Comunidad Connect supports Nicaraguan communities by matching social, economic and environmental opportunities with local and global resources

The Comunidad Connect Team

team

Jon Thompson

Founder/Director

Jon graduated from Centre College in 1997 with a B.A. in History, first travelled to Nicaragua in 1998 and returned every year until early 2005, when he and his Nicaraguan wife, Arelis, moved to live in San Juan del Sur full time. In 2002 Jon obtained his Masters of Social Work with a concentration in Community Development. He began his social work career at United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, where he created and managed asset development programs focusing on small businesses, homeownership and education for low-income households. In addition to his post as the Executive Director, Jon is managing partner of the organic coffee farm Finca El Peten and is Manager of Community Relations for Guacalito de la Isla in Tola, Nicaragua.

Roman Yavich

Founder/Treasurer

Roman studied economics and finance at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He spent a life-changing semester at the Universidad de Chile in Santiago in 2003 and lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2004, where he researched the causes of income inequality. After graduating, Roman received the Fulbright Grant for a project on the sustainability of tourism development in Nicaragua. During his time in Nicaragua Roman co-founded Comunidad Connect with Jon Thompson. Roman is currently the Treasurer of the Board of Directors of Comunidad Connect. He holds a Masters in Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and is completing a Masters of Science in Environmental Science at SUNY ESF.

Rodrigo Dariel Castro Potoy

Assistant Executive Director

Dariel was born in 1984 in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. Dariel moved to Costa Rica at age 15 to study business administration and earned a scholarship to continue his studies in Mexico City in 2000. He later returned to Managua and began work as a supervisor for a professional training company. Married with two children, Dariel is Comunidad Connect's first employee, hired in September 2006, and is now studying towards his degree in Business Administration.

Mara Caryl Jacobsohn

Sustainable Tourism Program Manager

Mara Jacobsohn graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1997 with degrees in English Literature and Leisure Studies/Recreation Administration. Following a year at University of Sussex, Mara decided she wanted to teach. While working on her MA in TESOL at Portland State University, Mara came to San Juan to learn a little Spanish as a courtesy to her ESL students. She fell in love with the community here in Nicaragua and decided to come back to teach and participate to the rapid changes happening in the area. A fortunate series of coincidences brought her to Comunidad Connect where she continues to connect individuals, groups, and cultures and share this wonderful place with others through the Sustainable Tourism Program.

Alejandro Jose Noguera Castro

Sports Park Program Manager

Alejandro was born in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua in 1979 and is currently finishing his degree in Business Administration. After 7 years of playing in the amateur baseball leagues, he started his professional baseball career and eventually became a member of the national team and represented Nicaragua on the international level. An all-star pitcher, Alejandro traveled to Venezuela, U.S.A., and Holland to play against the world’s best teams. After a career-ending injury in late 2006, he now manages all youth/athletic programs for Comunidad Connect and serves as president of the Municipal Little League Commission in San Juan del Sur.

Julio Guerra

Caretaker of Sports Park

Julio has been a loyal employee of Comunidad Connect since November 2009. He has worked in security in Managua and in San Juan del Sur and is a skilled mason and carpenter who has contributed in a variety of ways to the improvements at the Comunidad Connect Sports Paark in San Juan del Sur.

Yarisleidy Cortez

El Teson Project Coordinator

Yarisleidy was born and raised in San Juan del Sur and graduated from highschool as validvictorian, after having presented her thesis entitled "The Ecological Culture of Nicaragua". She continues that trend today as she is top of her class at UPOLI University studying towards a degree in Business Administration and running the El Teson project for Comunidad Connect. She is currently the newest addition to our team, and she aspires to speak English fluently and obtain a graduate degree in Project Planning and Implementation.

Anielka Galán

Office Coordinator/Accountant

Anielka Galán was born in 1987 in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. She studied economics at the Iberoamerican University for Science and Technology (UNICIT). She also studied English and Spanish at the Ave Maria College in San Marcos, Nicaragua. In 2009 she traveled to Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica to participate in a conference of universities of Central America on Marketing and Publicity. Before her work with Comunidad Connect, she was working as Spanish language teacher. She aspires to receive a postgraduate degree in marketing in the near future. In 2011 she began to work with Comunidad Connect as an accountant and office coordinator.

Milton Sobalvarro

Intern - Program Support

Milton was born in 1985 in Matagalpa in the north of Nicaragua. In 2002 he moved to Managua to start his studies at the National Engineering University. He hold a degree in Agricultural Engineering and has been an intern with Comunidad Connect since November 2011. He helps with all of the organization's programs, focusing especially on environmental and agricultural projects in the Campo Verde program. His goal is to pursue a masters in Agribusiness or Renewable Energy.