Founder and President

After losing her mother in 2007, she realized the pain of losing a parent. She began her journey of helping orphans on her first trip to the Philippines in 2008. She later started visiting institutions in Ukraine, and Maya’s Hope has come to evolve into what it is today. She is committed to helping children in great need despite their circumstances and believes every child has value. She also is of Filipino and Ukrainian heritage.

Previously, she worked as an Executive Assistant to the Managing Directors for Metalmark Capital. She considers herself an international problem solver and enjoys making people smile. Maya has a degree in Piano Performance and French literature from Rutgers University.

Ukrainian Program Manager and Social Media Director

Keshia is a Registered Nurse from New Zealand. She completed her Bachelor of Nursing in 2009, specializing in care of the elderly.

She is passionate about improving the lives of orphans and children with special needs in Ukraine. She has traveled to Ukraine in 2014, 2015 and 2017 to check on our partners, programs and children.

Keshia is our Ukraine Program and Social Media Manager.

Marketing and Creative Director

Jennifer is the Marketing and Creative Manager as well as the HR Business Partner for a sanitary sealing and hose company in Northern NJ.

Jennifer joined Maya’s Hope in 2014 as a volunteer graphic designer, helping out where ever needed. Since then she has designed invitations and marketing materials for fundraising events such as the Lotus Hope Ball, is sponsoring a child, designs the annual reports and works on the Maya’s Hope Website.

Systems Advisor

Gina’s insatiable curiosity, passion for personal growth, and love of community are the inspirations that keep her motivated. As an entrepreneur at heart, she has enjoyed building several businesses focused on inspiring women to be productive, rejuvenated, expanded, and connected. For Maya’s Hope, Gina helps with systems integrations and efficiencies behind the scenes. She is a dedicated mother of three teens, and loves cooking, running, and hitting the road with her beagle, Harley, in her Airstream.

Project Coordinator

Ollie joined Maya’s Hope as a Russian/Ukrainian-English translator in 2015. Ollie is an integral part of the team and is the project coordinator for our Ukraine program. Ollie lives in Kentucky with her husband and 2 young children. She’s also sponsoring a child. The mission of Maya’s Hope is Ollie’s daily inspiration. She declares it to be one of the main reasons she still has faith in people and the world.

Administration

Lori Seward has been volunteering with Maya’s Hope for over four years. Lori is a retired communication professor who has helped the organization in a wide variety of ways. She has edited documents including our annual report, handled mailings, helped with event planning, and even played babysitter in the office to help me get work done!

Lori sponsors a child in the Philippines and is a frequent donor to Facebook campaigns to assist our cutie pies. When not helping Maya’s Hope, Lori loves exploring New York City and looks forward to the reopening of theatres and the opportunity to travel once more.

Data Analyst

Jenna takes care of all the numbers, pivot tables and data. She had recently moved to bustling New York with her husband and cat from a cozy city in Canada and was looking for a way to get involved in the community and meet new people. After being part of the first gala, Jenna realized just how much she really loved Maya’s Hope and wanted to do even more to get involved, and enjoys learning new things every day!

Jenna is finishing up her accounting degree along with helping the Cutie Pies and is happy to be involved in something so meaningful, as well as being a part of a team of amazing people.

Bookkeeper

Caron Katz is the owner of the outsourced bookkeeping firm, CEK Solutions. She is a CPA and MBA with extensive knowledge and experience managing small to mid-sized organizations' accounting and financial reporting systems.

Caron has served as the Vice President, Controller at Twinlab and Director of Finance at Sally Hershberger Professional Hair Care. Caron holds a BA in Psychology from Binghamton University and an MBA with a focus in Accounting from Kennesaw State University.

Project Manager

Maria is a certified yoga Instructor with teaching positions in the U.S. Army’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. She enjoys traveling, the great outdoors, reading bad hotel reviews online, books, jewelry-making, fitness, and nutrition. Maria works as a Project Manager and Writer at Maya’s Hope.

Having lived in Ireland for most of her life, her heart will always be mostly Irish.

Tagalog/English translator and Interviewer

Myra is a volunteer translator for Maya’s Hope. Helping others is one of her core personality traits and when she found that Maya’s Hope needed translators, she didn’t think twice about applying.

Myra is a Filipino-American, born and raised in the Philippines until she moved to New York at age 11.

