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Meet the Team

Michelle Winkhart

President/Founder

President Michelle has many years of experience in the exchange student industry. She saw a need for quality homestay programs and founded H2H to fill that need. Michelle is extremely passionate about foreign exchange having so many experiences with it in her life. She is very caring and works hard to ensure that every participant has an experience of a lifetime that they will never forget. As a mom of three, all of her children are very involved in our programs and love to interact with all of our participants.

From Michelle:

I have a few things that have inspired me to be in this industry and I’d like to share some of them with you. My family started hosting when I was a child. We hosted many Japanese exchange students, I always enjoyed learning about their culture and teaching them what I could about mine. I know that this changed the way I viewed people and cultures that were different than mine.


Also, my mother is German and her family lives in Germany, so as a child I spent three summers in Germany living with family. It was a little bit like being an exchange student myself, new culture, new language, new people, new places, new foods. This is something that has shown me how exchange students staying with us must feel. It helped me to open my heart to people experiencing the same and inspired me to try to help them have an amazing experience.


In high school, I went into English class, after a little while I noticed there was a new student sitting at a table all alone. I of course asked, “who is she?” the teacher told me she was an exchange student from Japan. So of course, I walked over, sat with her and introduced myself. We became great friends and are still friends to this day.


I want to inspire people of all ages, races, backgrounds and cultures to do that same take that step, open your homes, open your hearts, make new friends and grow your international family.

Coordinators / ESL Teachers

Ramona & Tim

Tim & Ramona have worked as a team coordinating for the last 3 years. Tim works full time for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s department and has been a deputy sheriff for 22 years. He is the logistical mastermind of their team. Tim enjoys meeting new people and learning about different cultures. His current goals include acquiring a second language so that when he travels he can develop deeper connections with the people he meets.

Ramona has worked with students from various countries over the past 10 years. She is a full time middle school teacher and avid traveler. She has twin daughters that have already left the nest so she loves being a part of the program and enjoys spending time with our student travelers. She is the energy of the team and is always willing to ride one more ride at the amusement parks! Ramona is a coordinator and ESL teacher for the students which allows her to form that deeper connection with them.

vanessa

Vanessa

Venessa has been a coordinator for several years now and absolutely loves it. She is very outgoing, friendly, open minded and respects everyone’s culture. She has taught ESL classes to exchange students and enjoys ever moment she has with her students. Venessa and her family have hosted exchange students. They love hosting and learning from their students. They enjoy teaching their students their culture and traditions as well. Venessa has 5 children 4 daughters, 1 son and her husband. She has a large family and enjoys everything that come with it. She comes from a multi cultural family.

Her mother is Mexican and father is Venezuelan so she knows first hand the importance that all cultures have to offer. She believes that family is everything. She respects the importance of everyone’s traditions. She wants to make sure participants have a great experience. She hopes to gain a life time friendship with everyone she meets in this program.

Liz

Liz is an amazing coordinator with a passion to provide a wonderful experience for our participants. She’s been a coordinator for over six years now and absolutely loves it. She is reliable and ensures a great time for the participants. Liz has hosted many participants in her own home. Liz loves to travel internationally and really enjoys learning about other cultures. She is a wife and mother of three. Her family loves to be involved and help with the programs.

Liliana

My name is Liliana Viera. I am from Paraguay, South America. I came into this country 21 years ago. I went to Glendale Community College, where I took 5 years of ESL and general classes. I am married, and I have 6 kids. I have homeschooled my kids since kindergarten. I love to travel, spend time with my family, and do karate and kickboxing. 

Jessica

Jessica hosted her first exchange student 6 years ago and and loved everything about the program. She was a project manager for years prior and found a lot of joy coordinating exchange programs. She wants to help connect more families with students and spread the excitement and education that comes with different cultural experiences. She has a wonderful husband and an amazing son that enjoys traveling with her and meeting new people.

She is welcoming, organized, enthusiastic and reliable. She wants to help students learn and experience different cultures.

She loves music and marital arts, being a Mom and she’s a photographer.

kayde

Kayde

My name is Kayde! I manage a coffee shop in town and love meeting new people! I have a son named Titus who loves to play soccer. I am so excited to be a coordinator so I can meet new friends from all over the world and learn about you.

tyler-melissa

Tyler & Melissa

Tyler and Melissa Goodell are a dedicated and fun couple. They both have a heart to cater to international students. They love to engage the youth and encourage growth in the minds and hearts of those they serve. They have worked with ESL learners for many years in many capacities.

In 2007, Tyler worked for a private English school for Russian children in Moscow. He also co-starred in a children’s nursery video designed for ESL learners. For more than 15 years, he and Melissa worked together on a variety of ESL programs in Russia, Ukraine and in the United States.

As a family they have welcomed a wide variety of international students into their home for short term and long term stays since 2010. This has included teens and children from China, Japan, Germany, Spain, France, Ukraine and the country of Georgia.

They have a strong family culture. They have nine children, six of whom still live at home. They are homeschool parents, so teaching and building character in children is their lifestyle. They spend much of their time working together as a family.

Their children are always eager to host exchange students. Welcoming others into their home is very important to them. They believe that it is a love and joy to share their culture and the art of hospitality with as many people as possible.

Country Representatives

olivia

Olivia Lee (Korea)

Olivia was an exchange student herself for her first year in the US. She also attended Pittsburg State University (PSU) for her BS and MS degrees. She returned to Korea and started working as an English teacher. She has a wonderful husband and son that enjoy traveling with her and meeting new people. She is really interested in exchange programs. She is enthusiastic and reliable. She want to help students meet different cultures and have new experiences! She loves her students and family.

  • Elementary english teacher for 13 years
  • BS and MS in commercial graphics at PSU
  • Loves international cultures and activities

Yoshi Takano (Japan)

When Yoshi was 16 years old he was an exchange student in Jacksonville, Florida for one year. He learned there are many different people and cultures in the world. He decided to work in the exchange student industry to help other young students come to the US and experience what he did. He has worked in the industry now for more than 30 years.

Daniela Riquelme Molina (Chile)

Daniela was an exchange teacher for 3 Months in the US and stayed with a host family. She improve her English and met with a lot people from different countries, learning about their cultures. Daniela is interested in exchange program and travel to learn more about teaching methodologies for American English. She wants to offer students from Chile the same experiences she had. Elementary English teacher to kinder and pre k levels. 14 years experience as a teacher. Loves meet new people and doing sport.

Tala (France)

As an English-speaking mom of two wonderful boys, she has made Paris her home. Having been an ESL student myself, Tala knows firsthand what a life-changing adventure language learning can be.

She is passionate about creating amazing experiences for our international students and is very happy to represent H2H and have the opportunity to meet incredible people from around the world.

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