EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:

	Secretary, NC Partners of the Americas Jessica Kinard, PhD CCC-SLP, is a bilingual speech-language pathologist and postdoctoral researcher at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities at UNC Chapel Hill. She has over 10 years of clinical and research experience working with individuals with autism spectrum disorder and their families. Jessica joined NC Partners of the Americas in 2014 to help with the Autism Project Committee and has been an Executive Board Member since 2017. As part of the Autism Project Committee, Jessica has collaborated on several international projects designed to train Spanish-speaking families and professionals about autism. These projects include: (a) training visiting professionals from Bolivia in 2013, 2015, and 2017; (b) helping to organize and present a 2-week intensive ASD conference in Bolivia in 2014; and (c) collaborating with professionals in NC and Bolivia to develop and present at a Spanish-language teleconference video series about ASD, currently ongoing. This video series recently earned the Hyatt Rotary Public Service Award from the UNC Carolina Center for Public Service.
Karen Brown is a retired English as a Second Language teacher and public administrator. She worked with the NC K-12 public schools and the NC community college system. Karen joined NC Partners of the Americas in 2006 and served as a Teacher-in-Residence in Cochabamba, Bolivia. At that time, Karen delivered teacher education training on theoretical practice and classroom activities on oral communication skills. Karen has also co-presented in 2014 at the Partners of the Americas 50th Anniversary Convention in Florianopolis, Brazil on the NC Partners English as a Foreign Language (NCPOA EFL) Certificate Program. Karen has served on the Board of NC Partners of the Americas as Vice-President (2012-14)and President (2014-16) and on various committees. Currently, Karen serves as Past President (2016-18) and Interim Treasurer (2016-18).
	Vice_president, NC Partners of the Americas L. George Wilson, Vice President, is a lifetime member of the NC-Cochabamba Partners of the Americas since 1975, serving on the agriculture and other committees. Dr. Wilson is Professor Emeritus of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University, where he taught postharvest physiology/technology and was statewide Extension Specialist for sweetpotatoes and potatoes. He joined the faculty in March 1975, after a decade as Research Postharvest Physiologist and Technology Transfer Specialist for bananas and other tropical crops for the Division of Tropical Research of United Fruit Company (Chiquita International, LLP) in La Lima, Cortes, Honduras -- where he learned Spanish. A native of Niagara County, NY, George earned his B.S. in Pomology/Agricultural Economics at Cornell University, his M.S. in Horticulture at Washington State University, and his Ph.D. in Postharvest Horticulture at Michigan State University. He served in Peru for two years as Chief of Party of the NC State USAID Applied Technology Transformation (ATT) project and was team leader in Bulgaria with the USDA/FAS (Foreign Agricultural Service) Bulgarian American Extension Project. Dr. Wilson was Assistant Dean for International Agriculture and then Vice Provost for University International Affairs. During 1998-2003 he coordinated the Counternarcotics Agricultural Project (CONCADE) in the Chapare Region of Cochabamba. During 2006-08 George was Senior Advisor for University Relations and Agricultural Research, Training and Outreach for the Office of Agriculture of USAID/Washington. Since 2009 he has represented NC State on the International Advisory Board of the USAID Feed the Future Horticulture Innovation Lab. In addition to his work and travels in all but two Latin American countries, Wilson’s global experiences include more than 55 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceana.
President, Janis Marie Holden