About Us
Our Mission
Nest Global creates high quality preschool programs for children experiencing displacement and poverty.
Who We Are
We’re educators.
As an organization founded by early childhood teachers, we know how life-changing a quality preschool program can be. Nest Global brings the very best in ECE programs to migrant shelters, refugee camps, and communities around the world experiencing poverty and hardship.
We’re collaborators.
We work hand-in-hand with our local partners to develop Nest programs that are tailored to the specific needs and strengths of each community.
We’re leaders in the field.
As one of the first and only organizations around the world providing free, culturally-responsive early childhood education to families experiencing forced migration, we’re sharing knowledge every way we can.
Our Team
Leadership
Nest Global’s leadership team is made up of educators, non-profit leaders, global health researchers, and child development experts committed to making flexible, high-quality early education programs available where they’re needed most.
Lindsay Weissert
Co-Chief Executive Officer
Lindsay Weissert
Co-Chief Executive Officer
Lindsay is an early childhood education activist and a founding member of Nest Global, where she has served as CEO since 2021. She brings more than 20 years’ experience in senior global development roles, spanning both the private sector and large international NGOs. Lindsay is a driving force behind Nest Global’s Nest Schools which now serve over 7,000 (im)migrant and asylum seeking children and families in Europe, Africa, and North America.
Lindsay is the co-founder of the Children’s Action Coalition, an online platform where children’s welfare service providers can connect, collaborate, and share resources.
Prior to Nest Global, Lindsay was the Global Director of Business Development for L&L Manufacturing Company, where she created and implemented sustainability, social responsibility and philanthropic initiatives for one of the world’s largest apparel manufacturers at that time. Lindsay holds a B.A. in Journalism from Boston University and a M.S. in Biomedical Sciences from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, where a focus of her research was high quality educational programs for youth coping with emotional challenges.
Kristina Brittenham
Co-Chief Executive Officer
Kristina Brittenham
Co-Chief Executive Officer
Kristina is a long-time child advocate with an interdisciplinary background in legal services, developmental science research, and community engagement work. Recognizing a need in the field for increased connectivity among organizations supporting children and families, Kristina co-founded the Nest Global Hub (formerly the Children’s Action Coalition Platform), an online space for child welfare service providers to connect, collaborate, and leverage each other’s strengths. She brings her diverse experience across fields to developing domestic clinical programs and expanding academic collaborations at Nest Global.
Previously, Kristina worked in private practice as a litigator, clerked for a federal judge, advocated for foster youth, consulted on corporate social responsibility and action research, and founded a preschool. She sits on Conservation International’s Board of Directors and UCLA’s School of Education & Information Studies’ Undergraduate Program Community Engagement Advisory Committee.
Kristina’s work has been published in law journals including Boston College Law Review and Unbound: Harvard Journal of the Legal Left, and on websites including the Huffington Post and Psychology Today. She received her M.A. in Education from UCLA, her J.D. from Boston College Law School, and her B.A. in Political Science from Brown University.
Rachel Roberts
Director of Global Operations
Rachel Lowdermilk Roberts
Director of Global Operations
Rachel is an early childhood educator and founding member of Nest Global who is dedicated to making high quality education available to all children.
Rachel has over 15 years of experience working in progressive schools across Los Angeles and New York City. Before re-joining the Nest Global team in her current role, Rachel served as the Pre-Primary Documentation and Curriculum Specialist at the Blue School, an independent school for students age 2 through 8th grade in Lower Manhattan.
Rachel has served as a Curriculum Advisor for Sesame Street since 2019, consulting on the show’s multi-year curriculum focused on playful problem-solving. She has presented her work at several national education conferences and through exhibits around the Los Angeles area. Rachel received a BA in Psychology from Barnard College and is a graduate of the Bank Street College of Education and Hunter College School of Social work dual Masters degree program in Infant and Family Development.
Vanessa Esquivel
Director of Border Programs
Vanessa Esquivel
Director of Border Programs
Vanessa Esquivel Martinez is the Director of Border Programs for Nest Global, overseeing Nest Tijuana’s preschool and parenting program, and serving as the liaison for the local partnerships in Tijuana, Mexico. Passionate about helping people grow and flourish in different stages of life and environments, her call to service found a home at Nest Global in 2020.
