Glenda has been our primary educator at Crecer since 2020. Before joining our team, she worked at a private high school where some of our Crecer kids study. Her dedication to not only education, but the wellbeing and overall health of her students convinced us to offer her a job. She currently teaches our 8th and 9th graders, as well as works with our elementary-level students as they catch up on the years they have spent away from school. When she’s not in the classroom, she can be found sewing and mending clothes, helping prepare lunch, or making a mean balloon arch for a birthday celebration. In her own words, “it has been a pleasure to be part of this noble project that I feel has become my family.”

Keili joined Crecer in 2020 as our on-site psychologist. It’s doubtful that any of us could have predicted just how hard 2020 was going to be and Keili fought tooth and nail to be available to the kids during the worst days of the pandemic. She is patient, funny, and zeroes in on the best qualities of our kids, which has earned her trust with even our toughest of critics. In her own words, Keili says, “it’s a privilege to be a part of this team, where we contribute to the integral wellbeing of our teenagers, where every day we see their lives changing in order to achieve their goals.”

Alberto joined our team in 2021 when our private school kids started studying things like chemistry and biology- classes that surpass the average persons ability to help with homework. Alberto joined us as a part time tutor and when we saw Cs and Ds become As and Bs, we knew we would need him for years to come. He teaches math and science classes to our 8th and 9th graders, as well as continues to tutor our private school kids in the more challenging, practical classes. He says, “my job means supporting each student in their education and formation, watching them grow and be a part of this loving Crecer family.

jkast@tchproject.org

Jenny is the founder and Director of The Children’s Home Project. What started in 2010 as a desire to get one boy out of a severely subpar government home and then a deeply rooted need to be able to continue to invest in Honduras once she moved back to the States, has grown to having worked with a handful of homes and loving hundreds of children. When not counting down the days until she can return to Honduras and reunite with the other half of her heart, she can be found at various coffeeshops around Phoenix recruiting team members, planning fundraisers, figuring out how to file non-profit taxes, among way too many other things to list. She lives in the States with Sean, her fireman husband, Leo and Nico, their sons who just might be the most adorable children on earth and one naughty pup named Barkley. (The name turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.#mistake) Click here to read more about Jenny’s origin story.

jschulz@tchproject.org

Jilli is the director of Crecer, our day center in San Pedro Sula. She, along with her team, works with 15 kids and their families to empower and equip them to one day break out of the cycle of poverty in which they’ve lived their whole lives. She feels lucky enough to consider these kids family as she fights tooth and nail to constantly remind them how perfect and loved they are. Jilli is from Maryland, but has lived in Honduras since 2012. And while she loves her pollo con tajadas and pretending to be into soccer, nothing will ever replace Old Bay seasoning or watching Ravens games in Maryland. And yes, she annoys the kids until they agree to be Ravens fans as well. When Jilli is not at Crecer or getting coffee with the kids, you can find her at her favorite plant nursery, spending way too much money on new plant bebes, or at home with her five* cats and three* dogs, reading, watching, or listening to true crime content. Stay out of the forest!

*still subject to change

**and by change she means increase

hjanssen@tchproject.org

Haley is the Directora of Proniño, our children’s home where 28 precious kiddos eat, sleep, learn, and love. She works alongside an amazing team that raises the kids from a base of patience, compassion, and healing. She is a TBRI Practitioner and geeks out at anything related to Karyn Purvis or developmental trauma healing strategies, which has turned fundamental in raising our kids from hard places. Her days consist of a thousand hugs, talking through behaviors, training staff, and making too many trips to the pulpería for snacks. Haley was born and raised in Nebraska but has called Honduras home since 2016. She lives alongside the very best neighbors turned family and thanks sweet Jesus for the community she has been given. When she is not working, you can find her raiding the chocolate drawer in her fridge or falling asleep to anything she tries to watch on Netflix alongside her handsome husband, Danny!

mregala@tchproject.org

Marie was born and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and feels so very lucky to be a part of the TCHP family. She is a big fan of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, soaking up the sun and dancing whenever and wherever she can. Her journey with The Children’s Home Project started the winter of 2015, when she went down to Honduras for the very first time with Haley. From that very first trip, she knew that she wanted to be a part of this world in any way she could. As TCHP’s Director of Sponsorship and Project Management she has the incredible opportunity to create and facilitate human connections through sponsorship and support the TCHP staff with whatever is needed. She constantly can’t believe she gets to share the gift that is being in these kids’ lives with others and she can’t wait to continue to share that with you!