Cara Ciminillo joined VISIONS in 1999 as a staff leader and later directed VISIONS programs in South Carolina, Australia, the British Virgin Islands, and Dominica. For a time Cara worked year-round as a VISIONS' Coordinator of Caribbean Programs in our early days in the BVI. She continues to assist VISIONS with planning and advising, particularly for our Dominica program site. Cara earned a B.A. in Ethnic Studies and has a M.Ed. in Social and Comparative Analysis in Education from the University of Pittsburgh where she is currently a Ph.D. candidate in International Development in Education. Just out of college, Cara worked two years an an AmeriCorps VISTA at Pittsburgh Habitat for Humanity. She now is Project Manager of the Collaborative for Evaluation and Assessment Capacity (CEAC) in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh.

Cara met her husband, Provin Sanford, a Dominica native, through VISIONS when both were summer staffers. Eventually, they co-directed VISIONS Dominica for several summers. They live in Pittsburgh with their two young daughters, Mia and Lyra. Cara, Provin and their girls look forward to returning to Provin’s home community this summer to share their love and knowledge of Carib Territory with VISIONS participants.