Myra is a medical student at Our Lady of Fatima University in the Philippines and takes Korean language classes to continue her Korean studies from undergrad.

She enjoys working with a wonderful team and helping families in need. She intends to keep volunteering and do more when she becomes a doctor. She believes that everyone deserves to live to see the beauty in the world.

Project Manager

Taylor is a Senior Consultant and Project Manager for a small consulting firm. She holds a BS in Chemical Engineering and an MS in Environmental Management. She joined Maya’s Hope in July 2021 as an opportunity to apply her skills to give back to the global community by improving the lives of children in the toughest of circumstances. She works as a Project Manager for both Maya’s Hopes Ukrainian and Philippines operations.

“I volunteer to be a part of something bigger than myself and as a way to try and make the world just a little bit better than it was the day before.”

Interviewer and HR

I am a volunteer interviewer at Maya’s Hope and am also an HR Specialist for the team.

When I came across Maya's Hope, I had been working with a non-profit organization, teaching English to tribal children in India. I was so drawn by the work the organization does for little children to improve the quality of their life that I wanted to help in any way I could. Being born and educated in India and having had the opportunity to live in the UK and the US has helped me understand and appreciate different cultures and ways of living.

Outside of Maya’s Hope, I spend my time running my own photography business focusing on family and lifestyle photography, being a full-time mother to two little kids, and recently earned the PHR certification in Human Resource Management.

Tagalog/English translator and Interviewer

Maya’s Hope Mission Ambassador

Hello, I’m Mari. I was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. As a Filipina, I was drawn to its mission of “improving the quality of life of orphaned, impoverished, and special-needs children on a global scale.” I recently joined Maya’s Hope to volunteer as a Tagalog/English translator and to help with interviewing candidates. So far, the experience has been very, very rewarding for me. I am thankful to Maya’s Hope for helping children with special needs in the Philippines.

Aside from Maya’s Hope, I also volunteer for the American College of Healthcare Executive (ACHE) of South Florida as a Student Services Chair – Board Member.

Lead Interviewer

My name is Marleen, and I am a volunteer interviewer for Maya’s Hope. I’ve lived in New York all of my life and currently reside on Long Island. I have had an eclectic career starting off as a business administrator but decided to follow my dream to become a classroom teacher, eventually leaving the classroom after 27 years to become a service provider for developmentally disabled young adults in a vocational skills program. Most recently, I’ve been a COVID-19 Case Investigator/Contact Tracer for New York State, and my work in public health was extremely rewarding. I have volunteer experience with a local literacy organization providing services for disadvantaged populations and the American Red Cross organization, providing research support to the Greater New York Regional Philanthropy office. I began working with Maya’s Hope in July and am so fortunate to be part of this wonderfully amazing foundation.

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in service to others.”- Gandhi

Interviewer and Silent Auction Chair

Hi, my name is Olivia Lord, and I started as an intern for Maya’s Hope in March 2021. I now serve on the basic needs and surgery committees and help wherever needed.

I am finishing my time at Rutgers University with a Bachelor of Science in healthcare administration and a minor in public health. I am passionate about the children we help and am thankful I work with an amazing team daily.

Ukraine Language Translator

My name is Alina. I joined Maya’s Hope team in 2022 as a volunteer to aid in Ukrainian translation. I’m happy that I can put my language proficiency to help others in need since I was a teacher of Ukrainian language and literature. My passion for helping others led me to choose the path of nursing, and I graduated as a Registered Nurse in 2019.

I live in New Jersey with my husband and our son. Its indeed been my pleasure to serve and contribute to this society in whatever small way I can.

Ukrainian Language Translator

Hi, my name is Jena Boridka. I am a volunteer interviewer and a Ukrainian translator. I joined Maya’s Hope in March 2022 around the time when Russia invaded Ukraine. I work for L’Oreal (Giorgio Armani Beauty). They have matched me with this amazing charity foundation through the volunteer portal.

I was born in Ukraine and have lived in the USA since 2008. It’s very important to me that I contribute in meaningful ways to my country and my people. I wish to dedicate my time and energy to helping those in need. I believe that children are our future, and we must do everything in our power to protect them, and raise them in the best surroundings possible. I am aligned with the mission and values of the Mayas Hope organization, and happy to be a part of it!