Our People
Estee
Founder
Estee is a problem-solver talented in building cross-sectoral relationships. A graduate of the Foster full-time MBA class of 2017 and recipient of three competitive fellowships, Estee has combined her passion for education and management by founding two flourishing educational start-ups with teams of 40+ instructors combined in both the United States and Paraguay. Her test prep company in Seattle has reached 300 students; her children’s non-profit in Paraguay has reached over 5,000.
An entrepreneurial thinker with relentless persistence, Estee has built a reputation for guiding businesses, organizations, and educational institutions in response to emerging threats and opportunities. She has provided consulting expertise to clients from more than ten Fortune-500 companies including Amazon and Microsoft and provided consulting and training to hundreds of educators and social workers during her five-years working in Paraguay with the Peace Corps and Superkids Foundation. Deliverables to clients have included white papers, SWOT analyses, market sizing and analysis, marketing plans, budgeting and financial planning, risk mitigation, policy revisal, internal and external branding analysis, performance and impact evaluation, and long-term strategy recommendations.
Our Staff
Ali
Executive Director
Aliana is the Executive Director of Superniños. She is 28 years old and has a degree in Psychology. She loves being in contact with nature, reading love books, writing poetry and traveling a lot. She loves animals and her favorite food is pizza. Ali's favorite game in Superniños is "coca, cocido". Her biggest dream is to create positive change in the community through education.
Victor
Vice Director
Victor is one of the funniest of the team. He loves the camps, making people laugh, travel and playing with the kids. His favorite phrase is “the best is yet to come.” He is an engineering student, and is in his fifth year, preparing for his thesis. Victor is our new Vice-Director this year, focusing on Superkids' operations.
Dalma
Program Coordinator
Dalma is a psychology student, and apart from working with Superniños since 2019, she is a mentor to young people in a youth movement, fostering leadership in them as well. She loves photography and painting, her secret is to move everyone through laughter and her wild imagination.
Nahuel
Nahuel is a super charismatic and happy young man. He likes to live moments with people that he considers special, he loves to play the guitar and act. His favorite value is "Be passionate." He wants to travel and see many places in the country and abroad. His dream is to meet people from different cultures and live unique experiences that mark his life.
Junyor
He loves drawing, hiking, camping and doing all kinds of outdoor activities. He loves traveling and visiting new places to meet new people, cultures and traditions, but above everything, he loves to make others laugh. He is passionate about community service, leadership, sociology and psychology. His greatest dream is to inspire others to do what they are passionate about, to excel, believe in themselves and fight for what they long to achieve.
Arthuro
Editor
Arthuro is the most lively and passionate of the team. He has so many talents, such as playing instruments, drawing and painting. He would love to work with city leaders to take action in society. He is a very fun person, and great to work with on a team.
Nati
Nati is a teacher in Spanish and Guaraní literature. What she does, she does it with love. She loves sunflowers. She longs to be light in people's lives and help improve the country's education.
Super-Mission Board
We could not do this amazing work without the help of our Board. These visionary experts are working hard in the US and around the globe on Superkids' behalf. They meet regularly with Estee and our Paraguayan advisory boards (both children and adults) to make sure we are always doing the best work possible.
Claire Stiglmeier
Claire is the co-chair of the Programming Committee and a Paraguayan adoptee. She served as an Education and Youth Development volunteer in Paraguay from 2011-2013, then lived in Paraguay for 4 more years as a teacher at the International School of Asunción. Claire recently graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University with a degree in International Education Development. She currently lives in NYC and coordinates educational services for child migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in the Bronx. She also leads tours back to Paraguay for adult adoptees and the people they love.
Brock Hurston
Brock is an RPCV who worked on the ground with Superkids during his time in Paraguay from 2017-2019. He currently lives in Nashville and is now in his third year as a member of the board. He currently serves on the community relations committee.
Laura Figueroa
Laura is a Returned Peace Corps Paraguay Volunteer and served as a Community Economic Development Specialist in Coronel Oviedo for two years. She first got involved with Superkids during its pilot program in 2016, when she rode around the whole town in her bicycle talking to schools about their experience with the program. Over the past 5 years, she has loved seeing how the organization has grown and witnessing how much joy the kids get from participating in Superkids. Laura will graduate from NYU School of Law this year and continue her career in public service.
Mel Witman
Mel is a Returned Peace Corps Paraguay Volunteer (2015-2017), and is on the Community Engagement Committee. She recently earned a Social Impact MBA from The Heller School at Brandeis University. She is currently working as a Consultant at Development Guild DDI, supporting nonprofits in greater Boston with fundraising, strategy, and executive searches.
Sylvie Reydams
Sylvie is a Returned Peace Corps Paraguay Volunteer (2014-2017) and a former teacher having taught for three years in the Greater New Orleans area. Sylvie graduated from the University of New Mexico with a degree in Political Science and Spanish, and received her MPA at the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington. She is originally from the DC metro area but now calls New Orleans home.
