Building bridges through education. By Lindsay Losasso, Managing Director, La Paz Global.
In a world increasingly shaped by division and rapid change, one nonprofit is proving that education can be a powerful force for connection. La Paz Global, founded in 2007, supports learning communities that value and promote our shared humanity.
The organization grew from a grassroots effort to help US donors support the scholarship program at La Paz Community School, a bilingual K-12 International Baccalaureate school in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Today, La Paz Global pursues two core priorities: providing scholarships for students from underserved communities and promoting the school's human-centered educational practices for replication across the world.
The scholarship program's results speak for themselves; among 96 current recipients and 36 graduates, 100% have earned their diplomas and gone on to universities, professional careers and lives of impact. One of those students is Yaritza Villegas. Growing up in rural Guanacaste with limited access to higher education, Yaritza's trajectory changed when she entered La Paz on scholarship. She went on to earn degrees from Marymount Manhattan College and a master's from Columbia University's Teachers College, later serving as Director of Advancement for La Paz Global itself. Today, she has returned to her hometown to help run her family's construction company, driving economic growth in the very community that shaped her. Her story embodies La Paz Global's core belief: that expanding access to human-centered education creates a ripple effect, cultivating leadership, compassion and cross-cultural understanding that reaches far beyond the classroom.
That mission has found a vibrant champion in Charlotte. After her family spent the 2022-2023 school year in Costa Rica, where her four children attended La Paz Community School, Charlotte resident and La Paz Global board president Anna Anglemyer returned home inspired to stay involved with La Paz. She founded Let's Rock, a Charlotte-based fundraiser featuring an evening when she and her husband Brad open their home to friends, neighbors and community leaders for music and connection. The entertainment comes courtesy of The Boat Dogs, the Anglemyers' twin sons' band, performing alongside their Charlotte Latin classmates. Local businesses contribute through in-kind donations, and an online auction features Costa Rican vacation packages. This year, the event raised more than $22,000 for La Paz Global, a remarkable reflection of what community-driven philanthropy can accomplish.
At its heart, Let's Rock represents something larger: two communities, Charlotte, NC and coastal Guanacaste, Costa Rica, united by a shared commitment to education and human connection.
To learn more, sign up for the newsletter or support the endowment fund, visit lapazglobal.org or email donations@lapazglobal.org. Follow along on Instagram at @lapaz_global.
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This story appears in the August 2026 issue of Stroll Ballantyne Country Club. Read the full edition here.