We are three Californians, first brought together by our commitment to serving the educational needs in Salinas, California. We have developed deep respect and love for Rwandan school children over the last two years. To that end, we formed a tax-exempt nonprofit organization to respond to the needs of Rwanda.

Cynthia Hess was a teacher of Mathematics and Philosophy in the Salinas Union High School District for 24 years and is still passionate about the joy of educating students. As a high school teacher she was the adviser for a club called the Math Club, a group of students who raised between $40,000 and $100,000 each year and then, together, traveled to overseas destinations as part of an educational field trip with hands-on practicality.

Throughout her high school teaching career Cynthia worked collaboratively with educators in the Salinas City School District, including Mónika Macías who began her career as a teacher then served as the Principal of an elementary school in Salinas, CA.

Monika is now on the board for AESF and is the Director of Technology & Innovation at the Salinas City School District. Monika is an accomplished, Google-certified, CUE "Rockstar" and Chief Innovation Officer. Mónika traveled to Rwanda in 2016 with her family where she likewise fell in love with the country and served two schools with Technology; network and hardware. She facilitated the first Google Apps for Education (G Suite) school in Rwanda at Sonrise School and donated a Chromebook laptop lab of 15 units to the secondary school.

Sergio Vaca rounds out the team. He was a student of Miss Hess at Salinas High, and attended Cal Poly where he graduated in Statistics. He then received a Masters degree in Biostatistics from Hayward East Bay and currently works as a Financial Analyst for Dole Fresh Vegetables in Salinas, CA.

Board of Directors

Cynthia Hess, Sergio Vaca, and Mónika Macías