First, board president Steve Kirk and board secretary Bill Brazier visited for five days. They saw several different Pueblo a Pueblo partner sites, including the Nueva Vida School’s Vacation in the Gardens Course, one of the apiaries, and the Summer Vacation Literacy Camp at La Cumbre School! Steve and Bill also held an all-staff meeting to get to know the local staff, where they introduced themselves and their visions, and fielded any questions.
The following week, our new Executive Director, Andrew Wilson, visited Santiago for the first time. It was a very exciting week! Andrew brought gifts from his home state of Wisconsin (delicious cheddar and squeaky cheese curds), visited many different sites, met with staff and community partners--and overall, energized the office!
We talked to some of the staff this week to hear their thoughts and reactions about the exciting visits:
“I think the board members are very proud of the projects here in Santiago Atitlan. [...]
Andrew is a very dynamic and enthusiastic person, who can bring new knowledge to Pueblo a Pueblo. He inspires confidence and capacity to be able to achieve new things.”
- Rebeca Sosof, Maternal Child Health Program Assistant
“I think Andrew has a lot of passion for Guatemala, and that is clear in his past experience in Guatemala and his goals for the future of Pueblo a Pueblo. I appreciate that he is so receptive to current suggestions and advice from PaP's staff. [...]
I also appreciated the reflection activity that our staff did with Andrew during his Q&A session. It was beneficial to hear the perspectives of all staff members, and my favorite theme about Pueblo a Pueblo's success was how dynamic and strong our staff is as a supportive and effective team.”
- Robin Schmid, Grants Associate
“My favorite experience during Andrew's visit was bringing him to one of our apiaries, introducing him to some of our beekeepers and sharing with him what we have accomplished during the project so far, as well as what we would like to accomplish in the future.
I also enjoyed "tortillar-ing" with him! He knows how to make a great tortilla.”
- Michelle Sims, Sustainable Livelihoods Program Manager
“I learned that changes are never bad, but that they bring us something positive. It is good to have changes to improve our projects and opportunities. [...] My favorite experience was sharing time with our new director over lunch! [...]
I think Andrew is a person with a lot of energy to bring to the organization, and that the board members are people who look out for the well-being of Pueblo a Pueblo and its workers.”
- Johanny Quieju, Child Education Scholarships Project Manager