Vanessa’s unique skill set comes from over 15 years of diverse professional experience working in early childhood education and mental health, organizational development, human resources and compliance for international corporations. She has supported the implementation of programs and processes with teams from Latin America, India and the U.S. and provides flexibility and versatility when working with diverse cultures, vulnerable communities and civil society organizations.
Vanessa holds a degree in Psychology from the Autonomous University of Baja California (Mexico) and has continued her education through professional studies in Child Psychotherapy, Crisis Intervention and Organizational Development, among others. She is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy at the University of Xochicalco in Tijuana.
Dr. Xinshu She
MD, MPH
Director of Research & Public Health
Dr. Xinshu She
Director of Research & Public Health
Xin She, MD, MPH, is a global health pediatrician and a Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health. Her mission is to create culturally-sensitive and equitable solutions for all children to thrive, especially in low- resource settings. She speaks 5 languages and is passionate about cross-cultural exchange and social justice.
As a researcher, Xin thrives on collaborations with cross-disciplinary partners in the US, China, Mexico, Haiti, Canada, and the DR Congo. Her publications help to build evidence on youth mental health and early childhood development in low-and-middle-income countries. She has been awarded two Fulbright research grants for her work with Nest Global in Mexico and in China, a Stanford Maternal and Child Health grant and a Stanford Global Health Seed Grant to study Nest Global’s parenting programs.
As an emerging leader, Xin represented the American Academy of Pediatrics to the National Women Physicians Wellness, Equity and Leadership Alliance. She has been recognized nationally for her advocacy and service in support of underserved populations. She chairs the Pediatric Wellness Committee at the Stanford-CPMC regional site.
As an educator and advocate, Xin has spoken nationally and internationally on topics such as global health, mental health, wellness and impact-driven career development. She has mentored more than 100 disadvantaged children and young adults globally. She mentors underrepresented medical trainees and international junior doctors and researchers through professional organizations.
Xin received her Medical Degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, her Masters of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and her Global Pediatrics Fellowship at Harvard Medical School.
Kaitie O’Brien
Director of Pedagogy
Kaitie O’Brien
Director of Pedagogy
Kaitie is a founding member of Nest Global and the Director of Evergreen Community School, a progressive, social constructivist preschool in Santa Monica, CA. As the focus and work of Nest Global have shifted through the years, she has stayed involved by facilitating workshops, volunteering as a Nester in Mexico and Greece, providing pedagogical support to Nest staff and volunteers around the world and serving on the board of directors since 2019. In addition to designing and setting up Nest learning environments, she is responsible for training all new Nest volunteers. Additionally, in her role as Nest Global’s Pedagogical Director, she provides ongoing teacher training and support for the full-time staff at our Nest locations.
Kaitie is a longtime early childhood educator, with over twenty years experience working with children, infants to 7-years-old. She has worked in different educational settings as a teacher, mentor, consultant and director, and was a founding teacher at MUSE School, a progressive independent school in the Los Angeles area. Kaitie studied Developmental Psychology and Sociology at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, completed advanced studies in Early Childhood Education and Educational Leadership, and is a California Credentialed Preschool Director. Her years in education have been dedicated to advocating for the rights of young children and creating access for all children and families to a high quality early childhood education.
Cristina Barvo
Pedagogical Mentor
Cristina Barvo
Pedagogical Mentor
Cristina Barvo was born in Bogotá, Colombia. After moving to the US in 2002, she earned her post graduate degree in administration and management from Harvard University and worked as a marketing consultant for small and medium businesses with focus on Hispanic Marketing for eight years.
In 2009, Cristina switched careers to the education field, fell in love with social constructivism and taught preschool at Evergreen Community School in Santa Monica for six years. She earned her Early Childhood Education credentials from UCLA and after a study tour at the Reggio Emilia Institute in Sweden in 2014, she was part of the founding staff of the Pedagogical Institute of Los Angeles where she has worked as a mentor teacher and consultant training teachers from all over the US and around the world.
Fluent in English and Spanish, Cristina supports families and educators through her consulting company, Empower Kids for Life.
Tennia Williams
Project Manager
Tennia Williams
Project Manager
Tennia is committed to helping children and families have a safe place to learn, play, and be nurtured.
Born in Los Angeles to a single, teenage mother in the 1960’s, Tennia was adopted and raised in a large home used as a boarding house. Her home was constantly filled with people who needed extra support, and through her childhood Tennia learned the importance of community members helping one another.
