CARA Goman | President

Chair, Marketing Communications Committee, Co-Chair, Legacy and Development Committee, and Senior Strategic Advisor

Cara joined the DCIS Foundation in 2017. Prior to DCISF Foundation, Cara worked as a volunteer with with Kiva.org and Friendship Bridge in Guatemala, where she supported microcredit and education.  She has studied in Salamanca and Seville, Spain; Valparaíso, Chile; and Sao Paolo, Brazil, and has been fortunate to travel as far as New Zealand and Hong Kong to visit family. 

Cara has a BS from the University of Colorado at Boulder. and a MS in Spanish Literature from the University of Virginia (Charlottesville), where she taught Spanish language and culture. Her research included exploring how contemplative and mindfulness practices could reduce foreign-language anxiety.

Home State: Colorado

Languages: Spanish (fluent), English, and some xx

Foreign Exchange/Home Stay: Guatemala, Spain, Chile, and Brazil

Favorite Education Travel Experience: Cara traveled throughout Guatemala on “chicken buses” to interview trust-bank clients and entrepreneurs, and wrote blog entries for Kiva.org. Escritora!

Theresa Meier Conley | Executive Director & Volunteer

Theresa joined the DCIS Foundation in late-2019. She brings with her a significant amount of marketing expertise, management acumen, educational insight, and scholarly research in nonprofit/cause marketing and marketing ethics. She has traveled extensively with students and her family. Theresa holds a PhD from the University of Denver, a MS and BFA from Eastern Illinois University, and a variety of technical certifications.

Home State: Illinois

Foreign Exchange/Home Stay: Dusseldorf, Germany & Copenhagen, Denmark

Languages: German (conversational), English, and a wee-bit of Italian and Chinese

Favorite Educational Travel Experience: In Copenhagen, while visiting my son James studying abroad, our family spontaneously joined a community dinner in an old church. The locals were welcoming and warm; it was a remarkable memory. Hygge!

Matt Harrison | Vice president

Co-Chair, Education & School Committee DCIS Fairmont/Baker Liaison, and Senior Strategic Advisor

Matt joined the DCIS Foundation Board of Directors in 2018. He is the co-owner of a small environmental and regulatory consulting firm, Quandary Consultants LLC. He holds a BS in Biology from Southern Illinois University, and a Master of Science in Environmental Management from Samford University.

Home State: Missouri

Languages: ??

Foreign Exchange: ??

Favorite Educational Travel Experience: While traveling with his family in Mexico, my 5-year-old son was able to speak Spanish flawlessly to the cab driver and navigate them safely to their destination. We were all in proud disbelief, including the driver, who could not believe this blond kids from the U.S. knew his language. Bravo!