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OUR TEAM
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Jane Buck has lived in Valencia for nearly four years. Prior to that, she lived in Hong Kong for 18 years. Jane is now retired after having been a lawyer for 35 years, specializing in life insurance compliance and general corporate law. She lives in Valencia with her husband and one of her sons and has grown children (1 biological and a flock of fosters) in Japan, Hong Kong, the UK, and the US. Jane loves to teach and to play mahjong, she enjoys organizing our monthly IWCV luncheons, and she welcomes the opportunity to help make the IWCV the best organization for the women of Valencia.

pres.iwcvalencia@gmail.com

Jane Buck

President

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Susan began her love affair with Spain in 1974 when she and her husband, Martin, established a homestay program in Madrid for students of Foxcroft School.  They returned to Spain annually until their retirement in 2009. Since retirement they have lived in Valencia. Susan and Martin have a daughter, Rachel, who lives in Seattle.  Prior to arriving in Valencia Susan was Director of Human Resources and Training for Starwood Hotels and Resorts in various hotels in Los Angeles.  Her interests are photography, cooking, eating out and travel.  Her membership in IWCV has brought her in contact with an ever-expanding group of wonderful women.

iwcvalencia@gmail.com

Susan Kaplan

Vice - President

Membership

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Phyllis So has lived in Valencia, Spain with her husband for four years.  She is the IWCV Vice President of Events and Activities, the Events Team Leader for Democrats Abroad-Valencia and an avid Mah Jong player.  She has a son and grandson who live in Seattle, WA. 

Phyllis’ favorite pastime is connecting people to each other via related interests, whether it be mahjong, wine cork crafts, outdoor activities or finding new restaurants to share.

In her professional life she was in corporate technology sales and software training.  Phyllis is always looking for new opportunities to grow the IWC community and looks forward to meeting each and every newcomer to the IWCV.

 

vpactivities.iwcvalencia@gmail.com

Phyllis So 

Vice - President

Activities

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Dora Sánchez has lived in Valencia for more than 40 years. She came here as a student to study philosophy and subsequently became a professor at the University of Valencia until her retirement. She lived in France, in Provence, until the age of sixteen and has always felt half French and half Spanish. She speaks English with a French accent, something that always surprises the English speaking people she meets. She has lived in Boston and Charlottesville as a visiting scholar to American Universities. She taught and did research in many European universities and was the Erasmus program director for Philosophy at the University of Valencia. Her specialties were Philosophy of Language and Gender Studies. She loves to meet expats living in Valencia to keep in touch with her cosmopolitan spirit. Her membership in IWCV was first motivated by joining the mahjong group, she now really enjoys and participates in other activities of the group. Her interests are art exhibitions, opera, cooking, restaurants and travel.

treasurer.iwcvalencia@gmail.com

Dora Sanchez

Treasurer

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In 2018, Lauren retired and a month later flew to Valencia with her partner Max to start a new chapter in life. She has come to love the history, beauty and culture of her adopted home.  Before coming to Spain, she had been living and working in Denver, Colorado, for more than a decade, the last of a dozen American cities she had called home.  Lauren’s professional life began in broadcast journalism and transitioned to global marketing communications in various industries. Today, she treasures time with new friends, mahjong days, and traveling throughout Europe.

secretary.iwcvalencia@gmail.com

Lauren Baker

Secretary

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Pauline fell in love with Spain in 2005 and in 2016 moved to Valencia with her partner Simon to begin a new adventure. Originally from Ireland Pauline lived in UK for several years. She had been living in Oxfordshire and spent many years travelling throughout Europe working for a global Japanese company in telecommunications. Pauline has a passion for people and travel.  Her interests include music, cooking, reading and gardening. She enjoys the life that Spain offers and is embracing her membership in IWCV and the wonderful, inspiring people she has come in contact with.

Pauline Fitzgerald

Charities Co-ordinator

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Karen has lived in Valencia with her husband Jeff since July 2016. Before moving to Valencia from Fort Collins, Colorado she taught elementary school for 21 years and raised two children who live in Colorado and California. An avid cyclist she enjoys bicycling around the Valencia area as well as multi-day bike trips. Mahjong, cooking, gardening, and traveling occupy a lot of her time. For IWCV she also helps organize the luncheons and is the IWCV coordinator for Casa Caridad, one of the charities we support.

Karen Koski

Member-at-large

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After raising two children and two dogs, Cindy and her husband Steve moved to Valencia in the spring of 2020. Cindy is from Seattle in the U.S. and loves the outdoors; hiking, skiing, and snowshoeing  whenever she can. Her professional background is in program and project management in the high-tech and non-profit worlds. She loves hanging out with friends, and travelling around Europe with her husband.

Cindy Roberts

Webmaster

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