Welcoming New Staff to the Team
Tearfund USA is excited to bring two new staff members to the team. Guillermo Jiménez is Tearfund USA's Foundations Relationships Grant Manager and Marcos Gamez the Director of Church Engagement. Both roles are pivotal to the success of Tearfund USA and seeing all people freed from poverty and injustice, living transformed lives, and reaching their God-given potential.
Guillermo Jiménez
"Guillermo is a versatile development practitioner and fundraising professional," said Emily Sarmiento, Tearfund USA President and CEO. "He has implemented and managed community development programs in his native Central America as well as built high-level strategic relationships with US donors. His critical thinking has already driven advances for Tearfund USA in the short time he’s been here. We are thrilled to have Guillermo’s competence, character and commitment on the team."
Guillermo is passionate about being an advocate for those at the margins of society. Growing up traveling to his dad’s farm in a rural village in Honduras as well as having constant exposure to the stark contrasts between the rich and the poor in the capital city, he was exposed to rural and urban poverty and learned from a young age about root causes of unjust systems. At the same time he had the opportunity to see the beauty of transformed lives when, against the odds, individuals, families and communities are empowered with vision, hope, purpose, and a sense of agency to build a new reality.
These experiences led Guillermo to develop an equalizer trait and pursue a career in International Development. He earned an MA in International Development from Eastern University, PA and has a BA double major in Philosophy and Business Administration from Houghton College, NY.
Early in his career he worked as a community facilitator and advocacy coordinator at World Vision Honduras. He has also worked as community organizer in a slum community of Tegucigalpa, Honduras with Servant Partners. Before joining Tearfund, he managed strategic relationships and grants at Agros International in programs focused on land ownership, economic development and eradicating chronic child-malnutrition in Central America. Guillermo is passionate about Tearfund’s holistic approach to development seeking to restore relationships with one’s self, with others, with creation and with the Creator. He is thrilled to be part of our growing programs in Latin America and Tearfund’s church and community partnership model to overcome poverty and injustice.
Marcos Gamez
"Marcos’ passion for the church and biblical justice are evident at first meeting. He openly shares his personal testimony of the church’s role in saving him from the streets and shaping his life’s course," says Emily. "With unique experiences in church planting, urban and youth ministry, global missions and church partnerships, he brings a wealth of ideas to help build Tearfund USA. We are excited to welcome Marcos’ energy and drive to shape the church engagement space."
It was the prayers of a small immigrant church full of praying abuelitas that helped bring Marcos to faith in Christ. For this reason, Marcos has a great deal of love and appreciation for the local church, even (and perhaps especially), the small, seemingly insignificant ones. Having grown up in an under-resourced community himself, Marcos knows firsthand how limited financial opportunities can beget violence. Threats from gangs forced him to drop out of school in the tenth grade and God spared his life on multiple occasions.
Marcos graduated with his first (and second) Master’s degrees -one in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary and an MBA in non-profit management. Marcos’ years of experience in multiple arenas, including within Christian seminaries/higher education, pastoral leadership and church planting, urban community development, and international development with a major Transnational NGO has uniquely prepared him for his role as Tearfund’s Director of Church Engagement. This role enables Marcos to pour out his expertise towards catalyzing and equipping people to live out a more authentic expression of the prayer “on earth as it is in Heaven.”
It is Tearfund’s obvious love and advocacy for people on the margins of society that compelled Marcos to learn more about the work we do. Tearfund’s willingness to name and engage with some of today’s most pressing issues of injustice and poverty at a time when many might be tempted to shrink back, induces hope and inspires action. While we are at a time in history when it may seem like the witness of the Church is diminishing, Marcos is still convinced that God wants to fulfill his purpose in the world in partnership with the Church – and that purpose is good.
About Tearfund USA
Based in the UK, Tearfund is a Christian international relief and development agency. Since 1968, Tearfund has tackled poverty through sustainable development, responding to disasters, and challenging injustice. Tearfund USA is one of the newest members in the Tearfund global family of 11 agencies working with nearly 300 partners and 15,000 churches in more than 40 countries. For more information, visit www.tearfundusa.org.
