Meet the trip leaders

2009 India leaders: Andrew Frankel and Joanna Cantor

JOANNA CANTOR: Colorado College, B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, English with emphasis on creative writing, minor in Buddhist Studies; Brooklyn College, M.F.A. candidate. Joanna was a mentor to first-year students and editor in chief of Colorado College’s literary magazine. During her junior year she studied Buddhist meditation and anthropology in Northern India and then traveled to Sikkim to research the effects of tourism on traditional Tibetan culture. After graduation from Colorado College, she wrote for a newspaper in Portland, OR, and spent a month traveling in ThailandLaos. and Currently she lives in New York City, where she edits travel guidebooks at Fodor’s/Random House. This fall she is heading to Brooklyn College to get her M.F.A. in fiction and teach English composition.

ANDREW FRANKEL: Fairfield University, B.A. Religious Studies with a minor in Peace and Justice Studies, Columbia University, M.A. Buddhist Studies. Andrew was awarded a full athletic scholarship to play soccer at Fairfield University. In addition to goalkeeping for the Division I team, he wrote opinion and commentary articles for the Fairfield University Paper, and was active in the Students for Social Justice Club. During his undergraduate studies Andrew spent a semester at Vesalius College in Brussels, Belgium. After graduation he played professional soccer with the Baltimore Blast of the MISL. Andrew has worked as a camp counselor at Camp Belknap and Camp Touissett and also worked as a fundraiser for Clean Water Action in Providence, RI gathering and distributing funds to various public interest groups. Andrew spent 5 months at the Ranjung Yeshe Institute in Kathmandu, Nepal. While there, he taught English for Nepali and refugee Tibetan children in Bodha, Kathmandu at the Vajrayana School. He returned there the following year for a Tibetan Language Summer Intensive. Andrew currently works as a tutor in New York City for middle and high school age students. He is fluent in French and Tibetan and proficient in Nepali.