Claudia Luco was born and raised in Viña del Mar—in her opinion, “the most beautiful city in Chile.” She holds a bachelor’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and minored in English language and literature from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV). After college, she traveled to the U.S. through a foreign exchange program for teachers and taught Spanish, Chilean History, and Social Sciences to students in different schools across Iowa for almost a year. 

For several years, she worked as a volunteer for Experiment Chile, another study and work abroad program. During her time volunteering there, she enrolled students in Chilean high schools and institutions in programs to study and work abroad in countries all over the world. She interviewed them to check their English language proficiency and assisted them in filling out application forms. 

 From 2007 to 2008, she worked as a Resident Director for IFSA-BUTLER in Valparaíso, where she gained experience organizing academic and social activities for American University students, finding accommodations with Chilean families, and attended international annual meetings in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

In 2019, she joined CEA as the Interim Program Director—and is now back in 2022 as the Program Director for Valparaíso.  

She loves taking dancing lessons, traveling, and learning languages. She has a certification in A2 level of Mandarin Chinese according to CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). In 2014, she received a scholarship to study language and Chinese culture in a Summer camp for foreign exchange students at Anhui University in Hefei, Anhui province.