Cultivating Quechua Girls' Leadership in Peru

2 Donations from 2 Donors:

Project Personnel

Mary Kennedy Leavens - Executive Director

Kennedy moved to Ollantaytambo in 2007 to work as a volunteer after graduating from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, where she studied Latin America and international development. she founded Awamaki in 2009. She has recently finished a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Washington, where she specialized in non-profit management.

Alexander Wankel - Education and Volunteer Coordinator

Alexander is a Peruvian-American from New York. In 2011 Alexander earned his B.A. in anthropology and international relations from Brown University. Before joining Awamaki, he worked in a rural microfinance bank in the highlands of Puno serving Quechua and Aymara communities. In the past he has also served volunteer and intern positions in Bolivia and Ecuador.

Mercedes Durand - Weaving Project Coordinator

Mercedes is from a town called Urubamba in Cusco, Peru. She has years of experience working in NGOs here in the Sacred Valley and is fluent in Quechua. She is responsible for working with Awamaki's women's cooperatives, including holding regular meetings and providing workshops for them in quality control, financial management, organization and communication.