Susan Worth

President

Susan owns and operates the Rancho Rio Montana Ranch in Ostional, Guanacaste where she and her family have visited and lived for over twenty five years.  Susan is a member of the Board if Directors and Assembly of Founders of the Costa Rica-USA Foundation for Cooperation (CRUSA).

Susan is currently President of the Board of Directors of the Buck Hill Conservation Foundation in Buck Hill Falls, Pennsylvania.

Alex Mata

Alex is the former chief financial officer of EARTH University in Costa Rica and of INCAE, Latin America’s leading business school.

He presently lives in Liberia, the provincial capital of Guanacaste.

Alex works as a consultant around the world on institutional development issues and sustainable development. He is also a civil engineer.

José Antonio Muñoz

José Antonio is a native of Liberia and founding partner of Arias & Muñoz, one of Central America’s highest-rated law firms, where he specializes in corporate law and government relations.

He also is the former charge de affairs and deputy chief of mission at the Costa Rican embassy to the United States.

The Muñoz family has a long history of civic leadership in Liberia and Guanacaste.

John P. Kloniger

J.P. is a global buyer for Whole Food Markets and has also worked for its philanthropic affiliate, the Whole Planet Foundation, where he developed and applied systems for evaluating the success of the projects that the Foundation supported.

J.P. grew up in Costa Rica and lives in Austin, Texas.  He and his family spend part of each year at their home in Las Catalinas, Santa Cruz, Guanacaste.

Orlando Lopez

Orlando is a founding partner of Grupo Stratos, a private equity and venture capital firm based in San Jose.

Before launching Stratos, he was General Manager of Stewart Title Central America and an attorney for Pacheco Coto, one of Costa Rica’s leading law firms.

Orlando is an expert in finance, business development and real estate law, and helped develop the trust that houses the GCF. Orlando has a strong interest in conservation and sustainable development.

John Scheman

John is a 23 year resident and dual citizen of Costa Rica and the United States. John is the president of Grupo Do It S.A. a  company that has developed commercial and residential real estate projects, hardware stores, gas stations and a variety of other developments throughout Guanacaste, including Discovery Costa Rica. John is also the president and founder of the Do it Foundation, which has imported, assembled and distributed over 18,000 wheelchairs for free to those in need in throughout Costa Rica. John and his family live in Liberia.

Steve Mack

 Executive Director

In 2013 Steve helped create the Guanacaste Community Fund at the behest of the CRUSA Foundation and has since worked to bring the organization to life.

He has lived and worked in Costa Rica since 1989, during which time he has been editor of The Tico Times newspaper, the director of a successful campaign to raise $18 million for nature conservation on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula and co-founder and director of CEDARENA, the first organization in Latin America dedicated to the development of environmental law.

Geraldine Carmona

 Projects Coordinator

Geraldine is a native of Santa Cruz who has worked with the social responsibility programs of some of leading companies of Guanacaste and Costa Rica, including Ecodesarrollos Península Papagayo, Reserva Conchal and Florida Ice and Farm.

She also was director of Transforming Santa Cruz, an important initiative of the Florida Foundation to support the development of civil society in her native city.

Eleanor Lawrence

Communications Coordinator

Eleanor is communications coordinator for the Guanacaste Community Fund; she manages social media, facilitates organizational development, meets with project partners, and helps with fundraising.

She has an MPH from Boston University.  She grew up overseas and attended elementary schools in Latin America. She has been coming to Costa Rica since a young age, and is happy to be back as a public health/community development professional.