About Us
Los Libros del Sol was founded in 2005 with the aim to foster educational and creative growth in rural communities of Bolivia.
Los Libros del Sol is classified as a 501(c)(3) public charity organization by the Internal Revenue Service.
Los Libros del Sol currently has offices in the United States and Bolivia. All staff and members of the board of directors perform their duties on an unpaid and volunteer basis.
Los Libros del Sol is pleased to have the following individuals serve on its Board of Directors. As members of the Board of Directors, these individuals lead all of the activities, fundraising initiatives, and operational tasks of the organization. Members of the Board of Directors receive no financial compensation for performing their duties. Members of the Board of Directors of Los Libros del Sol commit to serve the public interest.
Biography
martin@loslibrosdelsol.org
Martin is an engineer and a founder of Los Libros del Sol. A graduate of San Jose State University (BA Electrical Engineering), Martin returned to live in his birth country of Bolivia after having resided in the United States for twenty years. One of Martin's goals upon returning to Bolivia was to form a nonprofit organization which would provide books and other learning materials to the children of rural communities. Having worked as a junior high teacher in the field of mathematics, one of Martin's long term goals is to explore the establishment of formal education in the native languages (Aymara, Quechua) of the indigenous cultures of Bolivia.
Biography
eduardo@loslibrosdelsol.org
Eduardo is an architect and a founder of Los Libros del Sol. A graduate of Columbia University (BA Architecture) and Harvard University (MA Architecture), Eduardo has always wished to pursue the creation of a nonprofit organization in the field of education. Eduardo once donated twenty backpacks filled with school supplies to an elementary school located in the latino neighborhood of the Mission District of San Francisco, California and now hopes to pursue this charity activity at a larger scale through the founding and operation of Los Libros del Sol.
Biography
clara@loslibrosdelsol.org
Clara is a retired professional secretary with 24 years of experience. A graduate of the Edinburg (Texas) Leadership Class II, she's held numerous leadership roles at the local, state and national levels. In 1993 she was recognized as the Woman-of-the-Year in the City of Edinburg (Texas) by the Chamber of Commerce for her many years of volunteer service to non-profit organizations. Clara has been appointed to legislative committees in the State of Texas, was one of a 12 member Latino(a) national group funded by the Kellogg Foundation, and has served as a federal grants reviewer with the Health Human Services Department in Washington, D.C.
Biography
eleazar@loslibrosdelsol.org
Eleazar received his BBA degree from The University of Texas-Pan American in 1967, with double majors in business and accounting. He is a retiree with 40 years of experience in accounting. For 20 years he's served as State Treasurer for COAC of Texas, Inc., a non-profit, statewide grassroots organization of adoptive parents. Eleazar has also been Treasurer of El Concilio de Padres de Ninos Adoptivos, a local area support group in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas. Other volunteer work has been with the Boy Scouts of America, teaching English as a Second Language to Spanish-speaking adults, as a Little League coach, and with his church.
Biography
mavel@loslibrosdelsol.org
Mavel is a native of Bolivia. Mavel was brought up in a multi-cultural, multi-lingual family and has raised two bilingual, bicultural sons. Mavel has traveled extensively around the world and has lived in Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Japan. Mavel received her Ph.D. in Latin American Literature from Rutgers University in New Jersey. Her doctoral dissertation dealt with feminine archetypes in the literary works of Uruguayan writer Cristina Peri Rosi. She has published several articles on Contemporary Latin American Literature and has given many lectures on Spanish Literature and Culture and Civilization of South America. She is presently a professor of Spanish at Virginia Wesleyan College where she teaches Spanish language courses and Latin American Literature, Civilization, and Latin American Music and Dance courses.
Los Libros del Sol is honored to have the following individuals serve as Honorary Members on its Board of Directors. As Honorary Members, these individuals serve both an advisory role to the board and an advocacy role to the organization. Honorary Members of the Board of Directors receive no financial compensation for performing their duties.
