BECA Staff
Michael Buttram (Executive Director): Mike is no stranger to Honduras, having taught Music for two years at the Escuela Internacional Sampedrana in San Pedro Sula from 2002 to 2004. Mike was introduced to teaching after receiving a Fulbright grant to study pedagogical methods in Germany in 1999. After spending 2009-2010 as BECA's in-country Administrator, Mike was asked to join the BECA staff as Director of Program Development, a position from which he headed up BECA's community outreach and expansion into new schools. In August 2011, Mike assumed the Executive Director position and looks forward to continuing BECA's growth and building out its infrastructure.
BECA Executive Board
Jaime Koppel (Chairperson): Jaime has a Masters degree in Public Administration from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), with a concentration in Economic and Political Development. At Columbia University she was awarded the Harvey Picker Prize for Public Service for her demonstrated commitment to serving others. While living in Honduras from 2001 - 2003, Jaime founded BECA to combat the country's "dysfunctional educational system." In addition to her nonprofit management and education work with BECA, Jaime has experience in the fields of child welfare, public education, alumni relations, and fundraising/development. She is currently works for the Children's Defense Fund in New York City. Previously, she served as Chief of Staff for the Executive Deputy Commissioner of New York City's Administration for Children's Services. During her time with Children's Services she managed over $3.5 million dollars in grants; was nominated for the selective NYC Management Academy and served as the agency's liaison to a not-for-profit that supports the needs of young people in foster care. In 2007, Jaime was selected as a New York City Education Pioneers Fellow. As an Education Pioneer she worked with the NYC Department of Education in their Office of Portfolio Development. She and her husband Eli reside in Brooklyn with their son Bruce.
Jasmine Roberts (Vice-Chairperson) is a BECA alumna who volunteered during the 2005-2006 year as the kindergarten and preschool teacher, and returned the following year to serve as the Program Administrator. She continues to visit Cofradia annually to assist with the new teacher training each Summer. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a BA in anthropology and international peace studies, Jasmine has focused her energies post-graduation on youth programming in various non-profit youth organizations in the Midwest. Jasmine currently works for La Plaza as Program Director of their after-school activities. La Plaza is a non-profit organization in Indianapolis that is dedicated to empowering and integrating the Hispanic community in Central Indiana. She is extremely grateful to be able to incorporate her experiences from Honduras into her current job, and hopes to continue a career path dedicated to assuring that all children have the opportunity to receive a quality education.
Suresh Samuel (Treasurer):A California native and 2002 graduate of UC Santa Barbara, Suresh spent the 6 years following college working for a Fortune 500 homebuilder and a start-up private equity investment firm. Before volunteering with BECA during the 2008-2009 school year, Suresh moved to Buenos Aires and spent three months in intensive Spanish classes and volunteering at a local community center, and another four months travelling in South and Central America. Suresh is in his second year at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis
Laurence Birdsey (Secretary) Laurence served as BECA's first Executive Director from August 2008 through July 2011. Previous to that, Laurence taught Kindergarten as a BECA teacher in Cofradia during the 2006-2007 school year. Before his involvement with BECA, he worked for three years with an alternative investments firm in New York City. Laurence graduated with honors in History from Davidson College in 2004 and is currently pursuing an MBA at the Darden School of Business at UVA.
BECA Directors
Anna Hickman taught with BECA during the 2006-2007 school year. She was the first grade teacher and also helped organize and facilitate the literacy program, Libros and Familias. Anna graduated from Davidson College in 2006 with a degree in Psychology and Spanish. While at Davidson, she organized a swimming program for local Hispanic Families, Amigos del Agua. She also taught ESL to many different age groups. Since BECA, Anna has taught abroad in Sweden, but she has mainly spent her time teaching Pre-kindergarten at the Appletree Early Learning Public Charter School in Washington, DC. She remains heavily involved in BECA's Summer Institute training as well as the Curriculum Development project.
Bridget Kelly taught middle school English with BECA during 2006-07, and also enjoyed coordinating the Junior Achievement program and proposing and implementing the Bilingual Bachillerato Program. She is thrilled to continue her involvement with BECA as a Board member who focuses on BECA's student assessment program and communications. Bridget graduated from Yale University with a degree in English and a concentration in journalism. Pursuing her interest in education, she wrote her senior essay on Teach For America. After a stint at ACCESS in Boston, Bridget attended the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. She currently works for the US Department of Education in Washington DC where she specializes on the "Race to the Top" project.
Hilary Hammell taught math and science to 7th, 8th, and 9th graders with BECA in the 2006-2007 school year. She is most proud of having helped SJBS's first graduating cohort of 9th graders matriculate to high school. To that end, Hilary co-founded the BECA Bachillerato Program and worked with St. Andrew's School in Delaware to implement the St. Andrew's - BECA scholarship for SJBS '07 grad Kervin Zamora. An alumna of Yale University, Hilary is now a second year law student at Washington University. Previously, she worked as legal assistant at the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Marilyn Markman joined BECA in 2006 as the third grade teacher and then continued on to direct the summer program. A graduate from Brown University with a B.A. in Development Studies, with BECA Marilyn was able to experience develoment in action through the lense of a grassroots NGO and the Honduran community, where she tutored and worked with local artists to produce a play. Raised between Puerto Rico, the United States and Argentina, Marilyn is no stranger to multiculturalism and is now applying her knowledge at the World Bank, where she works in project management and communications. Marilyn has put those communications skills to use for BECA, having recently finished short documentary on our program.
Sarah Shubitowski is a BECA teaching alumna from 2006-2007 when she taught second grade at SJBS. After BECA, Sarah worked for National Student Partnerships in Chicago as the Site Coordinator for a community resource center serving low-income members of the community. Afterwards, she received the Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship through the Congressional Hunger Center and had placements in Nashville, TN and Washington, DC. She remains in DC where she continues to explore anti-hunger and anti-poverty efforts on both local and national levels.
