Our Team
Community-Based Team
Magdalena
Magdalena is Nueva Esperanza's Program Director. She draws on her background in social work, sociocracy, group facilitation, and conflict transformation to support the sisterhood in strengthening their individual and collective resilience so as to increase their capacity to collectively care for their community. As a member of the community herself, she draws on life-long relationships of trust with her neighbors to deepen the work of community transformation.
Marta
Marta supports Nueva Esperanza as a youth educator and mentor, who provides emotional support as well as study skills and tutoring support for the scholars. She is a member of the circle of support and accountability, helping to problem solve around crises that emerge for the Community Healers. Her leadership, resilience, and generosity of spirit serve as an example for the Community Healers in their own community leadership journey.
Ingrid
Ingrid is a Nueva Esperanza graduate who continues to volunteer her time to the program. She provides academic and psychological support to the sisterhood on an as-needed basis, and supports with group-facilitation exercises.
She is a member of the Circle of Support and Accountability, supporting the Community Healers in identifying and meeting their unique needs. She's managed to do the nearly impossible, and become a "prophet in her own land."
Lissette
Lissette is a member of the Circle of Alliances, connecting gender-based organizations with Nueva Esperanza to enhance the work of sexual and gender based violence detection and prevention in the community.
She volunteers her time to support Nueva Esperanza and is one of two point-people systematically introducing sociocracy as a horizontal governance structure throughout Nueva Esperanza programs and leadership.
Vero
Vero is part of our Circle of Support and Accountability. She has many years of experience in youth organizing and leadership development.
Vero supports the community youth group with workshops on everything from leadership skills to sexual health. Her energy and devotion to young people discovering their gifts is inspiring and contageous.
Rick
Rick is a member of the Nueva Esperanza Alianza Circle and supports the program by making connections to local allies for the work of community healing and organizing.
Rick and his wife Mercedes were the founding members of the first iteration of Nueva Esperanza in 2005, and the program has grown as a result of the fruits of their labor.
Xenia
Xenia is a social worker by profession who has worked in psycho-social skills building with young people for many years.
Xenia provides accompaniment and support to the Community Healers as well as logistical support with program planning and evaluation. She is trained in non-violent communication and shares these skills and awarenesses with the Community Healers, as well.
Haezel
Haezel is trained in the Focusing field of Somatic Therapy. She accompanies the Community Healers both individually and collectively in their journey towards healing and wholeness.
Haezel embodies the heart-centered, compassionate approach she teaches and is a light and a gift to those who get to receive her loving attention.
US-Based Reparations Support Team
Decolonized Relationships Circle
The Decolonized Relationships Circle creates pathways for mutual support and collective learning, based on consent and co-creation.
This circle tries to ensure that Nueva Esperanza critically examines and transforms colonial paradigms that may implicitly emerge in unexamined power relationships between the US and Salvadoran Nueva Esperanza teams, and seeks to invite the sisterhood and the Sisterhood Support Network into meaningful, transformational relationships.
Jenna
Kelly
Annie
Bridget
Erin
Kaitlyn
Laura
Micaela
Nueva Esperanza Organizational Structure
*Nueva Esperanza uses Sociocracy as a governance and decision-making structure
For more information about Sociocracy as a horizontal leadership structure, visit: Sociocracy For All