Headquarters Office
Bill Kruvant is currently the President and Chairman of the Board. He served as the President of Creative Learning from 2005 to 2017 and returned in 2020. After earning a Doctorate in Economics in International Development from American University, Bill worked in both the private and public sectors, collaborating on foundation-funded research projects in the areas of energy and civil rights.
Previously, he served as chief of economic studies for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in the areas of energy and natural resources and as a Senior Advisor for Creative Associates, consulting on corporate planning and development.
During his tenure at Creative Learning, Bill has worked with his team to establish the America’s Unofficial Ambassadors (AUA) and School-2-School programs. These programs send young people to serve in local NGOs in the Muslim World and match American and foreign schools so that youth in the U.S. and abroad can learn about each other first hand.
When Aid to Artisans (ATA) joined Creative Learning in 2010, Bill became the president of the new combined institution. In collaboration with ATA staff and Creative Learning experts, he is dedicated to making artisans an integral part of international enterprise development, cultural preservation, income and job generation, and economic development.
More recently, Bill has worked with Professors Tahir Shad and Muqtedar Khan to establish the Global Education Initiatives (GEI) at Creative Learning. GEI runs the Annual Conference on the Muslim World, trains local and provincial level public officials in modern governance practices under the banner of CL’s American Academy of Good Governance, and runs a volunteer program for young people with De La Salle-College of St. Benilde in the Philippines.
Bill is also president of Crea-Learning Mexico, a Mexican not-for-profit group which develops artisans in Mexico, Central, and South America.
When not occupied at Creative Learning, Bill is a farmer, growing lavender commercially at La Paz farm, and is a ceramic artist.
Rachel graduated from Washington College with a BA in International Studies, a minor in Anthropology and French, and a concentration in African Studies and Peace & Conflict.
Since joining Aid to Artisans in 2007, Maud Obe has 14+ years of experience in designing and managing economic empowerment and development projects for the artisan sector in Latin America, Africa, MENA, and Asia. Maud has implemented many programs that have strengthened more than 5000 artisan businesses and linked them to local, regional, and international markets. She has proven success in managing USAID, MCC, The World Bank, Foundations and USG-funded programs. She is an expert in organizing artisan capacity building workshops, one-on-one coaching, tradeshow preparation, export readiness training, and marketing events targeted for expats, tourism, and international markets. She coordinates the representation of artisan entrepreneurs to NY NOW, Las Vegas Market, and market linkages with US buyers.
Born in France, Maud holds a Master’s Degree in International Development and Social Change and a Bachelor in Government and International Relations from Clark University, Worcester, MA. She is fluent in French, English, and Spanish and has travelled extensively in Europe, Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. She lives in Williamsburg VA, with her husband and 2 daughters who are 2 years old and 6 month old.
Lauren brings a blend of marketing and project management expertise to the Aid to Artisans’ team. She has a passion for cultural preservation and deep commitment to empowering local artisans within their communities. She has spent over a year in Latin America collaborating directly with artisans, cultivating a profound interest in textiles and pottery. Lauren has a strong appreciation for other cultures and forging meaningful connections, and has documented her journeys abroad through photography. Lauren has a Bachelors of Business Administration, with an emphasis in Marketing and Spanish. She is excited to join the team at Aid to Artisans and drive transformative change in artisan communities worldwide.
Mexico
He is a great advocate for evidence-based action as a mechanism to improve the efficiency of development programs and amplify their reach.
He has worked for over 12 years to innovate public service from various institutions: public, private, multilateral, and community-based. All through the implementation of data-driven initiatives to enhance the technical capacities of local governments and reduce data gaps in order to inform decision-making processes on pressing challenges.
He has also collaborated with the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL) and multiple local government agencies in Latin America and the Caribbean to promote monitoring and evaluation of social programs with projects in diverse sectors such as: housing policy, urban development, climate change adaptation, disaster risk management, transportation, active labor market policies, education, etc. In the year 2024, he joined Creative Learning as a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist.
San Cristobal de las Casas – Chiapas
María Eugenia Pineda joined Creative Learning in 2012 as Director of Aid To Artisans Mexico. She founded Mexico’s office and since then she has developed and implemented projects to strengthen the artisan sector, the entrepreneurship of rural women and their financial inclusion in several States of Mexico such as Yucatán, Campeche, Puebla, Tlaxcala and Chiapas. Maria Eugenia also enhances the generation of strategic alliances for territorial development.
Maria Eugenia (Maru) has worked for the National Technical Unit of the Strategic Food Safety Project that belongs to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), as National Coordinator of the Community Promoters for Food Safety Program. Also, she was the State Coordinator in Chiapas and Evaluator Coordinator. She is expert in project direction with gender perspective and has coordinated a School of Leadership and Political Participation of Women.
