About us
Our Team ispassionatemotivatedhelpfulsupportiveprofessionalinternationalmulticulturalmultilingualexperiencedpreparedpositiveefficientnicehands-oncurioushappyflexibleattentiveenthusiasticavailable
Kristin EberlManaging Director Openmind
I was brought up in Munich, have lived in Barcelona since 2007 and I am a declared Europefan!
In 2009, with love and passion, I founded Openmind with the specific aim of promoting the European dream of social inclusion for all. As a former exchange student and someone who has travelled throughout the world, I am aware how fortunate we are in this continent. It´s wonderful to see how many emotions we move between the countries. It is exactly what Europe needs... emotional connections!
My two children are tri-lingual and they embody the colourful spirit of Europe! I am convinced that students will also become infected with this passion. We are looking forward to looking after them.
Carmen BujalanceDirector High School Programme
I am a translator and interpreter for English and German.
In Germany I was responsible for the selection of exchange students and discovered my passion for the intercultural world.
When I met Kristin, I started working as a coordinator in Seville for Openmind. Now I have become her right hand, the director of our school programme in Spain as well as the director of the High School
Programme abroad for our Spanish students.
Hopefully one day my little daughter Emma asks me if I could organize her stay in New Zealand.
Sole Herrera BatistaProgram Assistant
Although my roots were deeply in Seville, after six years as a local coordinator for Openmind, I decided to experience life in beautiful Ireland. Two years on, I now return to the team with more enthusiasm for what lies ahead. I am a teacher by profession and this offered me opportunities to educate in diverse countries such as Peru, Ireland and Morocco.I am fortunate to be able to combine my passion with work which gives me a unique footing to manage school exchanges whilst sign posting future generations to the joys of immersion in differing cultures
Alejandra Sanz GodoyProgram Assistant
I am a trained translator and I feel fulfilled when I manage to get people from different cultures to understand each other.
I am passionate about languages. That's why I try to integrate them into my private life as well: I am an insatiable reader of every novel I come across and I do all I can to promote the cultural exchange of young Europeans in Spain.
All of these passions have the same starting point: Segovia, my hometown and the place I always return to, no matter how far I go, because this is where I feel at home.
Get to know our coordinators
Openmind would not exist without our wonderful team of local coordinators! The majority has lived abroad, already hosted foreign guests in their house or grew up in a bilingual environment. They all know what cultural adaptation means and do a fantastic job in choosing the right host family, while closely supporting the students during their whole stay.
Mª Ángeles is an educator, speech therapist and teacher of early childhood education. She has worked as a teacher for more than 10 years. She currently works in a psychopedagogical centre with children with speech problems. Her passions include reading, sports, her two children and traveling. She lived in Edinburgh for three months where she not only learned English, but had an unforgettable life experience. Whenever she can, she tries to get to know new spots on earth. Her favourite places are: Cantabria, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Singapore, Berlin and Paris, and she hopes to discover much more of this world.
A true Sevillian who loves her hometown, although she describes herself as a citizen of the world who is passionate about foreign cultures and languages.
Ángela studied German Philology and worked in education and tourism for many years.
She has been working as a coordinator since 2009, a job she loves! She finds working with people from different parts of the world extremely enriching.
She describes her two daughters as the "greatest engine of her life".
Mariló is a positive, active and warm-hearted mom of two teenagers who have been abroad many times. She has been a host mother several times. As a coordinator, the students can count on her great empathy for all involved people/parties.
She uses all her power and engagement to ensure that participants have an unforgettable experience. She is convinced that by achieving that, the participants come often back to Spain, which makes a real sustainable cultural exchange.
Pilar is from the Aljarafe County, Seville and she works in tourism organising events mainly. Moreover, she has been a host mother for over 15 years, first for au pairs and later for high school students. She has always wanted her daughters to be open-minded and to practise other languages. In addition, she knows how families feel like when sending their children abroad as her elder daughter studied in Canada for a school year. She likes spending time growing vegetables and gardening but what she really loves is travelling. She enjoys swapping house during the summer to travel abroad with her family, a great opportunity to meet people from other cultures and to learn from them.
