ELISA SABATINI

Elisa Sabatini

Elisa serves as the Executive Director for Via International. She is responsible for providing strategic direction, supervising staff, creating new programs, and securing all resources for activities in Mexico, Guatemala, the United States and Canada. Program areas include family health, nutrition, micro-finance, sustainable agriculture, community organizing and development education. In 2003, the VolunTours “social business” joined the family of Via programs.

Elisa formerly served with World SHARE for fourteen years. She served as Mexico Director involving food movement and storage, inventories, community development projects, program proposals, fundraising and evaluation. As Country Director in Guatemala, Elisa set up systems, trained staff in accounting software, developed food handling and warehouse manuals, designed program proposals in the areas of maternal child health, agroforestry, infrastructure development and community banks/income generation.

Elisa was named the World SHARE Regional Director for Latin America and coordinated participatory processes to create an autonomous SHARE organization in Guatemala as well as develop self-funding food distribution in Mexico and a rural agricultural loan fund. In Mexico, the Compartamos (SHARE) program is now the largest micro finance initiative in Latin America. Elisa joined Via International in 1998.