Sebastiana Pol Suy is unlike any other. A gifted medicine woman, Sebastiana serves from the heart, however she can, to help heal her local community and the global community. Alongside Guatemalan and North American Global Healthworks Foundation (GHF) team members, she works to create the most uplifting and empowering treatment experience possible for each patient she meets. We are honored to have her as part of our team.
Ángel Solís began working with Global Healthworks Foundation (GHF) in 2015. From van driver to Mobile Clinic Coordinator, Ángel has become one of GHF’s most reliable team members. He is currently studying acupuncture in the hopes of expanding holistic healthcare to even more communities in the near future.
Kelley Boyd is a licensed massage therapist who has volunteered on two medical missions with Global Healthworks Foundation. With a gentle and loving spirit, Kelley creates a sense of comfort and calm with each patient who lies on her table. It has been an absolute pleasure to have her on our GHF practitioner team.
Spencer Krueger is an energetic registered massage therapist who has volunteered on many medical outreach missions with Global Healthcare Foundation since 2014. She combines her skills in athletic training and manual therapy to provide high quality treatments to people in need. It has been a pleasure having her join our GHF practitioner team.
Julie Ing Stern has been doing medical outreach work for more than ten years – in Indonesia, Nepal and now Guatemala. She is a Super-Star and one the most dependable practitioners on our GHF team! A combination of humor and professionalism characterize Julie’s contact with patients.
What Teresa Wlasiuk brings to the table during each and every treatment is invaluable – she is an inspiration for other Chinese medicine practitioners! Even though she already has quite a set of tools that she brings to bear in every treatment, she is continuing her doctorate studies in order to expand her reach with patients on an even deeper level. We are glad to have her high level of dedication on our GHF practitioner team!
Gastón Olsen is one of the most skilled practitioners we know. When you meet him, what is most evident is that he exudes enormous positive energy! He is passionate about his work and we are excited that he’s made a commitment to continue his outreach work with GHF.
With a great mixture of treatment and organization skills, our good friend Norva Bennett has been a great asset to GHF’s outreach work in Guatemala. She is a dependable alumni volunteer with six trips under her belt – and her greatest strength is her ability to exist in the moment with her patients.
GHF’s local team of interpreters play a huge role in the success of our medical outreach work in Guatemala. They do a fantastic job translating four languages: English, Spanish and two of the indigenous Mayan dialects – K'iche' and Ixil. They are a true asset to their communities, and we are incredibly grateful for all they do for our outreach teams and the Guatemalan people.
It has been GREAT having Felipa López join GHF on a few of our medical outreach trips. Of course, it helps that she is fluent in Spanish and a great practitioner – but Felipa’s real strength comes from her ability to connect with the patients easily and make them feel comfortable and cared for. We are so lucky to have her!
A participant of NYC SALT—a nonprofit organization that seeks to engage, inspire, and empower New York City teens by providing them with professional-grade visual communication skills— Danny Martinez received a travel scholarship to photograph one of Global Healthworks Foundation’s medical mission in Quiché, Guatemala. In addition to photographing the Foundation’s health practitioners and those receiving treatment, Danny participated in a variety of activities, helping with a women’s self-defense class, teaching others about photography, and playing with the local children. As evident from his daily reflections, the trip impacted him on both a professional and deeply personal level.
The healthworks of Maruca, Rosa, and Magdalena epitomizes GHF’s efforts to train local health promoters to be fully integrated team members both within our GHF community and in their own communities. The three long-time friends from Sacapulas perform essential clinic functions: Reiki energy healing, auricular acupuncture, massage, and moxibustion heat therapy; and they are a great example for our other promoters. We are extremely grateful that these community leaders continue to be part of our GHF team.
Kevin Menard’s passion for health and wellbeing, along with his generous drive to do medical outreach work, is evident the minute you meet him! His multi-modality treatment approach fits perfectly with the GHF healthcare delivery model, so we are very glad he has joined the GHF team! Thanks Kevin for all your GREAT work! Read all about Kevin’s story with Global Healthworks Foundation below.
