Sacred Valley Health Staff

Miguel Galdo Espinoza was born and raised in Ollantaytambo, Peru. He studied tourism at an institute in Cusco while working on the Inca Trail for eight years. After graduation, he worked for four years at the Cusco airport with a tourist agency, and then returned to Ollantaytambo to work for the NGO CATCCO. He was Textiles Program Coordinator for three years at CATCCO followed by a year serving on the board of directors. With Kennedy Leavens, he co-founded the NGO Awamaki in 2009. As a native Ollantino, he coordinates Ollantayambo’s municipal theater program and owns a local pizzeria called Pachamama Pizzeria. Miguel believes the services we offer will greatly benefit the communities surrounding Ollantaytambo and is thankful to work with people who share his commitment.

Born and raised in Peru. Ana has more than 20 years of experience in managing and improving programs and projects in different settings, having successfully led different educational and cultural organizations in Peru, Washington DC and New York. She has received a BA from The New School (NY), Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (Peru) and an MPA from Metropolitan College (NY). Ana has been very involved in the art and cultural scene of New York and now in Lima and Cusco. She and her husband have also recently published and presented their book of poetry and photographs in USA and Perú.

Escolastica Castillo Obando completed primary school education through the 5th grade at Escuela de San Martin de Porras, Comunidad de Tanccac. She started working with Sacred Valley Health in 2012 when she was elected by the Andean community of Pampallacta, where she was born and raised, to participate in Sacred Valley Health’s pilot cohort of promotoras. After completing one year of training, she was asked take a part-time position in the Sacred Valley Health office to work as a community coordinator for participants of the second cohort of promotoras. As a community coordinator, Escolastica worked one-on-one with promotoras both in the office and in the field to reinforce promotoras’ knowledge of health topics and mentor them in promotora responsibilities. In 2014 she was promoted to a full-time position as a Program Manager and then in 2018 became the Director of Programming. Escolastica oversees all programming, provides professional development for Docentes, and manages community relations for the organization.

Bertha was born in Huarocondo in the district of Anta. After the death of her father when she was seven years old, her family moved to the community of Rafka in the district of Ollantaytambo. Now, she lives in the community of Soccma with her family. Bertha started working with SVH as a Promotora and later earned a staff position as a Docente. Now, Bertha works full-time in the SVH office as a Program Manager, supporting the implementation of new programs. She enjoys learning new things and hopes to continue growing professionally in order to collaborate with all families in Soccma. Additionally, Bertha enjoys visiting different communities where she can share her experiences with the Promotoras and Docentes.

Ana Lucía was born in Chiclayo, Peru, and moved to Huntington, West Virginia at the age of eight with her sister and parents. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from Marshall University, and then pursued a Master of Public Health degree at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Although she has experience in areas of nonprofit leadership, research, and international development, the heart of her work has focused on vulnerable populations, specifically in Peru.
She is incredibly excited to join SVH in a position that combines her passions, in her beloved country. In her free time, she likes to write, hike, cook, and dance around the house with her husband.

Lorena was born and raised in Puebla, Mexico. She has a Bachelor in Advertising and a Masters in Marketing. After graduating, she worked for a few years as a freelancer Audio Visual Producer for different types of projects in Mexico and Canada. In the second half of 2017, she decided to do some volunteer work in Peru, where she heard about SVH for the first time. She joined our team in March 2018 and has been working with us ever since. Her favorite part of her job is constantly meeting new people from different backgrounds and learning from their cultures and experiences.

Kate was born and raised in Frederick, Maryland. She has a BA in Applied Psychology and Human Development. After graduating she moved to Guatemala where she worked at a non-profit supporting children’s education. This experience deepened her knowledge and passion surrounding education in rural areas of Latin America. She joined our team in October 2019. Her favorite part of her job is seeing the Promotoras gain confidence and see themselves as leaders within their own communities.

Yajaida was born and raised in Urubamba, Peru. She studied accounting and has worked in different companies around The Sacred Valley. She started working at SVH in March of 2018 as a part-time employee and got promoted to a full-time staff member in August of 2018. Her favorite part about working with SVH is the opportunity to work with different communities around The Valley, which makes her very happy to be part of the organization.

Matiasa currently lives in the community of Rumira Sondormayo in the Ollantaytambo district. She has worked a total of 4 years with SVH. She feels very proud about being a Docente and helping her community. One of her favorite things to do is to go to the furthest-away communities because it is there that the need is higher to visit the promotoras that live in these areas.

Born in the community of Kelccanka, Elena moved to Patacancha at the age of 16. In her free time, she enjoys weaving textiles and cooking for her loved ones. Elena feels very proud about being a Docente. She thinks that everything that she is learning and passing on to her community members is very important knowledge that contributes to increasing the quality of life in high altitude communities.

Born and raised in the community of Patacancha, Sonia has been working with SVH for 4 years as a promotora and now as a docente. She spends her free time going over the health protocols we use in our curriculum and weaving. Her favorite part is being a leader in her community and working with community members to make them as healthy as possible.

Julia lives in the community of Pomatales and has been a Promotora de Salud for the past 4 years. Now she is excited to become a Docente. She feels very happy to be in this position, especially because she can teach to her community members and have better skills for her own children and grandchildren.

Matilde lives in the community of Yanamayo, which is almost three hours away from Ollantaytambo. She started as a Promotora with SVH in 2012 and later became a Docente. She likes learning new things and being able to teach them to her community members. Also, being a leader within her community brings her a lot of joy.

Ana Cecilia was born in the community of Huilloc and now lives in the even more remote community of Kelccanka. She relaxes by walking all around the mountain communities, admiring the gorgeous views of the Andes. Additionally, when she is not working with promotoras, she enjoys weaving textiles. Being a Docente with SVH is incredibly important work to Ana Cecilia, and very gratifying for her.

Beatriz lives in the community of Kelccanka. She has been a Promotora de Salud for 8 years and is now a Docente of the Women’s Health Program. She feels passionate about health and is very happy to have the opportunity to work with her community.

Juliana currently lives in the remote community of Challhuaccocha, where she enjoys taking walks around the beautiful landscapes and admiring the hundreds of alpacas that live in that area. Juliana is very excited about being a Docente for the Nutrition Program because she will be able to help improve the health of her community members.

Felicitas was born and raised in the community of Kelccanka where she is now raising her own children. She was a Promotora for 2 years before she decided to become a Docente with SVH. In her free time, she enjoys weaving and spending time with other community members.