• Meet our incredible team!

Crecer Staff

  • Glenda- Head Teacher

    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. 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- Psychologist

    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- Teacher

    Alberto joined our team in 2021 when our private school kids started studying things like chemistry and biology- classes that surpass the average person’s ability to help with homework. Alberto was our 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 junior and high school students, 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.

TCHP Children's Home Staff

  • Elsa- Director of Girls

    Elsa started as a girls caretaker back in 2012 and just recently moved into the girls home with her husband and two little girls. She is their full-time foster mom, which means she does a little bit of everything. Her main role is meeting the needs of our teenage girls, as well as coordinating all of the logistics that go along with raising them well. She is a TBRI Practitioner and loves looking for the need behind every behavior. She is incredibly perceptive and knows each of our kids better than just about anyone. Elsa loves her job because she feels like we are “continuing the mission of Jesus on earth” by caring for vulnerable children. She loves that she gets to be a caring, loving mother-figure to all of our kids. In her spare time, you can find her baking any and all kinds of dessert and being an expert decorator for anything worth celebrating!

  • Marvin- Director of Boys

    Marvin has been on staff since 2014 and has been a fan-favorite ever since. He moved into our older boys home with his wife and three children and spends all moments investing in all of the kids who see him as dad. Marvin also oversees Casa Medina, where our younger boys live. Anything Marvin is asked to do, he does it with enthusiasm and excellence. He became a TBRI Practitioner in 2025 and is constantly looking for the best practices to raise our kids and teens from hard places. His favorite thing about his job is spending time with the kids and contributing to their formative years. In spare time, you can find him on the soccer field, volleyball court, or serving in his church!

  • Bessy - House Leader

    Bessy has been giving her heart to our kids in TCHP Children’s Home since 2013. If someone says it can’t be done, Bessy finds a way. She knows everything about our youngest boys and has gained a beautiful trust from each of them as the leader of the house. The kids even renamed their house last year to “Casa Medina,” representing Bessy’s last name of Medina because they wanted to recognize how loved, seen, and heard they feel by her. Bessy enjoys creating strategies for the kids to learn more easily, and making sure the house is organized so that everyone can live in peace. When she isn’t with the kids, she loves to spend time with her three dogs, or go to relax at the hot springs.

  • Fredi- Casa Medina Caretaker

    Fredi joined our family in 2021. As Marvin’s little brother, he already had a great relationship with many of our kids which made coming on full-time a no-brainer. Fredi loves sports and is always ready for a pick-up game of soccer with the kids. He’s also a lover of languages and is the best help with English homework. His favorite thing about his job is the chance to celebrate each kid being their truest self.

  • Sara - Casa Medina Caretaker

    Sara joined our family in 2019 and life has been better every day since. She loves that she has the opportunity to help each child overcome the traumas that they have lived through, and remind each of them how special and loved they are. When she isn’t with the kids, she loves spending time with her kids in the mountain home where she grew up.

  • Olga- Casa Medina Caretaker

    Olga has been bringing her passion for fun to Casa Medina since 2023. She is a lover of all things celebration and is known for opening everyone's Christmas gifts before they have a chance to at the yearly Christmas party. Seriously, she radiates JOY and has achieved the most beautiful mix of compassion, patience, nurture, and structure. She recently became a biological mom to a baby girl who has brought immense joy to all of us. In her spare time, she loves to go fishing with the kids and her husband!

  • Carlos- Casa Medina Caretaker

    Carlos joined our team in 2022 to work with our older boys, but has since transitioned to working in Casa Medina. He loves to spend time with the kids, hearing about their dreams and talking about how to make them happen. He also loves to cook and often makes the kids non-traditional meals to try and enjoy. In his spare time, Carlos has a passion for cars and ATVs, as well as spending time with his family.

  • Sharon - Bellas Caretaker

    Sharon has been loving every second of her time with our girls since 2019. She loves time spent with them and when the girls express themselves. She says that those moments, where the girls express that they know they are loved for who they are, are the most marvelous moments of her work. When she isn’t with our girls, she can be found caring for her three daughters at home!

  • Josselyne- Bellas Caretaker

    Josselyne joined our team in 2023 and has become a consistent, safe adult for our girls. She fully believes in “love does” and has a passion for showing others love through cooking their favorite meals or making them coffee. She also loves to take the girls to get out in nature. Josselyne has taught all of us about serving others unconditionally and we are so thankful for the role model she is to our girls. 

  • Olga M- Bellas Caretaker

    Olga stepped in to complete our team in 2024 and has been a huge blessing every day since. She grew up in a home where honesty was a fundamental value, and she has done an amazing job of helping our girls to be honest with themselves and one another. She loves music, spending time with family, and reading. She feels like her job at TCHP has become her passion, and feels fulfilled as she faces the daily challenges.

  • Kareen- Bellas Support Staff

    Kareen was a natural addition to the girls house as they first met her at a local church. She has a huge passion for teens and was drawn to our girls through the church youth group. She became such a fundamental mentor for them that we asked her to formally join our team part time in 2023. She grew up in a disintegrated home and lived the experience of living separated from her biological parents, which has helped her relate to our girls in a unique way. Kareen is a psychologist and most loves being able to be there for the girls and help them find peace in moments of uncertainty. 

  • Paty- Driver

    Without a doubt, Paty holds the job that requires the most patience and coordination of anyone on our team. She started with us in 2022 and has been a steady source of peace, love, and support ever since. Paty is so much more than our driver and master errand-runner, she is the first one to hear about the stories from the school-day, to be a listening ear as they drive around town, and to give advice when needed. Her favorite thing about her job is being able to come alongside the kids for all of their events and activities, and she feels really proud of what our kids are accomplishing. When she isn’t behind the wheel of one of our TCHP cars, Paty likes to be outside with family, help with the kids in her church, and watch the sunset. 

  • Banesa- University Coordinator

    Banesa joined our TCHP family in 2023 when we suddenly had so many University kids that keeping track of all the logistics was a puzzle! Banesa is curious, loves to learn, and is always looking to give her best self to everything that she does. She has so much patience and maintains a positive outlook in all situations. Something that she loves about her job is the knowledge that she is offering support that a lot of people don’t get the opportunity to receive, and being there to watch them overcome their situations and take advantage of such support is very special to be a part of.

TCHP Team

  • Jenny Kast - Founder and Director

    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. Click here to read more about Jenny’s origin story.

  • Haley Janssen - In-Country Director

    hjanssen@tchproject.org

    Haley is the in-country director of The Children’s Home Project. She spends her days overseeing both the children’s home and Proyecto Crecer. She works alongside an amazing team that raises and works with 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. She’s also trained in the Adult Attachment Interview, which has become a huge passion for her as she walks alongside adults understanding their own attachment patterns. Her days consist of talking through behaviors, training staff, spending time with kids, and consistently looking for ways to better serve our kids and community. Haley was born and raised in Nebraska but has called Honduras home since 2016.  When she is not working, you can find her spending time with her community of friends turned family or falling asleep to anything she tries to watch on Netflix alongside her handsome husband, Danny!

  • Marie Regala - Director of Sponsorship and Program Management

    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!

  • Nayra- TCHP Administrator

    admin@tchproject.org

    Nayra has been working her excel magic in the foundation since 2017 as our full-time administrator. She has an uncanny ability to organize and does an amazing job of making sure that all of our finances and legalities are in check. Her favorite part of her work is spending time with the kids, receiving their love and spoiling them in return, as well as the satisfying feeling when the numbers check out at the end of each month. When she isn’t at Crecer or the children’s home, she can be found working towards her masters, watching movies, and hanging with family.