ENFOQUE IXCÁN - Key Persons
Alexandra (Ali) Durbin works with human rights issues within the international solidarity community in Guatemala. A Massachusetts native, Ali has lived in Guatemala for 11 years. She took her first trip to the Ixcán at the age of 14, hiking three hours through the rain forest to reach the K'iche' Maya community of Santa Maria Tzejá.
She is a free-lance writer, translator, and editor, as well as mother to two children, Chely (born in 2006) and Kayala (born in 2009). Her husband works on human rights cases in the Guatemalan justice system.
Job Titles:
- Director of Affinity Research at the C2C Project
Amanda Terhes is the Director of Affinity Research at the C2C Project at Oregon State University. The C2C Project provides market research services to a variety of professional clients and is part of the Austin Entrepreneurship Program in the College of Business. Amanda's focus is on qualitative research methods with an emphasis on the development and sustainability of non-profit organizations.
While earning her M.A. degree in Applied Anthropology, Amanda worked as an intern for Enfoque Ixcán. Amanda visited the Ixcán in February, 2006.
Dr. Brian Arvidson graduated from Pacific University College of Optometry and completed a residency at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He currently serves as adjunct faculty at Pacific University and works as a physician at Pacific Cataract & Laser Institute, a surgery referral center, in Chehalis, Washington. Brian has traveled throughout Central and South America during undergraduate school and has been a member of the Enfoque Ixcán medical team since 2005. His wife and two sons enthusiastically support his medical mission endeavors and hope to travel with him one day.
Dr. Jessica A. Lynch graduated from Pacific University College of Optometry and is the co-owner of a private optometry clinic in Hillsboro, Oregon. She is a past adjunct faculty at Pacific University and first traveled as a member of the Enfoque Ixcan medical team in 2017.
Jessica has a deep interest in public health and loves to travel. She is married, with four (mostly-grown) children and an old pug named Oscar.
Dr. Scott Pike is a graduate of Pacific University College of Optometry. In 2006 he retired from private practice and is now an assistant professor at the College working in clinical instruction. Enfoque Ixcán was created in 1997 by Scott and a health promoter, Pedro Chom, in the village of Santa Maria Tzeja, Ixcán. Even though neither could speak the other's language, their dedication to the project overcame that barrier. Now, forty trips to Guatemala later, Scott has passable Spanish. The project has done better and enjoys success.
Dwight Fleck has been employed in risk management for over 37 years as an analyst, manager and consultant. He has also served as a leader in a boys camping based program for over 20 years. For over 15 years he served as Treasurer and member of the Board of two churches.
Job Titles:
- Amigos Eye Care Representative
Mary Avisado is a graduate student at Pacific University College of Optometry. Her research interests include cornea and contact lenses, specifically myopia control. She is the current President of AMIGOS Eye Care, a non-profit organization at Pacific University and partner of Enfoqué Ixcán. Mary is passionate about public health and fulfilling AMIGOS Eye Care's mission: to provide eye care for underprivileged people throughout the world and provide additional clinical experience to students. In her spare time, Mary likes to play volleyball, piano, and spend time with her dog Jasper.
Guatemala's Ixcán region, with over 100,000 residents, is located in the northwestern part of the country near the Mexican border. In 1996, while visiting the area, Portland, OR, optometrist Dr. Scott Pike met a poor Mayan subsistence farmer, named Pedro Chom. Pedro lived in a cooperatively formed village, Santa Maria Tzeja.
Tony Lopez has spent his career building consumer tech products and organizations with various companies, including 13 years at Apple. Tony recently joined Meta (formerly known as Facebook), focusing on creating a safe, healthy, and equitable metaverse for all communities.
A son of Guatemalan immigrants, he is proud to join the Enfoque Ixcán board and support rural Guatemalans in need of eye care. Tony lives in California with his wife, and two children.