Casa Staff

Jennifer has been the Director of Casa Marianella’s Emergency Shelter since 1998. She received a degree in Social Philosophy from UC Santa Cruz and a Masters degree in ESL from UT Austin.

Melissa is originally from northern Indiana. She graduated with a B.A. in Spanish and International Studies from Indiana University-Bloomington. She has studied in Costa Rica and Barcelona, Spain. Her travels include: hiking and exploring Costa Rica, touring around Europe and participating in delegations along the US-Mexico border.

Addy graduated with an Economics and Communications degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He has studied abroad in Paris, Texas and Costa Rica. Before coming to Casa Marianella, Addy ‘worked’ as a children’s ski instructor at Breckenridge, CO for 3 ski seasons. Addy is an Assistant Director and Volunteer Coordinator at Casa Marianella.

Katy was born and raised in Dallas, TX. She graduated from the University of Kansas with degrees in Journalism and Art History. She has traveled to Spain, Costa Rica, Mexico, Chile, and studied in Argentina.

Bridget is originally from outside of Chicago. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Latin American Studies. She has traveled in Bolivia, Argentina, and China, and studied in Peru and Chile.

Erin is originally from Kansas. She graduated from the University of Kansas with degrees in English and Spanish literature with an emphasis in Latin American studies. She has traveled and studied in Spain and Mexico and worked in Madrid as an English teacher.

Originally from Oklahoma, Emily studied Culture and Politics with a concentration in Immigration Studies at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Although she has neither traveled nor studied abroad in a Spanish-speaking country, she did spend a week in Puerto Rico consuming epic quantities of fried plantains and mallorcas.

Christopher is originally from New Jersey. He graduated from Brooklyn College with degrees in literature and music. He has traveled in Spain, Ecuador and Brazil, studied in Argentina and worked in El Salvador.

A native to Austin, Jonathan graduated with a B.A. in History, Spanish, and Latin American Studies from UT Austin. He has lived and studied in Spain and Brazil and has traveled in South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Jonathan has worked at Casa since the summer of 2007 and has previously worked as full-time Assistant Director and ESL Program Director. He is currently serving as part-time Assistant Director.

Born in Bolivia, Hector grew up in Peru and Colombia, and lived in Germany for 30 years. He received his Diploma of Traditional Chinese Medicine at “Shou Zhong” in Germany(2001) and his Masters Degree in Oriental Medicine at “AOMA” in Austin, TX. He has worked at the “Clinic for Oriental Medicine” in Casa Marianella for 3 years.

Joshua was born in Austin and grew up in western Bastrop County. He graduated from Southwestern University in 2002 with degrees in Spanish and Women´s Studies. His studies included a year (2000-2001) at La Universidad San Francisco de Quito. Upon graduation, he returned to Ecuador where he taught at Colegio Internacional SEK and worked as a production assistant for Casa de la Danza.

Margo Johnson is originally from Tucson, Arizona. She graduated from Arizona State University with an honors degree in psychology. She has studied in the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Hungary and Romania and done non-profit work and research in Ecuador, Peru, and Mexico.

Born in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mayra was raised in Texas City, TX. She recently graduated from Southwestern University with a degree in Psychology and Sociology. She has traveled in Spain and Scotland, and studied abroad in London.

Paula grew up in many places and came to Austin after high school to pursue a music degree from U.T., where she studied organ with Frank Speller and eventually received degrees in computer science and linguistics. She has lived for a month or two at a time in Tunisia, Egypt, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, and Mexico, and has travelled through many parts of Europe and Mexico.>