World Bridges Staff: Jess Delegencia, Vicente Garcia, Lajuanda Asemota, Teresa Shellmon
Jess Delegencia, Executive Director
Jess has over 20 years of experience in project management, community organizing, and international service learning, with a special commitment to leadership and community development in underserved communities. Jess has lived in the Philippines, Thailand and South Africa, traveled to over 50 countries, and speaks Tagalog and Spanish. He received his B.A. as an undergraduate in International Development Studies from the University of California at Berkeley and holds a Masters of Divinity from American Baptist Seminary of the West (Berkeley, CA) and a Masters of Arts in International Development from Eastern University (Cape Town, South Africa) . Jess is also a PhD candidate in Organizational Leadership at Eastern University (St. Davids, PA). At the moment, Jess is deep in his addiction to good coffee, Thai food, and good Brazilian music and jazz.
Vicente Garcia. Administrative and Program Coordinator
Vicente Garcia originally came into the World Bridges family as a program participant to Guatemala in the summer of 2007. He has a B.A. in Ethnic Studies from San Francisco State University and has been doing community work in the Bay Area for most of his adult life. He believes in community organizing, social justice, and believes that brown is the original green. He is excited to come back to be part of the World Bridges team this year because he believes that traveling is one of the best ways to understand that there are different possibilities out there.
Lajuanda Asemota is originally from Oakland, CA, and did most of her schooling in Midland, TX. She earned her B.A. in African American Studies and American Studies (emphasis on Advertising and Consumer Behavior) from UC Berkeley. Equipped with the belief that life’s purpose is relentless service, she has undertaken on work with organizations such as the Multicultural Community Center, the Black Recruitment & Retention Center, the Incentive Awards Program, and the Empowering Women of Color Conference. After participating in the Summer 2011 LEX Program, Lajuanda is excited to continue her commitment to service and social justice abroad through World Bridges. She envisions her participation in World Bridges as a means to achieve constructive healing, learning, coexistence, and love. Currently, when she is not searching the corners of the earth for the perfect MBA program, she is playing volleyball and trying to reawaken her passion for cooking.
Teresa grew up here in the Bay area. Returning after some time in the military, she earned her BA in International Relations and Spanish from SF State University. She has spent a long time working in the medical field and has enjoyed interning and volunteering with some great local nonprofit organizations of the last several years, including Global Exchange, the Institute for Food & Development Policy and most recently the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies. An amateur scarf knitter, photographer, and current family genealogist she also has a passion for music of all kinds and dance from across the globe.