Lois Abre

Lois Abre is a Cross Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. Coming from a multicultural background, her family relocated to Panama from France, Jamaica, and Barbados to work on the construction of the Panama Canal. She lived in Paris and has visited many countries in Europe and America. Spanish is her native language and she also speaks English, French and German. Ms. Abre is adept at reading and understanding cultural differences and communication styles to reach each person and to focus on a common task. She has a proven track record of helping others grow to reach their full potential and is recognized as being intuitive, results-oriented, reliable and adaptable. She worked for ten years as a language instructor and has taught Spanish, English, and French to international corporate customers. Ms. Abre was an intern in 2009 and 2010 at the Summer Institute of Intercultural Communications and has been actively working in the Cross-Cultural field with executive professionals and their families relocating to Panama. She has a Cum Laude Law and Political Science Degree and a Dean’s List Business Administration Degree, majoring in Banking and Finance. She is currently based in Panama City, Republic of Panama.

ISABEL ALTAMIRANO

Isabel Altamrano is a Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. She has over 10 years of experience in the relocation and consulting fields and has extensive international experience living overseas in the United States, Venezuela, Belgium, and Panama. She currently provides training programs for employees and their families relocating to other countries.

Ms. Altamirano holds a degree in economics from the Universidad del Pacifico in Lima, and a Master in Administration from IESA in Caracas, Venezuela. In addition, she received her MBA from the University of Leuven in Belgium. She also received the GMS (Global Mobility Specialist) certificate from the Worldwide Employee Relocation Council. Ms. Altamirano is bilingual in English and Spanish.

Salvador Rodríguez-Gil Batista

Salvador Rodriguez-Gil Batista is a Cross Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. He was born to a Mexican family with Spanish heritage and was raised in a multicultural environment. He has 20 years experience in managerial positions at multinational companies in both México and Spain. He has worked with corporate clients from the USA, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama, Italy, France & Portugal. During his stay in Spain he delivered seminars for expatriates of large multinational corporations. He has written articles on the "Mexican Cultural Values" & on the "Mexican Management Style." He has also delivered conferences at trade shows for HR executives on"International Mobility" in Madrid & Barcelona.

Mr. Rodriguez-Gil, who is bilingual in English and Spanish, studied Business Administration at “Escuela Bancaria y Comercial” in Mexico City. He is an active member of the Diversity Committee at AMEDIRH (Mexican Association on Human Resources Management) as well as supporting companies and NGO’s on cross-cultural matters, lecturing and training international assignees. He is also pursuing studies in Anthropology at the National School of Anthropology and History in Mexico.

Cyrille Berhault

Cyrille Berhault is a Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. and has been living in New Caledonia for nearly 20 years. He moved with his family to Kone in early 2009 to be closer to the new burgeoning industrial development in New Caledonia. Cyrille has gained valuable understanding of the New Caledonian and Australian business communities through his work experience with Austrade and the former Barclay Mowlem Constructions, as well as from being the bridge between international companies and New Caledonia. In recognition of his outstanding assistance to Australian businesses in New Caledonia, he was granted the “Austrade Ferris Award” by Former Australian Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile. He is also Vice President of the Australia-New Caledonia Business Council and member of the Rotary Club of Noumea.

Liliana Cantú

Liliana Cantú is a Cross Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. She has professional experience in the fields of human resources, public relations and relocation destination services, as well as in the design, customization and delivery of intercultural, global leadership, conflict management, mediation, teambuilding, ethics and diversity training, in English and Spanish. She has personal intercultural experience in several countries including the United States, Canada, Venezuela, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Portugal.

Ms. Cantú has participated as a speaker and planning committee member at international symposia, and served at the 2004-2005 Employee Relocation Council’s Global Advisory Council. She has delivered and coordinated training programs for national and international audiences for many organizations. She was also a part-time university professor at one of the most prestigious institutions in Latin America: the ITESM (commonly known as Monterrey Tech), where she has taught intercultural communication courses to national and international students, in Spanish and English.

