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The Shelton H. Davis Memorial Fund and the Diane Nelson Scholarship Fund

Shelton H. Davis

2010 saw the creation of a special fund for more scholarships in Todos Santos, Guatemala. This fund keeps alive the memory of a very special and remarkable person: a committed activist, anthropologist and indigenous rights advocate who made this world a better place. Shelton H. Davis, Sandy to his friends, passed away on May 27, 2010. Sandy did his first fieldwork in Santa Eulalia, a Maya community in the Cuchumatán highlands, and went on to spend his life working for the rights of the indigenous people of the Western Hemisphere. He founded the Anthropology Resource Center and pressed for the rights of the indigenous people of the Amazon. He taught at Harvard, from which he received his PhD and later at Georgetown University. He worked at the World Bank from 1987 to 2004, advocating always for minority rights in language, territory, and culture, and for the right of indigenous people to speak for themselves in national and international arenas.

Shelton H. Davis Memorial Fund

2010 saw the creation of a special fund for more scholarships in Todos Santos, Guatemala. This fund keeps alive the memory of a very special and remarkable person: a committed activist, anthropologist and indigenous rights advocate who made this world a better place.

Shelton H. Davis, Sandy to his friends, passed away on May 27, 2010. Sandy did his first fieldwork in Santa Eulalia, a Maya community in the Cuchumatán highlands, and went on to spend his life working for the rights of the indigenous people of the Western Hemisphere. He founded the Anthropology Resource Center and pressed for the rights of the indigenous people of the Amazon. He taught at Harvard, from which he received his PhD and later at Georgetown University. He worked at the World Bank from 1987 to 2004, advocating always for minority rights in language, territory, and culture, and for the right of indigenous people to speak for themselves in national and international arenas.

Sandy was a long-time supporter of the Maya Educational Foundation and its work. His family asked that donations be made in his memory to further our work. In consultation with his wife Mary Gubbins and his son and daughter, the Maya Educational Foundation Board established the Shelton H. Davis Memorial Fund and outlined a program in his honor. Since we already had a scholarship program in Todos Santos, in the region where Sandy did his original fieldwork, we made a commitment to take on five new students, designated as the Shelton Davis Scholars.

In 2016 the Fund started to also grant some support to students from Todos Santos who were beginning their university studies. In May of 2020 the Fund celebrated ten years of helping Maya students from the Todos Santos region. We are very grateful and invite all who read this to contribute to changing lives in Guatemala.

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Diane Nelson

The Maya Educational Foundation (MEF) is pleased to announce that a fund has been formally established in honor and memory of our much beloved colleague, teacher, and friend Diane M. Nelson, who passed away in April of 2022. Diane was an anthropologist whose world and world view were deeply entwined with her time and experiences in Guatemala.

She came to Guatemala as a young person to learn but more importantly, it turns out, to build friendships and collaborations that spanned decades, fomenting a flow of ideas and mutual support. Diane’s choice to direct contributions in her honor to help Maya university students in Guatemala through MEF echoes her dedication to mentoring students, stalwart support of Guatemalan scholarship, and keen listening to Mayan voices and perspectives.

Diane Nelson Memorial Fund

The Maya Educational Foundation (MEF) is pleased to announce that a fund has been formally established in honor and memory of our much beloved colleague, teacher, and friend Diane M. Nelson, who passed away in April of 2022. Diane was an anthropologist whose world and world view were deeply entwined with her time and experiences in Guatemala.

She came to Guatemala as a young person to learn but more importantly, it turns out, to build friendships and collaborations that spanned decades, fomenting a flow of ideas and mutual support. Diane’s choice to direct contributions in her honor to help Maya university students in Guatemala through MEF echoes her dedication to mentoring students, stalwart support of Guatemalan scholarship, and keen listening to Mayan voices and perspectives.

The generous spring 2022 response in Diane’s name has already resulted in two scholarships granted to Maya women to pursue environmental studies this year. This is a powerful example of collective love for Diane being transformed into an ongoing action that reflects both her values and the way she lived her life.

With Diane’s family’s hope and goal of keeping this legacy going, donors are now able to continue Diane’s memory through sustaining contributions. Single donations by check, credit card, or PayPal, or enrolment in recurring, monthly giving at www.mayaedufound.org will ensure that these young women, and many more, will benefit.

The scholarship fund’s focus on Maya women reflects Diane’s lifelong activism and intellectual priorities. She never ceased to think about privilege and position and never stood down from an opportunity to stand up. Ever conscious of the need to right historical wrongs and counter the numerous extractions and ‘mining’ of Guatemalan resources and intellect, Diane actively worked to reverse this, making this scholarship fund a flow in the right direction.

This year’s Diane Nelson scholars are Daisy and Yoselin, both pursuing environmental studies.

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MEF will always accept donations in memory of loved ones and, if you request, will notify their relatives of your donations. You can give securely online and dedicate your donations to loved ones
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