Although Beatriz was born in the Basque Country, she has never felt so "at home" as in this beautiful Andalusian city.
She is a nurse by profession and mother of a girl and a boy. She also develops a project of family accompaniment because she believes that the way of being born and education are the basis for building a better world. She is delighted to be part of Openmind and to accompany you in this experience of cultural exchange.
Nelly is from a small town in the mountains of Cadiz, but has lived in Malaga since 2000. She has a degree in Pedagogy and has been working in a child protection center since 2004. For her, working with adolescents is very rewarding and she considers that she has many skills for it. She is sociable, communicative and open to new experiences, people, places... and is excited to be part of the Openmind team and generate new learning.
She likes to travel and make plans with her family, friends and her dog Curro. She loves music, guitar, photography, tennis, reading, the beach, kayaking and hiking in the countryside.
Marina was born in Málaga, at the beautiful Costa del Sol, cradle of cultural exchange. She has a teaching degree and therefore places great emphasis on helping, guiding and teaching.
Thanks to living in a place full of diversity, she has been able to appreciate the richness that is obtained between people from different countries. Loving her land and having the strong desire that this intercultural tradition will not get lost, she got involved in the Openmind project with great enthusiasm.
Her hobbies are reading, cinema, cycling and learning from others (especially from young people because of their “freshness”).
Mari is from Valencia, she is passionate about traveling, meeting new people and immersing herself in the customs of her destinations.
She has been an exchange student in Ireland and has been living in England for a year, a fact that has motivated her to be part of this great team in order to help students to live the great experience that she herself lived and made her grow so much.
She loves the sea, the mountains and all outdoor sports such as surfing, snowboarding, hiking, running, and much more. Students will not have the option to get bored.
Maria is from Alicante and graduated in Tourism from the university there.
At the age of 20, she went to England to do a language course and discovered how enriching it can be to have a life experience abroad. Since then, she can't stop traveling the world, which has affected her so deeply that she says she has become a much more open, tolerant and empathetic person.
For the last 3 years she has been a host family and has been able to experience how rewarding it is to accompany young foreigners in their life experience and show them how much Alicante has to offer.
Mercè has a daughter. In her free time, she enjoys going to the cinema, reading, travelling to European cities - and, of course, enjoying the beauty of her island.
Elpidia, a native of Tenerife, is mother of two children. Her family hosted a German student a few years ago. The experience was so great that Elpidia was immediately interested in becoming part of the Openmind team.
Since she has a children’s clothing store, she is in daily contact with children and adolescents.
Elpidia is an active person, always in a great mood. Our participants will be in the best hands with her.
Tere was born and raised in Granada.
After a lot of traveling and learning in different corners of this wonderful world, life led her to settle on the beautiful island of Gran Canaria, which gives her the opportunity to live in flip-flops all year round.
As a good educator, she is passionate about education, people and above all the culture shock that occurs between all of them when they leave their own comfort zone.
Tere: "That's why I find the "Openmind" project simply MAGIC and I'm excited to be able to do my bit here".
Cristina was born in Madrid and now lives in Aranda de Duero. She is a school teacher for children and teenagers. She currently works in an English school and she is in permanent contact with families who look for the experience in participating in cultural exchanges with other countries.
She is really interested in discovering other cultures and lifestyles, enriching herself every day from the company of people.
She likes doing opendoor activites with her family, seeing a good film and travelling.
Her family has previously hosted exchange students from Germany, New Zealand and Canada. She loved this experience so much that she became our coordinator.
Her passion is theatre. She also loves going to the cinema, reading, doing outdoor sports and chatting with her family and friends.
Her biggest hobby is meeting people from all over the world!
She is optimistic and proactive, she likes to get involved in new projects and is very happy to participate in this cultural exchange programme. Professionally she is a nutritionist and biology teacher. She loves teaching and involving her students in the passionate world of science.
In her spare time she practices yoga and swimming. She enjoys reading, going for walks in nature and going on cultural trips with her family.
An unforgettable
cultural exchange
Kristin, Carmen and the entire Openmind Team
We are looking forward to meeting you!
