MEET OUR LOCAL VOLUNTEERS
Bettye Cobb
As a former classroom teacher in Las Vegas and youth director with The Salvation Army, Bettye's deep understanding of children, poverty, and education led her to create Kids Learning Community. Bettye is on a mission to bring quality English education programs to rural Costa Rica. She is focused on improving the socioeconomic status of the community by creating opportunities for the youth to improve their standard of living. Bettye is a proud alum of UNLV where she received a bachelors degree in Elementary Education and a masters degree in Educational Leadership. When not working, Bettye can be found hiking or sitting at the lake with her dog, Bella.
Kim Willing
Kim joined KLC as a volunteer in 2017 when she moved to Nuevo Arenal with her husband Bob. She's a Sales Representative for Dental Products Manufacturer in Brazil and travels throughout Latin America. Kim's 56+ country travel history makes her passionate about Geography. Working as a volunteer and sharing her knowledge of language and culture with the local children of our community has been a most rewarding opportunity and one she hopes to continue for years to come.
Becky and Edd Gordon
Becky and Edd moved to Arenal from Florida 2 years ago and have been volunteering at KLC ever since. Edd worked as a school service officer promoting a drug-free environment for students. Becky was a real estate agent. Edd is a talented doodler; widely know for his self portrait 'Mr. Potato Edd' . While Becky is our resident photographer and is the friendly face that greets all the children as they walk through our doors.
Kelly Wallace
Kelly moved to Nuevo Arenal in 2018, with her husband Bob, after she retired from the Water Company in California. She has 3 sons, a stepdaughter and 2 grandsons. Kelly has several hobbies, but her passion has always been doing crafts. She loves to create and share her creations with others. After moving here, she wanted to be involved in the community by volunteering her time. When she found out about the KLC Program she knew it was what she wanted to do! Now twice a week Kelly gets to craft with the children of Nuevo Arenal, and she says it’s so much more rewarding than doing them by herself. Her favorite part of working with the kids is seeing everything through their eyes and then watching them light up when they finish their project or learn something new.
Jodi Melland
Jodi is originally from Washington State. She moved to Nuevo Arenal in early 2022 with her husband Duane after retiring from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory where she served as a strategic advisor. She is also the mom of three awesome adults and past Chair of the Kadlec Neurological Resource Center Board of Directors. When not volunteering or exploring her new community, Jodi can be found working in her garden or entertaining her dog, Sugar Ray the Boxer.
Kim Granade
Kim and her husband Ray and are both retired. They enjoy the arts and have been involved with glass and pottery crafts for a number of years, They have lived in Nuevo Arenal since 2013 and have made so many wonderful friends. They love Costa Rica and the warmth of the people in the community.
Jennifer Gudiel
Jennifer is a native Costa Rican who currently lives in Nuevo Arenal. She studied to become a preschool teacher and uses that experience to teach the kids of KLC English. Jennifer attends church at the corner of Guatuso Road where she serves as a children's teacher. She is also a sales assistant for an Institute and runs her own virtual clothing business. She enjoys helping people in the community.
Megan Jones-Holt and Matt Holt
Megan is an entrepreneur who started and sold several businesses. Her latest role prior to moving to Costa Rica in early 2022 was a Pizza Chef and her restaurant was featured in PMQ International Pizza magazine. When Megan became a Rotarian in 1995, she took her passion for entrepreneurship and paid it forward, focusing on vocational service in the local schools. She piloted two programs in her district: Early Act- a community civic minded club using rotary ideals in elementary schools-kids 8-13 years old and Bridging the Gap a project that teaches 16–18-year-olds how to start a business. KLC has been a blessing in disguise as it has given her a new place to interact with young minds once again.
Matt retired from a 45-year career of both entrepreneurial business ownership, as well as Executive positions with a Global company. He also spent 30 years in various elected political positions. Both Megan and Matt have traveled around the world and believe that the exposure to so many different cultures create an opportunity for a fuller life overall. He is enjoying the people and lifestyle of Costa Rica and looks forward to working with the community and children in expanding their understanding of the English language, as well as his own knowledge and mastering of Spanish.
A Special Thanks to Anne and Robert
Thank you for starting us out on this amazing journey, we couldn't have done it without all of your love and support!