Staff

MARK BENNETT
Executive Director
Willamette University, B.A. Spanish; B.A. International Studies

Born in Utah, Mark was raised by the mountains with the drive to explore and learn. Starting young, he has spent years studying, working, and exploring Europe, the Caribbean, Central, and South America - building connections, asking questions, and soaking up new perspectives. Mark's work is focused on equity and inclusion, experiential education, and diverse learning opportunities - with experience supporting young adults in civic engagement, purposeful travel, and the love of learning. Mark is passionate about exploring root causes of inequities in our community, working to identify and positively impact them. Mark is currently the Executive Director for Global Works Community Fund, developing and implementing programming in Oregon and Colorado. He loves skiing, surfing, backpacking, and anything with a ball. 

EMMA CISNEROS
Program Coordinator
Portland State University, B.A. Social Work, Masters of Social Work (2020)

Emma is a first-generation student graduating this spring from Portland State University. She received a Bachelors of Arts in Social Work, with a double minor in Criminology/Criminal justice and Civic Leadership, and expecting to receive a Masters of Social Work in spring 2020. She studied abroad in Spain in 2017, her first time abroad and was such an amazing experience. Her program was very similar to Global Works Community Fund. With this lived experience, she really hopes to use what she has learned in the mentorship program with future students who participate in the fellowship. She is extremely excited to be a part of the program and brings her perspective and dedication to help this program to keep moving forward!

FAITH BRIGGS
Director of Development

Faith is a creative producer, environmental justice advocate and documentary filmmaker passionate about sharing contemporary stories from diverse communities. A self-described “professional nerd,” her studies at Yale University and the New York University Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute focused on representation in media and inspiring global citizenship. Faith comes to Global Works Community Fund with extensive experience working with inner-city youth as a summer camp counselor and program coordinator, residential assistant at the high school and college level, and program director of Oregon-based non-profit Soul River Inc. She credits a scholarship that afforded international service-learning experiences with changing her life and helping develop a sense of community responsibility. Previous experience includes Discovery Communications, Columbia Sportswear, and freelance marketing consulting.

ASIA WESLEY
Program Mentor
University of Denver, B.A. English and Spanish, Minor Leadership Studies 
University of Denver, M.A. English (2021)

Asia’s love of listening to the stories of her community was enhanced by writing and studying languages in her home of Colorado.  She spent her entire life in the colorful state until 2015, when she studied abroad and traveled outside of the United States for the first time. Combined with this newfound passion for traveling and her previous experiences in helping students gain access to higher education, Asia was determined to make sure others had the opportunity to travel, too.  After receiving her bachelor’s degree, she taught English in Southern Spain—a year that was also spent improving her Spanish, learning Portuguese, and crossing even more countries off her list like Portugal, England, Scotland, and Morocco.  In her spare time, she loves to play soccer, sing with friends, and constantly be near water in the summer.

Board of Directors

POLLY MORIARTY
Founder & Board Member
University of Colorado, M.A. Spanish and Education
Ohio Wesley University, B.A. Spanish and Psychology

Since 1998, Polly has worked with Global Works Travel, first facilitating service-learning in the field and now running the home office. While teaching Spanish at the Westminster School (CT) and Summit Middle School (CO), she spent her summers leading Global Works trips in Costa Rica and Ecuador. In 2000, she started SOL Tours with Fritz and in 2011 founded Global Works Community Fund. Polly enjoys teaching yoga, hiking, and tele-skiing in the mountains of Colorado with her husband, Fritz, and their daughters, Ellie and Hanna.

LUIZ BERTOLO​
​Board Member
University of Northern Colorado, M.A. Sports & Outdoor Education
Towson University, B.A. Management, Minor Sports Business

Luiz is originally from the Baltimore-DC Area via Bogota, Colombia and Sao Paulo, Brazil. He graduated from Towson University with a degree in Sports Management and moved to Fort Collins to pursue a Masters in Physical/ Outdoor Education. He loves adventure travel and has had amazing experiences in Brazil, Colombia, Thailand and New Zealand, to name a few. His favorite outdoor adventures include mountain biking, kayaking, rock climbing, hiking and camping. Luiz thoroughly enjoys time spent teaching and playing soccer, supporting the local and global music/arts and being active in social and environmental movements.

