Who We Are
Board of Directors (U.S.)
Project Amigo was first registered as a U.S. public charity (501c3) in 1996 headquartered in Novato, California. Today’s Board of Directors has both functional and fiduciary oversight of the project, and individual members of the Board contribute time, talent, and resources to sustaining the organization.
Kirk Dretzka
Executive Director
Kirk was raised in Tecomán, Colima (70kms South of Cofradía de Suchitlán) where he went
through local public elementary and junior high school before returning to the USA for high school
and university in California. After 8 years working in the offshore oilfield diving industry he changed
to purchasing and supply chain working in the USA, China,Mexico and South America. After
retiring as Senior Manager for Purchasing and Distribution at Electrolux North America, he
returned to Colima and in 2017 joined the Project Amigo Staff.
Staff in Mexico
Since hiring its first full-time Mexican employee in 1998, Project Amigo has carefully and patiently added new faces to its very capable staff as it has grown. All but one are native Mexicans, and many are former Project Amigo scholars.
Founders
California businessman Ted Rose first visited the state of Colima in 1984, coming down to climb a volcano. Instead, he took the wrong bus and found himself in the poverty-stricken village of Cofradia de Suchitlan. That "mistake," and a few other fortuitous events, led to his decision with his wife Susan Hill to trade their comfortable lives for one surrounded by poor children who would need a helping hand to break the bonds of poverty.