Sam Broner
Sam is the current Treasurer of the Board and a Software Engineer turned Product Manager at Microsoft. He has a lifelong interest in teaching and mentorship, which pushed him to become involved with Superkids. Sam is currently living in a combination of Seattle and NYC.
Corey Creedon
Corey is a member and Co-President of the Superkids Board of Directors. From 2012-2015, he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay. Corey has worked in youth leadership and service learning as a Global Program Leader in Costa Rica (2012) and the Dominican Republic (2016) with Rustic Pathways. Corey is currently an ORISE Research Fellow with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He holds a Master of Environmental Management degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies from Bates College.
Josh Perez
Jen Cuculich
Jen is a lawyer by training who got a teaching degree at night while working as a lawyer because of her passion for education. She worked in inner city schools as a teacher and curriculum developer before she, her PYan husband and their 3 young kids moved to Asunción last year. She brings her drive and grant-writing experience to our Growth and Development Team.
Lyla Shapiro
Lyla is a Returned Peace Corps Paraguay Volunteer and Board Member in the Programming Committee. She was a health education volunteer for two years and is now pursuing her masters in Public Health at Emory University. She loves all outdoor activities and is currently working on the COVID-19 response with the Georgia Department of Public Health.
New Board Members for 2021
Romy Natalia Goldberg
Romy is the author of two travel guidebooks to Paraguay. She has helped outlets such as “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown,” The Guardian and KCRW’s “Good Food,” discover the beauty of Paraguay’s culture and people. She resides in Texas where she continues to share about Paraguay via Discovering Paraguay on Facebook and Instagram.
Sarah Young
Sarah is a therapist and clinical supervisor in Chicago. She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic, in the Youth and Families sector. Sarah earned her MSW from the University of Michigan. Sarah is committed to promoting literacy, leadership, and resilience in children and adolescents.
Cass Staton
Cass served as a Youth Development Volunteer with Peace Corps Peru and now lives in Paraguay with her husband and two children. She works as a fundraising and grants consultant and has significant experience in nonprofit leadership.
Janelly Juarez
Janelly served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay from 2016-2018. Currently she is a program director for a nonprofit based in Southern California that that develops drug prevention initiatives at a grassroots level. She brings her high energy and passion for community empowerment.
Lilian Duarte
Lilian is an economist, and she is passionate about working in the management of social projects aimed at economic development and innovation. For more than 5 years, she has been dedicated to developing work spaces that promote collective intelligence and the internal growth of leaders with the aim of empowering communities to improve their quality of life.
Daniel Burt
Daniel is currently the General Manager of the Paraguayan Meats Chamber. He has previously worked in the non-profit sector in Paraguay and in the US, and has held public office in Paraguay as Under Secretary of Education for Youth Policy. Daniel has also taught high school and middle school English, History and Government.
Dylan Pierce
Dylan is a Returned Pace Corps Paraguay Volunteer. He served as an Environmental Education Volunteer in La Colmena from 2017-2019 and currently works for FHI 360 on the implementation of the State Department's English Access Program.
Jazmín Mora
Jazmín is a Paraguayan, born in Asunción. She has a BA in English Language Literature from the University of Kansas, and a Master's degree in International Educational Development from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied as a BECAL fellow. She currently works as Project Coordinator for Columbia University in New York in PNTE 2030 of the government of Paraguay.
Janett Villegas
Janett is a Christian Latina who loves adventure and sports. Janett is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who will serve on the 2021 Board of Directors. She currently works with babies and families to help them meet developmental milestones.
Eshan Dabak
Eshan is a member of the Executive Committee on the Board of Directors. He is a student at Yale Law School with a passion for educational equity and holds a bachelor's degree from UT Austin as well as master's degree from UW Seattle.
Daniel Brenner
Daniel is a Returned Peace Corps Paraguay volunteer and a member of the 2020 Board of Directors for Superkids. He served as a Community Economic Development volunteer in Ypacarai, Paraguay for two years. Currently he works for the City of New York as a Financial Analyst and is pursuing a Master's Degree in Public Policy from the Wagner School of Public Service at NYU.
Aleks Hulisz
Aleks is originally from Poland and moved to the US before middle school. She served as a Community Economic Development Peace Corps Volunteer in Encarnación, Paraguay. She joined Superkids in November, 2020, and is part of the Community Engagement Committee. She works as an Immigration Services Officer in San Francisco and after work she loves to Zumba.
Julio Cesar Aquino
Julio is an engineering student in Systems of Production, with experience in quality systems in companies related to the food industry. He has spent the last three years working in the logistics area of an international company. Julio volunteers with many organizations in his free time, largely focused on youth development, leadership and teamwork in bettering Paraguay. Julio believes firmly in the capacity of young people to generate positive change.
Lara Servian
Lara is a member of the Community Engagement Committee, and is based in Asuncion, Paraguay.
Kid Quotes
"It’s the power of children to change the world and the future."
"En el poder de los niños está cambiar el mundo y el futuro"
- Sofía, age 10, Superkid