Juárez & Associates Inc.

Team | Biographies | Focus Rooms | Contracts

Biographies

Mr. Juárez is a Certified Management Consultant, having over 40 years of experience in project direction and management. He received an MA degree from the University of California at Los Angeles and keeps abreast of current trends and events in his fields of expertise. Fluent in Spanish and English, he personally oversees all corporate projects while making himself available to assist with staff support and project implementation at any stage, especially with maintaining close client contact. A long-time member of the Institute of Management Consultants, Mr. Juárez is a past president of the Los Angeles chapter.

Jean Beaumont - Senior Project Director (Kingston, Jamaica)

Dr. Beaumont holds an EdD in Advanced Educational Leadership from Central Connecticut State University in Connecticut. She received an MS from that same university. After several years of being the Educational Technology Specialist for the precursor to the USAID-sponsored Expanding Educational Horizons project in Jamaica, she is now the Project Director/Chief of Party, working with the Ministry of Education and Culture on site in Kingston. She is responsible for technical oversight and management of all aspects of the EEH, including project activities, local staff and technical assistance providers. Prior to the present assignment, Dr. Beaumont was Instructional Technology Manager for the Primary Education Support Project in Jamaica.

Fernando Rubio - Project Director (Guatemala City, Guatemala)

Mr. Rubio has extensive experience in international development, having engaged in such professional activities as educational measurements (standards and testing), monitoring and evaluation, basic education, higher education partnerships, teacher development, assessment of institutional performance, planning and assessment of workforce development, distance learning, educational equity and gender, training and supervision of field research teams, EMIS database design and social marketing. He is currently the Chief of Party for the USAID-funded project "Education Reform in the Classroom," implemented by Juárez & Associates. Mr. Rubio received his MA in Psychology from the New York School of Social Research and a BA in Psychology from the Universidad de Panamá. He also teaches courses in Assessment, Measurement and Evaluation at Del Valle University in Guatemala.

Janel Hoppes Poché - Development Director (Washington, DC)

Janel Poché has been a marketing director and marketing consultant for a law firm, a marketing team leader for a nationwide beverage product, an international community outreach director in Belize, and a trip leader for an international adventure travel company. She received her MBA in International Business from Loyola University in Chicago and a Practical Internet Marketing Certificate from DePaul University in Chicago, in addition to a BS in Marketing from Louisiana State University. She is the director of the Washington, DC office, where she supports Juárez & Associates’ marketing efforts.

Elizabeth Juárez - Senior Project Director (Los Angeles, CA)

Ms. Juárez is a specialist in the development, coordination and execution of market research and socioeconomic studies and surveys, from the original conceptual design through the final report. She is also experienced in business operations including finance and general management. Having received her BA in Political Science and her MBA from UCLA, she has gained experience encompassing much of the spectrum of survey research as well as finance and accounting.

Susan Shafi - Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel (Los Angeles, CA)

Susan Shafi is J&A’s Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel. She has advanced training and experience in management, law and tax, having both an MS in Management from UCLA and a JD/LLM from the University of San Diego School of Law. She supervises contracts, financial and accounting functions as well as corporate tax matters. Her background includes extensive experience in finance, accounting, taxation, analysis within the Defense Contracting industry, negotiating and administering grants and contracts, developing public/private sector partnerships, and corporate business planning.

Renée Golling - Senior Accountant (Los Angeles, CA)

Ms. Golling is a CPA with 12 years of experience in one of the big four accounting firms. She received her BS degree in Business Administration/Accounting from California State University, Northridge. Besides long term accounting experience, she has had tax experience and has worked on numerous audits with a focus on the non-profit sector. She is fluent in German and has knowledge of basic Spanish.

Regina da Costa - Principal Research Associate (Los Angeles, CA)

Dr. da Costa is Principal Research Associate in the area of education and social science research. She obtained a PhD in Education from UCLA, and an MA and BA in Sociology from California State University. Since completing her studies, she has engaged in professional activities involving the design, administration, coordination and monitoring of national and international development programs. She has worked for USAID-funded and for World Bank-funded projects in Latin America. The emphasis of her work has been in international development targeting under-represented student populations, teacher training and educational scholarship administration. Dr. da Costa speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Jeffrey Zwiers - Teacher Training Specialist (Los Angeles, CA)

Jeff Zwiers has worked on teacher training and curriculum development projects in Macedonia, Pakistan, Liberia, Cyprus and Ghana. He currently is working with the Guatemala Education Reform in the Classroom project team to develop effective systems of bilingual education and teacher training across the country. His work emphasizes the development of academic language, literacy, higher-order thinking skills, formative assessment, active learning, backward planning and teacher professional learning communities. He teaches part time at Stanford University and has published articles and books on literacy, cognition and academic language. He received a Doctorate in Education in International and Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco.

Sandy Figueroa - Research Associate (Los Angeles, CA)

Ms. Figueroa is a Research Associate skilled in research support and management. She brings experience working with various private and public sectors domestically and abroad. She received her MPH Degree in Community Health Sciences with coursework in Research Analysis and Needs Assessments from Boston University and a BA in International Business from California State University, Long Beach. She provides research and data collection support for local projects.

