Alex earned a bachelor of science in accounting from State University of Ceara in Brazil. He then went on to receive a master of public administration from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University in April 2008.

He has worked as Controller, on several projects in different companies for more than 15 years. He started his role as the Brazil country manager of the Academy for Creating Enterprise in 2018. He was introduced to the Academy shortly before starting his master’s degree at BYU. He was delighted with the program and its methodology, principles, and values. He always thought that this program would be a blessing for the Brazilian people. More than 10 years later, he saw the Academy beginning to take off in Brazil. He was the first chapter president in Brazil. Now, he can share several success stories of Academy students in Brazil using this program. He can testify how wonderful this program is!

James Fantone is a graduate of Business Management from Rizal Technological University in Manila, Philippines, and a certified business consultant through Michael E. Gerber’s E-Myth Revisited program. He is the owner of NXT Level Training and Consulting, where he is dedicated to helping businesses grow and achieve their full potential. James and his wife, Cynthia, are proud parents of four children who inspire him to continually strive for excellence.

Andres R. Ramos was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala. He holds a degree in Civil Engineering and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Barcelona, Spain.

Andres has expertise in structural design and the construction of reinforced-concrete buildings, as well as in administrative business management. He has also worked for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the Director for Temporal Affairs for several areas across North and South America. As a DTA, Andres was responsible for all administrative matters, and provided humanitarian aid and emergency response support in communities across the southeastern United States, as well as in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Peru, Venezuela, and Mexico. Notably, he oversaw the consolidation of the South America North and South America West areas, resulting in the creation of the South America Northwest Area.

In addition to his humanitarian efforts, Andres has taken on various ecclesiastical responsibilities within his Church. From 1993 to 1996, he served as president of the Guatemala City North Mission in Guatemala. His other roles have included bishop, stake president, stake high councilor, stake presidency counselor, counselor to the president of the Lima, Peru Missionary Training Center, bishopric counselor, and stake young men’s president.

Andres has been married to his wife, Rosy, for 46 years. They have three children and six
grandchildren.

Lanae received a MS in accounting at BYU and worked in public accounting at Deloitte & Touche in her early career.  She has always enjoyed serving nonprofit clients in the community and is thrilled to be using her accounting expertise as well as her Spanish skills to help manage resources at the Academy.

Lanae has been married 30 years to her husband, Steve, and they have five children. They raised their children in Mesa, Arizona, but moved to Utah in recent years. In her spare time, Lanae likes to ski or hike, read historical novels, volunteer with Stitching Hearts Worldwide, and play the piano, especially when her daughters sing.

A native of Lehi, UT, Drew loves leveraging business, technology, and human-centered design toward global social impact. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University—where he studied psychology, business, and social impact—and is currently completing his Master of Management Information Systems at Utah State University. His experience includes managing the undergraduate internship program at the BYU Ballard Center for Social Impact and leading impact evaluations with CoAfrica.

Drew’s dedication to international development was sparked while serving in the Madagascar Antananarivo Mission, where he developed a deep love for the people and a commitment to giving back. Today, he uses that background to help individuals around the world lift themselves out of poverty through the Academy’s programs.

Drew lives with his wife and daughter. Outside of work, he enjoys distance running, writing music, and catching a good football game.

Drei Hansen is studying at Brigham Young University Hawaii, majoring in marketing. Her time at BYU-Hawaii inspired her interest for other cultures and building self-reliance in developing countries through education. She served as a full-time missionary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she helped manage social media for the missionary efforts on the east coast. This led her to be passionate about public relations and marketing, especially in the non-profit sector.

Drei is passionate about the Academy Mission and is grateful for the opportunity to make a difference. She has previously volunteered for several non-profit organizations that supported self-reliance and business education including SwitchPoint in St. George, Utah and the Great Ideas Small Business Competition at BYU-Hawaii. Drei enjoys surfing, cooking new foods, and spending time outdoors with family and friends.