Katie Cunningham Pokorny
Katie is a British Ex-Pat who is a life long equine enthusiast and advocate for human and animal welfare.
In 2012 Katie was awarded a certificate by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth for her efforts to reduce violence in the training of horses in Guatemala. This acknowledgment led to the creation of Lead-Up International, Affiliate Program of Join-Up International. She strongly believes that the awareness, self-regulation and emotional intelligence learned through interactions with horses, can lead to personal and social transformation
Katie is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Lead-Up International, and our head Lead-Up Instructor.
Mariana has been a fundamental part of the Lead-Up team since she joined us in August of 2021. Mariana is our Head of Programs and Operations, a key leadership role responsible for managing and coordinating programs, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) efforts, institutional development, and financial management. As the Head of Programs and Operations she ensures the effective implementation of programs, monitors their impact, and maintains organizational growth and sustainability.
With a background and ongoing Masters Degree in peace, development, security and conflict transformation as well as experience in international development Mariana is taking Lead-Up to another level and is putting Lead-Up on the map as internationally recognised and respected Positive Youth Development and Violence Prevention Non-Profit.
Mariana Samayoa Martinez
Naomi joined the Lead-Up International team as Head of Philanthropy and Development in October 2023. She first heard about Lead-Up's programmes in 2021 when she worked for Ebony Horse Club in London, who are now one of our UK strategic partners. She was fascinated to see how powerful the activities were and what a great impact they had on the young people we worked with, many of them who are living with the reality of violence every day.
She had previously studied Spanish at university and spent a lot of time in Mexico, so to have the chance to combine her passions for Latin America, young people and horses was a dream. She is excited to help Lead-Up International grow through establishing new partnerships and raising awareness of our work to funders.
Naomi is still involved with several other horse/human charities in the UK including Power of Polo, Racing Welfare and the British Equestrian Federation.
Naomi Howgate
Gloria Velasco
Gloria is a clinical psychologist who is also from this area. She has specialized in violence prevention amongst at-risk youth for a number of years. Before joining Lead-Up in 2015 Gloria provided her own violence prevention program to the students of Education for the Children; one of our partners here in Guatemala. Gloria is not only the Country Coordinator for our Guatemala Project but also our in-house psychologist.
She holds an essential position responsible for personnel management, human resources, and serving as a liaison between local and international staff. This role involves coordinating programs on the ground, ensuring their smooth implementation, and supporting the overall well-being of beneficiaries and personnel.
Claudia Paola Faulkner
Paola is a bilingual teacher by profession, but proudly, this year she is starting her last year in clinical psychology (9th semester). This has allowed her to see, and contribute to society more. She is a person who likes to be in constant learning for her spiritual, professional and family growth. Her trajectory in Lead-Up began a year ago with the position of Country Technician, which supports the overall program operations through logistics and technical, and administrative assistance.
Her work makes her feel committed, enthusiastic, and proud to be able to contribute to the youth of the community and the transformation of their lives.
Marivel was born and raised in Jocotenango, where Lead-Up Guatemala is based. She has been the administrator for La Ronda Equestrian Club, where Lead-Up up operates since 2009. Marivel has been working as Lead-Up Guatemala Local Administrator since 2019.
Marivel Corazon Taj
Raul Pineda
Raul has worked for La Ronda Equestrian Club since 2013. He is an accomplished horse trainer and handler and has helped with horse handling within the Lead-Up workshops since 2018.
