Our People
The Children Change Colombia team is made up of our Board of Trustees, staff and volunteers based in the UK and Colombia.
See our organisational chart to find out more about the structure of our team, or read more about them, our patron and our Board of Trustees below.
Our staff and volunteers
Ángela Carreño
Executive Director
Liliana Rodríguez
Programmes Manager
Chinwe Udenze
Finance Manager
Victoria Cornelio
Communications Officer
Nick Rennie
IT Volunteer
Patricia Montenegro
Pedagogical Coordinator
Carolina Takegami
Coordinator of Pedagogical Processes
Wilson Herazo
Psychologist
Lucie Prior
Language Volunteer Coordinator
Gabriela Castañeda
Assistant to Executive Director
Kevin Staaden Garavito
Psychologist
Marcela Gutierrez Tamayo
Specialist in sexual and productive rights
Sira Stoehramnn
Programmes Coordinator
Gizeth Garcia
Programme Assistant
Harnisha Uppal
Fundraising Intern
María Mónica Gutierréz
Main Facilitator and Coordinator
Laura Rondon
Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Officer
Yvonne Velásquez
Outreach Coordinator
Maria del Pilar Paz Gonzalez
Teaching Assistant
Shaun Parker
Volunteer Education and Technology Coordinator
William Bunce
Communications & Outreach Intern
Gabriela Vera
English Teacher
Carolina Avila
Research Volunteer
Henry Fernandez
Employability and entrepreneurship teacher
Arthur Mawer
Programmes Intern
Meet Our Patron: Fernando Montaño
Born in Buenaventura, one of Colombia’s most dangerous cities, Fernando is now Principal Guest Ballet Dancer and Honoris Causa Doctor of the Arts at the University of Bath, two-time winner of the Latin-UK Awards and a judge for Colombia’s Dancing With the Stars.
He is passionate about the transformative power of dance, and as our Patron he hopes he can make a difference to the lives of children and young people across Colombia.
Meet Our Patron: Fernando Montaño
Born in Buenaventura, one of Colombia’s most dangerous cities, Fernando is now Principal Guest Ballet Dancer and Honoris Causa Doctor of the Arts at the University of Bath, two-time winner of the Latin-UK Awards and a judge for Colombia’s Dancing With the Stars.
Our Board of Trustees
Carolina Giraldo
Chair of the Board
Carolina is an experienced professional with a deep passion for social development and sustainable food production. She is the Co-Founder and Co-Director of LaSierra.co, a cacao journey driven by origin. With over 15 years of experience in public policy, program design, and livelihood economics, Carolina joined our Board in 2018, and in 2019, she was appointed Chair. Carolina began her collaboration with us, believing that an organization like CCC is the ideal way for Colombians living in the UK to give back to their home country. In her words, “The most rewarding experience is volunteering with a committed charity like Children Change Colombia. The team and the entire community supporting this organization make life a truly fulfilling journey.”
Dr Marilyn Thomson
Member of the Board
Marilyn has carried out research for grassroots organisations in Latin America for many years. She completed a PhD at the University of London with the thesis ‘The Politics of Domestic Service’, a case study of domestic workers in Mexico. As Gender Adviser at Save the Children she worked closely with staff and partners in Colombia for over 7 years, and was also a founding member and co-director of the Central America Women’s Network, which supported women's organisations in the region. She currently works as an independent consultant on gender, diversity and development issues.
Felipe Alviar-Baquero
Member of the Board
Felipe has worked in some of the most prestigious law firms in the world and has been the Director at INDECS Consulting since 2014, where he advises international finance institutions, government and organisations on large scale infrastructure projects. Felipe has a passion for community projects, and was part of the International Senior Lawyers Project – United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Christian Aid and Save the Children. He has been a member of our Board of Trustees since 2009.
Richard Drean
Honorary Treasurer
Richard was appointed a Trustee in 2016 and became our Treasurer soon after. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse and spent most of his career working for Lloyds Bank. As their Finance Director of the International Division, he managed a significant local banking subsidiary in Colombia. During his visits to Colombia, he was able to meet new people and to understand some of the difficulties that the country faces. He is pleased to now be able to give something back to the country.
Richard McColl
Member of the Board
Richard is a British born, Colombia-based author, journalist and hotelier. He has lived in Colombia for over 15 years, and holds a PhD in Social and Human Sciences from Universidad Pontificia Javeriana, Bogotá. He now spends time with his family between Bogotá and the colonial town of Mompós. His work has appeared in dozens of international publications such as The Wall Street Journal and the BBC, amongst many others. His award-winning weekly podcast 'Colombia Calling', which provides vast information for visitors to Colombia, can be found on all relevant streaming platforms.
Fernando Caviedes
Member of the Board
Fernando is a Colombian entrepreneur. With 15 years of experience in the digital sector, he is currently the CEO of Iridian, a brand agency. He has an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a certificate in Digital Strategy from MIT. Fernando is passionate about education and has served as a professor of strategic planning. Fernando is passionate about the importance of being able to help generate a more balanced society and a more promising future for disadvantaged children.
Alex Jones
Member of the Board
Alex is the Co-Founder and Director of Red Tree Study, an education travel agency which provides summer programs in Colombia. An expert in international education, she collaborates with universities, embassies, cultural organisations and language schools to build new courses exploring the social impact of the conflict and the recent peace process in Colombia. She has lived and worked in Colombia, and looks forward to returning each summer to oversee Red Tree Study’s courses, and is honoured to support Children Change Colombia to help protect children’s rights.
Cori Hollenbach
Member of the Board
Cori has a 20-year career in communications, during which she enjoyed guiding multinational businesses in creating meaningful CSR initiatives. She has implemented award-winning global and national public health campaigns for agencies in Washington DC, New York and London. Born in Bogotá and temporarily cared for as an infant by one of our partners, Fundación CRAN, Cori knows first-hand how access to education and equality can transform a child’s life. Cori is now an independent consultant based in Kent.
