Home / About us

We are ACER.
Supporting families since 2007.

A non-profit civil organization born from the commitment of a group of people convinced that child malnutrition has a solution—if action is taken in time, with method and perseverance.

Mission
Combat child malnutrition and its consequences by implementing the CONIN methodology and stimulation based on MONTESSORI pedagogy
Vision
Communities with equal opportunities, where every person can fulfill their genetic potential and freely choose their own path.
Values
Integrity · Commitment · Responsibility · Self-improvement
What we are like

The values that guide us

They are not words on a wall. They are the criteria we use to make every decision, from how we support families to how we report to donors.

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Integrity
We always act consistently with what we say and what we do.
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Commitment
19 years without interruption. Commitment isn't a statement — it's a daily practice.
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Responsibility
We are fully transparent and accountable to the families we serve and to those who support us.
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Self-improvement
Each year we aim to do more and better. The opening of Faro Nursery School in 2025 is one example.
Our journey

19 years of living history

The milestones that shaped the path from the first center to today.

25
2025 · Major milestone
Faro Nursery School:
the most ambitious project in our history
Opened March 2025 · San Isidro Center
Opening of Faro Nursery School

On March 12, 2025, in partnership with the Municipality of San Isidro and following months of construction and preparation, the Faro Nursery opened its doors at the San Isidro Center. It's a Montessori space for children aged 0 to 5 and marks a turning point in ACER's history. It includes: • A Nido (infant room) for babies from 45 days to 1½ years. • A second room — Comunidad Infantil (Toddler Community) — for children from 1½ to 3 years. • A third room — Casa de Niños (Children's House) — for children aged 4 and 5.

The rooms operate under the PIM program — Primera Infancia Montessori (Montessori Early Childhood) — and are equipped with materials designed to stimulate sensory, motor, and cognitive development from birth, through a comprehensive intervention that combines nutrition, stimulation, and family support.

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Age served
Children aged 0 to 5
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PIM program
CONIN methodology and MONTESSORI stimulation
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Location
La Casita de al Lado · San Isidro
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Partnership with the Municipality of San Isidro: the municipality funded and supported the complete renovation of La Casita de al Lado to transform it into a space prepared to Montessori standards. A model of public-private collaboration that we want to replicate.
2025 milestone Early childhood Montessori Municipal partnership 1,000 days
25
2025 — Recognition of our track record
Recognition from the Municipal Council
of the Municipality of San Isidro, honoring the track record of the local ACER Center.
Recognition
23
2023 — Self-funding
La Casita de al Lado: fairs that sustain 25% of the budget
With the addition of the house next to the San Isidro Center, we began the biweekly fairs of donated goods. Today they account for 25% of ACER's total monthly income.
Self-management
22
2022 — International
First year of Austrian volunteers
Launch of the international volunteer program with young people from Austria. In 2026 we complete our fourth consecutive year, consolidating an exchange model in Greater Buenos Aires.
International volunteering
19
2019 — Infrastructure and awards
Participatory budget
Thanks to residents' votes in the Vicente López Participatory Budget, we built the covered gallery and renovated bathrooms and facilities.
Participatory budget
15
2015 — Recognition
Rotary Award for work on child malnutrition
Rotary Club recognizes our work in preventing and treating child malnutrition. First large-scale anthropometric survey in Villa La Cava and Villa Uruguay.
Rotary Award
13
2013 — Empowerment
Job training for mothers
First entrepreneurship workshop for mothers, with support from Fundación PROEM and Laboratorios RAFFO. Mothers stop being mere recipients and become agents of change.
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2011 — Expansion
We open our second center in San Isidro
Opening of the CONIN San Isidro Center, with Montessori stimulation and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. ACER becomes a training site for University of Buenos Aires students.
2 active centers
07
2007 — The beginning
We open our first center in Vicente López
With the CONIN methodology and the support of a committed founding group, we opened the doors of the first center in the Las Flores neighborhood, Vicente López.
Founding milestone
The people behind ACER

Our team

The Board of Directors and the staff who make the day-to-day work at the two centers possible.

