We are a grassroots organization in Guatemala providing housing, education and access to health care.
Joe Collins, Founder of From Houses to Homes
After visiting Guatemala in 2001 and experiencing the sub-standard living conditions first hand, Joe could not get the indelible picture of poverty out of his mind. In a country filled with breathtaking volcanoes, verdant hillsides, tight-knit families, traditions and pride, most of the indigenous people were living in squalor. The government programs to help the poor were, and continue to be, either ineffective, inadequate, or discriminatory.
Joe decided to return to Guatemala as a volunteer. He volunteered over the next two years on 14 different occasions for another non-profit organization. Joe believed if he started his own organization he could be sure that most of each dollar donated went to help the poor. In 2004, From Houses to Homes became a registered 501(c)3 in the state of New Jersey. The first home was built in 2005 by Joe and Oscar, along with the help of 2 young men that Joe had met while volunteering.
We soon realized that housing, education, and healthcare must go hand-in-hand to break the cycle of poverty. “Escuela Kemna'oj” is our Pre K through 9th-grade school, which we have proudly operated since 2011. Many of the families whose children attend the school live in homes constructed by us.
Responding to the need for quality health care we opened up St. Joseph's Clinic in 2011. On average, we treat 300 people a month, with approximately 65% of those being women/girls.
Our programs in housing, education and health care have helped thousands of children and adults. Since 2004, From Houses to Homes has continued to work in the highland communities surrounding Antigua.
Our organization has worked in these12 communities, shown in the map below.
Mission statement
From Houses to Homes aims to create pathways out of poverty by providing safe housing, education and health care.
Vision statement
Our vision is that every family has a safe roof over their heads, in a country in which everyone can read and write and has the ability to thrive.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS - USA
Judy baker
Executive Director
Judy began her relationship with Guatemala through adoption. Her son and her daughter were both born in Guatemala. Joe Collins, Founder of FHTH, and Judy were very dear friends. When he asked her if she would help him if he started this organization it was a no-brainer. In the beginning, it was very little help stateside when Joe would travel to Guatemala. As the organization grew Judy became a part-time employee, and at the time of Joe’s passing, she became Executor Director at Joe’s request. Her passion for Guatemala runs deep and her dedication to the future of From Houses to Homes is unparalleled.
James l. Bellis, jr
President
Jim is a former owner of Tree Tech, Inc., now part of a nationwide roll-up in the tree care and maintenance space. He serves as President of the Hiram Blauvelt Wildlife Art Museum, Oradell, NJ, and as a member of the Trinity-Pawling school board of trustees. Over the past many years, Jim has served on several not-for-profit boards and assisted with other philanthropic endeavors. Jim and his wife, Patti, have three children (all of whom have built homes in Guatemala) and reside in Bedminster, NJ.
OSCAR MEJIA
Project Director-Guatemala
Oscar is the Project Director, Legal Representative, and Co-Founder of Asociación De Casas A Hogares in Guatemala. Since 2005, he has been responsible for managing, supervising, and directing the three work areas in Guatemala. He oversees the promotion of the FHTH objectives and work mission, primarily through our volunteers. He is also responsible for all legal procedures that require attention in Guatemala.
JODY KOZLOW GARDNER
Jody is a NYC-based brand strategist and investor in the food space. She is the creator of the international phenomenon The Pregnancy Survival Kit, which she launched with a partner in 1995. The wardrobe in a box was sold across the globe, including department stores in Japan, Australia, and Mexico. Her book on pregnancy style, Pregnancy Chic, was published by Random House. She sold the company in 2005. Changing careers, she received her M.A. in Food Studies and Nutrition from NYU in May 2020. Jody graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and resides in New York City. She built her first home in Guatemala (#201) over thirteen years ago, and until COVID-19, she hadn’t missed a year. She has been a board member since 2010.
Andrew M. Gellert
Andrew is the President of Gellert Global Group(GGG) headquartered in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he has worked for the past 30+ years. The Gellert Global Group consists of many of the leading North American food-importing companies and has been involved in importing food products for nearly 100 years. The combined resources of the GGG companies provide strength in sourcing, insurance, finance, logistics, and information technology. They supply the needs of retailers, distributors, food service chains, hotels, cruise lines, and food manufacturers alike. The Group is also active in restaurant operations and non-food operations, as well as real estate investments in the greater metropolitan NY area. Andy is an active member of the Cornell Institute of Food Science Advisory Council. He is on the Board of Directors of the Association of Food Industries Incorporated (AFI). He is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) New York Metro Chapter. Andrew is married to Stacy and has three children Samantha 22, Ben 20, and Adam 18. He resides in Randolph, New Jersey, and is a 1989 graduate of Cornell University with a degree in food marketing.
