Project Amigo Board, Staff and Volunteers

Project Amigo Board of Directors | Project Amigo Staff | Ted Rose | Susan Hill | Anilú Mendoza Vergara | Jorge Torres Preciado | Diego Martínez Ascencio | Juana Díaz Peña | María Orenca Arrellano | Graciella Trujillo | Paulina Cernas Diaz | Carlos Alberto Sanchez | Volunteers in Colima | Eduardo Rubalcava and Elena Govea | Jan and Jack Grimes | Other Volunteers

Project Amigo Board of Directors

Project Amigo is a non-profit corporation incorporated in the State of California. It is governed by a Board of Directors, who serve staggered 3-year terms. During the 2006-07 year, the Board consists of:
    Catherine Munson, President of the Project Amigo Board, lives in Lucas Valley, California.  She is a real estate broker with her own company,  LVP MARIN REALTORS in Novato, CA which she has owned for 40 years.  She has served with passion and great interest on the PA board since l992.  Catherine joined Rotary at the Ignacio Rotary Club in l987 and has been an enthusiastic member—especially in the international area.  Her other activities include the following board memberships:  The Buck Institute for Age Research, Marin Symphony Association, Atlantic Pacific Bank and Frank Lloyd Wright Civic Center Conservancy.  She is also manager of the McInnis Park Golf Center and The Club Restaurant.
    Will Haymaker, serves on the Board as Project Amigo’s Treasurer.  He is a real estate broker for Will Haymaker & Associates, Brokers/Consultants in Santa Rosa.  Will is Past-President of the Rotary Club of Santa Rosa, and is Chairman of the Endowment Committee of St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church.  Before his “retirement” he was President of Dataguard, Inc., a marketing consulting company.
    Joyce Palmer, Secretary of the Board. Since retiring as a teacher of Math, Joyce has continued being active in many community activities in Novato, CA. She is Program Chairman for the local association of American University Women. She’s an alto in the Novato Music Association and still appears on stage.  Joyce has spent 40 years singing and touring with the Winifred Baker/San Francisco Chorale (including several concerts at Carnegie Hall).  She enjoys the game of bridge, plays at tournament level, and currently is a bronze life master.  After the death of her husband Clark in 2005, Joyce has carried on his work on the Endowment and World Service committees of the Novato Rotary Club. Her late husband was charter president of the Novato Rotary Club and was also a charter member of the Board of Directors of Project Amigo, and was a past president of the Board.  “I am continuing my enthusiasm for this outstanding project!”
    Harry Johnson, Director, is a Rotary Past District Governor, and member of the Arcata Sunrise Rotary Club.   He is a practicing dentist who is largely responsible for the dental clinic at Project Amigo's site in Cofradia.  He and his wife, Sheryl, have purchased a home in Cofradia which they generously share with volunteers who come on Project Amigo's winter work weeks.
    Dale Knight, Director, is a member of the Rohnert Park-Cotati Rotary Club and is in the insurance business.
    Bruce Powell, Director, sold his contracting business in 2002 in order to dedicate more time to international service.  Since then he has traveled extensively throughout Central and South America with various Rotary or Rotary-related projects. In addition to serving as a Director for Project Amigo, he serves on the Executive Board for YouthLINC and is the Chairman of the Board for the Hope Alliance.  He has twice been president of the Centerville/ Farmington Rotary Club, was Group Study Exchange leader for District 5420 (to Mexico), and has been Chairman of the matching grants committee for the same District since 2004. Additionally, he has served his community as a planning commissioner for three terms and served as a Bishop in the LDS Church. 
    Lynda Hammond, Director, is ithe President and CEO of ATS Laboratories located in Bridgeport, CT. The company designs and manufactures test devices used in the area of diagnostic ultrasound and enjoys doing business in the global marketplace. She has been a Rotarian since the chartering of the Bridgeport Sunrise Club in 2001, serving as Club President in 2002-2203 and Chair of the International Committee from 2001-2004. In the fall of 2004, she joined the Rotary Club of Hamden.  She served as the Club President 2006-07, District International Service Chair and President of District 7980 Gift of Life Foundation. Lynda also serves on the Board of Directors of the South Asia Pure Water Initiative, Rotary Club of Hamden Foundation and is President of the Promenade Condominium Association . In June of 2006 Lynda received Rotary’s International’s ‘Service Above Self’ award, 2007 she was awarded the Abraham I. Gordon Achievement Award.
    Sarah Ferris, Director, retired from Chevron Oil after a 30-year career. She started as a chemist in the Perth Amboy, New Jersey Refinery and held jobs of increasing responsibility, traveling extensively and living abroad. She retired as Vice President of Marketing for Fuel and Marine Marketing, a division of Chevron. While with Chevron, she participated in Junior Achievement and local school activities. She is currently active with and on the Council of the Presidio Golf Club in San Francisco.
    Vida Jones, our newest Director, is a professional custom clothier, specializing in bridal gowns and historical reproductions.  She’s been a Rotarian for more than 20 years, and is a charter member of the Rancho Cotati Rotary Club.  She served her first Rotary Club, Rohnert Park-Cotati, as President, and was named Rotarian of the Year in 1999. Her interests are wide and varied.  She is active in Rotary International service projects in Mexico and in South America.  Vida has volunteered at Project Amigo on numerous occasions, and has taught tailoring at two sewing schools in the Colima area.  She combines her passion for sewing with her passion for service:  She is the originator and Director of the Rohnert Park-Cotati Rotary Project “Sleep Warm” project which makes quilts for the homeless, and she started the Rohnert Park Boys & Girls Club fundraiser “The Sewing Room”.

