Staff and Volunteers
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Meet our Trip Leaders |
Mark Ely is the executive director of Pura Vida. He handles high-level planning, accounting, software development, web design, and any other odds and ends that come up. He also oversees the selection and progress of our projects in Guatemala.
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Lesly Ely is the director of Pura Vida's scholarship program. She also makes all in-country arrangements for work trips to Guatemala. Other responsibilities include the translation of all student and sponsor correspondence, and coordination with our Guatemalan project leaders.
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Laura Richards is practically a full-time volunteer for Pura Vida. She coordinates the U.S. side of our work trips, coordinating group travel requirements. She also handles the U.S. side of our sponsor letter process. She and her husband Mike founded the HOPE Endowment with Pura Vida in 2012 as a mechanism to support more students at the university level.
Janie Williams brings to Pura Vida a lifetime of experience in non-profit and educational endeavors having taught in the classroom, served on the school district’s board of directors, and assisted in establishing and sustaining 501(c)(3) organizations. Janie has a passion for the organization’s mission and philosophy, and a deep appreciation for the indigenous peoples and culture of Guatemala.
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Cristy Argueta is our main scholarship program coordinator in Guatemala. She arranges all program details with our village leaders. She is a key in making our programs a reality in Guatemala. 
Amilcar Solorzano is the director of primary education at the John Wesley School. In addition to his work at the school, he assists Pura Vida with scholarship student selection.
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Fausto Natareno is the director of secondary education at the John Wesley School. He also assists Pura Vida with scholarship student selection.
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Jose Fares photographs our students during the application process in October and the biannual update in January.
Sebastiana Chicaj is our scholarship program leader for the village of Lemoa. She has been a Pura Vida scholarship recipient since 2003, and was our first student to graduate from university with a bachelors degree. She works as our program tutor, traveling to our program villages to help students who are falling behind in the studies.
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Danilo Lopez has been our construction supervisor since 2014. He oversees all construction projects, and assists in project selection. He has been a Pura Vida scholarship recipient since 2007, and is currently attending university. Danilo is from Lemoa.
Juan Ixtan is our scholarship program leader for the village of Patulup. He is also a very active community leader who runs a clinic in the village. Juan is a lay pastor of the Guatemalan Methodist Church.
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Miguel Ramos is our scholarship program leader for the village of Paquixic. Miguel is a lay pastor for the Guatemalan Methodist Church.
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Sebastian Riquiac is our scholarship program leader for the village of Camanchaj. He also teaches the Bible course at the John Wesley School. Sebastian is a lay pastor for the Guatemalan Methodist Church.
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Tomas Riquiac is our scholarship program leader for the village of Paxot. Tomas is a lay pastor for the Guatemalan Methodist Church.
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Angel Salvador is our scholarship program leader for the villages of Pocohil and Chontala. Angel is a youth pastor for the Guatemalan Methodist Church in Pocohil.
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Tomas Cuin Tevelan is our scholarship program leader for the village of Quijel. Tomas is a lay pastor for the Guatemalan Methodist Church.
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