Guatemalan Leadership Team
Our Guatemalan Leadership Team
Fabiola Aguilar Borjas
NATIONAL DIRECTOR
Fabiola Aguilar Borjas has more than 25 years of experience in international cooperation executive administration, with an emphasis on the application of human rights in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
She has held management, leadership, advisory, strategic, and technical coordination positions with international organizations such as United Nations Development Programme, UNICEF, Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, European Union, International Development Bank, and US Agency for International Development.
Her experience includes the design, implementation, and evaluation of public policies for children, adolescents and youth, citizen security, education and health programs, sustainable development and environment, and creative and cultural industries (CCI).
She is experienced with the latest strategic planning, monitoring, and evaluation methodologies, and applies these with knowledge and skill with the integrated management platforms required by international organizations, non-governmental organizations, central and local governments for results-based management.
Fabiola has two MSc. degrees in Strategy and International Management from Instituto Centroamericano de Administración de Empresas in Costa Rica, and a MSc Degree in International Relations from the Catholic University of Honduras. She has a bachelor’s degree in international Trade from the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Honduras, with additional specialization in strategic planning from FLACSO – Argentina, Social Communication and Public Relations from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico. She is currently completing a MSc. Degree in Public Policy.
Nora Ajqueja
NUTRITION AND FOOD SAFETY SPECIALIST
Nora Ajqueja has a degree in Nutrition from the University of San Carlos de Guatemala, a master’s degree in nutrition and maternal and child nutrition from the European University of the Atlantic, and a postgraduate specialization in leadership and management for the prevention and reduction of malnutrition from the Institute of Nutrition from Central America and Panama.
Nora has received additional training in ‘Nutritional Care for Chronic Conditions in Childhood’ and ‘Promotion, Protection and Support for Breastfeeding’ from the Friends of Breastfeeding Health Services Initiative (ISSALM), an arm of the Pan American Health Organization / UNICEF.
She has worked with non-profit and humanitarian organizations dedicated to fighting malnutrition, among them Action Against Hunger, as well as been part of national health teams with the Health Area Directorate of Baja Verapaz, Guatemala, where she developed the leadership teams of the Health and Nutrition Brigades.
Nora professional focus is on the preparation of strategies for the prevention and care of child malnutrition, and community care. She is the Nutrition and Food Safety Specialist for Nuestros Ahijados, where she leads the Project’s nutritional recovery strategies at Casa Jackson Hospital for Malnourished Children; our children’s nutritional recovery center.
MIGUEL ANGEL ALVAREZ PAZ
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND LEGAL AFFAIRS
Miguel Angel Alvarez Paz joined the Asociación Nuestros Ahijados de Guatemala when he was 9 years old as a beneficiary of the Project’s school scholarships program. He graduated as an accountant with a specialization in computer science and has held several professional positions within the Project since then.
He is a graduate of University Mariano Galvez of Guatemala with a degree in Legal and Social Sciences, and has developed, led, and participated in several regional and international activities related to the protection of children and victims of violence.
Miguel Angel has just finished writing his first book, an autobiography about growing up in the streets of Guatemala and looks forward to seeing it internationally published in 2024. He enjoys playing soccer and traveling nationally and internationally.
He considers the protection of human rights for vulnerable and excluded populations to be his lifelong vocation.
Patrick Atkinson
Executive Director
Patrick Atkinson has a BA in Criminal Justice (pre-law) and a BSW in Social Work (chemical dependency counseling) from Minnesota State University – Moorhead, a Masters of Nonprofit Management from Regis University (Denver, CO) and post-graduate studies at Harvard University and the University of Oxford, England. Over the course of his career, he has worked with runaways, prostitutes, and gang members in New York City and Central American, African, and Southeast Asian war-zone refugees and post-war reconstruction leaders.
Patrick is a popular guest lecturer on issues related to human trafficking, international nonprofit management, and street gang issues, he has been knighted, the recipient of numerous human rights awards (including the Guatemalan Congressional Medal), and the subject of author Monica Hannan’s biography, The Dream Maker. He is the founder and executive director of The GOD’S CHILD Project, the Institute for Trafficked, Exploited & Missing Persons, The Atkinson Center, and several Central American charities, as well as the author of several award-winning books, including the international selling Message for My Child and The Powerful You!
Aroldo Garcia Cay
PHYSICAL PLANT DIRECTOR
Aroldo Garcia Cay has worked in Grounds Maintenance, Construction, and most recently, as Physical Plant Director with the Nuestros Ahijados program for 24 years. A participant in the Project’s academic scholarship program, he was able to finish his high school degree in Science and Literature at the Science and Development School of Guatemala.
