Educating for the Future with the Marina Orth Foundation
Thank you for describing so well the long journary of Maureen Orth. It has resulted in a model of development…
RPCVs in the news —
Today we are thrilled to reveal the selection for this round of global grants – the Marina Orth Foundation
Maureen Orth (Colombia 1964–66)
The Marina Orth Foundation was established by award-winning journalist and former Peace Corps Volunteer, Maureen Orth (Colombia 1964-66), with a mission to improve the education of children and youth from disadvantaged areas in Colombia. This organization is revolutionizing educational opportunities by integrating technology and innovative teaching methods. By creating technology-focused curriculum for children in underserved communities, the foundation aims to bridge the digital divide and equip students with essential digital skills for future success.
Andres teaching students in Nuqui
In addition to technology, the Marina Orth Foundation emphasizes the importance of English language proficiency and leadership development. It also provides training to help teachers establish effective classroom practices, foster collaborative learning environments, and promote community involvement.
Andres nominated the Marina Orth Foundation having previously volunteered with the foundation as a teacher to advance STEM education in the Nuqui region of Colombia.
Andres Jejen Tabares, Technical Consultant, Colombia
“For years, I have volunteered with the Marina Orth Foundation as a teacher helping kids in poor conditions. The organization does amazing things for the kids, and it’s great to see the impact firsthand.”
Through his personal volunteer work, Andres saw how impactful and transformative the foundation’s role is in empowering students to further enhance their knowledge. Thanks to Andres’ nomination and Perficient’s support of the Marina Orth Foundation, we’re helping children reach their full potential.
Perficient is the leading digital transformation consulting firm serving Global 2000 and enterprise customers throughout North America.Perficient and nominated us —they are a US founded international tech consulting firm
Maureen Orth (Colombia 1964-66) is an award-winning journalist, a Special Correspondent for Vanity Fair and author of two books. Her best-
selling, Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History was the basis of season two of FX’s Emmy winning ten-part series, American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianna Versace.
Maureen began her love of Colombia as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Medellin where she built a school the community named for her: Escuela Marina Orth. In 2005, at the request of the Secretary of Education of Medellin who asked her to empower the children in her school to become competitive in the 21st century, she founded the Marina Orth Foundation. It has since grown to include twenty-one public and charter schools offering computers for every child K-5, STEM, English and leadership training including robotics and coding.
In 2015, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos awarded her the Cruz de San Carlos, Colombia’s highest civilian award for service to the country. She also was awarded the McCall-Pierpaoli Humanitarian of the Year Award from Refugees International.
“Marina”, as she was known to the locals, began her career as one of the first women writers at Newsweek in the early 1970s where she wrote 7 cover stories on entertainment and pop music idols such as Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen. At Vanity Fair she has written profiles on everyone from Margaret Thatcher and Madonna to Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel. Her acclaimed investigations into the charges of pedophilia against Michael Jackson and Woody Allen went viral on the Internet. She has also published investigative pieces on Afghanistan’s opium trade and the hostages of FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerrillas. Her December 2015 cover story on the “Virgin Mary, the World’s Most Powerful Woman,” was the best-selling cover for National Geographic Magazine in 2015.
Maureen is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, in Political Science and also UCLA in Journalism and Documentary Filmmaking. She serves as a Trustee of the UC Berkeley Foundation and on the College of Letters & Science. In 2016, she was named the Distinguished Alumnus of the Cal Alumni Club of Washington D.C. In 2017, she was awarded an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from the University of San Francisco.
Maureen is also a great dancer! Here she is at her son’s recent marriage, dancing and celebrating with him. Download the video below.
When one considers that the Marina Orth Foundation had its beginnings in the late 1960’s when Maureen helped local villagers to build a one room brick school house. Upon this rock, economically challenged students were introduced to TEFL then in time to the contemporary use of computers, then to Information Technology, then to AI, then onward to Robotics–and to have its students enter high school for the first time, then to university degrees, and then to professional careers in a technology driven highly competitive world, one wonders if the Foundation itself cannot serve as something of a template for global TEFL programs. That is: TEFL isn’t a stand alone program. Rather, it can serve as a pathway where economically disadvantaged children can then compete in a highly technological world. The Foundation has conclusively proven that point.
Thank you for describing so well the long journary of Maureen Orth. It has resulted in a model of development that can be followed by many others. She has done great work and deserves a Medal.
Great Commentary. Maureen has accomplished significant things. A role model for us to follow, in dancing as well as real life. Thank you Maureen. You did not mention that she was also awarded citizenship in Colombia by the former president. I wish all of who were Colombia Volunteers and wanted to, could get dual citizenship. El Español es mi segunda idioma, y Colombia is mi segunda patria.
Cheers,
G.