Biography
lisa@loslibrosdelsol.org
Lisa (Ph.D., University of Missouri, 1999) is currently an Associate Professor of Education and Co-Director of the Center for Multicultural Research, Training, and Consultation in the Department of Educational, School, Counseling Psychology at the University of Missouri. After completing her clinical internship at the University of Maryland's Counseling Center, Lisa started her career as an Assistant Professor of Psychology at The Ohio State University. After three years at Ohio State University, she returned "home" to the University of Missouri. She teaches Multicultural Issues in Counseling, Applied Multicultural Interventions, Diversity Issues for Educators, and Analysis of Career Research. Her research interests include the educational and career decision-making of Mexican Americans. She has published 21 peer-reviewed journal articles, 6 book chapters, and presented over 45 national conference presentations. She was selected as an Emerging Multicultural Psychology Scholar at the University of Notre Dame's Conference on Culture and Diversity (2004) and held the Isabelle Lyda Professorship within University of Missouri's College of Education from 2003-2005. In her spare time, Flores enjoys reading, running, watching independent films, and spending time with friends and family.
Biography
rosie@loslibrosdelsol.org
Rosie was born in La Paz, Bolivia. In 1982 she moved to California and has been living and raising her three children in the San Francisco Bay Area were she runs a successful private business. Rosie has a degree in Early Childhood Education and Development and has been working with children for the past 18 years, dedicating her time to mostly working with underprivileged children and their families. For many years Rosie was a bilingual volunteer for the Child Abuse Prevention Program in San Mateo County where she taught children strategies that empowered them in extreme difficult situations and taught teachers and parents how to recognize and handle cases were abuse in children was suspected. For this effort she was nominated and received recognition from Democratic Congresswoman Anna Eshoo for her hard work and dedication to the children in her community. Rosie served as Chair on a committee that required the San Mateo-Foster City School District to reevaluate their commitment and teaching values for a low scoring school in a low income neighborhood with about 85% of Spanish speaking students. Her efforts, ideas and comments were widely covered by local newspapers; this is when she was asked and decided to run for a position on the Board of Trustees in the School District. She was the first Latin American to ever run for this position. Although Rosie has traveled extensively around the world with her children, she will always have in mind were she comes from and her roots. She has a personal commitment to always be involved in projects that will help families and people in need, she believes that if she can make a difference even if it is one child at the time, she is doing the right thing. Mostly, she is proud that her children are already following in her footsteps. In her spare time, Rosie is involved in theater and has been lucky to have been part of mainly bilingual plays with roles that she is proud to play. Acting is a powerful media and can make people think, she says.
Biography
wellinthon@loslibrosdelsol.org
Wellinthon was born in the Dominican Republic and first came to the United States during his teen years. After serving with the United States Navy, he attended and graduated from Virginia Wesleyan College with a dual degree in Criminal Justice and Spanish. He is very proud of his Dominican roots, particularly of music and dance, and is always willing to share his knowledge on this subject. He has been as guest instructor of the Latin American Music and Dance course at Virginia Wesleyan College for the past three years where students enjoy his energy, dance talent, and teaching techniques. His artistic gifts expand beyond dance. He has played parts in amateur theaters in New York and his latest acting endeavor was playing the leading role in a film written and directed by a student working on his Master degree in communications at a local university. He currently teaches for the Virginia Beach City Public Schools in Virginia. His pedagogical abilities are widely recognized by administrators, colleagues, and students alike. Here he is not only an effective instructor of the Spanish language but he is also a mentor and a role model to his students who come to him for academic advice as well as for personal guidance. He is also an advocate for minority students making sure they are giving the educational opportunities they deserve regardless of their race or ethnic background. When he is not teaching, Wellinthon enjoys dancing, building furniture, or working on his garden.
10/19/2007 Los Libros Del Sol Launches First Annual Fundraiser
01/01/2007 Los Libros Del Sol Celebrates New Year With Rollout of Multilingual Website
09/12/2006 Los Libros Del Sol Receives Public Charity Organization Classification
08/09/2006 Board Member Dr. Mavel Velasco Attends Inauguration Of International Book Fair in La Paz, Bolivia
10/01/2005 Los Libros Del Sol Welcomes Wellinthon Muñoz Burgos As Honorary Member Of Its Board Of Directors
10/01/2005 Los Libros Del Sol Welcomes Rosie Velasco-Dodge As Honorary Member Of Its Board Of Directors
10/01/2005 Los Libros Del Sol Welcomes Dr. Lisa Y. Flores As Honorary Member Of Its Board Of Directors
04/04/2005 Los Libros Del Sol Aims To Foster Educational And Creative Growth In Rural Communities Of Bolivia