Elizabeth Pérez-LoPresti – Research Associate (Los Angeles, CA)

Ms. Pérez-LoPresti is skilled in project management, research and reporting as well as logistical procedure implementation for private and public sector projects. She received her BA in Urban Studies and Public Policy from Sarah Lawrence College in New York. She provides research and implementation services for various of the firm’s nationwide projects.

Claudia Benavides – Research Assistant (Los Angeles, CA)

Ms. Benavides is an experienced bilingual data collector, interviewer and survey administrator, having successfully performed numerous research projects among both children and adults in California and elsewhere. She has been a tutor and has provided on-site/at-home interviewing services in the areas of Education, Labor and Employment, and Testing. She received a BA in Political Science from UCLA and is fully bilingual.

Ronald Chatters III – Research Assistant (Los Angeles, CA)

Mr. Chatters has conducted numerous research projects in California and around the world, including projects on behalf of the Correctional Association of New York, Southern Poverty Law Center, and the UN Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in São Paulo, Brazil. He holds a BA in Economics/Political Science from Columbia University, an MPA in Domestic Policy from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton, and is currently a Comcast Leadership Scholar and JD Candidate at the University of Maryland School of Law.

Amit Kumar - Regional Program Director (Asia)

Mr. Kumar is a post graduate (MA) in the area of Anthropology, also having a post graduate diploma in Rural Development from Xavier Institute of Social Service (XISS) in Ranchi, India. He has over 18 years of experience working with national and international donor agencies. He was looking after the Monitoring and Evaluation component of J&A’s REACH India project, which aimed at reaching and educating vulnerable children. At present, he is also a part of team for a cross-national evaluation which was contracted to J&A by Room to Read of San Francisco, CA. The study is being conducted in six countries: India, Nepal, Laos, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Zambia. This is a three year evaluation which began in 2010 and involves data collection from select schools where Room to Read has set up libraries.

Arpana Luthra - Regional Program Development Director (Asia)

Ms. Luthra has a post graduate (MSc) degree in Community Resource Management & Extension graduate from Lady Irwin College, Delhi University, India. She has over 16 years of incremental experience working with national and international donor agencies and is a seasoned trainer. She specializes in conducting training sessions and developing monitoring and evaluation tools. She assisted the M&E Specialist (Dr. Kjell Enge) in monitoring the REACH India project. At present, she also is a part of team for a cross-national evaluation which was contracted to J&A by Room to Read, San Francisco, CA. The study is being conducted in six countries: India, Nepal, Laos, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Zambia. This is a three year evaluation which began in 2010 and involves data collection from select schools where Room to Read has set up libraries.

Leslie Eldridge - Development Officer (Washington, DC)

Ms. Eldridge has experience in the private, public, academic and non-profit sectors, including time with the State Department in Perú and working with corporate clients at a DC-based public affairs firm where she developed an expertise in a variety of issue areas such as telecommunications, energy and international trade and development. She received her MPP from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago with a focus on International Development and Foreign Policy and her BA in Political Science and International Studies from the University of Kansas.

Kjell Enge - Consultant/Senior Research Associate (Washington, DC)

Dr. Enge is an Applied Anthropologist with over 30 years of experience in education and health, carrying out evaluations, operations research and cultural assessments in the areas of basic education, maternal-child health, nutrition and population. As a consultant, he has been associated with J&A for most of those years. As a university professor, he trains students in a variety of methodological techniques and has set up field schools for practical applications of researchs.

John McNeil - Consultant (Los Angeles, CA)

Dr. McNeil is an educator with extensive experience in the areas of curriculum and teacher education. He is Professor Emeritus in the Graduate School of Education at UCLA. He has served as an international consultant in curriculum and the development of instructional materials all over the world and has written more than 40 text books. Over the years, there have been four foci to his work: curriculum, the study and improvement of teaching, the teaching of reading, and the development of instructional materials to meet specific needs. Work within each is conducted at both the practice/application level and the theory/research level.

Regino Chávez - Consultant/Senior Research Associate (Los Angeles, CA)

Regino Chávez (MA in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley and BA in Sociology from Pitzer College) has over 30 years of experience in the use of quantitative and qualitative methodological strategies to examine service utilization and to explore new product/service development. He has conducted research for policy studies, strategic planning, and the development of promotional campaigns for products and services as well as for social marketing campaigns. He also brings more than 25 years of experience in the development and evaluation of education and health programs.

Alicia López - Consultant (Los Angeles, CA)

Ms. López brings more than 20 years of experience working in market research and as a focus group moderator for private and public sector projects. She has conducted groups for products, services and concepts for advertising agencies and governmental entities. Ms. López worked for the California educational system as an Evaluator of course equivalencies and transferability. Her background also includes creative advertising copywriting and campaign development. She received her BA degree in Liberal Studies from California State University, Dominguez Hills. She is fully bilingual in Spanish and English.

Barbara Elmer - Accounting Associate (Los Angeles, CA)

Alfredo Angulo - Accounting Associate (Los Angeles, CA)

Lauisa Palomares – Accounting Assistant (Los Angeles, CA)