Semillas
para el Futuro
Board Members
Daniel de Leon
is the Executive Director of Semillas. He is an economic analyst and program
manager with the Secretariat for Social Programs of the Wife of the President,
which
specializes in education and development
programs for rural women in Guatemala. Previously Daniel was with the Guatemalan
business association, AGEXPORT which supports programs aimed at diversifying
and enhancing Guatemala’s export sector. At AGEXPORT, he specialized in matching
Guatemalan producers to both local and international markets.
Enrique Mateau
Head of the Guatemalan Ministry of Culture & Sports;
founder of El Sitio Cultural in Antigua Guatemala, an organization
which promotes cultural development based in creativity and participation
throughout Guatemala and which teaches leadership, innovation
and the value of diversity in community-based cultural development.
Derek
Steele
President of Centro de Ideas, a Guatemala think tank and conflict
resolution center. Derek is also a founder of the CentroGSI,
one of the leading research companies in Central America.
Suzanne
de Berge
Suzanne
de Berge is Treasurer of SMPAC and
a founding board member of Semillas
para el Futuro. Suzanne's interest
in traditional culture and women's
issues finds expression in her work
within the context of rural Guatemala.
Although Suzanne and her husband
have been visiting Guatemala regularly
since the late 1970s, volunteer work
in Chocolá in 2004 inspired their
current work with the town.
Fabiana
Florez
of Guatemala City is a specialist
in education. She consults with and
develops educational and cultural
programs for the Museo Ixchel, situated
on the campus of the Universidad
Francisco Marroquin and world famous
for its collection of Maya textiles.
Erick
Egar
is member of the Presidential Commission for Local Redevelopment
of Guatemala and heads the Cacao division. He is a specialist
in helping rural agricultural communities develop added-value
cacao farming, fermentation, drying and marketing. He recently
headed up the very successful modernization of the cacao industry
in the Cahabon area of Alta Verapaz. He is also an expert in
agricultural exportation and runs a division of
his family’s business in that field.
Anne
Kraemer
Fulbright scholar in Anthropology and Archaeology working in
Chocola to investigate the relationship between rural communities
and NGOs and other outside groups, including archaeologists.
Community and program coordinator for Semillas para el Futuro.
Earl
de Berge
Chairman
of SMPAC and one of the founders
of Semillas Para El Futuro. A veteran
of 25 years in Guatemala, Earl is
Research Director of the Behavior
Research Center and brings experience
in marketing, business development
and urban planning to the challenges
of sustainable development in rural
Guatemala.
Patricia Hempstead
