EL SOL NEIGHBORHOOD RESOURCE CENTER - Key Persons
Ana brings with her much experience in the social services field. She has worked with children and families and has directed a homeless shelter. Ana also spent years in Honduras coordinating medical and construction short-term teams, facilitating educational and family building programs, and running a medical clinic in a marginalized community. As the Labor Coordinator, Ana is in charge of managing El Sol's Labor Hall.
El Sol's Health Program's objective is to guide individuals to the right medical resources and to provide prevention and healthy lifestyles education. Betzy was the ideal candidate for this position. She has been volunteering for 13 years within the Jupiter Community and for four years with our programs at El Sol. Betzy was born in Guatemala, raised in New York and has been in Jupiter since 1993. She is a Licensed Massage Therapist and Skin Care Specialist in the State of Florida since 2003. Betzy is a certified medical interpreter in Spanish/English and has received a certification from the Florida Department of Health for the Volunteer Healthcare Provider Program. Her familiarity with the needs and resources within the Jupiter community and her passion for helping those in need are great assets for our organization.
Cliff Ross was born and raised in Sterling Heights, Michigan where he spent most of his summers on his grandparent's farm. Cliff moved to Florida to become an Environmental Chemist, testing water and soil samples. After a few years in the laboratory, Cliff decided to pursue a teaching career at Martin County High School in Stuart, Florida, where he taught science for thirteen years. In the last year, Cliff decided to follow his dreams of starting a landscaping business called Absolutely Growing. Cliff is excited to join the El Sol team as the Part-Time Garden Coordinator. As the Garden Coordinator, he will be in charge of managing the Sunshine Organic Community Garden.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Secretary of the Executive Committee
Dan was born in Detroit, Michigan, and raised in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He is a graduate of Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach and Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Upon his graduation from Hofstra School of Law in New York, Daniel worked as a Certified Legal Intern at the Miami-Dade State Attorney's office before taking a position with a civil defense firm, where he represented corporate entities. In 2014, Daniel became one of the founding partners of Personal Injury of Florida. Dan concentrates his practice in the areas of personal injury, wrongful death, traumatic brain injuries, vehicular accidents, pedestrian accidents, medical malpractice, and product liability.
Job Titles:
- Volunteer and Communications Coordinator
David served as Volunteer Coordinator for The Lord's Place for over four years recruiting and retaining volunteers for their many programs including the group residences, thrift stores, Cafe Joshua and Job Ready Center. He was also a writer/editor/videographer and social media producer for the Palm Beach Daily News for more than 20 years. David brings a perfect set of skills to help us grow all of our programs via volunteer engagement and communications. David has been married to his husband, Angel, since 2016. They adopted their son Jacob, now 17, in 2020. David's hobbies included long-distance running, reading, travel and watching Downton Abbey over and over again.
Diana Ruiz was born and raised in Colombia, she moved to the United States in 2015, and has been living in Jupiter since then. Diana has a bachelor's degree in statistics from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and experience working with diverse populations.
When she arrived in the States, she started taking English conversational classes at El Sol, and immediately fell in love with the center's mission. In January 2019, Diana joined El Sol's staff as our Computer Class Coordinator, then as our Community Support Case Manager and now she serves as our Office Manager.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Executive Committee
- Professor
Dr. Tim Steigenga is a professor of political science and Associate Dean for campus and community engagement at the Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1996 and has held positions at the University of Massachusetts, Colby College, and Davidson College prior to moving to Jupiter to help found the Wilkes Honors College in 1999. He is the author/editor of six books and numerous other publications issues related to religion, migration and immigrant integration including: Against the Tide: Immigrants, Day Laborers, and Community in Jupiter, Florida. Tim has served as a co-principle investigator on major research grants from the Ford Foundation focused on the lives of Latin American immigrants in Florida and Georgia, was awarded a fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and served as a Fulbright Scholar in Guatemala. He was among those who helped to found El Sol in 2004 and lives in Jupiter with his wife and three children.
