Meet the Fellows!
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Documents and downloads for Fellows.Nayeli Karina de la Torre Garcia
Nayeli Karina de la Torre Garcia, selected at age 28, is responsible for donor outreach at the environmental protection organization, Fundación Flora, Fauna y Cultura de Mexico, located at Xcaret. She focuses on raising funds for the foundation‘s Marine Turtle Protection, Maintenance of Green Areas, Cultural Conservation and Community Involvement programs. Karina has a BA in Business Administration and experience working in gender equity and violence prevention. Karina’s future plans include opening a Library Café in Playa del Carmen that sells organic products and obtaining a Master’s Degree in Marketing.
Maria Beatriz Chimal May
Maria Beatriz Chimal May, who was 25 when selected, works as a librarian in her native Mayan village of Coba. Beatriz speaks Spanish and Mayan and is committed to improving the lives of the children and youth in Coba. Beatriz wants to help children and youth overcome their fears and speak freely about sexuality, even though it is taboo in her culture. She would like to study law in the future, becoming Coba’s first lawyer and continuing to fight for the rights of her community.
Alberto Lopez Castro
Alberto Lopez Castro was 24 when he was selected for the program. He is an environmental activist living in Playa del Carmen who and is actively involved in local work to protect the mangroves of the Sian Kaan Reserve. Alberto became interested in HIV, STI and adolescent pregnancy prevention while working as a medical assistant and administering pregnancy and HIV tests and counseling. He is interested in becoming a physician and is currently studying law so as to better protect the human rights of youth and families.
Iris Borraz Magdaleno
Iris Borraz Magdaleno, selected at age 23, is a Marketing Assistant at the Xel Ha ecological park. Iris is passionate about gender equality and eliminating the abuse and exploitation of children. She studied domestic violence while completing her BA in Marketing. Iris is involved in a local youth group, where she participates in life-skills training and social consciousness-raising workshops. She participates in the PRI youth group, coordinating social improvement projects for youth and families. Through GOJoven she hopes to strengthen her understanding of sexual and reproductive health and share this knowledge with more than 600 employees at Xel Ha, as well as youth in local communities.
Fernando Fernando Camin Medina
Fernando Camin Medina, selected at age 24, is Deputy Director of Tourism for the Municipal Government of the Solidaridad District, in Playa del Carmen. He implements district-wide programs with numerous associations and institutions. Fernando hopes to become the Director of the municipal government’s Youth Institute. He has a BA in Systems and Information Engineering, recently opened an Information Technology business and teaches IT at a local university. Bilingual in English and Spanish, Fernando sees himself as a future political and business leader in Playa del Carmen.
Jacinta Chan Pech
Jacinta Chan Pech, who was 29 when she was selected to participate in GOJoven, is a Mayan leader who works in the Department of Social Development in Tulum, where she participates in social development activities in the city and its surrounding rural Mayan communities. Bilingual in Spanish and Mayan, Jacinta collaborates with a local Mayan association, conducting health outreach. She also works to protect the environment through volunteering at CEMAT, an organization of ecologically-minded business people, and is an active member of Mexico Nuevo, the youth arm of the PRI political party. Jacinta has a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Business Development and plans to get a master’s degree in Construction to help her community secure housing.
Gabriela Maria Guzman Fajardo
Gabriela Maria Guzman Fajardo, selected at age 26, is the founder and Director of Proyecto Jóven de Puerto Cortes, a youth center that works to prevent HIV and AIDS. Gaby supervises four employees and over 25 volunteers working to prevent HIV among at-risk youth in the region’s rural and urban areas. Gaby is currently completing a BA in Pedagogy. Her dream is to turn Proyecto Jóven into a larger center that provides sexuality education, a virtual library and sports and education entertainment programs for youth. She also hopes to expand the humanitarian aid work that she does in Honduras’ remote Mosquitia.
Wilson Paz Colindres
Wilson Paz Colindres, selected at age 27, is the sole teacher in a primary school in the mountain village of La Jolla. He has a technical degree in elementary. For several years, he has volunteered as an environmental educator with the Conservation Corps of Omoa, an ecological organization that works to protect the Mesoamerican Reef, conserve mangroves and sustain the region’s marine biodiversity. He is involved with his local health committee and is a Red Cross volunteer. Wilson is pursuing a BA in Pedagogy through a distance learning program, and plans to obtain an MA in Education.
Omar Guerrero Maximo
Omar Guerrero Maximo , selected at age 26, is Garifuna leader from Puerto Cortes. He is the director of a Garifuna adolescent theatre group that develops and presents shows on HIV prevention for youth and adults in the various Garifuna communities throughout the area. He was an actor in a Garifuna sexual and reproductive health radio program and is also a music composer, writing songs in Garifuna and Spanish on HIV and violence prevention. Although he had to interrupt his high school studies due to financial obligations, he hopes to continue studying in the future.
Norma Orellana Aguilar
Norma Orellana Aguilar was 29 years old when she was selected to participate in GOJoven and is an educator and facilitator in the EDUCETODOS Program of the Honduran public education system. She teaches 50 students, ages 4-15, in the first through third grades in a single classroom in the rural town of Bermejo. Norma is passionate about teaching her students about sexuality in order to improve their lives and reduce the likelihood of early and unwanted pregnancies, STIs and HIV. She helps the local village council to do outreach activities with youth and has also worked as a health promoter for local rural health centers.
GOJoven's Mission
GOJoven promotes and supports young leaders to act as catalysts for social change in Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health. Read more here
Leadership Action Plans
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