When I arrived in Guatemala just over 6 years ago, I began working for Oxlajuj B'atz' (OB) as a Volunteer Project Director. OB was initiated as a pilot project offering educational trainings and workshops to 12 groups of (approximately 250) Mayan women weavers and artisans. At the time, OB was expected to have a life of 18 months. It was created by the founders of two Fair Trade organizations, Mayan Hands and Maya Traditions Foundation, who provided an export market for the women. The main purpose of these NGOs has been to help the women out of poverty. After exporting their products to the U.S. for years, it became evident to the founders of the two organizations that they wanted to help the women further by offering them education and support related to both their short and long term needs. Nearly seven years later, as OB's Executive Director, I have expanded the organization's reach to providing capacity-building skills training to 27 groups of women (over 500 women). I have also created new programs to compliment OB’s mission including the Young Maya Women’s Internship program which aims to motivate young women to take on leadership roles in their communities and, a micro-credit lending program exclusive to OB’s participating groups. In 2010, OB's Maya Women's Center and Fair Trade Store was born. The Center combines a space for organization of our community workshops and trainings, a cooperative Fair Trade store, a community resource center, meeting space, and a departure point for tours to the women’s villages. The women are learning the skills needed to be sustainable in today’s global marketplace. The goal for the Women's Center is to become Maya women member owned and operated so that the power of their economic future is in the hands of the women. We've just established ourselves as a Guatemalan Association and have begun the process of including women representatives from the groups on the General Assembly (highest decision making body) of OB so that the women can directly participate in making choices that will change their lives for ever.
I first came to Guatemala with the purpose of Spanish language immersion, taking classes at a language school in Quetzaltenango. But I specifically chose Guatemala because I learned that Guatemala has a strong indigenous community of over 65% of the population, yet it is considered the poorest country in Central America with the largest economic gap. In my three months exploring the culture, I was surprised to find a people that were beaten down from a tragic civil war and years of discrimination, desperate to eek out a living in whatever way possible. I did not sense hope, but rather bitterness and anger. When I returned home, I went into a reverse culture shock, When I returned home, I went into a reverse culture shock and it made me want to return to Guatemala to understand the circumstances, learn and share experiences with the indigenous people, especially the women. The 18 month pilot project was so successful that we've now been operating for 8 years and in that time I married a Guatemalan Mayan man and we have a son. And I've come to love and deeply appreciate Guatemala and it's indigenous culture.
Women and marginalized people to have an equal voice, participate fully in economic and social life, and have the ability to decide their own fate.
I have 15 years of management experience in for-profit and non-profit grass-roots organizations, and have been a small business owner on two occasions, including a successful retail operation that converted to a sustainable operation over a period of 7 years. My B.A. in Democracy and Cultural Pluralism from the New School University, NY has helped me to develop projects for women and girls in the US and Central America that support self-esteem, organizing and empowerment. I also have training in non-profit management at Marymount College, NY. In addition to my responsibilities for strategic planning, financial management, developing partnerships and collaborations, I also co-create effective and diverse curriculum with the staff. I serve on the boards of Sharing the Dream, Asociacion Tejedoras Unidas (Komon Ajkem), and the new Oxlajuj B’atz’ Association in Guatemala.