Job Titles:
- El Sol Workers Council President
Job Titles:
- Intercultural Consultant and Trainer
Job Titles:
- Chief Development and Communications Officer
Born in Jamaica and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Georgia moved to South Florida in 2003. Georgia's first job was Development Manager at Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches, before beginning what would be a 15-year long career with local non-profit organizations. Since leaving Adopt-A-Family in 2009, Georgia has held development leadership roles with YMCA of South Palm Beach County and Urban Youth Impact.
Georgia has been involved in the community through her membership with the Association of Fundraising Professionals and she currently serves on Healthier Jupiter Marketing Committee.
As our CDCO, Georgia is responsible for grant writing, fundraising and communications efforts at El Sol. Georgia in her spare time enjoys traveling.
Job Titles:
- Chief Development and Communications Officer
- Member of Communications Committee
Job Titles:
- Fundraising Committee Chair
Job Titles:
- Development Coordinator
- Worker
Kate Layton is a Jupiter High School alumnus who graduated with a Masters in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. She speaks five languages and has extensive experience working and traveling in Latin America. Her master's thesis was developed during her time living in Brazil and was titled "Ride to Live, Live to Ride: Motorcycle Dispatches from Maceió".
Kate is responsible for implementing El Sol's Strategic Plan for expanding the curriculum for the Worker Development Program. Her experience as a researcher, teacher, and writer complements El Sol team as we continue collectively to offer stimulating, diverse training opportunities for our workers.
Job Titles:
- Editor / Writer / Marketing Communications
Job Titles:
- Adult Literacy Coordinator
Lynda M. McReynolds holds a bachelor of Arts degree in Social Communication and Journalism from La Sabana University in Colombia.
Her involvement with El Sol began in June 2016 as a Volunteer. In September of 2017 she joined the teacher's team in Plazas Comunitarias and in June 2019 became the Adult Education Literacy Program Coordinator.Lynda believes education begins with leadership and is passionate about learning. Lynda stated; "I care where my students want to go and I will help them get there."
Lynda enjoys painting, reading, cooking…everything that connects her with life.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Vice - Chair of the Executive Committee
- Associate Director of Student Activities at Florida Atlantic University 's Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Monica Maldonado is the Associate Director of Student Activities at Florida Atlantic University's Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, she earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
As a doctoral student in neuroscience at the University of Texas at Austin, she worked in a laboratory studying Ischemic stroke and how the brain changes after damage.
At FAU, Monica works as a director for various programs, but she is also a classroom instructor and mentor in the sciences. She helps aspiring medical professionals advance in their careers through internships and other professional development opportunities.
She lives with her husband and three children in Jupiter Farms.
Job Titles:
- President of Corn Maya Inc
Job Titles:
- Health, Finance and Technology
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Finance Committee
Silvia Pedraza leads El Sol's Cosiendo por un sueño (Sewing for a Dream) Vocational Training Program. Silvia has a lengthy background in the industry from working on 5th Avenue in New York to Worth Avenue in Palm Beach.
Surynai Janowicz, better known as Suri, graduated with honors from Indian River State College with a degree in Organizational Management. She has over 10 years of experience in the legal field, and is a Florida Registered Paralegal. Her passion is in the area of immigration law. Suri is a big supporter of small businesses since her parents were small business owners in Venezuela and in the United States.
Born in the United States and raised in Guatemala, Suzanne Cordero has a degree in clinical psychology from the Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala City. She has been in Florida for the past 20 years, spending a short time working with the Palm Beach County School Board Early Identification Program and then as office manager for her husband's dental practice. Suzanne serves as the Executive Director of El Sol. Suzanne serves on the Board of Directors for MyClinic and has volunteered extensively with St. Vincent de Paul of St. Peter's Catholic Church and at her children's schools.
Job Titles:
- Youth Literacy Coordinator
Veronica was born in California to Guatemalan parents. She moved to Florida at the age of thirteen and has lived in Lake Worth since then, being very much involved in her community and local church. She has over 13 years of experience working with children and families. One of Veronica's previous roles included serving as an Early Learning Specialist for ParentChild+, an early literacy program offered by The Guatemalan Maya Center. She has experience implementing reading, conversation and play activities and techniques to stimulate parent-child interaction and promoting the development of verbal, cognitive, and social-emotional skills, critical for children's long-term success. In her free time, she enjoys spending quality time with her children, their favorite activities are baking and painting together.