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About
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We
met down in Nicaragua in the spring and summer of 2006. Through our
time and work there together, we came to realize the need for a program
that would provide real opportunities for impoverished communities to
improve their own life situations through self-motivated
effort.
We saw that handouts only bred dependence. This project is the result
of all the ideas and desire for change brewing over this past year
among friends, to help create sustainable and long-term solutions to
entrenched poverty in Central America's poorest country.
Welcome
to Nica HOPE.
Deanna
Ford, Director and co-founder.
Deanna graduated in 2003 from Princeton University with a degree in
Economics and Latin American Studies. Afterwards, she headed to
Washington, DC to work as a research assistant at the International
Monetary Fund (IMF). Deanna completed her Master of
Public
Policy at Georgetown University in May 2007, where she has focused on
issues in international economic development. During school,
she
also worked as a consultant for Agora Partnerships, an organization
fostering business development in Nicaragua, and as a research fellow
for the Center for Research on Children in the U.S.
Deanna
spent the summer of 2006 working in underdeveloped communities in Nicaragua
with Manna Project International on projects in education, health, and
microfinance. Deanna is currently working in Nicaragua full-time to direct and develop project operations of Nica HOPE.Contact: Deanna@nicahope.org
Jordan
Hooper, co-founder.
Jordan graduated in 2005 from the Sally McDonnell-Barksdale Honors
College at the University of Mississippi with a degree in English and
History. He returned home to New Orleans just months before
Hurricane Katrina's devastation and
spent months afterwards
rebuilding destroyed homes. Inspired by the efforts of
Hispanic
laborers in his hometown, Jordan sought an opportunity to volunteer in
Latin America and began with Manna Project International soon
thereafter. For ten months in 2006, he worked in impoverished
Nicaraguan communities on projects in education, health, and
microfinance. In August of 2007, Jordan began a
postgraduate
joint-degree program in Latin American Studies and Law at Tulane
University. Contact: Jordan@nicahope.org
Ben Bodell, co-founder. Ben
graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2005, earning a degree in
International Community Development and Cognitive Psychology.
While at Vanderbilt, Ben worked in Marketing and Advertising at Compass
Records on Nashville's Music Row. Following graduation Ben traveled
throughout the Hispanic world, building relationships while teaching
English and learning Spanish. This journey culminated in a stint with
Manna Project International, where he worked on education,
microfinance, and business development projects. Since his
return
to
the U.S., Ben has split his time working with John
Yarmuth's
campaign staff in his successful mid-term congressional bid, and with a
Consulting firm as a Marketing and Event Coordinator. Ben started graduate school in 2007, studying International
Affairs. Contact: Ben@nicahope.org
Chris Yuko, co-founder. Chris graduated in 2004 from Vanderbilt University with a degree in Economics. Upon graduation Chris moved to Nicaragua to work as one of Manna Project International's founding members. During his two years in country his projects ranged from the creation of a child sponsorship program in the city dump to the construction of a $2.6M dollar women and children’s health clinic. Chris returned to the U.S. in the Fall of 2006 to start an MBA program at Wake Forest University. While in school, Chris has organized an international consulting program between Wake Forest business students and Nicaraguan small businesses. The program focuses on the sharing of knowledge and resources while ultimately providing long-term support for economic and growth.