Leanne Chacon

As the Director of Curriculum and Training, Leanne leads the development of all of Intercambio’s curriculum and materials. She also oversees all initial and ongoing training and teaching support for volunteer teachers across all of Intercambio’s programs, as well as for teachers and administrators affiliated with member organizations of the national Intercambio Network. She also helped to develop and write the Confidence and Connections curriculum.

Prior to joining Intercambio, Leanne taught English in Chile in a variety of settings and worked as an Academic Coordinator of English Language Programs at the U.S. – Chile binational center in Santiago. In addition to teaching, she served as Program Director for a national English scholarship program of the Chilean Economic Development Agency (CORFO) and oversaw training for native English-speaking volunteers who had traveled to Chile to take part in the Chilean Ministry of Education’s “English Opens Doors” program. She also worked as a press translator for the English language website of the national Chilean newspaper, El Mercurio. After her time in Chile, Leanne worked in Puerto Rico as the Director of International Affairs for a private, nonprofit university. Her responsibilities included the oversight, development, and implementation of the university’s strategic plan for internationalization, study abroad initiatives, international student and faculty services, international partnerships, and international education grant programs.

Leanne completed her undergraduate degree in Spanish for the Professions at the University of Colorado at Boulder and holds a Master of Education in Global Studies in Education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is passionate about building mutual understanding and appreciation among people from different cultural, social, and linguistic backgrounds through education.