The Team

Jerid O'Connell is board chairman and co-founder of Fuel for Humanity. He has been at the center of the charity’s activities from its inception and has organized various fund raising events in New York City to benefit its projects.

He has been a fixture in the New York graphic arts community for three decades.

Paul is a board member and co-founder of Fuel for Humanity. He has been involved in fundraising, curriculums and various other projects benefiting the charity as well as junkets to Nicaragua.

Paul is a professional in the New York advertising community where he has lived and worked for over twenty years.

Juan Martinez is president of Fuel for Humanity. He works with Jerid and Paul to design the curriculum, and he manages the digital lab from New York. He also works closely with Wilbert Baltodano, the lab teacher at Betania, and with the administration there. He travels regularly to Nicaragua to give photography and video workshops, and to track the progress of our scholarship students.

Juan has worked in various fields, including publishing and film. He currently teaches English as a Second Language and works as a freelance writer.

Wilbert has been the teacher at the digital lab at Betania since its inception in 2004. He has been part of the school system started by Padre Marco for many years. Thanks to a scholarship, Wilbert attended San Pablo VI for both grade school and high school.

Wilbert attended college in León, where he graduated with a degree in computer science. He has worked for various departments of Fundacion Chinandega 2001, which runs Betania and other projects. His expertise includes both software and hardware, and his services as an all-around computer freelancer are in great demand. He also owns and runs a cybercafé in Chinandega.

Wilbert is a perfect example of what young people can achieve in Nicaragua with a little help -- the students see him as a role model and a success story. We're fortunate to have him as our teacher at Betania.