Our Team
F. Alfredo Pellas, Jr.
President and Founder
Alfredo is the president and founder of ANF, alongside his wife Theresa. He is also Co-Chairman of BAC Florida Bank and Chairman BAC Florida Investments in Coral Gables, Florida. He has a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Santa Clara University and an MBA from IESE in Spain.
Theresa Pellas
Vice President and Founder
Theresa and her husband, Alfredo, saw the opportunity to make a difference and founded ANF alongside Fr. León Pallais in 1992. Her drive to help others through the foundation has been instrumental in building a spirit of service throughout the organization. Mrs. Pellas studied Interior Design at the University of Miami.
Rafael Sánchez
Vice President
Rafael is a senior business executive, founder of BAC Financial Services, a Marketing Organization for insurance services in 20 countries. Over three decades of experience in the area of Capital Preservation and Business Insurance Planning to high-end earning families in Latin America. Graduated in Economic Sciences from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua.
Nicolás Argüello
Executive Director
Nicolás is an international development practitioner who has worked at several nonprofit organizations in a variety of areas ranging from education policy and microfinance to mobile technologies for development and social venture capital. He holds a BA in Economics from Notre Dame, an MPA in Development Practice from Columbia University, and an MBA from Oxford University, where he attended on the Skoll Scholarship for Social Entrepreneurship.
Damaris Oporta
Director of Finance
Damaris’ extensive experience in internal processes and financial controls were acquired while working with international external audit firms for over twelve years. She also has experience with IFRS’ application. Damaris is a Certified Public Accountant, with emphasis in Audit, by the Charter of Public Accountants of Nicaragua and is a member of the Association of Internal Auditors of Nicaragua.
Janette Galán
operations manager
Janette is an experienced professional in financial processes and controls for international cooperation development projects. She obtained her degree in Accounting and Finance, specializing in Applied Accounting and Auditing, Managerial Finance and Tax Law from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua. She is a certified CPA by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nicaragua.
Roberto Jerez
Education & FEEDING Program Manager
Roberto has worked in social projects and programs financed by individuals, private companies, governments and government institutions for over seventeen years. An industrial engineer with a master’s degree in Business Administration, he also has post-graduate studies in Project Management and is certified by the Project Management Institute (PMI). Roberto also teaches Project Management and Investment Projects classes at a university.
Neida Pereira
Community Development Program Manager
Neida has been the Manager of Community and Economic Development for ANF for over sixteen years. She is responsible for identifying, leading, organizing and managing the implementation of all of ANF’s community and economic development projects. She has a degree in civil engineering from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua and graduate degree in Social Projects Management from Universidad Politécnica de Nicaragua (UPOLI). She is a certified by Project Management Institute (PMI).
Olga Sánchez
Health & NUTRITION Program Manager
Olga is a medical doctor specializing in public health. She has over two decades of experience in managing health programs and projects, with emphasis on attention-to-women, children and adolescents. She has been involved in international cooperation projects and in community approach to health for many years with expertise on monitoring, follow-up and evaluation. Graduate from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua (UNAN) and a Master’s degree from the Health Research and Studies Center (CIES) UNAN.
Marisol Almendarez
Development & Governance Officer
Marisol joined ANF as the liaison to the Board of Directors and coordinator between the US and Nicaraguan ANF offices after over two decades as General Manager and co-owner of an environmental consulting firm. She also oversees the Miami office. Mrs. Almendarez’s educational background includes undergraduate work at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Nicaragua and the University of Wisconsin. She completed graduate studies at Technische Universitat Dresden in Germany and the University of Kansas, where she also was a Fulbright Scholar.
Josette Exprúa
Marketing and development manager
Josette is a marketing professional with over ten years of experience in sustainable development non-profit organizations. She also has experience in innovation and business strategy. She holds a BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing from the University of North Carolina and an MBA with an emphasis in Marketing from INCAE Business School.
Keith Poe
Agriculture & Rural Development Projects Manager
Keith is a rural enterprise and agriculture development expert with more than ten years of international project design, implementation, management and monitoring. His Bachelor’s of Art (History) is from Messiah College and his Master in Professional Studies (International Agriculture and Rural Development) is from Cornell University. His MBA in Administration and Business Management is from Universidad Centroamericana (UCA).
Board of Directors
Find our list of directors here