Staff
Misty Lopez
Executive Director
Misty is responsible for the development of Maya Traditions Foundation. Originally from Georgia in the United States, she received a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Science from the University of Georgia. Before Maya Traditions, she volunteered for an international, youth-run not-for-profit in the business development department, interned in human resources and operations for an NGO founded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and worked in marketing and business development for a digital startup in Washington, D.C.
She moved to Guatemala and started as Maya Traditions’ Marketing Manager in July 2019. She began with a focus on the Fair Trade and Ethical Travel Programs, and slowly grew to work on the Social Programs by leading fundraising campaigns, managing donor communications, and supporting grant proposals. She currently works on the sustainable development of MTF, managing staff, projects, and partnerships, and promoting the work Maya Traditions provides.
Her Mexican, first-generation, background is the root to her devotion in supporting rural communities in Latin America and ignites her daily work with Maya Traditions.
Pedro Julio Mejía Queché
Finance and Administrative Manager
Pedro oversees the management of Maya Traditions’ finances. He is originally from Panajachel, Sololá and graduated from the Mariano Gálvez University with a Bachelor of Public Accounting and Auditing in 2017.
He had his first job in an accounting office in Panajachel where he was an accounting assistant for two years. He then worked for an accounting office in Sololá as general accountant. Pedro started working with Maya Traditions in April 2019.
His main role at Maya Traditions is to carry out a good control of the financial and administrative activities of the Foundation as well as the payment of taxes. He works frequently and directly with the Executive Director to ensure the sustainable development of Maya Traditions is on a healthy, sustainable track.
Marisol Morales Calel
Programs Coordinator
Marisol is responsible for the Youth Education and the Community Health Programs with Maya Traditions Foundation. She is from the village of Panimatzalam, San Andrés Semetabaj and speaks four languages: K’iche, Kaqchikel, Spanish, and English. In 2010, she spent two years at Modesto Junior College in the United States on a scholarship from Georgetown University to earn a diploma in Agrobusiness. Upon her return from the US, she volunteered with Maya Traditions, translating documents from English to Spanish and assisting with monitoring and evaluation activities in the medicinal plant garden. Marisol started as the Community Health Program Coordinator in August 2012 and her position was expanded to include Youth Education in January of 2013.
Marisol collaborates closely with the Atitlán Ajq’omanela’ Association, Maya healers, towards the promotion of indigenous Maya medicine and the development of their roles as health advocates in their local communities. She also works with the students of our artisans, organizing workshops throughout the year, distributing scholarships monthly, and providing consistent support.
Floridalma Pérez Sicay
Production Manager
Flory has worked with Maya Traditions since 2005 in a variety of roles including Accounting, Office Administrator, National Sales Representative, and currently as Production Manager. Flory is from the community of San Antonio Palopó and speaks Kaqchikel, Spanish, and is an avid English student. She graduated from high school with a certificate in Bookkeeping & Computer Science.
Before joining the Maya Traditions’ team, Flory worked as a Secretary and Accountant with schools in San Antonio and Santa Cruz, as well as a volunteer with a local judge, translating Kaqchikel to Spanish.
Flory has been a valuable member of the Maya Traditions team and is currently responsible for national sales, coordinating orders with the weaving groups and sewers, maintaining a high level of quality control on finished products, and office administration.
Serena Frasconá
Fair Trade Sales Manager
Raised in Italy, Serena left the nest early to discover the world. In the last 12 years, she has been living, studying, working and traveling in several countries in Europe and Latin America. With a Bachelor in International Relations and a Master in International Cooperation and Human rights, she brings expertise in international development, a passion for textiles, and her creativity to the Maya Traditions team.
Serena owes the ability to make the best out of any situation to her grandparents. She strongly believes that investing in women and education is the key to a brighter future. Serena is deeply committed to serve the community at her best. With her volcanic personality in this land of volcanoes, she is very excited to showcase the beauty and complexity of Guatemalan textile while continuing to grow our Fair Trade social enterprise.
