¡HOLA!
Meet the Puentes Abroad Team
Ann Noguer, CEO and Founder
Ann has been building bridges between businesses, people, cultures, and age groups for many years, and she has brought this passion and vision to her role as CEO and Founder of Puentes Abroad. Ann was previously the Regional Director for Brazil and Argentina of TerraCycle, On-Site Director of the Boston College Study Abroad Program in Argentina, the Associate Development Director of the Asociación por los Derechos Civiles in Argentina, and the Associate Director of the Thomas J. Watson Foundation in New York City. Ann graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton University and has a graduate degree in Nonprofit Management from Universidad de San Andrés. She also completed nonprofit leadership programs with Princeton Project 55, NYU’s Wagner School, and United Way of NYC. Whenever possible, Ann visits her hometowns of Memphis, Tennessee, and Little Rock, Arkansas, to renew her southern accent.
Madison purnell, senior program MANAGEr
Madison is passionate about cultural exchange, learning languages, and experiencing all that Buenos Aires has to offer. Madison graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles with a degree in Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Environmental Science and a minor in Geography. She studied abroad in Buenos Aires during her undergraduate university studies and had such a wonderful experience that she decided to move to Latin America after her graduation. She taught English in Colombia and then returned to Buenos Aires, where she managed teams in the tech industry. She loves exploring new restaurants and bars in the city, drinking mate in the park, and learning new porteño slang.
Emily Torcivia, Partnerships manager
Emily has been fascinated with cultural exchange and travel for as long as she can remember. After completing her own study abroad experience in Buenos Aires, she decided to move to the city full time upon graduating from Lehigh University, where she majored in Global Studies and minored in Latin American Studies and Spanish. It was in Argentina that she began teaching English as a second language and became engrossed in the culture and life of Buenos Aires. Emily has also worked as a Media Project Coordinator for Transperfect, where she helped provide language and technology solutions for businesses all over the world. In her spare time, you can find her working alongside her husband on their vineyard in Tunuyán, Mendoza, taking care of her many animals, and tending to her extensive vegetable garden.
Kelly Williamson, Program manager
Kelly considers herself to be a global citizen. As an American, born in Brazil and raised in Buenos Aires, she has benefited greatly from cultural exchange and travel throughout her academic and professional career. Kelly attended the University of New Mexico where she received a Bachelors in Conservation Biology and played Division 1 volleyball. Her thirst for adventure and her competitive spirit led her to two years of professional volleyball in Austria and Spain. In 2016, Kelly became Puentes Abroad’s first Program Assistant, facilitating the In-Person Internship Program and Immersive Trips. She then continued her studies in Ireland where she completed a Masters in Sustainable Development Practice at Trinity College Dublin. After a few years of environmental advocacy work in Austin, Texas, she felt called back to Buenos Aires where she rejoined the Puentes Team. She loves that this work allows her to foster experiential learning, cultural curiosity, and global solidarity. In her spare time, Kelly enjoys playing beach volleyball and working with various foundations on reforestation, biodiversity conservation, and environmental education programs.
Lali Pereira, Program Coordinator
Lali is from Buenos Aires and is passionate about the city where she grew up. She graduated from the University of Buenos Aires with a degree in Political Science and is continuing her studies in her newfound passion of Graphic Design. Lali has worked in diverse areas of the city and national government, from transportation to sports, always exploring her curiosity for the city's history and culture and her desire to learn something new. She has also worked in event planning and public relations. In her free time, Lali enjoys going to museums and exploring coffee shops, and she likes to create experiences to help people fall in love with Buenos Aires for the first time or from a new perspective.
Agustín méndez posadas, program assistant
Agustín was born in the city of Salta, “La Linda”. Growing up in a touristic city gave him a strong appreciation for intercultural exchange and the value of hospitality. With this interest in mind, and with a plan to pursue a diplomatic career, he moved to Buenos Aires and graduated from Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA) with a degree in International Relations. In 2023, Agustín did an exchange program at the University of Sciences Po in Paris, where he met people from all over the world and learned a lot about living in a foreign country and going outside of his comfort zone. Agustín loves to walk around Buenos Aires and explore new places to drink coffee and hear independent music. In his free time, he loves to bike in the city and enjoy all the spontaneous things to do in Buenos Aires.
Benito Bolivar, Intern Mentor
Benito was born and raised in Venezuela and has lived in Buenos Aires for the past 15 years. He is a certified coach specialist in personal and professional development, working with students and professionals across Latin America, North America, and Europe for the last 10 years. He is passionate about culture and the arts in general and enjoys studying and learning new things every day. For his hobbies, he is a writer and amateur photographer, and he loves animals, meeting new people, and creating networks to collaborate.
