Heart for Change is a high-impact social non-profit organization that conducts language instruction programs, teacher training, and multicultural exchange.
Our mission at Heart for Change is to unleash the potential of students and teachers worldwide through the power of languages.
Heart for Change strengthens the professional skills of language teachers through an immersive fellowship in Latin America and connects them with students from around the world to provide better education opportunities for all. We have a methodology-based approach to teacher training, focusing on pedagogical capabilities and professional skills to serve our students.
Tenemos los mejores profesores nativos que entienden la cultura y usan las mejores técnicas pedagógicas para enseñar y mejorar rápidamente el nivel de lengua de los estudiantes. Nuestra metodología es virtual y usamos la tecnología como base para la enseñanza.
Since 2010, we have been working on high-impact social language teaching programs and multicultural exchanges. To date, we have brought over 3,100 teachers from all continents to Colombia to work in public educational institutions. Additionally, we have sent Colombian Spanish teachers to work in different parts of the world. Our high-quality language teaching and multicultural exchange programs successfully bridge the inequity gap between countries.
Heart for Change transforms individuals, organizations, and communities through language teaching and cultural awareness.
Our social impact model is based on four pillars:
Instructor Training and Growth: We work with talented individuals who are passionate about teaching and human development. Through our training and personal growth process, we create development opportunities for those who wish to teach in their own countries or spend a year abroad exploring a new country and language.
World-Class Language Training: We provide world-class language instruction to children and adults, helping them develop the skills and confidence to speak a foreign language, learn a new culture, and connect with a global society. By doing so, we help students build tools to interact in a globalized society and become global citizens, with heightened cultural awareness and empathy.
Democratizing Access: Quality foreign language training is often inaccessible to the majority of the population in Latin America. Through affordable models, we eliminate barriers and assist students in focusing on the task of learning a new language.
Economic Development: By offering quality language and intercultural training to low-income students, minorities, and individuals with medium incomes, we facilitate access to the local and global job markets, creating opportunities for many and reducing inequality. To achieve this, we partner with non-profit organizations, companies committed to social impact and diversity, and local governments. We engage in various programs to help students secure jobs in sectors where foreign languages are in demand, such as technology, tourism, and healthcare.
CO-FUNDADORA & CEO
Andrea is a co-founder of PrimeraHFC, which since 2002 has worked on education and bilingualism programs and since 2010 has mobilized more than 3,000 English teachers to Colombia. Andrea is an architect from the Universidad de los Andes, with an emphasis on Asian studies, Italian language and culture, and Japanese language and culture. Andrea is a fellow of Atlas Service Corps and worked at Think Impact in Washington DC, and coordinated the Global Development Ambassadors program in South Africa. In 2019, Andrea opened DOT Innovation and Coworking Center and in 2020 co-founded Prosperity Makers, a company dedicated to education for work. Andrea has worked as a representative in Colombia and consultant for Partners of the Americas, ITDP, and Ventures. She was selected by Gerente magazine as one of the 100 most influential leaders in Colombian society.
Chief Operations Officer
Politóloga de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia con Maestría en Gerencia y Práctica del Desarrollo de la Universidad de los Andes. Tiene una amplia experiencia de más de 10 años en gerencia de proyectos para el desarrollo desde el escenario público y privado. También ha trabajado en proyectos de innovación educativa y aplicación de tecnologías para la participación infantil. Trabajo en diseño, dirección y evaluación de proyectos con énfasis en procesos de monitoreo, análisis de datos y elaboración de informes para diferentes grupos de interés. Experiencia en planeación estratégica, elaboración y seguimiento presupuestal, y manejo del talento humano. También ha realizado varios proyectos en diseño y facilitación de sesiones de trabajo colectivo en varias modalidades (grupos focales, liderazgo participativo, inteligencia colectiva, talleres de planeación estratégica, fomento de trabajo en red y de innovación social).
Program Director
Paolo Barone is an economist from the University of Rome, specializing in development economics with a master's degree obtained from the universities of Clermont-Auvergne in France, Pavia in Italy, and Palacky Olomouc in the Czech Republic. After a brief experience as a consultant at Deloitte Belgium, Paolo joined PrimeraHFC with his first volunteer experience in 2015, later serving as Regional Coordinator for the department of Antioquia and finally as Program Director in charge of around 700 volunteers, 374 educational institutions in more than 60 cities in the country. Today, Paolo is Director of Programs and supervisor of different projects in Colombia.
Chief Learning Officer
Saul Gonzalez studied philology and languages at the Universidad Libre and holds a master's degree in virtual education and social networking. He has extensive experience creating content for language learning and teaching and has worked on educational projects in both the public and private sectors. His passion is creating content to teach English for specific purposes. He enjoys reading, playing chess, rock climbing, and mountain biking.
)
)