltda., law firm that still generously provides probono legal counsel to VE.  Alejandro currently serves as VE Chile’s Board Secretary.

Jen Hendlisz served as a VE volunteer from March to August of 2004 at Hogar Esperanza and was involved in establishing the foundation for the creation of VE Global. Since then, she has remained very involved with Chile in a variety of capacities. She has served previously as Treasurer of the Board and is currently Board Vice-President. She advises and supports the board and organization on HR related matters including recruitment and performance management. Jen also returned to Chile in 2006 to collect data on her Masters thesis, which was based on VE Global. Jen holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University and an MSc in Human Resources from HEC Montreal. She currently works in Human Resources at Bombardier Aerospace.

Ilana volunteered at Hogar Esperanza in 2004 and was so marked by her experience that she helped in laying the foundations for the creation of VE Global. She has been a member of the US Board of Directors since its inception and remains involved in the volunteer application and selection process. In her spare time, Ilana is a pediatric physical therapist. She earned her BSc in Physical Therapy at McGill University in 2003 and her doctorate of Physical Therapy at New York University in 2006 and is currently working in acute care pediatrics at Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina.

Mariah grew up in North Yarmouth, Maine, USA, and studied creative writing and photography, graduating from Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland in 2007. After college, Mariah volunteered with Safe Passage (Camino Seguro) in Guatemala, where she worked in early childhood education. With her extensive volunteer and leadership experience, Mariah signed on as Director of Volunteer Relations in 2009, after beginning with VE as a volunteer in December 2008. After 5 years of service with VE Global in the field, Mariah returned to the US in 2014 and currently works in Safe Passage’s US office on development initiatives and sponsorships.   Mariah continues to contribute to VE through her role on the Advisory Council since 2014.