Jeffrey Ingelman
As Chief Compliance Officer (Bermuda) At Nephila Capital Ltd. Jeff’s role is to oversee compliance matters of the firm. He joined the firm in July 2014. He previously worked at a hedge fund in Bermuda as the Chief Financial Officer, and at HSBC in Bermuda, as a Team Lead in the hedge fund administration area giving him significant knowledge of hedge fund operations, accounting, and compliance. Prior to that, Jeff worked at Price Waterhouse in Bermuda as an Assistant Manager in the audit space and at Deloitte in Canada as an Audit Senior. Jeff has his Chartered Accountancy (CA) designation from Canada and his Certified Public Accountancy (CPA) designation from the US. Also, he has the Chartered Regulatory Counsel (CRC™) designation, Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) designation as well as a Certified Hedge Fund Professional (CHP) designation with a specialization in Due Diligence.
Cary Lloyd
Cary brings corporate management, strategy, and critical thinking experience along with public service experience to the FHTH Board. He and his family have been blessed to help build a home for a Guatemalan family through FHTH and supporting Escuela Kemna'oj operations for 5 years running. He, his wife Alice, and their children are looking forward to continuing and expanding their support.
María Echeverría Maldacena
María was born and raised in Guatemala. She earned a law degree in 1996 in Guatemala and later completed her Master of Law in the US. She moved to Princeton, NJ, in 2000 where she currently lives with her husband and three children. Her whole family still lives in Guatemala and she visits often. In Princeton, she serves and has served on boards for several community organizations.
Suzy Moran
Suzy grew up in Jersey City. She has had an interest in interior design from a young age. She made it a career she has worked at for over 30 years. Her husband was the impetus for her involvement in FHTH. His idea was to build Cambiando Vidas, which led them to the design and construction of Saint Joseph’s Clinic. She has been to Guatemala nearly twenty times to build a house or oversee the construction and finishing of the school and clinic. Both of these projects are very close to her heart; she has been a member of FHTH since 2009.
Archie Purcell
Archie first volunteered with From Houses to Homes in 2006, helping build our 35th home. He has returned over a dozen times to Guatemala. He is a retired business executive and entrepreneur. His career focused on the start-up, growth, and sale of companies in the marketing services industry. Archie lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
WILLIAM MCGAHAN
Bill built his first home with From Houses to Homes nearly 20 years ago. Since then, he has returned to Guatemala over 25 times and has been involved in building over 75 homes
Additionally, Bill created the McGahan Family Global Education endowment at Westminster School in Atlanta, which funds 100% of the annual trip for 20 students who build 4 houses each visit. He is a dedicated, generous, and tireless supporter of our mission.
Bill is the Founder of the non-profit Georgia Works. This remarkable program trains and transforms chronically homeless men into self-sufficient, productive members of society.
Pastor Kent WALLEY
The Reverend Dr. Kent R. Walley has been in ministry for almost 40 years and in ordained ministry since 1999. He has served as the rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Gladstone, NJ, since 2008. St. Luke’s has been blessed to regularly send inter-generational mission teams to Guatemala with From Houses to Homes for many years. Parishioners look forward to the trips, and there is always new interest in joining the trips from people who have not yet gone. Kent is married to Joy, and they have two sons, Philip and Stephen. Stephen has accompanied Kent on the FHTH trips several times.
DARRON COLLINS
Darron Collins became College of the Atlantic’s 7th president in July 2011. He received his BA in human ecology from COA in 1992 and holds a PhD in anthropology from Tulane University.
Before becoming COA’s president, Collins spent ten years managing international conservation projects in the Amazon, Mongolia, and the Russian Far East with the World Wildlife Fund. While at WWF, he also conducted investigative reporting of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and wrote, produced, and directed the award-winning documentary “Amur River Basin: Sanctuary for the Mighty Taimen." He is a Barry Goldwater Science Scholar and a Thomas J. Watson Fellow.
Collins first went to Guatemala in 1998 during his doctoral dissertation research, where he lived and learned among the Q'eqchi'-Maya of the Alta Verapaz and Petén. He studied the ethnobotany of that Mayan group, lived in the region for two years, and became conversant in the Q'eqchi language. Darron's father, Joe, first visited and fell in love with Guatemala during that time.
A native of Morris Plains, New Jersey, Collins is fluent in Spanish. He is an avid fly-fisherman and trail runner. Darron lives in Bar Harbor, Maine with his wife, Karen, their two daughters, and a black lab, Lucy.