Board Member Joyce Palmer, of Novato, California, listens intently to a boy at the Quesería migrant labor camp.

Board member Bruce Powell (Centerville-Farmington Rotary Club) reviews patient history card prior to beginning distant vision check at the Vision Clinic.

Board member Lynda Hammond (Hamden Rotary Club) with Project Amigo Scholarship Recipient Cony Fonseca Gonzalez (5th-year Medical Student).

Board member Sarah Ferris visits with kindergarten students at the Quesería migrant labor camp.

Newest board member Vida Jones distributes books to Project Amigo kids..

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The staff here is incredible! They go above and beyond the call of duty. ... I feel as if I will leave part of a family behind.

Vikki Bower
Volunteer from Coos Bay, Oregon

Project Amigo Staff

Ted Rose

    Project Amigo's founder and executive director, Ted Rose, was born and raised in Los Angeles. After serving in the US Air Force, he moved to Eureka, California and opened an office equipment business which he owned for fifteen years. He sold his business in 1986 to live and work in Colima. In 2000 Ted, a member of the Rotary Club of Colima, Mexico, won Rotary's prestigious Service Above Self Award for his work with Project Amigo. Ted fundraises for Project Amigo, is responsible for the management and completion of Rotary International matching grants, and is the liaison for Project Amigo with Rotary Clubs in Mexico, the US and other countries. You may e-mail Ted at ted@projectamigo.org.

Susan Hill

     Ted's wife, Susan Hill, is a native Californian who grew up in Palo Alto. Before moving to Colima she was a secretary at Stanford University Medical School, Ted's office manager in Eureka, and an underwriter of medical professional liability insurance in Seattle. Susan and Ted now live in the village of Cofradía de Suchitlán, where Project Amigo headquarters are located. In Colima, she provides administrative assistance to Ted and organizes their annual fund-raising tours. She is also president of Proyecto Amigo, A.C., Project Amigo's Mexican counterpart. Susan is a charter member of the Rotary Club of Villa de Álvarez, Colima. You may e-mail Susan at susan@projectamigo.org.

