Jon Larsen - Nicaragua Program Director
Jon Larsen has worked with youth in a variety of environments for the past 13 years, from child abuse prevention to wilderness therapy to mentoring to teaching high school environmental science and service-learning. He lived in Spain when he was 11, and has lived also in Texas, Michigan and Utah. He has traveled to Denmark, England, Uruguay and Chile. Jon's mother, who is Chilean, came to the U.S. when she was 20 years old, barely able to speak English, having escaped the Pinochet regime's persecution of Chileans who held "socialistic" views. Later, as a single working mother, she put herself through college and ultimately earned a Ph.D. in Sociology. Jon credits his mother as "probably one of my biggest inspirations in overcoming odds as well as my link to the Latino community". Jon's goal for all his travels is not just to visit but also to spend time getting past the tourist role by either working in these different places or staying with family who bring him ‘inside' the culture.
Jon's passions include the wilderness, white water rafting, rock climbing, mountaineering, hiking, reading about travelers who bring good things to places in need and savoring books about dragons. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon, where he teaches at-risk youth and also is studying to be an EMT-Paramedic.
Jon will be directing VISIONS' Nicaragua program in July and our Peru program in August.