Oseas Chiquirin Aju
Groundskeeper, Office & Garden Assistant
Oseas first began working with Maya Traditions in 2001 as the groundskeeper with founder Jane Mintz. He is originally from Panajachel and speaks Spanish and Kaqchikel.
Through support from Maya Traditions, Oseas has had the opportunity to continue his studies. He graduated from high school in 2015 with a degree in Accounting. Through his time with the Foundation, Oseas has worked in the areas of maintenance, custodial, gardening, finance, and the production and sales of medicinal plant products.
Oseas is an integral part of the Maya Traditions’ team and has witnessed the growth of the Foundation in the past decade. He is most excited about working with the dynamic team of Maya Traditions and collaborating with volunteers.
Board of Directors
Dana Geffner
Dana Geffner has been working in the Fair Trade movement for nearly two decades. She is the co-founder and Executive Director of Fair World Project (FWP) an NGO which started in order to promote a just economy, insist on integrity in Fair Trade and cultivate a holistic approach to global economics. She is editor of For A Better World, a magazine that discusses challenging issues that face our global economy focusing on a just food system that supports small-scale farmers, protects worker’s rights and encourages trade policy transformation. She is on the board of the pioneer fair trade organizations Equal Exchange and co-founder of Grow Ahead, a crowdfunding platform that supports small-scale family farmers as they address the challenges of climate change in their communities.
Dana’s passion is to engage consumers so they can participate in creating a more just economy through the market and in transforming policy. She focuses on educating consumers and retailers about mission-driven brands that put people and the planet before profits.
Armando Alfonzo
Armando brings a wealth of experience with over 30 years working in development with indigenous peoples and communities in Mexico and Central America. Formerly the Executive Director of Maya Educational Foundation and Plumstock Mesoamerican studies, Armando currently works as an Independent Consultant. He provides support to the Maya Traditions team in terms of program development.
Marta Lynd-Altan
Martha first met Jane Mintz when she was an anthropology major and weaver for a US market for weaving groups. Martha conducted a needs assessment in the communities in 1996 and was instrumental in initiating the Foundations’ health and education projects. She is also the author of, The International Craft Market: A Double-Edged Sword for Guatemalan Maya Women, featured in Artisans and Cooperatives: Developing Alternative Trade for the Global Economy (2000).
A long term resident of Panajachel, Martha now resides in San Marcos La Laguna with her family. She remains committed to the vision that she and Jane first developed.
Erin Kökdil
Erin is a storyteller interested in expanding, enhancing consciousness, and inciting social change through the power of film. She graduated from Smith College in 2012 with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Latin American Studies and Spanish.
In 2012, Erin moved to Guatemala where she worked and volunteered with a wide variety of non-governmental organizations. She served as Executive Director of Maya Traditions from 2013-2016. She is currently pursuing a Master’s of Fine Arts in Documentary Film & Video at Stanford University.
Murray Mintz
Originally from Buffalo NY, Murray spent all of his adult life in California, before moving to Guatemala in 2010. He graduated from film school in 1968 and worked in the film industry as a writer and director for the next 40 years. He currently is a member of The Director’s Guild of American and The Writer’s Guild of America.
Murray was married to Jane Stiller Mintz from 1971 until 1984, but remained best friends with her until her passing in November 2009. Since Jane died, his primary goal has been to keep the foundation sustainable and to preserve the memory of Jane’s work benefiting the artisans and their families, whom she knew and loved. His goal for the next few years is to help raise funds to assure that the Foundation continues on a path of growth and sustainability.
Carly Burson
Carly, the Founder and CEO of lifestyle brand Tribe Alive, has extensive experience working in the fashion industry and spent most of her career focusing on store and visual design for some of the industries leading brands.
Tribe Alive was born from Carly’s decision to utilize her years of experience in the fashion industry as a platform to alleviate poverty among women in the developing world. By promoting the development of artisanal traditions and connecting women to the global marketplace, she has seen her outreach grow rapidly in a year’s time: from a small group of artisans in Honduras to the development of partnerships in five additional countries, the Tribe is alive and well. Carly believes that ethical fashion has the power to change lives, and it is her hope that Tribe Alive’s artisans will be empowered with the means to care for their families.