Programs One on One in Cuenca Spanish Intensive Program Spanish and Volunteer Spanish Cultural Program Spanish for Specific Purposes Country Side Trips Spanish Schools Cuenca Spanish School Quito Spanish School Manta Spanish School Montanita Spanish School Two Week Programs Coast Jungle Summer Programs College / University Program High School Program Academic Programs Semester Program for Seniors Luxury Programs Trip through ecosystems Deep into Ecuador Special Programs Traveling Classroom Internships Ecuador Trips Basic Highlands Andes Varied Ecosystems Ecuador Mystic Accommodations Family Homestays Student's Apartments Hostels and Hotels Links Related Links

Staff and Faculty

Amauta Foundation staff work in three complementary departments: the Spanish language department, the academic department, and the student welfare and family department.

We have a highly qualified and experienced staff of Spanish teachers and academic professors:

Lynn Hirschkind

Ph.D., Director of Academic Program; Professor of Anthropology.

Director of English Language component

Dr. Hirschkind first saw Ecuador in 1971, when she was 21 years old, during one of her stints as a college drop-out. After a year in Quito, she went on to see the rest of South America, spending another two years before deciding finally and definitively to finish school. That decision took her through a PH.D. in anthropology in 1980. She returned to Cuenca, Ecuador to carry out her dissertation field research, from 1978 to 1980. In 1982 she bought a ranch northeast of Cuenca. There, for 17 years, she raised sheep and cows, made yarn and cheese, and acquired many godchildren. During this time she began giving lectures to Lewis and Clark College students. Eventually the lectures grew into a formal anthropology course, and Lynn began to organize a complete academic program, including a history or ecology course, field trips and speakers.

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Mayra Cardoso

Director of Spanish Department, Professor of Spanish and English as a Foreign Language.

Director of Spanish Language component

Ms. Cardoso received her degree in Education from Universidad Estatal de Cuenca from the Philosophy Department. She updates her teaching skills by attending education workshops sponsored by Oxford University Cambridge. She has taught Spanish to Brazilians at Colegio Pitágoras, was the Academic Coordinator for Spanish and English sections at Centro Binacional Abraham Lincoln de Cuenca. She has been the Director for Spanish component of the Lewis & Clark College program since 1994. She is also responsible for the recruitment and retention of Spanish language instructors, organizing other aspects of the program such as sports activities, conferences, meals and other duties as they become necessary.

Narcisa Ullauri

Coordinator of Student Welfare and Homestay Program, Field Trip Leader.

Resident Director

Ms. Ullauri is a native of Cuenca, Ecuador. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Communication from Universidad de Cuenca and two master’s degrees, one in
Education Communication from Universidad Politécnica and the other in Cultural Studies from Universidad del Azuay. She has a diverse background in her work experience, ranging from being a professional tour guide in Ecuador, to being a professor at Universidad del Azuay, where she also is a member of the Academic Council in the Philosophy department. Ms. Ullauri is responsible for all aspects for the program ranging from homestay placement, arranging academic excursions and assuring the well being of program participants.