Board of Directors
President
Mercedes Canova de Piacenza
In charge since 2007.
Vice President
María Luisa Bracco
Program coordination and institutional relations.
Secretary
Horacio Hourbeigt
Administrative management and institutional records.
Treasurer
Guillermo Bronenberg
Financial management and accountability.
Adriana Piacenza de Barboza · Board Member Susana Álvarez Herrero · Board Member Marta Fitte · Board Member Marcelo Piacenza · Board Member Cra. Bibiana Garaventa · Account Reviewer Sebastián Schedufau· Auditor Héctor Alfano · Contributor Adrian Spitalleri · Contributor Federico Barboza · Contributor Viviana Morandi de Coppa Oliver · Contributor Nora Ludevid · Contributor Patricio Petersen · Contributor Santiago Puelles · Contributor Soledad Coppa Oliver · Contributor
ACER Team
About us
The team that works every day at the centers
Vicente López Center
Director: Lic. Mariana Goñi
Laura BattistaSocial Services
Micaela MilaniSocial Services
Camila GitardNutrition
Paula VernengoEarly Stimulation
Inés VeloEarly Stimulation
Magali SánchezMontessori Guide
Vanesa BordaMaintenance
Carlos PintoMaintenance
Administration
Lucrecia EscalonaAdministration
Laura BiffiAdministration
Leonardo FontenlaAdministration
Stella CannevaroFundraising
Both Centers
Jessica BresciaEarly Stimulation
Claudia BreserPediatrics
Estefanía GalloMontessori Guide
Bettina Magalí SanchezMontessori Assistant
San Isidro Center
Director: Bernarda Olivera Wells
Giorgina BruzziPIM Coordinator
Vanessa GagliardiMontessori Guide
Florencia LuzuriagaMontessori Guide
Cecilia BorghiNutrition
María Marta CampbellNutrition
Mariana GiriboneEducational Psychology
Claudio AbrahanPediatrics
Noelia GarciaEducational Psychology
Ines MolinaNutritionist
Yanina VilaMontessori Guide
Carolina GomezMontessori Assistant
Analía EspósitoMontessori Assistant
Cecilia RiosPreschool Teacher
Flavia Di BenedettoPediatrics
Vanessa GervasiPreschool Teacher
Magalí ZalazarPreschool Teacher
Vanessa PugliesePreschool Teacher
Fernanda ChoqueSewing Workshop
Claudia CamposCommunity Garden
Maria Castillo MonteroMaintenance
Nancy SalvioKitchen and Cleaning
Emilce AltamiranoKitchen and Cleaning
ACER Volunteers
Volunteers and collaborators
Las Coninas and so many others who support us
Las Coninas

A group of women volunteers who organize monthly fairs at the ACER San Isidro headquarters, providing a service to the families in the program and to the neighborhood in general.

Adriana Accinelli Josefina Bengalli Clara Fábregas Maria Luisa Bracco María Julia García Espil Ana Garrido Edith Godon Paula Slednew Gabriela Wernli Adriana Delcarlo Mabel Ianni Graciela Petrocelli Graciela Maldonado Adriana Piacenza Virginia Raberto Mercedes Reddel Marisol Romero Mariquita Garcia Tuñon Magdalena Nocetti
Where we are

Two centers, two communities

Each center works Monday to Friday with the families of its neighborhood. Same methodology, same commitment, different contexts.

Center 1 · Active since 2007
Vicente López Center
Las Flores neighborhood · Vicente López

Our founding center. 19 years of work with families in the Las Flores neighborhood.
Home of the international volunteer program

Full CONIN program
Infant care, sewing, and entrepreneurship workshops
Nutrition placements for university students
International volunteers (Austria since 2022)
View on map →
Center 2 · Active since 2011
San Isidro Center
La Cava neighborhood · Villa Uruguay · San Isidro

Opened in 2011, it serves the communities of La Cava and Villa Uruguay. It was the first to add Faro Nursery School and the community organic garden.

Full CONIN program
La Casita de al Lado — monthly fairs
International volunteers (Austria, since 2022)
Municipality of San Isidro — institutional partnership · Faro Nursery School
View on map →
Accountability

Full transparency

We believe that those who support our work have the right to know exactly how the funds are used. That's why we publish our complete, audited accounts.