Julieta Lande, intern mentor
Julieta Lande was born in Buenos Aires and enjoys the city’s cultural richness and diversity. Passionate about travel and cultural exchange, her work is shaped by encounters between different histories and identities. She holds a degree in Arts from the University of Buenos Aires and a Master’s in Artistic and Visual Practice Research from the University of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. She worked in non-formal education, leading recreational groups and participating in social projects. She serves as Head of Communications and Press at Parque de la Memoria and also mentors artistic projects independently. With more than ten years of experience in the audiovisual and media field, she has collaborated with Cartoon Network, Boomerang Latin America, Canal Encuentro, and the newspaper Página 12. She directed a short film and a feature-length documentary and is developing a new film project.
Michelle Carrere Seizer, Intern Mentor
Born and raised in Montevideo, Michelle is passionate about human rights and connecting people from different backgrounds. Her natural curiosity and love for storytelling led her to study social communication at Universidad Católica del Uruguay. During her studies and after graduation, Michelle worked with a variety of institutions in the private sector, government, and international organizations. This gave her a wide perspective of the workplace and helped her develop a diverse network. She discovered her passion for working with immigrants and refugees when she volunteered as a mentor at the Uruguayan government’s Syrian Refugee Resettlement program and coordinated the area of migration and intercultural education in the Uruguayan Ministry of Education and Culture. In 2020, Michelle continued her studies at the University of Denver, where she studied a Masters in International Studies with a focus on Human Rights and Public Diplomacy, through a Fulbright Scholarship. Pursuing a Master’s degree in the midst of a global pandemic was no easy feat. However, it proved to be a transformative learning experience, fostering resilience and a deeper understanding of how to respond to a world in crisis, while caring for herself and others. She currently works at the Universidad Católica del Uruguay’s Berit Center, where she combines many of her passions coordinating service learning projects that focus on youth participation, human rights education, and migration. In her free time, Michelle loves playing “fútbol” with friends, going to concerts, volunteering, and bike riding around the city.
Verónica Heler, Intern Mentor
Vero, originally from Buenos Aires, is passionate about fostering intercultural growth as a pathway to a profound and compassionate approach to building a better world. She holds a degree in Communication Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires and later completed a Master of Arts in Development Studies in the Netherlands, where she immersed herself in a global learning environment that transcended academic knowledge. With an extensive career in project management, international cooperation, and the development of cross-sectoral partnerships, Vero has worked with various local, national, and international organizations. As a former international volunteer for the United Nations in El Salvador, she not only had the opportunity to work in an international environment, but she also immersed herself in a different country and culture. Whenever she finds the time, Vero enjoys visiting her favorite cafés in Buenos Aires or exploring new ones. She delights in savoring a rich coffee, diving into a good book, listening to podcasts, taking courses, writing, or simply planning her next adventure.
Paula Kunin, Program Assistant
Paula is a vibrant globetrotter, born and based in Montevideo, Uruguay. Her passion for travel, music, and pistachio ice cream has taken her around the world. At 18 years old, she moved to Switzerland to study hospitality at the renowned Les Roches, where she helped set a Guinness World Record for the most nationalities in a swimming pool. Her international journey has led her to live in the United States, Mexico, Spain, and England, experiences that deepened her love for cultural exchange. She later earned a Master’s in Cultural Management from the Universidad Carlos III in Madrid, Spain, combining academic insights with real-world global experiences. A proud fan of the Uruguayan national football team, she also organizes trips and activities for the Silver generation at Turisteando. At Puentes, Paula supports students with warmth, creativity, and a truly international perspective.
¡SUMATE!
If you are interested in joining the Puentes Abroad team, please complete our interest form and also follow us on Facebook to find out about future job opportunities.
Who is our ideal team member? Excellent group management know-how, outstanding organizational skills, strong problem solving abilities, and interpersonal tact are what we seek. We always strive to do our best and constantly improve our programs, so a proactive and innovative approach is necessary. There are no typical days at Puentes, which is part of what makes our work so exciting; each day brings a new challenge, a new project, or a new adventure, so we jive with individuals who embrace this type of dynamic and cheerful approach to work. We value and respect diversity. We are multilingual and multicultural people who are able to flow seamlessly between Spanish and English and between Latin American and other world cultures. If this sounds like you, we look forward to connecting soon!
“There are two ways of spreading light:
to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”