Staff

Sara Lamson Nathan

President & CEO

Sara Nathan is the President & Chief Executive Officer of Amigos de las Américas, a nonprofit organization that empowers lifelong leaders who share responsibility for our global community.

For two decades, Sara’s work has centered on building educational experiences and hands-on learning opportunities for students across the Americas. Prior to serving as CEO, Sara served as Managing Director of Programs. Her major achievements in this role were launching year-round programs, including the Gap Program for high school graduates, opening AMIGOS programs to hundreds of students from Latin America, and the securing our first federal grant award for binational exchanges and programming for youth across the Americas.

As CEO, Sara has focused on growing the impact of AMIGOS through program innovation and systems modernization. The organization has established year-round staffing throughout the Americas, built a marketing program for increased visibility, established a regional staff presence in four other cities in the U.S., and doubled annual fundraising. Under her leadership, AMIGOS has achieved record enrollment and is poised for continued growth.

Prior to AMIGOS, Sara served as the Vice Chair of the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Overseeing Operations, she facilitated research initiatives and dialogue between students, academics, thought leaders, and government officials throughout the Western Hemisphere. Key initiatives included the U.S.-Mexico Futures Forum and the publication of the Berkeley Review of Latin American Studies.

Sara earned her M.S. in International Development from the London School of Economics as well as a B.S. in Conservation and Resource Studies and a B.A in Spanish and Portuguese from the University of California, Berkeley.

Faraz Paliwala

Chief Financial Officer

Katherine Conway

Managing Director of Programs

Katherine re-joins Amigos from her position as a Program Manager at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) where she managed a portfolio of democracy, governance, human rights, and youth leadership programs in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Katherine is a long time Amiga, participating as a volunteer in Paraguay in 2002, supervisor in Honduras in 2004, and Project Director in Honduras in 2009/2010, and Peru in 2011. Katherine also worked at the AMIGOS headquarters in Houston helping to envision the initial youth ambassador program, and most recently served as a Training Director for the Washington, DC Chapter from 2016-2018. Additionally, Katherine holds a BA in International Relations from Tufts University and a Masters in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at the same university.

Katherine is a lover of all things rock climbing, cats, and coffee.

April Hearne

Managing Director of Operations

April is a strategic operations and marketing leader with 10+ years nonprofit and for-profit experience. She is native Houstonian veteran Amiga.

In 2008, she participated in AMIGOS in Guanajuato, Mexico. At Colorado College, she majored in Sociology and continued her Latin American travels in Ecuador and Cuba. An avid backpacker, she spent a month in the backcountry on three separate occasions. 

April is excited to use digital marketing and the power of automation to get the word out about AMIGOS programs.

Caroline Patel

Managing Director of Chapter Operations

Caroline first joined AMIGOS in 2009 as a volunteer from the Houston Chapter. After that first summer, she stayed involved with the organization in a variety of ways, serving as a two-time volunteer, a three-time project staff member, a member of the HQ Programs team, and as part of the Houston Chapter Board.

She returned to the organization in 2022 after pursuing her graduate degree. Caroline is excited to work in collaboration with our local chapter leaders, and she loves to see the way that AMIGOS inspires people across the Americas to get involved in their communities.

Outside of work, you can find her baking bread, listening to audiobooks, or exploring Texas State Parks.

Dan Meyer

Managing Director of Growth

Dan is a seasoned experiential educator with over two decades of experience in diverse settings, ranging from wilderness camps to environmental education centers to challenge courses and more. For 14 years, Dan served as the Program and Operations Director for an international summer program for high school students, where he oversaw the marketing, sales, operations, and programming for 10+ service-learning programs worldwide.  Over the years, he guided 19 programs abroad, launched trips to several new destinations, and increased student enrollments more than two-fold.

Dan holds an MBA and MS in Experiential Education and is passionate about leveraging international travel and cross-cultural experiences to foster personal growth and social impact.  He joined the AMIGOS team in 2024 and is thrilled to contribute to its continued growth and success.

Outside of work, Dan enjoys exploring the outdoors, cooking, yoga, and spending time with his family in Longmont, Colorado.