New Volunteer and Special Programs Coordinator
Nydia recently joined our team as a Volunteer and Special Programs Coordinator. She is a preschool teacher but her career has been focused on health institutions and administration for non-profits.
During the war in Nicaragua in the 1980’s, Nydia lived in the USA where she graduated from high school and due to her excellent grades, was awarded a scholarship to study at Miami Dade Community College where she graduated in Early Childhood Education/Child Development. She worked for three years at Miami International Airport Pre-School in Miami, FL where she was initially an intern and then a Teacher’s Assistant. She was a Cashier Supervisor and a Trainer for 30 sales associates at Miami International Airport. “My crew always got the first place in customer service among 20 other groups.”
She returned to Nicaragua in 1995 and worked as a Logistics Coordinator for a USAID financed project (Institutional Strengthening Educational Project). Her tasks included creating interpersonal relationships with 50 NGOs and 12 governmental institutions, organizing workshops, fairs and events. While working on this project, the Director offered her a scholarship to obtain a certificate in Technical Business Solutions (a one year degree at Georgetown University) where she graduated with honors. “One of the main goals of this degree was to identify a current problem in the organizations and find a solution using Total Quality Principles. This has helped me to identify problems in the different organizations where I work and work towards a solution. I use it in my personal and professional life as well. I consider myself to be a very well organized, detailed and goal oriented person.”
Nydia has 20 years of experience organizing workshops and events for different organizations including two former U.S. Ambassadors. She worked as a Bilingual Team Assistant in different sectors (health, education, private and public sector, civil society and others) for various prestigious organizations, such as financed projects through USAID and The World Bank.
At The World Bank she held two positions: Bilingual Team Assistant and HIV/AIDS in the Workplace Program Coordinator. While at The World Bank, in 1996, she completed a one-year certification at the Universidad Austral de Chile in Control and Prevention of HIV and Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
“My goal is to make volunteer’s experiences unforgettable. There is so much to learn from our staff, patients and community and so much to learn from each volunteer’s exchange experience too.”