Introducing Maria and Gaspar!

With the start of a New Year TRL is excited to announce recent additions to our Guatemalan Board of Directors -- we welcome the participation of Maria Sosof Sosof and Gaspar Yataz Pop! TRL is always on a quest for talented Maya whose skills and expertise can contribute to our organization, its projects, and the betterment of the community. We feel we have really reached a new high with the involvement of Maria and Gaspar.

Maria Sosof Sosof

Maria, an ONIL stove user and Tzutujil woman, began her career in early education in Santiago Atitlan. She has been recognized both regionally and internationally for her work with the community, first as a Youth Representative to an international conference held in Nicaragua on Racism and HIV/AIDS. Maria subsequently represented the Office of Tzutujil Women's Affairs when she traveled to Norway as part of a cultural exchange between Guatemala and Norway. Maria has a strong commitment to the community. Volunteering in the aftermath of Hurricane Stan, which brought terrible destruction to our community, she assisted in emergency community vaccination efforts. Maria's experiences globally and locally give her a unique perspective on development interventions and her life experiences bring an intimate knowledge of the community to our board-- with a context specific to Santiago Atitlan and Tzutujil culture.

Gaspar, also Tzutujil Maya of Santiago Atitlan, brings a skill set to TRL that until now, has been supplemented through international partnerships. He comes to TRL with a BA in Mathematics, BS in Science, Bachelors of Science and Letters, and Technical Qualifications in Agroforestry. Gaspar's passion is the integration of ancient Maya knowledge into the contemporary sciences whether that be engineering, astrophysics, or hydrodynamics. His research and presentations focus on simulation and mathematical modeling of the physical-chemical parameters of Lake Atitlan. Gaspar presented his findings at the II International Symposium on Continental Waters of the Americas. He has also conducted research on Stochastic Models for the Water Transparency Forecast of Lake Atitlán which he presented to the regional environmental authority AMSCLAE. Gaspar wishes to collaborate with TRL on a number of fronts, sharing his innovative brilliance, as well as serving as our consultant in projects which require scientific modeling, data collection, or experimental design in order to better substantiate TRL's project claims.

With these two Maya professionals on our Board, TRL will deepen its cultural knowledge, expand our areas of expertise by integrating two impressive individuals into our organization. We are excited to continue developing our projects -- addressing issues of environmental, economic and health which concern our community, while supporting those who need it most!