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WASHINGTON, D.C. Headquarters

Malcolm Butler, President

Malcolm Butler has extensive public, private and non-profit experience in Latin America. At the U.S. Agency for International Development, he served as mission director in Bolivia and Peru and acting assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean. He also launched U.S. assistance to Lebanon’s reconstruction, led U.S. economic support for the Philippines’ return to democracy under Corazon Aquino and established the Bureau for Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States. Previously he was on the staff of the National Security Council, at the Office of Management and Budget and with the Department of State in Mexico and Iran. After leaving government, he founded a consulting firm, assisting clients in government relations, strategic investments and international acquisitions. In the non-profit world. Malcolm has been president and CEO of Partners of the Americas and of the Mercy Corps subsidiary Pax World Services, and program director of Outward Bound. He did his undergraduate work at Rice University and graduate studies at the University of Oxford.

 


Mary Dempsey, Interim Executive Director

Mary Dempsey is a veteran journalist with experience covering finance, development and cultural issues in Latin America. Her reports on the region, where she lived for several years, have appeared in publications ranging from the Los Angeles Times and Latin Finance to the Toronto Globe and Mail and Americas magazine.  Mary joined the Riecken Foundation as its director of communications and outreach in 2007 and became interim director in mid-2008. She holds a master’s degree in political science from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. Her book-editing credits include "Mine Eyes Have Seen," a compilation of photos and essays on the U.S. Civil Rights movement.

William Cartwright Country Director, Honduras

William Cartwright, a lawyer with more than 15 years experience in international development and human rights issues, leads the Foundation’s work in Honduras, where he directs a staff of 31 and libraries in 52 communities. Before joining the Riecken Foundation, he was deputy director of a conflict and human rights institute sponsored by DePaul University’s College of Law in Central America and Mexico. He served as a senior democracy fellow in the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Guatemala Office of Democratic Initiatives and as a supervisor in USAID’s Administration of Justice Program in Bolivia. From 1994-1998, Bill was the first U.S. staff attorney with the Organization of American States’ Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica. He also spent two years in Costa Rica as a rural development specialist for the U.S. Peace Corps.

Paul Guggenheim Country Director, Guatemala

Paul Guggenheim manages the Foundation’s operations in Guatemala. Previously, through Chicago’s Field Museum, he oversaw planning, programming and training for conservation education initiatives in schools and communities surrounding Peru’s Cordillera Azul National Park. As an educator at Casa Alianza in Managua, Nicaragua, he organized activities for homeless and at-risk youth. And as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras, Paul worked in the construction of gravity-flow water systems and prepared community boards to operate and maintain them. With the volunteer organization Amigos de las Americas in Costa Rica, Mexico, Ecuador, Honduras and Nicaragua, he supervised community public health projects. He has also conducted program reviews in the Dominican Republic, Colombia and the Philippines for Children International, which works to improve health care and education for youngsters.

Ariela Rosenstein Director of Programming

Ariela Rosenstein oversees the development and implementation of all library programs in Guatemala and Honduras, including the youth debate program, the reading promotion program, and the library management training programs. Previous to joining the Riecken Foundation in 2005, Ariela worked in India with the Association for Development and Health Action in Rural Areas (ADHAR), where she designed and facilitated trainings in adult education and organization development. Ariela also worked as a health educator with Care for the Homeless in New York City and as a youth development specialist with the US Peace Corps in Ecuador. She holds degrees in history, political science and Spanish from Rutgers University and she studied archaeology at Mexico's Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán. Ariela has a master's degree in sustainable international development.

Erin Kliewer Development Specialist

Paola J. Canales Program Assistant

HONDURAS Libraries

Paola Zavala Deputy Director for Programming >
Paola Zavala has more than eight years experience working with international development organizations, such as Canadian Cooperation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). She joined the Riecken Foundation in 2004 as a program coordinator and was later promoted to program officer. Both positions allowed her to participate in the design and development of the Foundation’s library model. Now, as deputy director of programming, she leads and coordinates all library programs in Honduras. She also oversees the work teams that provide technical and program assistance to Riecken libraries. Paola holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations and diplomacy, with a focus on human development, gender and education.

Rosibel Martínez Senior Program Manager
Violeta Guillén Program Manager
Vanessa Lopez Program Manager
Bianka Zelaya Program Manager
Denis Espinal Program Manager
Alexis Álvarez Program Manager
José Reinaldo Reyes Program Manager
Vanessa Lopez Program Manager
Francklin Sierra Senior Program Manager
Patrick Maradiaga Program Specialist
Carlos Abraham Sierra Program Specialist

 

Wilmer Emilio Sánchez Program Specialist
Ronny Barahona Program Specialist
Dasil Moreno Program Specialist
Francisco Alcaide Collections Development Manager

 


HONDURAS Administration

María Fernanda Martínez Deputy Director for Finance and Administration
Marifer Martínez leads the foundation’s administration in Honduras in a busy office that provides support to more than 31 staff members and 52 libraries. She has more than a decade of experience in administration and finance issues. She joined the Foundation in 2004 to lead the Honduran technology team, guiding the creation of the IT platform that currently provides internet to 48 libraries. Prior to that, she worked for more than five years with Peace Corps Honduras as the leader of the office management team. Marifer holds a master’s degree in project management and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, with specialties in structural engineering and water treatment.

Patricia Romero Accountant
Varinia García Program and Events Coordinator
Nubia González Administrative Assistant
Thania Pérez Administrative Assistant
Diana Rubio Administrative Assistant
Samantha Caro IT Specialist
Edward Umanzor IT Specialist
Mario Elvir IT Specialist
Manuel López Logistics Assistant
Fidel Castro Logistics Assistant
Harold Carías Logistics Assistant
Carlos Salguero Logistics Assistant

 


HONDURAS Potential Projects

Wilmer Gallardo Senior Program Manager
Carlos Lagos Construction Coordinator
Luís Alejandro González Construction Assistant


GUATEMALA

Luís Quino Projects Manager
Ilse Lourdes  Administrative Manager
Sergio Perez Operations Technician
Luisa Méndez Administrative Assistant
Jackelline Ández Creative Programs Coordinator
Marvin Sánchez Operations Assistant

 
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