Now, in its seventh year of continued growth, the volunteer working board is bolstering the organizations’ strength and staying power by hiring three talented and passionate professionals from Mexico who have previously demonstrated their dedication as volunteers.
In May, KKIS hired Sara and Karla. Sara Navarro oversees all programs as our Operations Manager and Karla Munguia is the head of Communications and Public Relations. Both of these amazing women are bi-lingual and bring passion and talent to their respective roles.
Sara Navarro has taken over much of the detail work for our programs, freeing the board up to work with sponsors and fundraising. Sara is from Morelia, has a university degree in computer science, 11 years as a high school teacher in computer science, and 11 years working in the hospitality industry rising to Manager in several places, mostly in Cancun. Sara’s motivation to study comes from her father who studied part-time to become a doctor and her mother who is still studying for her degree. Sara is now back in school herself working on her master’s degree in Marketing. Her excellent organizational skills have allowed us to move KKIS into the next level of growth.
If you’ve noticed an uptick in our social media coverage in both quantity and quality, that is thanks to Karla Munguia. Karla spent most of her childhood in Querétaro. Her mother always told her that she would be going to Tecnológico Monterrey (known as the Harvard of Mexico) and that’s what she did, graduating with a Communications Degree. Before joining KKIS, Karla was a journalist and wildlife filmmaker in South Africa for Animal Planet & National Geographic. She is a passionate conservationist and inspirational speaker who gives motivational talks at universities, conferences for professionals and to children about staying in school by using her own story of having a dream as a child that she could save the Planet. 
Karla co-hosts and co-organizes along with her friend Kay, monthly beach clean-ups in Playa del Carmen in order to educate both local and international people who enjoy the beach, the importance to respect the environment.
In June KKIS brought on longtime mentor and volunteer, Malú Martínez to work part-time on the Connections Program. Malú is originally from the Municipality of Calvillo, in the state of Aguascalientes where she studied in public schools through high school. From the age of 12 she knew that she wanted to study Communication because she was passionate about public speaking and disseminating information. Malú is the only one in her family who has a professional career, her 4 brothers have high school degrees, and her parents, primary school. Though her family did not believe education was important, Malú persisted. She worked in the mornings and studied in the afternoons, had 2 jobs at the same time to pay for school, one as TV presenter for a local channel and the second as a bank teller and bank executive in a Mexican bank. When she arrived to Playa del Carmen, she worked at the University UNID as Marketing Coordinator and was President of Rotaract Club. Malú is a great public speaker, a radio presenter at Integra Noticias and has a great passion for helping others.
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As many readers may know, at the start of the year, one of our founding board members, Janet Lowe, announced that she was leaving the organization to begin an exciting new chapter in her life creating libraries for schools in Playa del Carmen. We thank Janet for her many years of service and her tireless good cheer and wish her the best as she continues to follow her passion!