Director-Kevin O'Neill 

Dr. Kevin O'Neill was born in California. He received his BA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and spent a year at the Université de Bordeaux in France. Continuing with his studies, Dr. O'Neill moved to Berkeley where he earned his M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley. In addition, Dr. O'Neill was awarded a US government grant to study Tamil, and received a French government grant to attend the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. He is the author of scholarly articles and translations. He  worked for years as a French professor and later as Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Denver. As director of international programs at UCD, Dr. O'Neill developed groundbreaking programs throughout the world including China, Russia, Nepal, and Mongolia. In 2001, Dr. O'Neill founded ELI as a more flexible and culturally integrative alternative to traditional study abroad programs. In 2004, Dr. O'Neill was awarded an honarary doctorate by Russia's premier institution, Moscow State University, in recognition of his contribution to international education.  Currently, in addition to his work with ELI, Dr. O'Neill is serving as Vice President for Academic Affairs for the International Hispanic Online University.

Program Manager-Raissa Shafer 

Raissa grew up in Wyoming and began pursuing a career in travel very early, working front desk at a hotel through high school. She attended the Colorado College where she studied abroad in Osaka and earned a B.A. in Economics and Asian Studies. After graduation, Raissa spent a year teaching English in a private school in Japan, taking time to travel throughout Japan and East Asia. She returned to Colorado and spent a year working in the mountains before becoming the Office Manager for GoAbroad.com's US office in Denver where she became very familiar with the fields of international education and alternative travel. Raissa began working at ELI in 2004. In her time as program manager, Raissa has worked with thousands of participants and assisted with developing programs in every country where ELI works. Raissa is very enthusiastic in her work and is always excited to help plan an adventure.

Program Specialist-Malissa Spero

Malissa grew up on Oahu and graduated from the University of Denver with a BA in International Studies and French. She studied abroad in Paris, Beijing, Kathmandu, and Ilomantsi. She worked in corporate dispute mediation for several years in San Diego. After teaching English in Incheon, South Korea, Malissa became a Program Manager for the Center for China-US Cooperation at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies. Passionate about international development and humanitarian work, she has been a program specialist with ELI since January 2007. Malissa specializes in ELI's programs in Nepal, India, Thailand, and South Africa. She and her husband Scott own and operate one of Denver's best alternative coffee houses, Hooked on Colfax.  A must if you visit Denver!

Program Specialist-Jennifer Provizer

While Jennifer was born in Louisiana, she has spent most of her life in Colorado. After graduating from the Colorado College with a BA in History, she moved to Washington DC where she worked for an educational non-profit. Jennifer returned to Denver where she is currently completing her Masters Degree in History at the University of Colorado Denver. Jennifer's love of travel began at age 6 with an extensive family trip to Asia, Europe, and Africa, and she has been fortunate enough to set foot on six of the seven continents. Her travels have had a variety of foci, from language study to volunteering to outdoor adventure. She is the specialist for programs in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Chile, Germany, and Poland.

Applications Advisor-Kenton Owsley

Kenton grew up in Olympia, Washington and gradually worked his way east via Boise and Salt Lake City until landing in Denver where he began his graduate program in International Studies and Comparative Politics  at the University of Denver. He first became interested in experiential travel through an exchange program in Lima, Peru the summer following his senior year of high school. The focus of his studies turned toward the Middle East after spending six months studying and teaching English in Cairo, Egypt and traveling through Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan. He also studied in Sevilla, Spain for a summer and participated in volunteer programs in Venezuela and Southeast Asia. Kenton now works with ELI helping participants through the application process and advising on programs in Vietnam, the Philippines, and Ghana.

Study Abroad Advisor-Aimee Fleck-Dixon

Aimee has a BA in Communications from Colorado State University. Her love of travel was sparked Junior year by studying at the University of Leicester in England. Once she came back from her year abroad, she worked as a Peer Advisor in the Office for International Education at CSU. After graduation, she was not ready for cubicle life and decided to work at an internet cafe in Brisbane, Australia for six months where she was able to explore life down under and discovered her love of veggiemite. Once she returned to the US, she went to work for a large study abroad provider based in Tempe, Arizona. There she furthered her career in Study Abroad by advising students headed to England, Ireland, Australia, Hungary, Italy, and Poland. After three years in the Arizona heat, she packed her bags and headed to Thailand to teach English for six months. She now finds herself once again following her passion of Study Abroad by advising ELI students on the many programs we offer and hoping to pass along her passion for travel