She is a native Mexican and has a BS degree in Marketing and a Masters Degree in Communication with an emphasis on Intercultural Communication. She also holds the Intercultural Foundations Certificate awarded by the Intercultural Communication Institute.

Maria Amor Poch

Maria Amor Poch a Senior Associates and Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. She holds a Finance degree from Politécnico Grancolombiano and has 14 years in the plastics industry and she is trilingual. Maria is certified coach (specializing in leadership from the University of Harvard and in Trade from Hamburger University in Chicago). She is also a manager and a member of the board of directors at Productos Químicos Andinos S.A. Ms. Poch has training in “Coaching Train the Trainer” in the Passion center At Work in Rhode Island, as well as training in Ontological and executive coaching in Boston, MA. She also did basic training in NLP (Neurolinguistics Programming), basic tools of psychological transpersonal for coaching of executives.

She is a certified ontological coach and a member of the organization NEWFIELD NETWORKING, guaranteed by the ICF in Santiago, Chile. As well as she is certified in leadership and coaching feedback by the institute of leadership CCL in México. For 5 years she has been an associate consultant on the Training & Performance Team. Her expertise is concentrated in over five years in conducted coaching consultancy on “coaching one by one for organizational leaders” for a variety of industries and companies. Her geographical area of concentration is Latin America and US. Ms. Poch currently resides in Bogotá, Colombia.

Lucy Linhares

Lucy Linhares is a Senior Associate and Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions, the global cross-cultural consulting company. She has been working with dfa for twelve years. She is also a professional executive strategist specializing in leadership development and performance enhancement. Lucy is an expert facilitator skilled in assisting U.S. and multinational organizations to develop their interests, operations, and markets in Latin America. Among other current initiatives are the design, coordination and delivery of cross-cultural, communication, education and diversity training programs for national and international business. Her geographical areas of concentration are North and Latin America.

Ms. Linhares holds degrees in Social Sciences from The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a MBA in Social Anthropology in the National Museum from The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, one of the most reputable anthropology programs in Brazil. Originally a trained anthropologist, Lucy worked during many years with the Magüta Center and PETI- UFRJ managing development projects and health care programs among the Tikuna Indians of Brazil’s Amazon region. The experience provided by many years of exposition to a radically different culture prepared Lucy for entry into one of the fields critical to today’s globalized world, that of “Interculturalism”. For more than a decade Lucy taught Sociology at Sociedade Unida de Ensino Superior e Cultura, in Rio de Janeiro. She was a member of the International Society for Intercultural Education Training and Research (SIETAR), is a member of Sietar USA, participating and presenting at its annual Conferences, and an active member of the Forum Latino, an e-group focused on intercultural issues in Latin America. She is the author of many articles published in newspapers and academic magazines in the anthropological field and one of the authors of the book “Indigenismo e Territorialização”..

Kristine Menn

Kristine Menn is a Cross Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. A native of the United States, she has more than 25 years of experience working in various countries, including Brazil, China, Japan, Kuwait, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, and the United States. She holds an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and a Master’s degree in International Management from the world-renowned Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Ms. Menn has earned certificates from the Summer Institute of Intercultural Communication and has participated in the Sophia University Tokyo Summer Session of Asian Studies. She has taught in the English and International Relations departments of the University of São Paulo in Brazil, as well as in their Executive MBA program, and is author of the chapter “Doing Business with Brazilians” in the textbook Managing Cultural Differences, sixth and seventh editions. She has also served as a consultant, coach, trainer, and resource for multinational corporations, government entities, and executives who live or travel abroad. She has been involved with preparations for the Pan American Games, and has worked as a consultant with the United Nations Development Program. Ms. Menn is a member of SIETAR, and has most recently completed certifications in facilitation and global competency. Born in Texas and educated in the United States and Spain, she has called Brazil home since 1992.

Luis Fernando Sánchez

Luis Fernando Sánchez is a Senior Associates and Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. He recently joined DFA upon receiving his training in cross-cultural methodology and practice. He is also an organization development consultant specializing in strategic alignment, team building, and executive development.

