Program Director Gabriela Blanco, a US-born daughter of Mexican immigrants, spent much of her childhood in northern Mexico. Gabriela completed two years of Peace Corps service in Paraguay addressing rural health needs through projects focused on nutrition, sanitation, and reproductive health, during which time she identified nutrition as a key factor in combating rural poverty. She then worked as a technical trainer for the Peace Corps Rural Health and Sanitation project, incorporating new methods for training nutrition into the curriculum. After two years working as a Health Educator in the rural villages with Puente, she moved into the Program Director position. She has a B.A. in Human Development from the University of California San Diego. Gabriela joined Puente in May of 2005.

Development Director Dhaniella Falk has extensive experience in international development. Most recently she worked with refugees on the Thai-Burma border as a consultant in Institutional Relations for Children on the Edge. Between 2005 – 2008, Dhaniella acted as Head of External Relations and Fundraising for OrphanAid Africa, whose mission is to improve the lives of orphans and vulnerable children in Ghana. Before entering the non-profit sector Dhaniella lived and worked in several developing countries, including Kenya, South Africa and the Philippines writing journalistic reports on emerging economies. She has a Masters in Politics from Edinburgh University. In 2007 she completed a course in NGO Management at ESADE business school in Barcelona. Dhaniella begain working with Puente in April of 2009.

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Amaranth Consumption Promoter Zaira De La Rosa Jimenéz is from Mexico City but has worked for five years in rural communities. She began her community work with the organization Enlaces Rural, where she volunteered with agriculture projects in Hidalgo, Oaxaca, and Guerrero, Mexico. After that experience, Zaira began working with Un Kilo de Ayuda to prevent and combat malnutrition among children and pregnant women. Prior to working with rural populations, Zaira was a teacher and trainer with the education board, el Consejo Nacional de Fomento Educativo. She began working with Puente in March 2008.

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Operations and Accounting Assistant, Sandra Gisela García Cruz, is originally from Oaxaca, where she studied Business Administration at The Institute of Technology. For 9 years Sandra worked at the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, as information analyst, organizational manager, manager of personal loans and regional training coordinator. Later Sandra joined the non-profit sector as Assistant to the Director of Synergy for Integral Sustainable Development and was there for almost 4 years. She coordinated the program for young professionals and was also responsible for the logistics and administration of all activities and events. Sandra joined Puente in April 2009.

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Local Agricultural Technician, Feliciano Vásquez Martínez, is from Rancho Tejas, a small community located in the mountainous Mixe region of Oaxaca. Feliciano is a farmer and produces corn, beans, potatoes, and a few other vegetables for personal consumption. In addition to his personal crops, Feliciano and a group of friends have formed a cooperative called “Fecha de las Nubes” which produces organic tomatoes, organic honey, and amaranth. He has held several posts in his community which include managing a local store, secretary of the Parents Association, and representative of Community Well-Being. He also worked with the government agency CONAFE for one year. Feliciano began working with Puente in January of 2008.

Amaranth Agronomist Uriel Baeza Nahed was born in the Isthmus region of Oaxaca. Uriel graduated from the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo with his Agricultural Engineering degree with a specialty in Tropical Climates. In January 2008, he completed his Master’s degree in Natural Resource Conservation from the National Polytech Institute. Uriel has worked with various non-profit organizations and groups of indigenous farmers in the states of Puebla, Oaxaca, and Veracruz. His focus has been on organic production and the capacity building of local agriculture technicians. He has also conducted a research study focusing on natural ways to control pests and insects. Uriel joined the Puente team in January of 2008.

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Eco-Amaranth Program Director, Martha Elena Miranda Jimenez was born in Mexico City. She studied Biology in the Iztacala Faculty of Superior Education at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. She started her career in plant and ecological research and later co-founded the NGO, Autonomous Group for Environmental Investigation (GAIA) where she worked for more than ten years. At GAIA, Martha was responsible for propelling a participative process which would drive communities in the Coastal and Sierra Sur regions of Oaxaca towards the more sustainable management of their resources. She worked to strengthen local capacities, to ensure the systematization of information and in the creation of promotional and educational material. She is also highly experienced in the design and facilitation actions to improve planning, learning and exchange of ideas.

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Amaranth Consumption Promoter Bárbara Gómez Reyes was born in Oaxaca City and received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the Universidad del Golfo de Mexico. At the beginning of her professional career, Bárbara worked for the Oaxacan Association of Psychology on a project led by parents which focused on behavior improvement in children. Because of that experience, Bárbara became interested in how nutrition affects children’s conduct in educational settings and went to work for the non-profit organization Un Kilo de Ayuda. For three years, Bárbara worked with Un Kilo de Ayuda in the integral nutrition program and traveled to Oaxacan communities where she monitored the nutritional status of children and trained their mothers on the importance of nutrition. Bárbara joined Puente in January of 2008.

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Amaranth Agronomist José Manuel Gómez Reyes was born in Tlacolula de Matamoros in Oaxaca. He graduated in 2002 from the Agricultural Technical Institute of Oaxaca with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology, specializing in Agro-ecology. Since his graduation, José Manuel has been working with groups of indigenous farmers in the State of Oaxaca, training them on sustainable vegetable and mushroom cultivation, the production of organic farm supplies, and the creation of ecological technology for farming. Additionally, he helped to facilitate participative community processes for the management and implementation of agricultural projects amongst highly marginalized populations in the State of Oaxaca. José Manuel has been working at Puente since August 2009.

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