Pineda has more than 25 years of experience in rural development, and she has directed NGOs related to topics regarding gender, women rights, food safety, among others. Maru was born in Mexico City and currently lives in Chiapas. She has studies in financial administration and certifications in rural development, learning processes facilitation and social leadership. She has a son and loves gardening.
Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, Andrea is a graphic designer and cultural manager. She specializes in product design through artisanal processes and graphic identity. Currently, she has joined the ATA team as an Artisanal Design Specialist in Chiapas, Mexico. Andrea is deeply committed to group processes and loves her work, contributing to the creation of tools that help conceptualize and bring ideas to life through design.
Elena is a native speaker of the Mayan languages Tseltal and Tsotsil, hailing from Huixtán, Chiapas, Mexico. She holds a degree in Educational Psychology with a specialization in Human Development, community leadership, conflict mediation, and Mayan psycho-spiritual guidance. As the national director of the Manos Vivas 2.0 project in Chiapas and Yucatán, she contributes to process analysis, developing strategies across various geographical contexts, and advises on savings and micro-business methodologies. Elena has been part of the team since 2017.
A Tseltal indigenous woman from Bachajon, Chiapas, Mexico, Marbella holds a degree in Public Accounting and Finance, with training in rural business development and Human Sustainable Development training. She learned the cross-stitch technique from a young age and has been part of the ATA Mexico team since 2016. Marbella is a specialist in textile techniques and passionately advises quality artisanal groups for national and international markets in the highlands of Chiapas. She is a talented individual and a facilitator in human development topics.
Jesús, from Huixtan, Chiapas, speaks Tseltal and Tsotsil. He holds a degree in Law and Social Work. In 2019, he joined the ATA team as a field facilitator for community savings and micro-businesses. Jesús is passionate about transforming families’ lives by improving their income and ensuring a sustainable quality of life.
Liliana, from San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, is the administrator for the ATA Mexico project in Chiapas and Yucatán. She holds a degree in Public Accounting and has extensive experience working with other NGOs. Liliana is known for her honesty and transparency in accounting with various stakeholders collaborating with ATA.
Anastacia is from Amatenango del Valle, Chiapas, Mexico, and is a Tseltal speaker. She is a professional industrial engineer and has been involved in artisanal activities from a young age. Anastacia joined the ATA organization in October 2018 as a field coordinator for the financial inclusion project. Due to her commitment, responsibility, enthusiasm, and willingness to learn and share her knowledge, she became an advisor and facilitator for high-quality textile artisan groups in 2020.
She graduated as a Nutritionist in 2012 from the University of Sciences and Arts of Chiapas (UNICACH).
She began her work as a facilitator in the area of Community Nutrition in 2014 in the Strategic Project for Food Security (PESA) in the municipalities of Chilón, La Trinitaria, and La Independencia in Chiapas. She provided assistance to families in rural areas with very high levels of marginalization in the state, especially focusing on children with malnutrition. She continued her work from 2019 to 2022 with ADR DICADEM S.C. and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in the municipality of Sitalá, conducting training processes for nutrition promoters, cooking workshops, talks on nutrition, deworming campaigns, among others. She also collaborated in the AFASPE program at the Ministry of Health in the “Thousand Days: Healthy Life” project, providing care to pregnant women and children up to 2 years old.
Over the years, she has gained experience in community projects, learning various areas such as income generation, food production, and the backyard. She considers studying Community Nutrition to have been a good choice as it has allowed her to learn about customs and traditions in the municipalities where she has worked as a nutritionist. Her challenge now is to learn the Tseltal language. She considers herself a hardworking, strong, enthusiastic woman, with fears, but also with the desire to overcome those fears and continue discovering new experiences that will help her in her social and professional life. One of her greatest motivations is her son, for whom she strives to give her best every day.
Currently, she works as a facilitator in the area of comprehensive health in the third project of the “Growing Together Alliance” (Alianza Crecer Juntos – Sitalá, ACJS) in rural indigenous communities where Tseltal is spoken.
She holds a Ph.D. in Political and Social Sciences from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM); she also has a Master’s degree in Environmental Studies (IPN) and completed a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology (UNAM).
To date, she has 18 years of professional and academic experience in areas such as poverty, environment, public policies, indigenous territories, agroecology, and climate change. Additionally, she has 8 years of experience in monitoring and evaluating the impact of social projects by NGOs in the States of Mexico and Chiapas, as well as in evaluating environmental conservation policies implemented by the federal government in the Lacandon Jungle, Chiapas.
He was born in Bachajón, Chiapas, and is a native speaker of the Tseltal language. He has a degree in agronomy with a master’s in global marketing, and has over 19 years of experience in rural development in indigenous communities in Chiapas.