He is currently responsible for the efficient and effective operations of the Project’s buildings, grounds, and gardens, as well as security. He also manages the purchasing processes and inventory controls for the construction materials used in the house-building efforts of the Project’s ServiceTeam Experience volunteer groups.
Aroldo has stood out as an exemplary team member for his vocation, commitment, responsibility and honesty, and he and his team make the Project’s physical plant, and particularly the main campus “The Dreamer Center”, a magical place where the dreams of our program participants and beneficiaries come true.
In his free time, Aroldo likes to watch and play soccer, spend time with his family, and participate in activities that support those with need in his home community.
Joanne Lara
COORDINATOR OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT / VOLUNTEERS AND SERVICETEAMS
Joanne Lara is the Project’s Coordinator of Sustainable Development Program / Volunteering and ServiceTeams. She was born and raised in La Antigua Guatemala and since she was a teenager, she has been interested in supporting vulnerable populations and communities, with a strong history of participating in different volunteer activities in the community.
She has been a translator in medical conferences in different communities, given workshops and trainings to children and teenagers in different areas, and was the treasurer for a regional group that planned tourist trips in Guatemala.
Joanne began her professional career in the hotel industry. As she progressed in her studies, and particularly those in psychology, she wanted to get more involved, so she started to work in early childhood, followed by position providing shelter and protection for vulnerable children.
She always thought she could have a greater reach and accomplish more with the right tools and being in the right place, and she found that with the Nuestros Ahijados team.
Robbie Middleton
INTERNATIONAL SPONSORSHIP AND SCHOLARSHIP COORDINATOR
Robbie Middleton was born and raised in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom. He studied Modern Languages at Newcastle University and earned a Post Graduate Certificate in Education at York St. John University, qualifying as a primary school teacher.
After finishing his degrees, Robbie worked as an Early Years Foundation Stage Primary School Teacher in London for four years before deciding to move to Guatemala. Robbie first volunteered at the Project’s Casa Jackson for Malnourished Children in 2009 and returned each year from 2012 through 2019 to continue working with children in the Project’s Dreamer Center School.
In 2019, GOD’S CHILD Project founder and executive director Patrick Atkinson asked Robbie to head up the Project’s International Sponsorship and Scholarship Program, a responsibility which Robbie continues to hold and at which he excels.
As director of the Project’s International Sponsorship and Scholarship Program, Robbie coordinates the academic support given to hundreds of children, works with national and international donors and groups to fund the work that ANA does, and directs the child and hospital crib sponsorship programs and donor communications.
An educator at heart, Robbie believes that education is the most important and effective way for children in Guatemala to improve their quality of life. He is proud to be a big part of the Nuestros Ahijados program efforts.
Ewa Niewozewska
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Ewa Niewozewska is a graduate from the Warsaw School of Economics with a Masters degree in management and marketing. She has always felt that helping others is her goal in life. Prior to joining the Asociación Nuestros Ahijados de Guatemala, Ewa worked with various social projects in Poland, Spain, and Guatemala.
She loves to learn and is always looking to enroll in additional courses, diplomas programs, and studies. She has a passion for traveling, learning new foreign languages, getting to know new cultures, and tasting new, sometimes strange, food.
Ewa and her family have implemented eco-friendly habits at home and together they often spend time in nature.
Salem Ojer
Sponsorship and Program Coordinator
Salem Ojer, who has been with the Nuestros Ahijados since 2017, graduated as a Pre-Primary Teacher and Human Rights and Culture of Peace from the University of San Carlos de Guatemala. She is currently finishing additional degrees in Pedagogy and Educational Administration.
Salem says that being part of the Nuestros Ahijados program for the past 10 years has filled her life with a lot of personal and professional experience and is the main impetus for her vocation. She currently coordinates the Project’s educational programs, which involves creating educational programs, material, and access for thousands of children and young people living in vulnerable and excluded situations.
Carlos Fernando Sequén Ixcamey
VIDEOGRAPHY AND COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST
Carlos Fernando Sequén Ixcamey comes to Nuestros Ahijados with 12 years of working in social media, a technical diploma in journalism from the University of San Carlos de Guatemala, and a diploma in tourism journalism from the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala and the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism INGUAT.
He has worked as a journalist for local and national channels, a correspondent for national radio stations, and directed social communication for the Office of the Governor of Sacatepéquez, Guatemala.
Carlos Fernando is passionate about writing, photography, and video editing. He is the Nuestros Ahijados Videography and Communications Specialist.
