Meet the Anir Experience Education Specialists (AES)
The Anir Foundation and Anir Experience programs are volunteer programs. All program fees go to the in-country support of the volunteer and a donation to project supplies. Anir focuses on teaching North Americans that there is a world beyond North American borders and that we are all a part of that world…
Adrienne Belafonte Biesemeyer is the Executive Director of the Anir Foundation.
Adrienne has a master’s degree in Community Counseling with a focus on women’s and children’s health. She also has a bachelor’s degree in Art and Art History from West Virginia State University, as well as 42 hours in Art and Archeology at the Universidad de las Americas.
An avid traveler, Adrienne has visited over 20 countries and has worked or volunteered in 10, focusing on global health and affordable housing.
Countries of AES Experience:
Botswana, Eswatini (formerly, Swaziland), Madagascar, Mexico, Morocco, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia
Rachel Blue Biesemeyer is Anir Foundation Vice-President and an Anir Environmental Education Specialist.
Rachel has a bachelor’s degree in Art (Dance, Theater, and American Sign Language) from Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio. Rachel has 20 years of experience as an Animal Education Specialist in the area of exotic and endangered species and environmental issues. Since 2007, she has been a pre-school teacher in Denver, Colorado.
Also an avid traveler, Rachel Blue has visited over 10 countries and has volunteered in 5 of them, focusing on ecology and affordable housing.
Countries of AES Experience:
Costa Rica, Madagascar, Thailand, South Africa, and Tanzania
Jackie Karbo is an Anir Experience Education Specialist.
Jackie has volunteered with Anir Experience since 2007. She has a master’s degree in Elementary Education. In her work, Jackie focuses on Early Childhood Development, Ecology, and Affordable Housing.
Countries of AES Experience:
Madagascar, South Africa, and Tanzania
Tarryn Steyn is an Anir Experience Education Specialist.
Tarryn is a South African actor who was a young child during the fall of apartheid,. Terryn’s father was part of the underground resistance with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Tarryn’s areas of specialty are South African and American History, and South African women’s issues. She is an AES in South Africa.
Zain Abrahams is an Anir Experience Education Specialist.
Zain is a South African who lived through the apartheid era classified as “coloured,” a legally defined racial classification in the country during that time. He now owns his own business, “Intravsa Tours.”
He has been an ASE since 2005 with a deep knowledge of South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Emmanuel Kimaro (Emma) is an Anir Experience Education Specialist.
A native of Tanzania, Emma has been an Anir Education Specialist since 2018. His area of specialties are all East African wildlife, East African environmental issues, indigenous cultures, and the spirit of the Serengeti.