Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President
Amy Kunz serves as Senior Grants Manager at the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC), a youth development organization that has been working for Washington, D.C.’s  low-income, minority youth and families for over 35 years. Before coming to LAYC, Amy held positions as varied as a private sector marketing consultant, a high school teacher overseas, and a Conservation of Natural Resources Volunteer for the Peace Corps in Guatemala. She is also leads walking tours of historic D.C. neighborhoods as a tour guide for Washington Walks. Amy holds a B.A. in English/Journalism from Miami University (in Ohio), a M.Ed. in International Education/Teaching from Framingham State College, and a M.A. in Communication, Culture, and Technology from Georgetown University.

Secretary
Joan Dawson has a master's degree in public health and a strong interest in human rights. She raises awareness of these issues through her writing. She attended the For Women's Right to Live delegation in 2007 and remains committed to seeking justice for victims of gender-based violence and human rights violations.

Acting Treasurer
Patricia Foxen serves as Deputy Director of Research at the National Council of La Raza, a Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, and is a Faculty Fellow at American University. She is a cultural anthropologist who has worked extensively in Guatemala and in with immigrant and refugee communities in the U.S. and Canada. She is the author of the book In Search of Providence: Transnational Mayan Identities (2007), which tells the story of K'iche' Maya communities in Guatemala and in New England. She holds a PhD from McGill University and a Master's in Public Health from Columbia University.  Prior to becoming an anthropologist Patricia worked for several years on reproductive health programs in Latin America.

John Leary recently retired from teaching Spanish at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Maryland. John has led several high school student service trips to Costa Rica and Mexico. John has served on the board of directors of TASSC International in the past. He is married to wife Kristine and has two children Michael and Anna.

Yolanda Alcorta is a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Naval Medical Research Center, Clinical Trials Center in Bethesda, MD.

Christina del Castillo has had the privilege of living and working in Guatemala where she conducted graduate research on government decentralization and local citizen participation in compliance with the Peace Accords; served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in San Juan Chamelco, Alta Verapaz; conducted research for a report on youth gangs; and served as Central America Desk Officer at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).  Tina currently serves as a Governance Advisor with USAID where she provides technical guidance to foster transparency and accountability in the public sector.  She collaborates with other donors, civil society and international organizations regarding governance programming, international agreements and research to improve development assistance.  Tina has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from California State University San Marcos and a Master of Public Administration degree in international development from Rutgers University. 

Kathy Ogle is currently a free-lance interpreter and translator in Washington DC. (www.kathyogle.com). From 1997-2003 she was Co-Director of the Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean (EPICA). She has worked in Guatemala with Witness for Peace (1990-1991) and in El Salvador with the Mennonite Central Committee (1992-1994). Kathy became interested in Guatemala through her work with the Sanctuary Movement in Fort Worth, Texas in 1984-86.

Jean-Marie Simon is a former consultant at Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Her photographs have appeared in Time, Geo, and many other publications. Jean-Marie's book, Guatemala: Eternal Spring, Eternal Tyranny, was first published by W.W. Norton & Company in 1988. The book was published in Spanish as Guatemala: Eterna Primavera, Eterna Tiranía in 2010. 

 

ADVISORY BOARD

Kit Gage

Jennifer Harbury

Sister Dianna Ortiz

Sister Alice Zachmann

 

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