Meet Our Team

Serving on the board since 2013, Selina has been increasingly engaged until taking over the Executive Director role in 2019. Formerly a long-time team member of Whole Foods Market, Selina knows the importance of balancing social good with successful business models. Selina served in leadership roles with Whole Foods in the US and UK for 25 years until leaving in 2019 to focus full time on Project Schoolhouse. Selina is a graduate of Rice University with a degree in Economics.

Thomas “Tab” Barker graduated from Carleton College with a degree in Economics and furthered his education studying on a Fulbright Scholarship in Argentina. Tab has spent his career focusing on international development through founding Project Schoolhouse, always working to minimize outside impacts while leveraging local initiative and knowledge. Read more here for this founder’s story.

Renata was born and raised in Nicaragua and moved to Pittsburgh, PA with her family in 2006. She holds a BA in Communications from Allegheny College. Previously, she led Digital Marketing for the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh. She is committed to social justice and community service. Renata is deeply committed to Project Schoolhouse’s mission and helping her home country of Nicaragua.

Maria Inés has been coordinating all of Project Schoolhouse’s endeavors in Nicaragua since operations began. Her career has spanned multiple NGO’s focused on water and educational infrastructure. She is gifted at implementing community-based projects in very remote areas.

Norma spent the first twenty years of her career working in a women’s cooperative in Mulukuku. She now oversees our growing scope of supportive programs. She brings extensive experience in community training, data collection, project management, and is skilled at navigating the complexities of working with remote communities.

Dennis is on the faculty at the Red McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin, where he teaches courses in Social Entrepreneurship and Corporate Strategy. Dennis has a 35-year business career, including founding five successful companies.

Sara works in Product and Portfolio Management for Whole Foods Market, where she leads technology teams. A graduate of Rice and Texas A&M, her passion for international development began with a graduate course in commercializing technology for developing countries, where she visited Liberia in West Africa.

Gene works in Austin as a cybersecurity professional. Gene has lived, studied & worked in several countries in Latin America including a stint for a coffee company in rural northern Nicaragua.  During these experiences, he saw first–hand the importance of education and health in lifting children out of poverty.

Evan is the CFO for the Texas Tribune. Evan has a diverse background and experience in nonprofit financial management, international development, microfinance, and public accounting. His previous experience includes working as the CFO of Pro Mujer International and as Regional Director for the Whole Planet Foundation.

Alexandra is a Master’s of Public Health graduate from Boston University’s School of Public Health. Her passion for improving global health equity stems from her parent’s immigrant background.  She worked with a group of fellow graduate students to create a mobile application for an Indian-based non-profit organization, improving their growth and sustainability.

JP serves as a Programs Manager for Whole Planet Foundation. JP has a diverse professional, academic, and personal background of experience including import and export of food and technology as well as micro-lending. JP spent much of his childhood in Nicaragua and feels a personal connection to its people’s struggle.

Kristen is a business development and sales professional in the natural foods industry. Previously, Kristen has worked as the VP Sales for NadaMoo! dairy free ice cream and Milkadamia macadamia nut products. Her passion is in public health and nutrition and how to reach wider audiences to discuss gut and brain health along with proper hydration. 

Walter Moreau is the Executive Director of Foundation Communities, which works in Texas to create affordable housing where families succeed. During his 25-year career he has secured subsidy financing of more than $200 million to create more than 3,500 units of service-enriched, nonprofit-owned affordable housing. He holds an MS in Public Affairs from the UT LBJ School of Public Affairs.

Evan joined the Advisory Board in 2019 following his 4-year service on the Board of Directors, finishing his term as President in 2018. Evan helped to broaden the donor base and was instrumental in raising significant funds to increase the organization’s impact in Nicaragua. In 2018, Evan relocated to Brisbane, Australia to serve as the Director of Advancement at the University of Queensland (UQ). Prior to UQ, Evan served as Director of Development at Rice University.

Marilyn is on the faculty of the School of Human Ecology, University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches courses in public health. Previously, Marilyn has worked as an infectious disease epidemiologist for the Texas Department of State Health Services in Austin and in allied health education and health promotion in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.