Ana Luisa Mendoza

    Anilú, as Ana Luisa is called, is Project Amigo's Director of Community Relations. She was born in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and has lived in Colima since she was 15 years old. Her degree from the Technological Institute in Colima is in Business Administration, Tourism. She spent three years in California as a nanny while attending school to improve her English skills. Anilú has worked for Project Amigo since August of 1998. Her responsibilities include liaison with communities and families who are recipients of Project Amigo services, providing logistical support for all Project Amigo activities, translating documents and letters, and supervising the Cofradía Homework Club for twenty scholarship recipients. Anilú is also responsible for visitor hospitality, including management of the Hacienda (Project Amigo guest facility). Anilú is married to Eduardo, and her baby girl is also named Anilú, who we call MiniLú, and now call Anilú - MamaLú. You may e-mail Anilú at anilu@projectamigo.org.

Jorge Torres

    Director of Children’s Services, Jorge comes to Project Amigo from the town of Comala. He received his degree in Social Work from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Jorge is responsible for office administration and children's programs. He serves as director of the Colonia Rotaria homework club, and oversees other homework club leaders. Jorge is also in charge of the new Casa Amiga. Jorge has a wife, Lupita, and two sons ages 7 and 9. You may e-mail Jorge at jorge@projectamigo.org.

Diego Martínez

    Diego was born and raised in Cofradía de Suchitlán, and was a student in Seminary studying for the priesthood when the death of his father required him to drop out and work to support his mother and siblings. He was a professional bus driver for eighteen years on the Colima-Cofradía line before coming to work for Project Amigo. He now drives our AmigoBus, maintains Project Amigo's other vehicles, and accompanies the children on all their outings. Diego is responsible for distributing donated items in the community, maintains the Hacienda gardens and serves as cashier. You may e-mail Diego at diego@projectamigo.org.

Juana Díaz Peña

    Juanis, as Juana is called, was born and raised in the village of Cofradía de Suchitlán. As a child Juanis was in the Project Amigo program, then became a Project Amigo scholarship student when she entered junior high school. After graduating from high school, Juanis came to work for Project Amigo and now manages our Computer Center in Cofradía. She is the proud mother of an active and beautiful little girl. You can e-mail Juanis at juana@projectamigo.org.

María Orencia Arrellano

    María is known by all as Tita. She teaches kindergarten in Project Amigo's school at the Quesería migrant labor camp. She also coordinates all Project Amigo activities in the camp and organizes the families for community activities, such as running and communal kitchen, taking care of the orchard, and keeping the public spaces clean. Tita, who is bi-lingual in Spanish and Nahuatl, lives in the town of Quesería with her husband and two children. You may e-mail Tita at tita@projectamigo.org

Graciella Trujillo

    Doña Chela, as Mrs. Trujillo is called, is the housemother at Casa Amiga, Project Amigo's boarding faciilty for high school girls. She dispenses lots of motherly love and advice along with three nutritious meals a day to a dozen teenagers. A widow with grown children of her own, Doña Chela took the job because she "wanted to feel useful."

Paulina Cernas Diaz

    Paulina is our bookkeeper.   She’s a Colima native who graduated from the University of Colima with a degree in Accounting and Administration in 2001.  Pau received her Master’s Degree in Auditing from the University of Guadalajara in December 2005, and is working on her thesis.  She worked as the Controller at the junior high school in Suchitlan for several years, and has known many of our college scholarship students since they were in junior high.   She’s married to Dr. Sergio Burgos, an Emergency Medicine physician from Boliva. You may e-mail Paulina at paulina@projectamigo.org

Carlos Alberto Sanchez

    Carlos Alberto Sanchez, known as Beto, is Project Amigo’s Administrator-in-Training of the Cofradía operation. A member and Past-President of the Coquimatlan Rotary Club, Beto brings to the organization his expertise as business owner/administrator, and his leadership skills.  He organized the logistics of the University Scholars’ trip to Mexico City, and is licensed to be our alternate driver of the AmigoBus.  Beto lives in Coquimatlan with his wife, Ita, and their daughters Paulina and MariFer. You may e-mail Beto at beto@projectamigo.org

Ted Rose, Founder and Executive Director of Project Amigo, with a friends at the Project Amigo kindergarten in the Quesería migrant labor camp.