He has primarily collaborated with civil society organizations, serving as a facilitator at CONIDER in the municipality of Sitalá and as coordinator of the Special Program for Food Security (PESA) at AMBIO, which belongs to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Additionally, he has been the coordinator of the Organic Products Regulation and Promotion Program. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball and engaging in activism through Jlumaltik, a territorial collective in his municipality.
He joined the Grow Together Alliance for Sitalá (ACJS) in 2019 as a facilitator for the strategic objective of income generation to strengthen coffee, honey, and handicraft-producing organizations, community savings groups, and the creation of a collective brand for the commercialization of local products in the second project. In this third project of the ACJS, he once again joins to monitor and strengthen activities such as the solidarity market, managing in the short, medium, and long term.
He graduated from the Intercultural University of Chiapas, majoring in Language and Culture. He was born in Petalcingo, Tila, Chiapas, on October 30, 1990, and is a native speaker of the Tseltal language. He is a sociable, friendly, and committed individual.
He completed his elementary and high school education in his locality. In 2018, he began his adventure in local media communication by working in radio in his community. Later, in Yajalón, a neighboring municipality, he worked at a commercial radio station.
In May 2014, he joined the first licensed community radio station in the region, where he served as coordinator until 2018. He was also commissioned as an interim teacher by the SEP (Secretariat of Public Education) at a bilingual school for a period of two years.
He has collaborated with the Lego Foundation in translating 20 stories about child care and health into Tseltal, as well as with other NGOs. In 2023, he became a fellow of the Mayan Languages Digital Activism program (Rising Voices), dedicated to creating content on digital platforms, a program in which he still participates as a digital activist.
Currently, he is part of the team of the Grow Together Alliance Sitalá project as a facilitator in the area of communication and dissemination.
He is an environmental engineer graduated from the University of Sciences and Arts of Chiapas, with a master’s degree in science teaching, specializing in biological sciences, from the Technological University of the Selva. He has undertaken various studies in food and nutritional security by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), dialogical communication by the Health, Food, and Nutrition Alliance (ASAN), as well as in project management and direction in water, sanitation, and community water management.
He has collaborated with different civil society organizations in the coordination, design, and execution of projects focusing on community water and sanitation management, advocacy in natural resource management, biodiversity, water, watershed management, and climate change. Additionally, he has been involved in processes of promotion, awareness-raising, strengthening, and support of community managers in water, sanitation, and forest resource management in the territories of indigenous peoples and communities.
César Martín Velázquez Hernández holds a Master’s degree of Sciences in Sustainable Rural Development and serves as the Legal Representative of CONIDER S.C., where he has accumulated over 15 years of experience in community processes, social organization, leadership training, and various aspects related to agricultural production such as coffee, vegetables, and poultry, among others.
This experience has enabled him to generate and implement projects of various kinds related to rural development in marginalized areas, such as the PESA (Program for Sustainable Rural Development) and projects with various donors including the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, National Social Investment Monte de Piedad, TIDES Foundation, Gonzalo Río Arronte Foundation, Rotoplas Foundation, and Walmart Foundation.
He also has experience in the private, social, and public sectors in environmental issues, having served as director in Chiapas for CONABIO (National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity), where he worked with social organizations of coffee and honey producers.
Currently, he specializes in the formation and implementation of territorial alliances, leading the management of two municipal projects in Chiapas with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, involving 10 civil society organizations.
Juan Vázquez Méndez holds a degree in Sustainable Development and has over 8 years of experience supporting community processes in indigenous communities in the Highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. He is a native speaker of the Tzeltal language, which enables him to work as a translator and interpreter with an intercultural and participatory dialogue approach.
Juan has worked as a consultant, project advisor, and director in local civil organizations in San Juan Cancuc, in the Highlands of Chiapas. For over 14 years, Juan has focused his professional interest and experience on generating proposals for alternative projects in indigenous communities, promoting and strengthening the capacities and skills of young people, while also contributing to improving their quality of life and decision-making processes, always prioritizing the recognition of the human rights of indigenous peoples and communities.
Virgilio Cruz, originally from a community in the Municipality of Tila, Chiapas, Mexico, is an indigenous speaker of the Tzeltal language. He is an agriculturist and has a degree in Business Administration, with over 10 years of experience in the labor field in his home state. He serves as a facilitator in the development and establishment of Community Savings Funds, and has received training and diplomas in Financial Education. He has worked as a change agent in the Strategic Food Security Project, a program created by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Currently, he is involved in the Komon Atel Alliance, comprised of eight organizations in the Municipality of San Juan Cancuc, Chiapas, Mexico, focusing on Income Generation. He facilitates processes for financial inclusion within households, contributing to development in the area.
