Team

David Aabo - Executive Director, Oregon, USA | Board Trustee

dave at wavesfordevelopment dot org

David, a founder of WAVES for Development, has been providing his energy to making WAVES a reality since 2005. His love for adventure, curiosity of new cultures, and commitment to changing the world through social enterprises are contagious.

Since 2000 David Aabo has lived and worked in Africa, South America and the United States. He has spent more than four years in Peru developing small business and conservation initiatives that incorporate tourism in rural communities located in the mountains, coast and jungle of Peru. As a Peace Corps volunteer and coordinator, David researched, wrote and presented feasibility plans for “coffee tourism” and “adventure conservation” adventure service tourism initiatives. David worked with ProNaturaleza, the Peruvian Foundation for the Conservation of Nature, to support the development of community-based voluntourism programs in the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, located in the Peruvian jungle.

David earned his Masters of Science in Organizational Management from the School for International Training, 2006. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Colorado State University, 2000.

Michael McMahon | Board Treasurer

<photo and profile coming soon!>

michael at wavesfordevelopment dot org

Brendan McDonald, Director of Voluntourism, Sydney, Australia | Board Member – WAVES Peru and International

brendan at wavesfordevelopment dot org

Brendan has extensive experience in the service tourism and environmental management fields. He was the Sydney Regional Manager for Conservation Volunteers Australia for two years, after five years as a Project Supervisor. These positions required the development, management and implementation of practical conservation and environmental education projects throughout Australia, including the health and safety management, and the development of corporate partnerships. More recently, for 18 months, he was the Expedition Manager for the Amazon Wildlife Research and Community Development Expedition in Ecuador, for Global Vision International. He has also worked for Deepend London and Deepend Sydney in video and documentary production.

Brendan received a BA in Geography and Communications from the University of Wollongong in Australia. His studies include Documentary Cinematography from the Australian Film television and Radio School. He is also a certified PADI Emergency First Response First Aid Instructor.

Sylvain Gaeng, President, WAVES Switzerland, Montreux, Vaud, Switzerland | Board Member WAVES International

sylvain at wavesfordevelopment dot org

Though there are no waves for surfing in Switzerland, Sylvain lives by his soul surfing philosophy: “A sound mind in a sound body.”

After traveling in 43 countries and meeting thousands of people, Sylvain came to an important conclusion: helping others can give his life meaning. Sylvain calculates that if he can help even just 10 people improve their lives, the positive effects will touch thousands of people in centuries to come and make the world a better place.

Sylvain has an extensive background in Finance and Marketing in both international and local companies. He is currently the President of WAVES for Development Switzerland and splits his time between Peru and Switzerland.

Sylvain holds a BA in Economics from the University of Applied Sciences of Lausanne, Switzerland. He is fluent in French, Spanish and English.

Christian Prendergast, Director of Education | Board Chair and Secretary

christian at wavesfordevelopment dot org

Shortly after moving to Talara, Peru in early 2006, Christian became involved in the initial network that helped get WAVES off the ground. He saw an opportunity to combine his niche in teaching with his love of surfing and belief in social justice.  Christian returned to Lobitos to take part in WAVES’ pilot program and has remained active with the organization, serving as chairman of the board and the education director.

Christian graduated from Eastern University in Philadelphia, USA in 2005 with BA’s in English Writing and Secondary Education.  He spent several years as a backpacker and teacher overseas, and has recently taught at the high school level in Charlotte, North Carolina . Christian is excited to be back in Latin America teaching and advocating for WAVES in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

Ben Ellis, Digital Consultant, London, UK

ben at wavesfordevelopment dot org
Ben is Director of Hungry Browser Limited, a User Experience Consultancy that works with a range of clients across London and the UK. He has a wealth of experience in creating engaging online experiences for a variety of businesses and organisations.

A geography graduate from the University of Birmingham, Ben has a keen interest in travel, the environment and international development. He has been surfing for over 8 years now and it is this love of the sport, combined with his education and professional background that drew him to WAVES.

A certified BSA level 1 Surf Instructor and RLSS Beach LIfeguard, Ben volunteered for 5 weeks in Lobitos in October 2010. Since then Ben has led the redesign and development of the WAVES website and digital strategy. Ben is also starting to get involved with local projects in the UK to raise awareness for WAVES.

Tyler Breuer, Sundown Surf & Ski | Board Member

Tyler is a  true legend in the NY surf scene.  Not only because he rips on a surfboard, but because of all he contributes to East Coast surfing.

Tyler is one of the co-founders of the NY Surf Film Festival and more recently SMASH.

Nicholas Xatzis, Pure Form Design & Build | Board Member

nicholas at wavesfordevelopment dot org
Multi-disciplinary artist and designer Nicholas Xatzís was born in the US and raised in a succession of countries including Mexico, Libya, various parts of southern Europe and the US.  He studied fine arts at the University of Florida, and then art history and Italian language at the Universitá di Firenze, Italy before returning to the US, where he went on to New York, and then Southern California, spending 12 years working in the film industry as an art director, actor, writer and director.

During his time in LA he began his training in traditional Japanese, English and Scandinavian joinery under a Venice-based master furniture builder.

He initially worked on free-standing furniture projects, but the scope of his commissions grew rapidly.  He began taking on progressively larger projects, while maintaining emphasis on fine craftsmanship and structural integrity.  He began to redesign and modify existing buildings to accommodate his furniture pieces until  his first ground-up building design commission in 2004, when he began designing and building new structures using the latest available technology  in conjunction with conventional sustainable building practices.