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How funds are allocated
Here's how we allocate every peso we receive:
Workshops for mothers2%
Nutrition / Food packages14%
Child care – Professional team49%
Infrastructure and Administration35%
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Recognitions
Organizations that have endorsed our work:
2025 Award for our track record — Municipality of San Isidro
2019 Participatory Budget — Municipality of Vicente López
2015 Rotary Award — Prevention and treatment of child malnutrition
2012 Recognition — Municipality of Vicente López
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Documents available for download
2025 Financial Statement
Audited financial statements · PDF
View latest financial statement →
Bylaws
Founding document · PDF
View bylaws →

Now you know us.
Will you be part of our story?

Everyone who joins — as a donor, volunteer, or corporate partner — writes the next chapter of ACER.

Full story

Estefanía Gallo

From mother at the center to Montessori Guide

My name is Estefanía Gallo and I'm 31 years old. I finished secondary school at 17, and at 20 I became a mother for the first time. Like many women, I set aside work and study plans to devote myself fully to motherhood. At 22 I had my second daughter, and at 25, my third child.

I came to ACER through a proposal from the kindergarten my children attended, to get to know the Montessori environment up close. The first time I walked in, I fell in love with the environment and the way of working. I began to learn more about the method, and that's how I discovered the Fundación Argentina María Montessori, where I decided to train as an Assistant.

ACER's board and staff, to whom I'll always be grateful, gave me the opportunity to work with them right away.

After three years came the long-awaited scholarship, granted by the Montessori Foundation and ACER, to train as a Montessori Guide. I took it on with pride, enthusiasm and responsibility.

In August 2019, with a great deal of effort and sacrifice, I earned my internationally recognized certification. It's hard to put my happiness into words, let alone the pride I felt seeing my children at the diploma ceremony.

Working at ACER fills me with joy: it lets me help the families who come here, planting a small seed in the stimulation and upbringing of their children, and showing that it's possible to move forward. I delight in the children's joy at finding an environment that lets them unlock their full potential.

I hope my experience inspires many mothers —at this center and so many others— to move forward and grow, professionally and personally, cultivating great values so that, together, we can make a better world.

Full story

Romi and Isa

From ACER's workshop to their own venture · @madrazasbsas

Romi and Isa have several things in common: both had three children, both sew skillfully, and both work hard to get ahead and improve their quality of life.

They met several years ago, thanks to their children being friends at school. Isa (50) decided to invite Romi (41) to the ACER center in Vicente López. And once Romi arrived, she never left.

Romi and Isa at ACER's workshop

Through the workshops, and not without some fears, they learned sewing, knitting, embroidery, manicure, dance, cooking and jewelry-making, discovering talents they never suspected they had. With great courage they decided to launch their own venture of sustainable fabric bags, based on the techniques learned at ACER and the support of the center's staff.

An unimaginable dream: for Romi, who always considered herself clumsy at embroidery and discovered she is quite the opposite; and for Isa, who after a hard personal and family story found a career path that motivates and sustains her.

They started small: with the old sewing machine of one of their grandmothers, a WhatsApp group, and the help of Sergio, Isa's husband, whom they call "The Cutter" for his millimetric precision measuring and cutting the fabric.

Today, together with two other mothers they met at the center, they lead @madrazasbsas: they make fabric bags for different businesses and work with steady dedication and joy so the project grows with every step.

Follow their venture on Instagram →

"Hi, my name is Susana, and I'm the mother of two children who come to ACER. We love coming here, and we feel truly supported — both financially and emotionally. I'm deeply grateful for everything it has meant for my children's development."

— Susana

"Hi, my name is Lidia, and I'm an ACER–CONIN mom. I joined because of my children: my youngest was underweight, and thanks to the pediatricians' help and my own efforts, we got him to a healthy weight. I'm more than grateful, and I don't have words to thank all the specialists here who helped me."

— Lidia

"I'm a former ACER–CONIN mom, now a volunteer in the sewing workshop. It makes me so happy to give back my small grain of sand after everything you shared with me. It's a real milestone to help other moms learn to sew and do alterations. I hope to keep contributing, and I thank everyone working behind the scenes — the support they give is truly wonderful."

— Fernanda Choque