MEET OUR TEAM

Plastic artist, sculptor and social entrepreneur based in Medellín - Colombia, from where she has developed her professional career and multiple projects related to her deep interest in taking art as a tool for social transformation and human awareness of their condition and their relationship with nature.

When she was 7 years old, Ani used to wear invisible wings so she could escape and not be seen or observed by other people when entering the plant and animal world imperceptibly. Her enriched universe of trees, pigeons, ants, sunbeams filtered through branches and a huge pine tree planted on the Colombian farm where she lived, became the root of her deep connection with nature; she grew up as a woman connected to a universal being rather than simply a human one.

Since then, this plastic artist and philanthropist has developed her deep awareness of what it means to inhabit space, the universe and planet earth.

Milton Valencia brings his passion for drawing and painting through his drawings of the magnolia tree, its flowers and seeds. He also supports the creations of Ani Mesa by modeling and assembling them. Milton is art, creation and imagination.

Director and plastic artist who for more than 15 years has been developing educational and cultural programs for universities, museums, television and web series. His interest in the environment, ecology, and responsible consumption led him to propose the VIVIR BONITO web series for the Arbol del Magnolio project. In this series, different experts in many areas provide tips to improve our relationship with planet earth, with ourselves and with other living beings.

María Isabel Covaleda is the mother of Teresa as well as a Social and Cultural Manager and Entrepreneur. Among her ventures are the Maisa Foundation in which she acts as a Human Rights Defender and Activist; The podcast "Un Magnolio en mi Ciudad" (A Magnolia Tree in my CIty) produced by the El Arbol del Magnolio, where she manages our communications and the curation of projects.

Teresa is a girl who deeply loves nature, music and the arts. She has great concerns about the way we are taking care of our natural resources and she shares them in the podcast "Un Magnolio en mi Ciudad" where she represents the character "ARAÑA". She really likes reading, she loves cats and water in all its forms: rivers, lakes, seas...

Olivia Utt-Montejo is in third grade and enjoys acting, reading, and dancing. Her favorite activities include doing crescent rolls, making stop motion videos, and jumping on a trampoline. Olivia speaks English and Spanish and dreams of learning Japanese. Her favorite food is sushi and her favorite animal is the wolf.

Carolina Montejo is a Social Communicator from the Pontifical Xavierian University in Bogotá and a Master of Visual Arts from the University of California San Diego. Her artwork incorporates film, performance, and installation and focuses on the intersections between feminism, ecology, and social justice. She is currently a researcher and creator of audiovisual content at Aron Lab, a laboratory that investigates the relationship between Psychology and climate change at the University of California San Diego (UCSD).

Sandra is a designer and she is passionate about mixing ancient techniques with the contemporary. We are surrounded by cultures full of knowledge and the techniques of our ancestors and it has become her dream to be able to share the beauty and teachings of all of these. The brilliance of these cultures is reflected in the pieces she designs and she is pleased to share it with the world.

After graduating from high school in 2012, she traveled to Orlando, Florida to begin her formal film studies at Full Sail University, graduating with honors in Art Direction. In 2014 she traveled to New York to practice for a year, where she had the opportunity to work in big productions like Broadway's The Lion King as well as in independent films. Is with the movements through the different departments, from production to lighting and camera department, as well as the pursuit of personal projects, that she began her path as a Director.

Lina is a communicator by training and her career has focused on the private sector, where she led cultural and human talent processes in different Latin American countries. She is an excellent team articulator and plays the role of Executive Director within the El Arból del Magnolio project.