His expertise is concentrated in over 25 years’ international experience serving the high tech, services, agro industrial, and medical industries. He has sound experience in cross-cultural communication and adjustment. His geographical areas of concentration are Latin America (mostly the Central American countries) and the United States. Luis Fernando holds an M.B.A. with an emphasis on organizational behavior and development from The George Washington University. He is known for his innovative approaches to people and organization development. Luis Fernando, who travels extensively, now lives in Costa Rica where he delivers his services to companies throughout the region.

Lorraine Sandford

Lorraine Sandford is a multi-national and multi-cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. She has been working in cross-cultural methodology and practice since 1999 when she certified as a Trainer. She is also an Occupational Therapist, has a background in Psychology and is training to be a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst. She presently coordinates and facilitates international programs for global corporations. Her geographical areas of concentration are Latin America (Argentina, Chile and Uruguay) and North America, for which she covers cross cultural analysis and intercultural business topics. She has co-designed and delivered intercultural and diversity workshops for international companies, encouraging teamwork among diverse and multi-cultural employees and identifying local issues and needs.

Ms. Sandford, who was brought up and educated in Chile, Argentina, the US and Britain, is totally bilingual in English and Spanish, and lives in Buenos Aires with her family, where she is conducts cross cultural programs and destination services to incoming and outgoing transferees and their families.

Lynn Stravecky

Lynn Stravecky is a Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. She is also a Licensed Clinical Psychotherapist with a private practice for over 10 years. Her expertise is concentrated in over 25 years of corporate experience and living and working internationally. Her geographical areas of concentration are North America & Latin America-Puerto Rico. She provides cross cultural trainings and mental health counseling to individuals and corporate families relocating to Puerto Rico. She is dedicated to enabling these employees and their families to adapt successfully to the social and business culture of the island, and to come to feel completely at home there.

Ms. Stravecky is originally from Stratford, Connecticut. Lynn has lived and worked in Belem, Brazil and London, England. She holds a masters degree in family counseling from Florida International University. After relocating to Puerto Rico in 1998 from Miami, Florida, Lynn became licensed as a Psychotherapist in Puerto Rico and opened a private practice in family counseling. Additionally, she provides cultural training seminars.

PABLO VILLOCH

Pablo Villoch is a Cross-Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. He has extensive management experience across a diverse range of companies and organizations in more than ten countries in Latin America and Europe. He is a professional educator and facilitator and has honed in skills in both the academic and corporate environments. His main areas of expertise include intercultural communication, multicultural group facilitation, diversity management and strategic sustainability.

He has consulted widely to large multinationals, small and medium sized enterprises and also to the community sector and brings an intelligent focus and rigour to delivering practical solutions to strategic problems.

Born in the Basque Country and based now in Chile, over the past ten years he has worked in Spain, Finland, Sweden, USA, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Paraguay and Ecuador. He is fluent in Spanish, English and Basque.

Roxana Ximena Toro Barrientos

Roxana Ximena Toro Barrientos is a Cross Cultural Trainer with dfa Intercultural Global Solutions. She is a professional consultant in cross-cultural relationships, organizational development, multicultural teams, development of working competencies in executives, and entrepreneurship and gender. Her expertise is concentrated in over 20 years of national and international experience in industries such as computer and information enterprises, agriculture, social NGOs, and governmental institutions. Her geographical areas of work are Latin America, The United States, Canada, and East Asia.

She holds a Masters Degree in Anthropology from the University of Chile and the Graduate Faculty of Social Science for Gender Research in Santiago. She has lectured in several international symposiums about organizational issues and is the author of the book “Successful Chilean Entrepreneurs and their Path: The Case Method Applied to Entrepreneurship.” She works professionally in English and Spanish and is currently working as a professor of human resources at the Industries, Economics and Business Department at Federico Santa Maria University. She is also the Director of the Qualitative Area of the Research Enterprise Center (CIMER) of the same university.