THE GRACE PROJECT

Grace Project Advisory Board 

Genelle G. Grant, Ed.D. Director

Dr. Genelle Grant has taught in universities in Florida, Puerto Rico, New Hampshire, Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico. She specializes in health, communications, mural painting, and teacher education. Since 1993 Genelle has worked in Southwest Florida with farm worker families and produced "Lucia’s Letter" and the "Mira Mamá" Radio PSA Projects for Haitian, Latino and Maya audiences, to expose human trafficking situations. Her books include: Televisión: Técnicas de Producción , Conferencias sobre la Utilización de Recursos Audiovisuales, Creatividad en el salón de clase/ Creativity in the Classroom, Saludo de la Mujer/Women’s Health, and Lectura en la Familia/ Reading in the Family. She has led workshops for over 5000 teachers in Guatemala, collaborating with the Guatemala Ministry of Education and Nobel Laureate Dra. Rigoberta Menchú. Dr. Grant is Director of the Guatemalan Rural Adult and Children’s Education (GRACE) Project of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fort Myers, www.thegraceproject.org, and President of the Board of Directors of Happehatchee Center, www.happehatchee.org, a sanctuary for peace and healing.

Licda. Gloria Llanira Catalán Puga

Chief of Teacher Education
Guatemala Ministry of Education, Dept. of El Petén

Ms.Gloria Llanira Catalán is responsible for the training of 6,000 teachers for 2800 schools and 120,000 students in the Department of El Petén, Guatemala. She has worked with the GRACE Project since 2007, organizing the Capacity Building Workshops. Ms. Llanira is also a Professor of Pedagogy and Social Work at the University of San Carlos, in Santa Elena, El Petén.

Licda. Rita Chajil Yoxon

Director of Teacher Education
Centro Pavarotti, Rigoberta Menchu Tum Foundation
San Lucas Tolimán, Sololá, Guatemala

Ms. Chajil is a bilingual (K’akchiquel) professor at the Pavarotti Center and specializes in teacher education. She organizes Maya Ceremonies and cultural preservation events in San Lucas and is a community leader in the Lake Atitlan area of Guatemala.

Helen Dixon

GRACE Volunteer and Work-Study Coordinator
North Fort Myers, Florida

Educating women and girls in Southwest Florida and In Guatemala is important to me. Having retired after thirty years of public school teaching in the Atlanta area, I am proud to be associated with the GRACE Project through which many wonderful goals have been accomplished. I have been involved since the first classes at UUCFM in 2006.

Marta Matías Sicaján

GRACE Teacher and Community Organizer
Lehigh Acres, Florida

Marta Matias is owner of Maya Arts and Jewelry and is a translator in the Lee and Collier County Court systems for the Maya Q’anjobal and Maya Acateco languages. She is a teacher for the GRACE Project in Southwest Florida and in Guatemala and is the founder and director of the folkloric Grupo Espíritu Maya. Marta is one of the co-authors of the Lucia’s Letter audio production on human trafficking prevention.

Licdo. Amilcar Zea

Founder and Director of Casa de los Libros
MIxco, Guatemala

Mr. Zea is a reading professor, author and illustrator of numerous children’s books, and is the founder of the neighborhood library and reading center in Mixco. He has been a Facilitator with the GRACE Project since 2007 and has developed the Family Planning classes for the Women’s Health workshops.

Virginia Louise Jones, Ph.D.

Psychologist, Travel Photographer
Sanibel Island, Florida

Virginia Jones is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in private practice specializing in the treatment of anxiety disorders using biofeedback and other stress reduction techniques. She first fell in love with Guatemala in 1975 when she spent a summer there learning to weave using a traditional back-strap loom. As an officer of the Zonta Club of Sanibel-Captiva she has championed their support of the GRACE project since 2007. "Gini" contributes specifically by traveling to and photographing GRACE workshops in Guatemala in 2013 and 2014 and by developing rack cards and website for the Leyes Para la Paz project.

Carol Ann Ungerleider

GRACE Treasurer
Cape Coral, Florida

Carol Ann is a retired small business manager who moved to SW Florida from New Jersey. She is very active in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fort Myers, loves to travel, and has been to Guatemala twice with the GRACE Project.

Lesley Peterson

Website Developer - CyberStreet, Inc.
Fort Myers, Florida

Lesley Peterson is a co-owner of CyberStreet, Inc., a Fort Myers based Internet Service Provider. Ms. Peterson graduated cum laude from the University of Central Florida, College of Engineering and Computer Science and Burnett Honors College with a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems Technology. Her academic distinctions include Honors in the Major, "the oldest and most prestigious undergraduate research program at UCF." She specializes in website development and created the website for GRACE Project. She continues to volunteer her time hosting and maintaining the GRACE Project website.