Renée Ramirez
2022 - 2023
Panama City, Panama
Cafecitos, our Capacity for Resilience, and Life in Sunny Panama
Renée Ramirez (2022-2023: Panama City, Panama) will provide program and organizational development for sponsoring organization Fundación Calicanto, a Panamanian nonprofit dedicated to reducing gender inequality through psychological and economic empowerment programs.
Hi there!
My name is Renée and I am a recent Belmont grad moving to Panamá for a year with Lumos.
I’m Honduran American and grew up in Nashville by way of Cape Cod, MA. While at Belmont I studied Entrepreneurship and Economics and I am fascinated with the role small businesses play in both community and economic development. I’m a firm believer in economic empowerment, community-led change, and nonprofit excellence. Though it has its fair share of imperfections, I am a lover of the nonprofit world and its ability to increase human flourishing, influence policy, and bring people together.
Throughout the last few years, I’ve been privileged to work as a consultant with various start-ups and nonprofits, help develop and implement the strategic vision for the nonprofit Feeding Nashville, create and lead a multidisciplinary team to develop nutrition education programs, and put my entrepreneurship education to good use developing internal systems and operational processes for a local start-up called Placemat.
I have had the opportunity to consult with inmate entrepreneurs nearing parole, volunteer with local nonprofits serving the refugee and immigrant communities in Nashville, along with learning more about the nuanced nature of domestic and international economic development. These experiences have provided me with an excellent foundation of tools and experiences, but most importantly, have cultivated and refined a desire to live connected to the communities I’m serving, develop sustainable programs and organizations, and advocate for those in need around me. Practically, that looks like listening, problem-solving, building relationships, and intentional action.
My Lumos project will be split between program and organizational development. Organizationally, I’ll be working alongside the Director of Calicanto in initiating new partnerships within the city, grant-writing, and implementing their strategic vision. Program-wise, I’ll be working with their team of Program Managers to survey and measure the effectiveness of current programs while developing small business training and resources to serve their alumni network. I am a natural developer and mobilizer and am at my best in situations where I can help people, programs, or organizations grow. I’m looking forward to a lot of growth myself this upcoming year and am so grateful for this opportunity. Vamos chicos!
More about me....
Home Town: Cape Cod, MA
Major(s): Entreprenuership & Economics
Country Highlights
My Stories
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A Tropical Thanksgiving
Hi everyone! I hope November has been treating you well. I spent Thanksgiving eating spaghetti at the beach with friends (chaotic I know)
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Felices Fiestas Patrias, Panamá!
November is really special in Panama as we celebrate five different national holidays throughout the month. There have been flags everywhere, huge parades,
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10 Months In
Hola amigos, sharing some updates from Panama! November is the heaviest month rain-wise so it’s been raining more and more as we get
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Quick Trip Home
I flew back to Panama from Nashville last Thursday and have been getting settled again. Believe it or not, I was able to
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A Sense of Place
Qué tal chicos, espero que estén bien! I’m currently typing this with one hand as I injured my thumb playing volleyball last week.
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Bad Bunny is a Bug in my Brain
Hola queridos amigos! Sharing an update on my life and work in Panama. Most notably, attended a paella festival at the park by
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It’s Finally August!
Hi everyone! Happy August! I’ve spent the last couple of days working remotely with a handful of friends near Palmar beach. We’ve been
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Little Bit of Chaos and a Little Bit of Fun!
Hola from Panama! Currently hidden away at a coffee shop catching up on tasks and work. My younger brother visited me the last
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Cruising
It is almost July! How crazy is that? June has been a busy month for me. I have been helping out my team
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Steady Now
Buenas from my little corner of the world! I’ve had a busy couple of weeks and am working on slowing down a bit.
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Reflections
Hi everyone! Breaking my normal blog structure to share some reflections on my time so far. May 18th just marked four months of
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Sweet, Normal Life Here in Panama
Hi everyone! The last couple of weeks have been pretty low-key. Have gotten into a steady rhythm of work, weekly sports meetups, and
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April Update
Hola, hola, hola! Highlights recently have been Weekly volleyball (and now soccer) games. A spear-fishing trip to Las Perlas. My pastor from Nashville
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April Showers
Hola a todos! Happy April! Slowly getting adjusted to the rainy season here in Panama. It’s so much more humid (haha yes that’s
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Celebrating Two Months!
Tomorrow marks 2 months of living in Panama! It feels like it’s been much longer in the best possible way. Highlights recently have
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Learning Learning Learning!
Happy March everyone! Capping off February with one last blog post. The rainy season will be starting soon here in Panamá so I
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Getting Settled
Hola chicos! Quickly approaching one month in Panamá and feeling at home! For my sanity and yours, I’ll be updating this blog by
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My First Week in Panamá
I’ve been in Panamá for 72 hours! It feels like home! It’s warm! I can speak in Spanish all the time! The mangoes
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Preparing for the Big Move
Hi all — Sharing my first blog post as I prepare for my Lumos move in T-11 days! Professionally, preparation these days looks
