Jason Straus

About Jason Straus

My mission in life is to create opportunities for cross-cultural education experiences that develop empathy and a curiosity for people of different backgrounds so that we can more effectively work together towards a sustainable and equitable future. I started my mission serving a refugee and immigrant community as an AmeriCorps ACCESS member and working at the CNNC. I developed several education programs in an at-risk trailer park community while also supervising and training volunteers from high schools and the surrounding universities. At Guilford College, I co-developed and taught an experiential internship program. After three years, we were successfully able to establish a physical building to serve as a community center that still serves the community 13 years later. Afterwards, I moved to Málaga, Spain where I worked in a program through the Spanish government to teach English in bilingual schools. While there, I established a penpal program between my school and a local school in my hometown of Durham, North Carolina. In my free time, I taught private English classes and later served as a manager for a language academy for international college students and young professionals.Later, I taught Spanish and a variety of other subjects at Triangle Day School in Durham, NC. I also coached the 8th grade boys basketball team and taught a global studies elective to 8th graders. During my summers, I led trips with middle school students to Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic through Putney Student travels. I went back to school and got my Masters at UNC in the MEITE program where I earned a high pass in every class and came in second place in the Carolina Pitch competition. I\'ve been focusing my mission over these past 4+ years to make our population in my home state of North Carolina more bilingual. I have done this by leading the Conexiones program at Participate Learning since September 2018.Conexiones is a Spanish language program for immersion students and heritage speakers that ensures continued growth in Spanish language proficiency while preparing students for their future careers as bilingual professionals. In the Conexiones program, students work on projects focusing on real-world issues that help them make connections between their local communities and classrooms abroad. An example of this is the annual Model UN event where students represent different countries and debate about issues impacting the world- all in Spanish. Program renewal rate: 100%Program growth since 2018: 642%(from 7 to 45)

Experience

1. Senior Manager

   Participate Learning

   Jan 2025 — Present · Chapel Hill, NC, US

Education

• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  Master's degree, Masters of Educational Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship

  2018 — 2019

• Guilford College

  Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Spanish Language and Literature

  2006 — 2011

Skills

• Spanish
• Teaching English as a Second Language
• Community Outreach
• Volunteer Recruiting
• Community Organizing
• Social Justice
• Community Mental Health
• Translation
• Early Childhood Education
• Mental Health
• Adult Education
• Community Service
• Interpreting
• Volunteer Management