JENNA DAUCUNAS
Board Member
University of Oregon, B.A. International Development

​With five years working in the nonprofit field, and a degree in International Development from the University of Oregon, Jenna brings her comprehensive nonprofit knowledge to Global Works Community Fund, particularly in the areas of fundraising and database management. Before launching her career in the US she had spent several years living abroad in Northern Spain where she taught English to kids of all ages. In the end her home state of Colorado, and some of the world’s best skiing and climbing, drew her and her husband to move to Boulder. Jenna is passionate about getting young people out of their comfort zones and traveling abroad, hoping that in connecting youth of different cultures we can break down barriers and contribute to a more accepting society globally. 

ETHAN THROWER
Board Member
Portland State University B.S. Sociology

Ethan is a Portland, Oregon native with expertise in counseling, education, poverty, race, culture, and social justice. He has 10 years experience in various counseling roles and is currently finishing his MSW while managing Open School East’s Counseling Department. Ethan is a husband, father, mentor, and someone who genuinely believes in people’s capacity to thrive. He enjoys running, snowboarding, and spending time with friends, family, and community. Ethan loves everything Global Works Community Fund offers youth and aspires to contribute all he can to support and enhance the amazing work being done. ​

CHLOE BARBER-SMITH
Board Member
Tulane University, B.A. Sociology & International Development

Chloe was born and raised in Philadelphia, then headed down to New Orleans, where she facilitated outdoor education programs for local students. She now lives in Colorado, working as the Enrollment Director in the home office and leading trips for Global Works Travel. Sprinkled throughout those years, she has had the opportunity to travel the world, from Guatemala to South Africa to Azerbaijan. Chloe is a big fan of playing rugby, going on random adventures, and discovering the best local greasy spoons.

​ZOE PILIAFAS
Board Member
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Zoe has spent 7 years as a public school teacher. She has lead the charge of an alternative experiential education model and was able to achieve a 98% passing rate with her youth on the state mandated tests in North Carolina. She moved to Portland to be the Middle School Program Director for High school Graduation Initiative through Camp Fire Columbia. She directed a nine-school grant aimed at increasing graduation rates. Collaboratively, she designed after school programming that was culturally responsive, interactive and designed to build skills and higher order thinking.
She later went on to work as the Director of an international storytelling program at World Pulse. She taught women on a digital platform from 31 different countries how to share stories in her program. She has ample experience in designing online learning modules, recruiting, motivating and retaining mediamakers on a global scale. She has curated large scale art projects and storytelling events that prioritize the voices of LGBT folks and women of color. With her vast knowledge and experience, she is a great component to the Global Works Community Fund Board.

ANAYAH TORA
Student Alumni Board Member
GWCF Alum 2017

Anayah Tora graduated early from Denver's East High School, with a passion for global awareness and collaboration. Anayah has gone to Panama through Global Works Community Fund and is currently working on her community project for this trip. Anayah was accepted to be an Youth Ambassador in Chile and Argentina through World Learning, a Department of State sponsored program, which gave her the opportunity to deepen her study of Spanish, learn about both countries and the work of the State Department. Anayah loves to write and spend time with friends while strumming the ukulele.

​EMILY HINCK
Board Member Emeritus
Regis University, M.A. Nonprofit Management
Vassar College, B.A. Science, Technology, and Society

​​Emily's experience in the environmental nonprofit sector, specifically with organizing projects, developing systems for tracking grants and donor relationships and marketing and communications, gives her a well-rounded background for supporting key staff. Her professional life has been focused first on environmental issues - from experiential environmental education to wilderness conservation. Currently, she is a consultant for Cloud for Good, lending her passion for operational efficiency and technology based solutions to nonprofits across the country. In addition to nonprofits and databases, Emily loves running, cooking, gardening, skiing and spending time in the beautiful Rocky Mountains.