Board of Directors
FOUNDATION LEADERSHIP
Erik Friend Drake
President and Executive Director
Originally from Northeastern US, Studied Business Administration at the Union Institute. Has been living in México since 1988, first working with automotive worker-owner cooperatives, and part-time with delegations of the Lutheran Church and since 2002 with Fundación Comunidad and a co-founder of ALEM in 2004.
Howard E. Friend Jr.
President Ex-Officio
An ordained Presbyterian minister; founder and lead consultant of the Parish Empowerment Network; teacher, spiritual mentor, speaker and author.
Sandy Forbes
Chair of the Board
Advocate for international high school exchange students with American Field Service (AFS) in Chester, PA -- a global organization striving to build the foundations for peace in young people. Analyst, teacher, native plant enthusiast, and strong supporter of women's rights.
David Funkhouser
Treasurer of the Board
An ordained Episcopal minister; beginning with Peace Corps volunteer service in Colombia, a lifelong engagement with Mexico, Central and South America.
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Deedee Risher
Secretary of the Board
Dee Dee Risher is an author, writer, and workshop leader. She edited The Other Side and Conspire! magazines, and worked on issues of homelessness at Project HOME. She is a trainer for Roots of Justice, and a founder of Philadelphia’s Alternative Seminary, as well as the Vine and Fig Tree community.
Linda Stevenson
Board member
Professor of International Relations, Latin American, and Women's Studies at West Chester University of Pennsylvania; has lived in Cuernavaca and Santiago, Chile; seeking to do justice and walk humbly with God
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Laura Jean Wilson
Board member
Laura Jean Wilson brings her considerable experience in the securities industry to support several community-based non-profit organizations. Her goal is to offer contributors who partner with their resources serious and meaningful impact. She is committed to social transformation that empowers those on the margins. The spiritual journey and a life of service are important touchstones for her. So is dancing!
Jennifer Schlegel, PhD
Board member
Educator, activist, ally, and unapologetic Lutheran Christian who seeks the divine and the human in everyone she encounters. She enjoys coming alongside people and joining in to do good works. Jennifer is a professor of anthropology at Kutztown University.
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María Isabel Hernández Vega
María Isabel Hernández Vega has dedicated her life to service and empowerment. She has volunteered in her homeland of Colombia as well as the United States, and worked with nonprofit organizations in Mexico. Isabel has a graduate degree in Business Administration, with a master's degree in International Cooperation for the Development of Peoples. She currently Directs Todo Accessible Colombia, and works with Todo Accessible
México. She is also a member of the college of teachers of the Sacred Music Dimension of the Diocese of Cuernavaca.
Advisory Council
Betsy Friend
Betsy has worked for over 40 years as a Clinical Social Worker, primarily in the Philadelphia, PA area. Over her career, she has specialized in marriage and family therapy. She is an activist for several social justice issues and supports loving our neighbors next door and around the world. Betsy and her husband, Howard, are the original founders of Wellspring Karitas, and she continues to manage its domestic banking transactions.
Carolina Gonzalez Aldama
Carolina was born and raised in Morelos, Mexico. She has a passion for learning and a degree in business administration. Carolina has helped Wellspring Karitas communities with her computer and marketing skills. Currently, she is helping ALEM develop management systems to inventory wheelchair parts and the mothers at La Estacion's community center to start a new business. She brings an enthusiastic, positive attitude to all of the projects and is eager to help others.
Tracey E. Smith
Tracey Smith was an international finance consultant to the motion picture industry for 25 years. She raised 3 children and focuses now on feeding ministries.
PROGRAM LEADERSHIP
Mayra has been with ALEM since its beginning, helping a group of men and women with disabilities grow into a company that repairs worn-out wheelchairs and designs and “fits” specialty wheelchairs for adults and children. Mayra is a “network weaver” and uses friends, community, and other businesses to expand possibilities and increase successes. Mayra has dual citizenship (Mexico and the United States) and is bilingual. She holds a degree in sociology with a concentration in critical analysis of cultures and drug dependencies.
Magdalena E. Solano
Executive Director
Lucia’s goal is to improve the well-being, care, education, and happiness of children. She is the co-founder of Caminando Unidos and through the organization has been able to implement many programs to realize her goals. The important life skills of honesty, respect, integrity, and perseverance are incorporated into every learning opportunity.
Caminando Unidos
Lucia Gabriela Minon Romero
Executive Director
Fresvinda started as a kindergarten teacher, but for the last 26 years has coordinated the breakfast program for the children and various empowerment workshops for the mothers. The newest project is the care and support of the community’s elderly population. Fresvinda’s mission is to help the community’s vulnerable populations find their voices.
Fresvinda Arellano Toral
Coordinator, Community Center
La Estacion
Resiliente
Marco Antonio Santos Trejo, originally from Mexico City, has lived in Morelos for the past 20 years. He is psychologist, graduated from the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos, he is the founder and co-founder of various initiatives, as well as a workshop facilitator and advisor on labor inclusion, solidarity economies, and community social psychology. Currently, he is the co-founder and director of "Proyecto Resiliente", an initiative focused on the labor inclusion of people with intellectual and hearing disabilities.
Marco Antonio Santos Trejo
co-founder and director of Resiliente
Clean School Water
EcoSite heads the design, installation and technical management team for the public school rainwater capture and purification systems. Juan founded EcoSite in 2003 to link the development of technological solutions with the needs in the indigenous and rural communities in Mexico. Over the last eight years, he has concentrated on safe drinking water in schools and in socio-environmental entrepreneurship. Juan is an Industrial and Systems Engineer with studies in self-sustaining answers to environmental health issues.
Juan Manuel Ledón Roig
Executive Director of EcoSite Mexico
Nuvia coordinates the training and educational components of the rainwater capture and purification systems being installed in the public schools. These collection sites provide clean drinking water to the students and the community. Nuvia holds several degrees from institutions all over the world in the fields of social sciences, journalism, and child protection. Her specialty is working with children and indigenous women in the areas of sexual harassment, abuse, and reproductive health. In her spare time, Nuvia participates in dance workshops and festivals in Tepoztlan.
Nuvia Balderrama Vara
Coordinator of Casitas de agua in Tepoztlán
