Deborah Simon
Founder
Residence: Española, New Mexico
Background: Deborah Simon, was raised in Guatemala. She attended the University of Oregon, where she earned a degree in nursing. She participated on medical mission teams to Guatemala for 12 years. In 1996, the mayor of the town of Uspantan, Guatemala requested her help to construct a potable water system. Deborah, who is a Rotarian, obtained a grant from the Rotary Foundation for the project. Once completed, the new water system significantly reduced the level of cholera and increased the school attendance for girls, who no longer had to haul water home from the river. Soon, she was getting requests for potable water and other projects from many other Guatemalan communities.
In 2004 Deborah founded United by Friendship to better expand the scope of the projects. The result has been that 22 Guatemalan communities now have clean water systems, and many others now have adequate schools and medical care. She enlists the beneficiaries and the local county government to partner with UbF on the projects, in accordance with an old Mayan saying, “We are to take one another by the hand. No one walks in front and no one walks behind and together we will reach our goals.”
Deborah is a past president of the Espanola Rotary club. In 2015 she was presented the Distinguished Service award by the Rotary District of New Mexico and West Texas. She was one of 15 persons worldwide to receive the Rotary International Humanitarian Award for 2015. The Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper named her one of the Ten Who Made a Difference.
Tim Salazar
President
Residence: Seattle, Washington
Background: Tim was raised in Embudo, a small village on the Rio Grande in Northern New Mexico. He received a BS and an MS in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. Tim quickly transferred his engineering skills to computer software development and has had an extremely fulfilling career as a consultant.
He joined Rotary International in 2008 and joined the volunteer team for the 2010 trip to Guatemala. The trip was not only rewarding but insightful. Tim enjoyed being part of the numerous projects as well as getting to know numerous new friends in Guatemala.
Tricia Johnson
Secretary
Residence: Austin, Texas
Background: Tricia was raised in Houston, Texas and has a Natural Resource Management BS from Texas State University and earned her MBA in 2003. Tricia is an environmental scientist that has worked for INTERA Incorporated for over 20 years. She has always felt strongly about the responsible use and conservation of the world’s resources and the environment and she lends her skills in geology and hydrology to benefit the Guatemala water projects. Her interests include traveling and learning about other cultures, wildlife and bird watching, hiking, and fitness and yoga.
Tricia participated on several Guatemala service trips and became a member of the board in 2013. She enjoys learning about the physical environment of the Guatemala Highlands, and has especially enjoyed meeting the vibrant and endearing people of the Uspantan area. Her first trip to Guatemala was enlightening and educational and prompted her interest in helping communities in need in Guatemala and Latin America. She is very encouraged and moved by the positive changes that UbF is able to inspire in these rural and impoverished communities through the funding of water, education, and medical projects. She feels that one of the most amazing aspects of the projects is the indirect benefits that are experienced by the communities that are receiving the projects, including formerly divided leaders of a village coming together for a common cause of bringing clean and potable drinking water to the village families.
Kerry Quinn
Treasurer
Residence: Santa Fe, New Mexico and San Antonio, Texas
Background: Kerry was raised in Boerne, Texas. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas Tech University and completed post-graduate work at the University of Vienna, Austria as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. In 2003, she earned a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from UTSA. Kerry has worked as a non-profit executive
for the past 27 years.
Travel, Rotary International and giving back are three of Kerry’s passions. A perfect combination of the these was the opportunity to travel with UbF in April 2024 to Guatemala. She discovered a connection to the people and the history that firmed her commitment to help the rural communities of Uspantan.
Kerry and her husband Chris have a blended family of four – Matthew, Andrew, Ella and Ryan. She is an active member of the Rotary Club of Santa Fe and serves as the club’s foundation treasurer. In May 2024, she joined the board of United by Friendship.
Oscar Batres
Board Member
Residence: Guatemala City, Guatemala
Background: Oscar was born and raised in Guatemala where he studied Business Management at Universidad Rafael Landívar. He went on to get an MS in Agribusiness from Texas A&M and another in Real Estate Development from Universidad Francisco Marroquín.
As a young professional he started working in insurance but quickly moved on to agricultural ventures where he still works as a consultant. His main business has been in real estate where he has diversified mainly in construction, development and property management. In 2015 he founded his own real estate development company which focuses on the construction of apartment buildings in Guatemala City.
Oscar has always loved his country and was a member of Rotary International for 10 years in which he held different positions in his club´s board, as well as in his district´s. Being a Rotarian he worked in different projects for the rural communities in Guatemala and has been involved not only as an individual but with his company in various social projects. He is now part of an entrepreneurship organization which helps small entrepreneurs develop and grow their businesses.
Through Rotary Oscar discovered the incredible work that United by Friendship does in developing social projects in Guatemala and has actively taken part in managing, supervising and helping out with these projects, noting firsthand how these projects have helped improve not only individual lives but whole communities´ way of life.
David Weaver
Director
Residence: Santa Fe, New Mexico
Background: David Weaver was raised in Lubbock, Texas. He earned both a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and a Master of Arts Degree in Theatre from Texas Tech University. In addition, he earned a Master of Divinity Degree from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri.
David retired as the CEO of the South Plains Food Bank in Lubbock in August 2020, a position he held for 23 years. Prior to that he served as the Director of Development for the Food Bank. During his tenure, he also served as a member and Past President of Feeding Texas and chaired Feeding Americas National Affiliate Council and an ex-officio member of the Feeding America Board of Directors.
As CEO he led a team of 55 staff members and numerous volunteers to fulfill the mission of the South Plains Food Bank to “End Hunger, Give Hope, and Enrich Lives.” That mission continues to be realized through food collection and distribution, after school feeding programs, and youth programs for at-risk children. The food bank operates a 7-acre farm and a 2,500-tree apple orchard (that was funded by Rotary District 5730).
An active Rotarian, David is a member of the Rotary Club of Santa Fe and currently serves as President. He is also a board member of Breedlove Foods, a humanitarian food distributor based in Lubbock.
David is married to Keren. They have one daughter, Grace, who lives in Salt Lake City.
