Our Story

Amber Smith Lopata and

Kati Dombrosky

We dreamed up CILA almost eight years ago - between the times our youngest children were born. We have known each other for almost 13 years, when our oldest children were babies.

Our dream has everything to do with our own experiences as high school and college students. We both studied French. Both had the deeply rooted desire to travel and to reach outside of our comfort zones - to learn and experience new things.

Amber majored in French and Kati majored in Art History. Amber traveled and experienced home-stays in France in high school and college; and Kati studied abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland.

More than anything, we want our children and their friends, our family and our community to understand the immense value in cultural education and language learning. We want students like we were, who depended on financial assistance to be able to have these experiences.

From Amber: At 16 years old I had the ultimate privilege of traveling to Europe thanks to the determined spirit and generous hand of a passionate high school French teacher who saw my heart—and the hearts of my fellow classmates. Having grown up in mostly single-parent homes in a less-than-desirable suburb of Los Angeles, my French class cohort and I were forever changed by this gift of foreign travel. Massive fundraising and outreach made an otherwise pipe dream become a reality. Realizing that life is SO MUCH bigger than your hometown and your circumstances is an experience of transcendence that can’t be measured. Making forever-friends with host families across the globe is a gift that endures. Approaching life with a new pair of eyes and ears and a heart that understands in another language-another culture- that is what this world needs urgently. I am forever grateful for this opportunity that shaped my life.

From Kati: In college I was lucky enough to spend a semester in Edinburgh, Scotland. This would not have been possible had my financial aid not transferred through the college exchange program. I was able to backpack through Europe with a friend for a few weeks beforehand. Getting off that plane by myself, navigating London and Paris trains to meet with my friend, experiencing currency exchange, menus in different languages, gave me incredible resiliency and the awareness that I am a part of this big world - a citizen to know and navigate change. I am very passionate about education and its power to promote empathy and fight ignorance. The greatest education comes in cultural understanding - through language, art, music, food, and shared histories. If only these opportunities could be experienced by everyone, regardless of socio-economics, I believe the world would be a more compassionate place.