He continues to develop his furniture and architectural designs, modifying existing buildings and creating new buildings that utilize the latest building science –maximizing safety, efficiency and comfort — while maintaining harmony with their surroundings.  Nick brings these unique skills and interests to WAVES and upcoming building projects.

Marieke Bianchi, Marketing& Public Relations | Board Member, WAVES for Development International

Marieke served as a volunteer in Lobitos in 2009 and has been happily volunteering in NYC with WAVES ever since then.  With more than seven years in public relations and marketing, Marieke supports WAVES through PR support, media outreach and event planning.  She thinks every New Yorker should experience Lobitos and the beautiful people of Peru.

Irene Roxana Periche, Associate Director of Administration & Entrepreneurship | Lobitos, Peru

irene at wavesfordevelopment dot org
Irene, a Lobitos local, brings to the team not only her university studies in accounting, but an invaluable local perspective.  Irene works out of the new WAVES office in the Primavera neighborhood, where she lives.

Pim van den Hoven, Voluntourism Coordinator | Lobitos, Peru

pim at wavesfordevelopment dot org
His attraction to Latin culture and waves led him to travel extensively around Central America. This gave him the desire to further explore the Latin American continent. Therefore, he’s now committed to working full time in Lobitos to link international volunteers and the local community in a mutually beneficial way. Hereby, combining surfing world class waves, immersion in Latin culture and acquiring and sharing valuable life skills all in one meaningful experience. He’ll makes sure that all volunteers have an amazing time with WAVES by organizing their arrival, activities, meals, and personal projects.

Pim studied leisure, sport and tourism management in Sydney, Australia and has extensive experience working in the hospitality, sport and tourism industry. After being landlocked in the Netherlands for seven plus months he is frothing to surf the waves around Lobitos and improve his backside surfing skills. He is hopeful that his passion for surfing will positively rub off on both locals and volunteers.

Luis Junior Carrera Avalo

Junior, from Talara, is one of the newest team members to join the other instructors in Lobitos.  He has taught English in various professional settings and can also be seen in the water catching waves with volunteers and locals alike.  One of his favorite quotes: “If you start out by promising what you don’t even have yet… you’ll lose your desire to work toward getting it.”

Sonia Elena Machuca Eche, Environmental Education Teacher | Lobitos Peru

Sonia, a Lobitos native, has been a strong teacher in the Lobitos primary school.  In 2010, she joined the environmental education team to share her passion for the conserving the environment with the Lobitos youth and visiting volunteers.

Guadalupe Amaya de Pazos, Cleaning, Shopping | Lobitos, Peru

Guadalupe, a long-time Lobitos native, has been helping the Lobitos team since 2009 with cleaning and food purchasing for the volunteers.

Daniela Amico, Board Member | WAVES Peru, Lima, Perú

dani at wavesfordevelopment dot org

Born in Lima but raised in Madrid, Dani has always been attracted to the ocean. After having lived over 500 km away from the ocean for 11 years, moving back to Lima finally allowed Dani to realized one of her childhood dreams: learning how to surf. Now able to practice the sport on a constant basis, surfing is one of her biggest passions.

Having studied Social Anthropology and Development Studies in the University of Sussex, UK, Dani returned to her homeland in the hope of putting in practice what she learned during her studies, while getting to know the Peruvian reality, continuing to learn and experiencing new challenges. For two years she worked for a Peruvian environmental conservation NGO, shaping socially and environmentally sustainable projects, assisting technically in others, and contributing to the organization’s fundraising efforts. She has also worked for a Peruvian non-profit organization that promotes social responsibility and corporative volunteering among large and small businesses in Peru. Dani currently works in strategic development for a public relations firm in Lima.

WAVES for Development combines perfectly Dani’s passion of the sport with her will to help others fend for a better future. She is co-founder and legal representative of WAVES for Development Peru, coordinating and establishing new alliances and relationships with other local organizations.

WAVES Peru Youth Allstars

Dario Jc Carreno, Culinary School Scholarship Recipient

Dario has been involved with WAVES since the pilot program back in February of 2008.  He first experiences were in the surf classes.  He quickly progressed and became one of the assistants for the younger kids.  He was one of 5 graduates from the Lobitos high school in 2010.  The only boy.  His dream is to become a Chef, however, the cost of the school was too expensive so he was going to work security for the local government to save money.  WAVES values education and wants to support local youth pursuing their educational careers in the most direct way possible.  Thanks to Swiss donors, among others, WAVES gave him a scholarship to attend culinary school.

Henry Espinoza Panta, Surf Photography

Henry has also been involved with WAVES since the beginning.  He had been interested in surfing for a while.  He was only 13 when he first showed up at the beach.  He brought his boogie board, given to him by a traveler,  to the surf classes. He was small enough and with the natural talent bestowed upon him, he would stand on the body board!  Once he tried surfing with a real surfboard, he was a natural.  It was during the filming of CAPTURE: A WAVES Documentary, that he discovered his passion for photography.  The non-traditional education provided by WAVES and the various skilled volunteers visiting Lobitos have propelled Henry into a social enterprise where a portion of surf photography sales go to him, a portion go to his educational/career fund savings and a portion to WAVES for use of the equipment and to support further programming.

See a short video of him in Chicama here (in Spanish).