Meet Via's Staff

Elisa Sabatini
President

Elisa became President of Via International in 1998, when it was still called Los Ninos. In 2005, she oversaw both the formation of Los Ninos de Baja California, an independent Mexican non-profit, and the transition of the U.S. organization to Via International. She continues to serve as President of both entities.

Elisa brings years of experience working throughout Latin America with an expertise in micro-finance and community development. She continues to oversee the expansion of our educational travel program, now partnering with over 60 universities and high schools nationwide, with the end goal of making Via International a self-sustaining community development organization. Most recently, she has worked to develop Corporate Social Responsibility programming providing relevant volunteer opportunities for local businesses.




John Fanestil
Executive Director

A native of San Diego, John Fanestil is a graduate of Dartmouth College, Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and the Claremont School of Theology. In 2017, he earned the Ph.D. in History from the University of Southern California, specializing in the history of early America.

John has worked for decades in movements for social justice, beginning with his work in the Central American peace movement. From 2007 to 2014, he was Executive Director of the San Diego Foundation for Change, the local chapter of a national philanthropic network called The Funding Exchange. Since 2006, John has convened the Friends of Friendship Park, a coalition of local stakeholders advocating for public access to the historic meeting place overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the border between San Diego and Tijuana. Since 2011, he has worked with friends from Tijuana to convene El Faro: The Border Church, a weekly celebration of communion at Friendship Park. He has spoken to hundreds of groups and dozens of media outlets from around the world about the history of Friendship Park and the U.S.-Mexico borderlands.




Rigo Reyes
Director of Community Development

As Community Development Director, Rigo Reyes develops and coordinates community engagement and leadership training for residents in marginal areas of San Diego and Tijuana and manages our Border Immersion program for students visiting San Diego. He is a long-time social justice advocate whose work is rooted in early childhood experiences growing up on the U.S.-Mexico border, attending United Farm Workers of America rallies and listening to Cesar Chavez while playing marbles. When he was 12-years-old he rode his bike 17 miles each way from his San Ysidro neighborhood to San Diego’s Logan Heights to witness the land take-over of Chicano Park, and has been a strong community empowerment advocate ever since. Reyes has been a member of the Chicano Park Steering Committee for nearly four decades, has been lowriding since the mid-1970s, and is a founding member of the Amigos Car Club.





Gladys Esponda
Executive Assistant

Gladys serves as the Executive Assistant for Via International’s staff. She is a non-profit advocate, with over 15 years of experience supporting multiple organizations addressing the most pressing issues facing our communities. She has learned that in order to help others and improve their quality of life, we must engage in our community, build strong alliances, and work in collaboration and partnership. Gladys loves dogs, music and tennis.












Gabriel Reed
Director of Education

Gabriel serves as the Director of Education and Voluntourism working to expand Via International’s university partnerships by fostering increased education and community engagement through our Volunteer Travel Programs. Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Philosophy, Aesthetics, and Art Theory from the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts. Gabriel’s experience includes working as an international educator with a background in non-profit management, community activism, and a continuing creative practice as a professional artist.










Joanna SalazarHarris
Director of Resource Development 

Joanna joined the Via family in May 2013 as our Resource Development Director. Joanna holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations from UCSD and has worked in cross-border collaboration and infrastructure planning for 20 years. Joanna is passionate about empowering individuals to be their own best advocate and believes that civic engagement is key to a thriving community. She is an avid gardener, urban bee-keeper and mom of two young boys. Joanna is the main contact for foundations, corporations and individual donors and leads our Bee-hive Build program in the San Diego area.







 
Aida Amador
Communications Coordinator

Aida is the storyteller at Via International, creating a better understanding of the community impact of Via’s programs through videos, photos, and written compilations. She studied Communication at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California and serves as the liaison between Via International and their partner in Tijuana México Los Niños de Baja California A.C. for press and media events. She loves to travel, dance, and is the proud mother of a baby boy.