Susan Hill - For many years she, and her husband Ted Rose, ran Project Amigo from their living room in Cofradía.

Anilú Mendoza, Project Amigo's Director of Community Relations.

Jorge Torres, Director of Children's Services

Diego Martínez drives the AmigoBus, maintains all the Project Amigo vehicles, chaperones children, maintains the Project Amigo facilities and gardens, and does a little bit of everything else.

Juana Díaz Peña (rear) runs the Project Amigo Internet café, teaching students to use computers and helping them with their homework.

María Orencia Arrellano "Tita" teaches the Project Amigo kindergarten at the Quesería migrant labor camp.

Paulina is our bookkeeper.

Beto is our Administrator-in-Training.

Ted Rose through devotion and exemplary efforts embodies Rotary's motto of "Service Above Self."

Carlo Ravizza
Rotary International President, 2000

On May 12, 2000 Ted Rose was given Rotary's "Service Above Self Award." This is the highest recognition given to a Rotarian by Rotary International. The award is presented to a maximum of 150 Rotarians - out of a worldwide total of 1.2 million - each year. Recipients have demonstrated exemplary humanitarian service with an emphasis on personal volunteer efforts and active involvement in helping others through Rotary.

Volunteers in Colima

Eduardo Rubalcava and Elena Govea

    Eduardo is a retired mechanical and electrical engineer and his wife, Elena, is a child psychologist. They live in Cofradía near Project Amigo's headquarters. Both Eduardo and Elena regularly tutor scholarship recipients, and Elena also counsels the students when they have personal problems. Eduardo is an expert birder and birding guide. You can e-mail Eduardo at eduardo@projectamigo.org. Click here for more information about his birding guide services.

Jan and Jack Grimes

    Jan and Jack have volunteered six months of their lives to serve as Project Amigo's Innkeepers and work week assistants during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.  They come from San Rafael, California, where Jan is past-preseident and a member of the Mission San Rafael Rotary Club.  Jan and Jack have two grown daughters.  In her other life, Jan is a human resources consultant.  Jack is a landscaper and supervises the Hacienda gardens.  Both enjoy playing bridge.

Other Volunteers

    Project Amigo is blessed with the help and support of many other volunteers. Some, like the Colima Rotary wives, primarily help with specific annual events, such as the Christmas Fiesta or the Day at the Beach. Others are Americans or Mexicans living in Colima.
    Project Amigo is also temporary home to volunteers from the U.S. or Canada who come for one to six months at a time. See our Volunteer Opportunities page if you are interested in becoming a long-term Project Amigo volunteer.

Retired engineer Eduardo Rubalcava and his wife, child psychologist Elena Govea volunteer at one of Project Amigo's weekly Homework Clubs.

Jan and Jack Grimes have volunteered to serve as Project Amigo's Innkeepers and work week assistants during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.

What do you say to a 14-year old who tells you that her stomach hurts all the time, or to a young mother of two who suddenly finds herself homeless and penniless, or to the bright young scholar who plans to drop out of school to support her family? These are real life situations that are only a small example of what I deal with regularly as a Spanish-speaking volunteer for Project Amgio. The real work is finding resolutions to these problems and others.

Francy Rubin,
Long-term Project Amigo Volunteer

Project Amigo Board of Directors | Project Amigo Staff | Ted Rose | Susan Hill | Anilú Mendoza Vergara | Jorge Torres Preciado | Diego Martínez Ascencio | Juana Díaz Peña | María Orenca Arrellano | Graciella Trujillo | Paulina Cernas Diaz | Carlos Alberto Sanchez | Volunteers in Colima | Eduardo Rubalcava and Elena Govea | Jan and Jack Grimes | Other Volunteers

This page last updated July, 2008.