From leadership to trainers, our staff are motivated by the opportunity to bring about lasting change to Guatemala.
Our staff knows the communities where they work, they speak the local languages, and have a passion for education.
The vast majority of our exuberant, talented and dedicated people are from the communities where they work and have worked as teachers and librarians themselves. They know the communities intimately, speak the local languages (of which there are more than 20!), and have a passionate commitment to our mission of improving education in Guatemala.
Our Leadership
Joined Child Aid: 2010
Hometown: San Juan Comolapa, sololá
“I am a woman – indigenous, Mayan, Kaqchikel – with high professional aspirations,” she says. “I would like to be an example for indigenous women and families in Guatemala.”
Joined Child Aid: 2010
Hometown: portland, Or
Nancy Press, co-founder of Child Aid, is professor emerita at Oregon Health & Science University. Trained as a cultural anthropologist at Duke University, Nancy received a National Institute of Health postdoctoral fellowship to specialize in the study of how cultures deal with issues of health and illness. Applying her training in anthropology and academic research to the creation and growth of Child Aid, Nancy has helped ensure the organization’s programs remain grounded in not just the ideals of partnership and sustainability but in research and results.
Joined Child Aid: 2025
Hometown: oaxaca, mexico
Joined Child Aid: 2012
Hometown: Huehuetenanago
Reading in my childhood made a big difference in my life, so I know that a book can open the door to a child’s imagination that will lead them to a better future. It all starts with a first step and Child Aid is driving it. I am proud to be part of this team!
Joined Child Aid: 2025
Hometown: portland
administrative team
Regional Teams
Hometown: Ellsworth
Board of Directors
Joined Child Aid: 1997
Robert Costello, an attorney since 1977, served as a Magistrate of the 36th District Court, Detroit, for 22 years. Prior to being an attorney, he worked as a teacher (3 years), and as a social worker (2 years). Robert was president of the Detroit Goodfellows (a Detroit charity), of the Italian American Bar Association of Michigan
and the Alumni Senate of Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity. He served on the board of Directors of the Titan Club for 24 years (University of Detroit Mercy), Trinity High School and the St. Paul Knights of Columbus.
Bob served on the Child Aid Board since 1997 and traveled to Guatemala more than 8 times. He has seen Child Aid grow from a very small charity involved with libraries to a medium size charity involved with schools. He has witnessed Child Aid’s great success with a three year program in teaching teachers how to teach reading. The success speaks for itself in thousands of children learning to read better and in being excited about books and learning.
Holly B. Jimison, PhD currently serves as a research professor in the Khoury College of
Computer Sciences and the Bouvé College of Health Sciences at Northeastern
University. Her research is focused on technology for successful aging and scalable
remote care for older adults, including models for tailoring interventions in cognitive
exercise, physical exercise, socialization, and sleep management using new behavioral
metrics derived from this type of data.
Prior to joining Northeastern, Jimison was a medical informatics faculty member at the
Oregon Health & Science University, where she led the Informed Patient Decisions
Group and was a founding member of the Oregon Center for Aging & Technology. Dr.
Jimison also served as a technology advisor for the Big Data Initiative for Monitoring
Health Behaviors at Home and in the Environment at the National Institute of Health.
Holly Jimison has a passion for using her skill sets to advance equity and reduce
poverty with sustainable programs in underserved communities. Over the years of her service on the Child Aid Board she has witnessed the significant change in reading
comprehension of young indigenous children in Guatemala, but also seeing in person
the increased critical thinking and engagement in learning.
I am a proud Guatemalan who is deeply grateful to be part of a board of directors that works for the well-being of my country. I do my best to provide context to my American fellows.
When my family came to the United States from Czechoslovakia, we had almost nothing—just a couple of suitcases, no money, and only a few words of English. My father and I worked low-wage jobs in lower Manhattan, but a few years later, I earned a scholarship, graduated with honors, and eventually became a professor at a top university. This wasn’t because of luck or a wealthy uncle—it was because I had a strong basic education and an organization that believed in me.
That’s why Child Aid’s mission moves me so deeply. Their vision to open doors for children in rural Guatemala through education is not just inspiring—it’s personal. Helping teachers give young minds the tools to read, think, and dream is transformational. And when I see a girl from a small village say she wants to be a doctor, engineer, or lawyer, it brings tears to my eyes—because I know her dream can become her future.
As a retired business person with a high bar on process and outcomes, I am so impressed with the impact and effectiveness of Child Aid. The quality and commitment of the team, the approach, and the materials are second to none. It is an honor to participate in such a needed and effective organization, and it is inspiring to see the students, teachers, and Child Aid team in action.
Joined Child Aid: 2022
I have 25 years developing, implementing, and evaluating education and human development programs in Central America. Currently Executive Director of FUNDIT, I was Director of Strategic Planning for Common Hope for 20 years; as a strategic planning consultant and facilitator I’ve helped other nonprofits gain focus and clarity in their mission, have been a member of the Círcula Centro de Liderazgo Restaurativo faculty since its founding in 2012, and am co-founder of PETL program of early stimulation through reading.
Child Aid is a model of clarity, integrity, and purpose. It’s one of the most impressive organizations I’ve seen in 25 years working in this field because it effectively addresses a fundamental need among one of the most marginalized and underserved populations in Central America, with proven programs delivered with passion and commitment by people from the same communities.
I have deep respect for the work Child Aid has done in Guatemala, and being a member of the board is a great opportunity to support this work.
Nancy and her husband, Richard Carroll, began Child Aid in memory of her father, Harry Press. Although the name has changed from its original (The Harry Press Memorial Foundation), the principles and core values that define the organization have not.
