CAROLYN BONADIO grew up in Southern California with a passion for travel and foreign languages. While a student at Santa Margarita High School, she spent a summer studying Spanish in Spain where she discovered a life-long desire to travel the world.
In college she returned to Spain to study at the Universidad de Salamanca. Upon returning to the States, she earned a B.A. in Linguistics with an emphasis in Spanish from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
After graduation, Carolyn moved to Costa Rica to take advantage of the opportunity of a lifetime. She organized and operated Escuela Mariposa, a private bilingual school in Playa Potrero. After three years of working as co-director and teacher at the school, it was time to leave the jungle and return home to Southern California.
She spent the next five years teaching in the Lawndale Elementary School District and at New Roads Middle School in Santa Monica. In order to pursue her lifelong dream, she teamed up with Debra Devine Morton to found Destino Abroad.
Carolyn currently lives in Marina del Rey with husband Max and son Maxie. When Carolyn isn’t teaching, she loves exploring the world and spending time with her two favorite Maxes.
Debra Devine Morton is a native of Southern California who has spent most of her adult life on the go! She lived in Ecuador as an AFS exchange student where she became fluent in Spanish and began her love for all things Latin American.
After graduating from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in International Relations, she began her career in journalism at Telemundo’s Chicago affiliate. After a stint in the Windy City, she spent the next 10 years working for CNN’s Spanish Language Network and CNN International and eventually became Director of Operations and New Business. The travel continued as Deb became part of a team, chosen to launch non-English speaking CNN programs and news networks in Spain, Mexico and Turkey.
Finally, motherhood took precedence and Deb traded her international career for one teaching Spanish at Harbor Day School in Newport Beach. She has organized and led a number of student trips to various Spanish-speaking destinations, including Peru, Ecuador and Costa Rica. Currently Deb, son T.J. and daughter Maggie reside in Newport Beach, California. Deb’s enthusiasm for teaching, travel, and business is infectious and Destino Abroad is the culmination of extensive experience in each.
For as long as she can remember KENDY TAYLOR has been fascinated with languages. At an early age, she began teaching English as a Second Language in her hometown of Santa Clarita. In high school, she began her pursuit of Spanish studies and was actively involved in the Spanish Honor Society. She also worked as a Spanish tutor at Spectrum Languages in Irvine, California.
Kendy’s study of Spanish language and culture continued when she moved to Barcelona, Spain during her final year of college. After returning from Spain, she earned a double major B.A. in Spanish and Global Cultures from the University of California at Irvine.
A passionate advocate of community service, Kendy is constantly looking for someplace to volunteer her services. She co-founded and developed the Orange County Prom Dress Drive. She also spent time in New Orleans volunteering to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. Currently, she is living in Kenya, Africa where she teaches for Koins for Kenya, a cross-cultural volunteer program that provides educational opportunities to rural Kenyans.
When Kendy does have free time, she enjoys painting, traveling and gaining inspiration wherever she goes.
BARET BERTEA WALKER has always had an eye to explore the world’s natural beauty. As a child, she got the travel and adventure bug from her family and has since lived, studied, worked and played abroad extensively. Baret’s first long term international experience began when she was encouraged to learn about her Swiss roots by attending boarding school in Switzerland her freshman and sophomore years of high school. At Le Rosey, in Rolle, she learned French and Spanish and traveled through much of Europe. Returning home, Baret received her B.A. in French and Political Science from Middlebury College.
After college, Baret used her Spanish skills working for a public relations firm in New York with international clientele. These contacts led her to Caracas, Venezuela, where she reported for the Daily Journal covering politics and traveling in South America.
Baret is married with three children living in Denver, Colorado. Currently, she and her husband Todd serve as hosts for the International Visitor Leadership Program which works in conjunction with the U.S. State Department, to pair international leaders and professionals with American counterparts. Baret is a part-time photographer and a mentor for Hispanic families at her children’s school. She loves travel, cooking and cross-cultural exchanges.
DREW DEVINE is a Southern California native who, like sister Debbie, has spent much of his adult life traveling the globe. After graduating from Corona del Mar High School, he spent a year in Caracas, Venezuela as an AFS exchange student where his love of other cultures was born.
After university in Santa Barbara, Drew set off to travel and surf the world. He has surfed throughout Europe, Tahiti, Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand, Nias, Vietnam, Venezuela, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Mexico, Eastern & Western Australia, Bali, Sumatra, and the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia.
Drew has a natural talent for teaching surfing and ocean safety. He spent four years life guarding for the City of Newport Beach and soon became an instructor for the Junior Lifeguards of Newport Beach. After three years working as a Junior Lifeguard Instructor, he was hired as Director of the Quiksilver Surf Camp in Newport Beach. For the past five years he has enjoyed working with Quiksilver and sharing his love of surfing and the ocean with the youth of Orange County.
An accomplished lifeguard, Drew is certified in both First Aid and CPR. Currently, Drew lives in Newport Beach with wife Kristie and soon-to-arrive bundle of joy, Ava.
