Board Members
Guadalupe Sic López
President
Guadalupe Sic López
Maria Guadalupe holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. She has broad professional experience through roles in hospitality, administration, and event production and has expertise in developing internal systems and improving operational efficiency.
Guadalupe is from Uspantán, a small town in the Quiché department of Guatemala. She speaks Spanish, English, and K'iche' Maya. While completing her degree, Guadalupe was a scholarship recipient through FEPMAYA, a partner of the Maya Educational Foundation (MEF). Her experience as a student supported by the program gave her firsthand understanding of the challenges faced by Mayan students pursuing higher education. After graduation, she went on to serve for over three years as Secretary of the FEPMAYA Scholarship Committee, contributing to the organization’s growth and the support of new student cohorts.
Since then, Guadalupe also played a key role in managing Dermatoscopes.com, a U.S.-based e-commerce business specializing in medical instruments. She oversees order fulfillment and logistics via the Shopify platform, coordinates supplier and drop-shipping operations, and helps maintain inventory and customer support processes.
Guadalupe currently serves as President of the Mayan Educational Foundation (MEF), where she draws upon her unique perspective as both a former scholarship recipient and an experienced organizational leader to help guide the Foundation’s mission of empowering Mayan students through education and opportunity.
Mitchell Denburg
Vice-President
Studied photography at The School of The Boston Museum of Fine Arts. His works are housed in many private…
Mitchell Denburg
Studied photography at The School of The Boston Museum of Fine Arts. His works are housed in many private collections and photographic archives including Tulane University, and the Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamérica (CIRMA) Photographic Archive, of which Mitchell was the founder. His work has been used to illustrate many articles and journals on development and anthropology, including the book Getting Ahead Collectively by Albert O.
Hirschman. His forthcoming book The Portraits of Mitchell Denburg is currently in production. In 1998 together with his wife Elizabeth Habie, Mitchell founded the New Roots Foundation, dedicated to the rescue of young girls at risk and unique and endangered ecosystems in Guatemala.
Ian Lutz
Secretary
Ian Lutz
Born and raised primarily in Guatemala until the age of 9, Ian Lutz has spent the last 28 years living in southern Vermont, where he and his wife, Jennifer, have owned and operated Cas-Cad-Nac Farm, a large alpaca breeding operation. When he is not writing marketing copy for their farm’s animals, interacting with clients, or up in the barns managing the herd’s breeding operations, he can often be found happily obsessing about his favorite sports teams: the Boston Red Sox, the Montreal Canadiens, and the Arsenal FC. He is thrilled to be back and helping to support the MEF in any way he can!
Sterling Crockett
Treasurer
Sterling Crockett
Sterling Crockett has over 20 years of tech industry experience, currently as a Principal Software Engineer for Microsoft. He spent years living in the Quiche- and Mam-speaking regions of Guatemala, and along with his wife Julie believes deeply in the imperative to support the education of the young adults from those communities. Together, they have supported the Maya Educational Foundation since 2012.
He holds Masters and Bachelors degrees in Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Edward F. Fischer
Ted is a Professor of Anthropology and the Director of the Center for Latin American Studies at Vanderbilt University…
Edward F. Fischer
Ted is a Professor of Anthropology and the Director of the Center for Latin American Studies at Vanderbilt University. He has worked in Guatemala for over 25 years, conducting fieldwork in Tecpán and other Maya communities.
His books include Maya Cultural Activism in Guatemala (1996), Cultural Logics and Global Economies: Maya Identity in Thought and Practice (2001), Broccoli and Desire: Global Connections and Maya Struggles in Postwar Guatemala (2006, with Peter Benson), and most recently, The Good Life: Aspiration, Dignity, and the Anthropology of Wellbeing. He is also the founder and director of Maní+, a program that combats childhood malnutrition in Guatemala. More at www.tedfischer.org.
Diane Carazas
Diane is a Certified Professional Coach, International Development practitioner, and seasoned facilitator…
Diane Carazas
Diane is a Certified Professional Coach, International Development practitioner, and seasoned facilitator. Her experience includes leadership of international organizations such as Plan International, Food for the Hungry, CARE and Peace Corps in South America and West Africa. Diane's focus is optimizing people potential, and creating systems that work for people, planet and prosperity.
Diane has a Bachelor of Science in Social Work from Southern Illinois University and a Master of International Administration from The School for International Training.
Diane says: “I am passionate about supporting MEF because I believe in offering all people an opportunity to optimize their potential through education. I also know that those individuals with a Mayan culture have much to teach all of us for the benefit of humanity and our planet. It is an honor and a privilege for me to make a contribution as a board member with MEF.”
Abner Cruz
He has an MBA with emphasis in Human Resources Management…
Abner Cruz
He has an MBA with emphasis in Human Resources Management and a BS in Business Management from Upper Iowa University.
In 1990, he was awarded with a scholarship under USAID and Georgetown University sponsorship and obtained an Associate’s Degree in Business Management from North Central Technical College.
He graduated as a Licensed Elementary School Teacher from Instituto Normal Mixto de Occidente, San Marcos City, Guatemala.
For over 10 years, he presided Latinos Unidos Inc., a non-profit organization whose mission was to educate and connect Latin American families with City, County, and State-based resources throughout northcentral Wisconsin.