Speakers 2018

Katia Cerwin

Katia designs and creates experiences that generate the greatness of humanity and her fundamental purpose in life is to leave this world better than we imagined it. Katia is an impact innovator with 8 years of professional experience focused on design and communications; directly involved in creating conscious high-impact projects.

In 2014, Katia co-created Programa Valentina, along with her husband Alejandro Estrada, Jessica Hammer and FUNSEPA, in order to disrupt education and the workforce to accelerate progress in Latin America.

Since then, she has been part of the Board of Directors and is the General Manager overseeing the strategy, communication, and execution of Programa Valentina.

Gabriel Bardales

Young 17 year old entrepreneur and business person.

Creator of Filí, S.A company, founder of the massive pages @inspirandoguate and @theentrepreneursmafia, speaker and author of the book Tu Huella Marcando el Éxito. Co-founder of Interact Montessori and winner of the CITI Prize for best business idea and Pitch.

Jose Juan Bonifasi

José Juan Bonifasi was born on January 6, 2007 in Guatemala. At 11 years old, he is passionate about dancing, singing and French bulldogs. He is a student at Acton Academy Guatemala. José Juan is the youngest of 3 siblings and he enjoys traveling with his family, discovering new places and meeting new people.

Andre Nuyens

Andre Nuyens was born on April 16th, 2002 in Baltimore, Maryland. From 2003 to 2006 he lived in Bern, Switzerland. Since 2006 he has been living in Guatemala City and in early 2007 he began his education at the Austrian School of Guatemala. There he discovered his passion for music and sports. After a ski accident in 2016, Andre underwent drastic changes in his life. He then moved to the American School of Guatemala, where he discovered interests in science and technology.

Since then, Andre has begun to develop this new project on a program that uses AI to assist in healthcare and also in biotech that takes human intelligence to the next level.

Mariana Obregon

Mariana believes that love, passion, and art move the world.

Each project she participates in marks her life, leaves her with lessons, and shows her the reality of different people. Among her pleasures in life will always be listening to a favorite song, visiting a gallery, reading a good book, sharing, getting to know, learning and having new experiences. Sensitive, joyful, sometimes shy; that's how she defines herself.

Caterina Mendez

My name is Caterina Mendez and I am 14 years old. I am a curious person and a lover of writing. I love expressing myself and I do it in many ways, one of them is dance.

I believe that a person never stops learning: learning to be, learning to do, and learning to learn. I have had the opportunity to travel with my family and alone and this has helped me a lot to shape myself and become independent. I believe that a good leader is based on empathy, teamwork, and communication.

Kenneth Muller

The Guatemalan entrepreneur, musician, and filmmaker began his artistic career at the age of 10 with his first classical piano courses. At 19, he abandoned his career in electronic engineering in pursuit of his artistic dream and enrolled in Digital Design University in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. By excelling, he became the first student to premiere a music video on MTV, TELEHIT, RITMOSON and other networks.

In 2015, he won the "NETFLIX" Mexico award and, with this, became the first Central American to distribute a film worldwide with his feature film 12 seconds. Film that he filmed when he was 26 years old and that is now in the hands of FOX.

Today, at 32, Müller is distributing his second film "SEPTIEMBRE" worldwide, making him a favorite of the world's largest film platform "NETFLIX".

Dr. Richard Hansen

Dr. Richard D. Hansen is a specialist in the origins of the Maya civilization and is the Director of the Mirador Basin Project in a remote area in northern Petén, Guatemala. He has been directing and participating in archaeological research and scientific studies in Guatemala for 37 years. In March 2017, he was awarded Guatemala's highest honor, the Order of the Quetzal at the grade of Grand Cross.

He has published to date 3 books as author or editor, and 158 chapters and scientific and popular publications. He has presented 358 professional papers and technical reports at scientific symposia worldwide. Dr. Hansen has been a prominent figure in 29 scientific film and documentaries.

He recently participated with Morgan Freeman in the National Geographic series "The Story of God." Dr. Hansen's studies have identified some of the largest and oldest sites of the Maya World and his work has been an important contribution to understanding the cultural and natural origins and development of the Maya civilization.