Anne Marie Toccket holds a master's degree in international development from the University of Pittsburgh and bachelor's degrees in Spanish, international studies and journalism from Penn State University. She has worked extensively in Latin America, including contract, consulting and volunteer positions in Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, and Peru. While completing her master's, Anne Marie was the two-time recipient of the Foreign Language and Area Studies award, which supported research on the Andes and in Quechua language study. She worked in Peru for Awamaki’s predecessor organization, helped found Awamaki, and built a consulting agency for non-profit strategy and fundraising in Pittsburgh. She is now the Executive Director of a Pittsburgh-based family foundation.

Originally from Seattle, Kramer Gillin has a PhD in Geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After graduating from Macalester College, Kramer worked for a folk art importer and a foreign map distributor in Austin, TX. He then moved to Tajikistan, where he worked for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In UW-Madison, Kramer researched the social, political, and environmental dimensions of land reform, pasture management, and economic development projects in Central Asia and Afghanistan and taught regional geography courses. He is now stewarding Mercy Corps' Locally Led Commitment. His first trip to the Sacred Valley was in 2001.

Kristen lives in Seattle. She is a CPA and has over twenty years of experience in tax accounting for large corporations. She has traveled extensively overseas and is currently expanding her career interests to graphic design. She has visited Ollantaytambo several times with her husband Jeff. They have two dogs and can be found cycling or canoeing in their spare time.

Ursula is a tropical ecologist with a research interest in predator ecology, community ecology and tropical conservation. She teaches ecology, natural history, field ecology and conservation and sustainability at the University of Washington Bothell, but she also spends time in the Peruvian Amazon collecting data about bird diversity and working for the conservation of the rainforest. She offers her students hands-on experiences in field research and teaches the exploration of biodiversity and conservation issues in the Andes and Amazon in Peru. Ursula grew up in Peru, has lived in the U.S. for decades, and returns to Peru often for her work and to visit family.

A Seattle native, Quincy Anderson has been an exhibiting artist for over thirty years. Influenced by her travels all over the world, Quincy creates nature-inspired large scale abstract paintings. Since receiving her MFA from the University of Washington, Quincy has also been an art instructor at many different institutions throughout Washington State. Her work is represented by Howard/Mandville Gallery, Kirkland, WA and Museo Gallery, Langley, WA. She lives on Whidbey Island in Washington. Quincy is passionate about women’s empowerment and textile design.

Anne first visited Ollantaytambo as a volunteer for Awamaki in 2011. She currently resides in Seattle. She received her Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University School of Architecture. Anne has been a project architect for over twenty years, and currently works principally as an architect on major public works. She enjoys designing spaces to maximize community benefit.

Gabriel resides in Seattle. He has been a Certified Public Accountant for over fifteen years. Gabriel is currently CFO at FOLX Health, helping to create and expand access to affirming LGBTQIA+ healthcare.

Jennifer Ricaldi is from Lima, Peru, where she trained in, practiced and taught pediatric dentistry before moving to the U.S. with her family. In the U.S., she obtained a masters’ degree in public health. She specializes in designing and implementing community health programs that benefit underserved populations, and supports several Seattle-based latinx community organizations with fundraising and community-building.

Annie Millican is a weaver, designer, and international development consultant with 15 years experience working with global artisan communities and design brands to bring craftwork to new audiences. Annie strives to create meaningful human connections in the design process, across an otherwise knotty and inequitable supply chain. Annie was part of the founding team at Awamaki and she has since gone on to lead strategy at Nest, The Anou, VOZ, DARA Artisans and Kollabora, as well as teach at the Fashion Institute of Technology.  Annie has a degree in Art History and International Development Studies from McGill University.

Pamela Vanderlinde is an independent designer based in Chicago whose design practice, philosophy and teaching are grounded in her study of historical and contemporary bespoke fashion. For eleven years, she owned and operated a boutique named Zone which housed her bespoke designs. Pamela also teaches fashion design classes at the undergraduate level at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago. Her level of expertise is grounded in patternmaking and fashion design and has just written a book published by Bloomsbury Publishing titled Patternmaking for Jacket and Coat Design, which was released in January 2017. She also has expertise in fashion business and has taught classes in this discipline as well.