Jenny Jordan
Executive Director
Jenny is a native Nashvillian whose enthusiasm for international health initially led her to nursing school. After working as an RN at Vanderbilt Medical Center, she spent a year working at a low-resource primary care clinic in rural Honduras where she became interested in community health worker programs. This brought her to Sacred Valley Health, where she spent 4 years working on program development, capacity building, and community relations on the ground at their office in Ollantaytambo, Peru. Because of her passion for the organization paired with her love of women’s health and empowerment, she joined the board of directors upon returning to the U.S. in 2018. She spent two years working in labor and delivery and women’s health before returning to Peru to join the Ollantaytambo team once again. When she’s not working, Jenny loves hiking, cooking, yoga, and learning about holistic health.
Carmen Forlenza
Monitoring and Evaluation Director
Carmen was born and raised in Italy. After a bachelor‘s in Political Sciences and a master’s in Development Economics, she specialized in Project Management for international cooperation. She worked for NGOs and charities in Italy, Tanzania, Costa Rica, and Haiti, before moving to Peru in 2019, where she fell in love with the Andean region and culture. Fascinated by intercultural communication and participatory processes, she is curious and optimistic and loves cats, biopics, and guacamole.
Escolástica Castillo Obando
Director of Programming
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 Quin Ugarte
Program Manager
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.
Lorena Abarca Pliego
Outreach and Social Media Coordinator
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.
Nicole Weber
Coordinator
Nicole was born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota. In pursuit of warmer weather, she moved to Miami, Florida for University where she fell in love with the Spanish language and cultures. She recently graduated with a BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Spanish. During her undergraduate studies, she volunteered with various public health NGOs, deepening her passion for international medicine and health education in underserved populations. She most recently volunteered with an organization in Cusco, which led her to Sacred Valley Health, the perfect mix of her passion for health education and interest in the Andean culture of Peru. When she’s not working, Nicole loves hiking, skiing, trying new foods, and Game of Thrones.
Yajaida Mañaccasa Rojas
President / Administrative Assistant
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.
Yajaida has become the local’s board, President.
Ana Cecilia Sinchi Usca
Docente, Graduated Promotora Program
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.
Matiasa Quispe Medina
Docente, Graduated Promotora Program
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.
Beatriz Cisneros Llanos
Docente, Promotora Program
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.
Elena Mamani Quispe
Docente, Promotora Program
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.
Matilde Quispe Macchaca
Docente, Promotora Program
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.
Juliana Huaman Quispe
Docente, Promotora Program
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.
Anacleto Sihuin Mamani
Docente, Promotora Program
Anacleto is originally from the community of Lares, but has lives most of this life in the community of Kelccanka with this wife and children. Anacleto has been a promotor de salud for the past 4 years and is excited to have the opportunity to teach his community members and promote help in his community