As a young adult, Tennia worked in a residential home for mentally challenged adults in Martinez, California, bringing joy to program residents through her cooking. Now in her retirement years, Tennia is excited to join the PILAglobal team to assist with Nest coordination and support the volunteer program, continuing her lifelong work of helping others.
Our Team
Community Partners
Collaboration is critical to our work at Nest Global. We co-create education and parenting programs with our community partners who provide on-the-ground support, local knowledge, and valuable resources.
Amani Mataboro
Nest Congo Partner
Founding Director
Action Kivu
Edward Tsango
Nest Zimbabwe Partner
Founder and Executive Director
I am Zimbabwe Trust
Elisheva Gross
Nest Global + UCLA Global Educators Training Program
Director and Lecturer, Applied Developmental Psychology Minor
UCLA Department of Psychology
Jason Nunzio Dorio
Nest Global + UCLA Global Educators Training Program
Associate Director of Undergraduate Programs for Community Engagement
UCLA School of Education and Information Studies
Mayra Medina-Núñez
Nest Los Angeles Partner
Executive Director
Refugee Children Center
Soraya Vasquez
Border Programs Partner
Deputy Director of Mexico Programming
Al Otro Lado
Lourdes Medrano
Border Programs Partner
Operations Director
Centro 32
Our Team
Funding Partners
Nest Global is generously supported by a community of foundations and institutions whose contributions allow us to provide high-quality early education to families experiencing forced migration around the globe.
Art + Practice
Nest Global’s collaboration with Art + Practice focuses on the long-term sustainability of our programs and a shared commitment to providing high quality education to children and families experiencing forced migration and poverty. Art + Practice funds teachers’ salaries and supports outreach efforts, brand awareness, and fundraising. Through our collaboration with Art + Practice, Nest Global can continue to ensure that our Nests in Africa, Mexico and the United States are staffed by the local educators who are the core of Nest Global’s work.
Choose Love
Since 2021, Choose Love has generously supported operations at Nest Tijuana, providing vital resources and visibility that have allowed us to keep our doors open to children and parents sheltering at the US-Mexico border. Our collaboration with Choose Love allows Nest Tijuana to serve as a safe haven for families fleeing climate-related displacement, violence, and other hardships.
Hauser & Wirth
Art is a vital part of children’s education and critical to a community’s healing and growth. Nest Global’s collaboration with LA-based artist Mark Bradford and Manuela Wirth, President of Hauser & Wirth Gallery, supports arts education at Nest programs around the world. Beginning in 2021, this project has included donations of art materials to Nest locations, funding to expand our facilities, and visits from trained teaching artists to provide hands-on arts experiences for children. Bradford and Hauser & Wirth’s commitment to bringing arts education to our programs ensures that Nest students have a range of opportunities and materials to experience beauty, think in diverse ways, and most importantly, express and rewrite their personal stories.
Carry the Future
A child can’t learn on an empty stomach. Most Nest families are experiencing food insecurity and children typically arrive at our Nests hungry. Because of Carry the Future’s support, we are able to offer Nest students nutritious snacks and meals that keep bellies full throughout the school day and allow children to focus on the important work of childhood: play. Food also plays an important community-building role at our Nests as children, teachers and parents come together to prepare the dishes, set the table, and enjoy a shared meal together.
Our Team
Board
Thérèse O’Neill
Board Chair
Maria-Elena Kolovos
Secretary
Eileen Logue
Treasurer
Kaitie O’Brien
Board Member
Karl Thurmond
Board Member
Jessica Chase
Board Member
Lindsay Weissert
Board Member
Kristina Brittenham
Board Member
Our History
Originally the Pedagogical Institute of Los Angeles (PILA), Nest Global was founded in 2014 by a group of early childhood educators who believe that all children, regardless of their economic or geographic considerations, are entitled to a high quality education that sparks curiosity, creativity and joy.
PILA’s work began close to home bringing equity in early childhood education to the Los Angeles community. As our area of focus grew over time, moving organically from a local to a more global perspective, we shifted our brand identity and became PILAglobal.
As our work continued to grow over the last 9 years, the name PILAglobal no longer reflected the full reach of our efforts and aspirations. Because enabling safe, welcoming spaces—Nests—for children to learn, play, and heal is at the heart of our work, our current name, Nest Global, more accurately reflects who we are today.
Take Action
Help us bring life-changing education to children around the world who need it most.