Angela Leal
Community Engagement Coordinator
Angela is a Community and Economic Development Americorps VISTA member, in partnership with the Mulvaney Center at the University of San DIego. During her time at Via International, she hopes to develop monthly events for community members to gather and for them to build a stronger relationship with Via. Angela was born and raised in Stockton, California. In this agricultural county, she started working at a young age alongside her family on her grandpa’s small farm. These early experiences shaped her ideologies and work ethic. In 2014 she moved to San Diego to attend the University of San Diego, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Philosophy. Her time at USD sparked in her an interest in Social Justice and Human Rights, that she hopes will lead to a career. Read Angela's Interview!









Meet Via's Board of Directors


Dr. Phillip Hadley - San Diego, CA 
Chairman

Phil Hadley brings more than four decades of experience to Via through his extensive background as a teacher and administrator in independent secondary schools. His academic background includes a PhD in Latin American History from the University of Texas. During his career as an educator Phil served as headmaster of boarding and day schools in several U.S. states and directed study programs in Mexico. Through his participation with planning and implementing student service programs Phil brings practical experience to the board. While Phil’s professional background make him particularly interested in the organization's education programs, he enthusiastically committed to Via’s full range of activities.
Raquel Palma - San Diego, CA

Although Raquel recently joined our Board of Directors, she comes to the position with a long history of having served the organization.  Raquel worked within the organization for 19 years before retiring, then continued her connection with Via in recent years through volunteer service at our headquarters in San Diego.  As a newly elected Via Board Member, her hope is to make a contribution by pushing Via forward with progressive strides to meet common goals in the community. Having grown up in Logan Heights (where Via’s offices are located), she is deeply connected to the community and issues that make Barrio Logan unique and is excited to now serve on the board of a highly respected organization in this community.  Raquel’s personal history with the organization, the community, and her previous work in the private sector all make her a wonderful addition to the Via Board of Directors. When not doting on her kids and grandkids, you can find Raquel reading, drawing, in a yoga class or traveling the world! Read Raquel's Board Highlight Interview.




Andrew Morikawa - Blacksburg, VA 

As a Via International board member, Andy brings to the role years of experience gained as a career non-profit leader and founding director of the Community Foundation of the New River Valley. Andy has more than four decades of experience working with nonprofit boards as both a trustee and a CEO, as well as a consultant. Andy is currently IPG Senior Fellow at the Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance (IPG), where he serves in the design and development of the Institute’s Community Voices program. Community Voices is a dialogue and research initiative that engages leaders of innovative social change in dialogue with community leaders, faculty, and students. He is also supporting the “Dialogue on Race” and “Conversation New River Valley”, two innovative, community-wide efforts for social change in his home community, Virginia’s New River Valley. Andy has also taught for Virginia Tech’s Urban Affairs and Planning Department and is served on the Board for Community Housing Partners, a leader in affordable housing serving a seven state area in the southeastern US.




Dr. Elizabeth Reed - San Diego, CA

Dr. Elizabeth Reed is Associate Professor of global health at San Diego State University and Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. Trained in social epidemiology, she conducts research related to the intersection of gender inequality, poverty, and health. Specifically, she focuses her research on the social and economic factors influencing gender-based violence and sexual/reproductive health outcomes, including HIV/STI as well as adolescent and unintended pregnancy. She uses the findings of her research to support the development of public health programming to promote economic opportunity, health, and safety. Her research is based in the US, Latin America, South Asia, and Africa.







Walter Ludlow - San Diego, CA






Advisors


Dr. Nancy McGehee - Blacksburg, VA 

Nancy has been working in the area of tourism development since the 1990's. She received an MS in Tourism Management from North Carolina State University in 1991, worked for the Appalachian Tourism Research and Development Center from 1991-1994, then received both an MS and PhD in Sociology from Virginia Tech in 1999. Her research in volunteer tourism has focused on the complex relationship between the host community, volunteer organizations, and the volunteer tourist. Her other long-term project involves raising her two children, both 12 year olds, named Grace and Spencer, along with her husband Jim.






Ambassadors 

Ralph and Cheryl Broetje 

Fred Clark

Cain Family

Gotkowitz Family

Don and Virginia Kreuzberger 

Jeanette Leehr