Carlos has degrees in Psychology and Social Anthropology. He continued his studies in Germany, at the Sigmund Freud Institute as a guest student. The subjects he chose were Psychology of the alcoholic and Psychology of the homosexual. This was done when these issues were somewhat hidden from open discussion. Carlos also received an invitation to France to study, also as a guest student, at La Sorbonne where he studied the inter-relationship of two disciplines, namely Psychology and Sociology. This clearly indicates that at an early stage Carlos had a deep interest in human behavior. Furthering his academic travel, Carlos studied short courses in Sociology and post grad in Social Anthropology in Sweden, in addition to several other courses, all related to human behavior.
Carlos studied two years at Grimslovsfolkhogskola to become a consultant in development of leisure activities and community engagement for youth and adults..
Carlos worked at the government level in Chile during 1970-73 in different positions, including assistant to the Minister (Secretary) of Agriculture, to later settle in Sweden where he participated in several professional and political events. During this stay in Sweden, Carlos was given the responsibility, among other tasks, to receive and incorporate refugees from all over the world seeking a home in safety in Sweden.
In the US he was director of Youth Options in New Canaan, an outpatient treatment facility for adolescents. He has also conducted, since 2005, one of the few support groups for transgenders and their families in Connecticut.
Carlos has, also, an extensive track record in the educational field. Teaching Philosophy: Logics and Ethics at the University level for a brief period. Later he started his Diversity path, offering seminars, training opportunities and talks to groups interested in understanding and improving their social relationships and working in harmony. His work brought him to several countries including Senegal, Tanzania, Angola, Denmark, Netherlands, Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Bolivia. In the US, Carlos has facilitated workshops for Texaco, Polaroid, Texas Instruments, Stamford school system in CT. Boys and Girls club in Stamford, CT., City of Stamford, City of Lowell, MA, Georgia Power, Deloitte, just to name a few. Currently Carlos provides Diversity workshops for the community through his Latino Initiative, based in Stamford, as well as to the business community with interests in Latin American countries. One of the latest projects was to coordinate the ALTA program for Latino high school students with the Yerwood Center and the Stamford Public Schools.
Carlos is and/or has been a member of several Board of Directors including the Urban League, Greater Stamford Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Stamford, Center for the Arts, Stamford Community Health Center, Multi Cultural Advisory Council (co-chair) for the Department of Mental Health and Addiction in CT., Americana Soccer Program (President) working mostly with Latino youth. The program serves also Haitian, Jamaican and American youth. Currently he is a member of the Ryan White Planning Council in the New Haven region in CT. and co-chair of its Membership committee. Carlos is currently the president and founder of the Neruda Center to promote Chilean and South American culture in the USA.
Carlos has lived, for different lengths of time, in Africa, Latin America, Europe and the USA. He also speaks seven languages, which he has taken advantage of during his work with diverse communities. Carlos has additionally provided services in the perinatal clinic at Stamford hospital interviewing mothers-to-be to identify at-risk factors and refer them to proper available services. Carlos also provided services to the Stamford, Bridgeport and Stratford Community Health Centers (Optimus) and the former Park city hospital.
Since 1994 Carlos has traveled to Europe every year bringing youth soccer teams to experience playing soccer internationally abroad at the highest level. During these trips he has provided over 30 scholarships for good players with limited means who have demonstrated interest in serving their communities and achieved good grades in school.
In 1996 he invited a Swedish team to come and visit the US and stay with American families to learn first hand of life in this our United States. Ever since, every year one or two teams have come and visited us for one week at no cost and played soccer and interacted with American youth of the same age. This has been one of the most rewarding experiences he has had, seeing that friendships made through these programs are still alive and well. Visiting teams have come from Guatemala, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Denmark, Sweden,Finland and Tanzania.
Carlos' involvement with the community has been constant, which is demonstrated by the many awards and recognitions he has received, both in his professional and personal life, in Chile, Sweden, Denmark and the USA.
A little window into other Cultures
E-mail: carlosabarbier@gmail.com
Telephone: 1 203 820-3513 / 1 203 952-7250
Fax: 1 203 268-4309
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