Lorenzo García was born in the State of Mexico on December 3, 1961. He completed his high school studies in the State of Hidalgo and later pursued studies in Philosophy and Theology at Universidad Intercontinental in Mexico City as part of a training program oriented towards religious life. Subsequently, he specialized in Human Development at the Gestalt Institute of Humanistic Psychotherapy in Mexico City. He worked in foundations and civil society organizations focused on the educational sector and promoting productive projects in indigenous communities in the state of Chiapas. He also conducted personal work as a humanistic psychotherapist focused on the individual, and conducted workshops on self-esteem, communication, conflict resolution, leadership, gender, human rights, and teamwork for teachers, parents, and governmental and civil society organizations and groups. He participated in a training program for peace and positive conflict transformation in Guatemala City, CA, and was in charge of the Committee for Unity and Community Reconciliation within a religious community with missions in the United States, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Currently, he resides in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, and works part-time at the Komon Atel Alliance, formed by eight civil society organizations, focusing on a culture of peace in the municipality of San Juan Cancuc.
Ignacio Mazariegos Gómez is originally from Guaquitepec in the municipality of Chilón, Chiapas. He is a speaker of the Tzeltal language, a facilitator in Agroecology, Appropriate Technologies, and Community Communication.
He has 9 years of experience in agro-technological work, accompanying communities in the municipalities of San Juan Cancuc, Sitala, and Chilón. Since 2009, he has taken courses and received diplomas in Communication Sciences, focusing on Audiovisual Communication, Graphic Design, Communication, and Photography.
Currently, he collaborates with the Komon A’tel Alliance, consisting of 8 Civil Society organizations based in the Municipality of San Juan Cancuc, Chiapas, Mexico. He is responsible for the Communication area in the “Constructing Dialogue Spaces” Project in San Juan Cancuc, Chiapas.
Originally from Calkiní, Campeche, is an indigenous speaker of the Peninsular Maya language. She holds a degree in Food Industry Engineering and a Master’s in Food Science and Biotechnology. In 2019, she joined ATA as a Promoter for the “Manos Vivas” project by Aid to Artisans. Due to her exceptional performance, responsibility, and commitment, she now serves as the Food Area Coordinator for the “Manos Vivas 2.0” project.
An attorney and social anthropologist from Maracaibo, Venezuela, has over 12 years of experience working with academic institutions, government bodies, and various civil society organizations. She has collaborated with diverse social groups, including children, indigenous populations, Afro-descendants, women, and other social actors in both rural and urban contexts. Sol specializes in strategic planning, evaluation, monitoring of social projects in Mexico, developing of participatory methodologies for evaluation and institutional knowledge management for identifying learning.
Ericka is from Mérida, Yucatán, joined Aid to Artisans Mexico at the start of the Manos Vivas project in 2018. With over 9 years of experience in the artisanal sector, she has worked with various organizations on product development and the implementation of design, production, and collaboration methodologies and strategies. In 2024, she joined Universidad Vizcaya de las Américas as a faculty member in the Fashion Design program, teaching Experimental Design.
Blanca, a native speaker of Peninsular Maya from Chumayel, joined ATA in 2020, contributing her knowledge and experience in entrepreneurship and community engagement. Her hard work has led her to become the coordinator of two artisanal business zones, providing support to savings groups.
Nora is of Mayan mestiza heritage, born in Mérida, Yucatan. She is passionate about improving community well-being and promoting economic development in harmony with the environment. With over 10 years of experience in the creative economy and innovation sectors, she has developed numerous projects in the artisanal sector in southeast Mexico and implemented innovation and entrepreneurship projects across Latin America. She has designed and implemented projects for local governments and organizations like makesense Americas, Fomento Social Citibanamex, the British Council, GIZ, and United Way Mexico. Nora holds a Master’s in Managing in the Creative Economy and a Master’s in Cultural Policy and Project Management. She joins ATA as a Marketing and Communications Specialist in Yucatán, Mexico, eager to continue advancing the artisanal sector by promoting business knowledge, user-centered approaches, and inclusive initiatives.
Carmela is from Tixmehuac and a speaker of Peninsular Maya, began her artisanal career at the age of 10, mastering hammock weaving techniques. In her pursuit of improving her craft, she met ATA and joined it in 2020 as a Field Promoter. Her continuous learning, local knowledge, and commitment have elevated her to the role of Field Coordinator.
Fredy is a native Maya speaker from the community of Huechenbalam, Yaxcabá, Yucatán, recently joined the ATA team as a Field Coordinator, overseeing savings and micro-entrepreneurship initiatives in Yaxcabá. An agronomist specializing in designing, executing, and evaluating agroforestry systems, Fredy contributes his expertise in community learning with focus on social management. He also capable to identify endemic plants and trees of the Yucatán Peninsula.