Chris O'Connor is a teacher of contemporary acupuncture at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. Whether with patients or students, his relationships are warm, caring and compassionate. He has a great combination of acupuncture and manual therapy skills, and he has been a great, dependable asset to GHF’s volunteer practitioner team.
Kristen Pawlick is an energetic practitioner who has volunteered on many medical outreach missions with Global Healthcare Foundation since 2013. She combines her skills in athletic training, manual therapy, and acupuncture to provide high quality treatments to people in need. It has been a pleasure having her join our GHF practitioner team.
One of the most popular activities of the Global Healthworks Foundation outreach clinics is the chair yoga class we call ‘movimientos de sanación’ (healing body movements) . It is provided to all our patients – young and old – as preparation for a full, multi-modality treatment that each patient receives from the volunteer practitioners. These fun classes, which include basic yoga, qigong and stretching movements, were specifically designed to encourage patients to practice at-home exercises daily.
Bernadette Martin volunteered on a couple of medical outreach missions with Global Healthworks Foundation – primarily to provide Reiki treatments and Level I and II Reiki classes for the Foundation’s health promoters. But once we knew her background, we were fortunate enough to have her also educate the locals about organic gardening, nutrition, farmer’s markets, and composting. Of course, she excels at everything – so she’s a “keeper”!
A New York based Reiki Master, Geordie Numata has been practicing Reiki energy healing and working as a shamanic healer since 2004. When he joined our GHF medical outreach team to help the underserved people of Guatemala, you could easily sense his wise, virtuous soul amplifying the therapeutic benefits our other practitioners provide. Thanks for all you do, Geordie!
In October 2015, Shannon Gilmartin helped introduce suction cupping therapy to our GHF health promoters in Quiché, Guatemala – and they simply LOVE using this special treatment modality! Besides being an excellent practitioner and educator, Shannon is incredibly kind and compassionate; And she has one of the biggest and most giving hearts! We are so glad she has joined our GHF team!
Terése Wunderlich shares her array of talents in a way that provides balance and consistency to the GHF jornada team. Whether she’s teaching self-defense to women, practicing yoga with the elderly, or giving belly massages to children, her generous and fun-loving heart brings laughter and joy to both patients and fellow volunteers alike.
Christiane Mauro has joined GHF on many medical outreach trips — and she always goes above and beyond to provide incredible treatments to her patients, especially women with complicated women’s health issues. Treating with excellence, efficiency, and boundless energy, Christiane has become a fundamental part of the GHF team. We are so glad to have her!
Juanito Ramírez is one of our favorite people in Quiché— he has been helping the GHF team with logistics and Spanish-K’iche’ Mayan interpretation since our first jornada (medical mission). He’s incredibly dependable, hard-working and his affable nature puts all people at ease, ensuring that our volunteer clinicians are able to provide the best treatment possible and patients are open to receiving it.
Mila Brener is one of our favorite people! If you know Mila, you know she has a passion for teaching Reiki energy healing. She has been instrumental in bringing Reiki to Quiché, where Global Healthworks Foundation practitioners use acupuncture treatments and Reiki simultaneously during our biannual jornadas (medical missions) and weekly mobile clinics. GHF has trained more than fifty health promoters to use Reiki as a healing method to develop nonviolent domestic environments in their communities.
We are so proud of Eva Carrillo! She has helped the GHF team since its early days in Guatemala. She exemplifies the role of health promoter – those local health advocates responsible for promoting, or advancing, health and wellbeing in their native Quiché. She gives fully, consistently and with all her heart.
Peter Panken has been treating some of New York City’s most vulnerable populations for nearly twenty years and has volunteered on numerous GHF medical missions in both the United States and Guatemala since 2008. Peter always figures out a compassionate way to connect to people and help them identify small ways to alleviate their struggles. He is one of our all-time favorite people!
Kelly Call is GHF’s “Logistician Extraordinaire”. She has been doing medical outreach across the globe — from Wyoming to Indonesia, Nepal, and currently in Guatemala. She is an incredibly organized woman and a great problem-solver that helps our healthcare delivery model work like a well-oiled machine! We are blessed to call her our friend!
Liz Getman has been a part of our Global Healthworks Foundation team since 2014. In addition to documenting our work and writing stories about our volunteers, staff, and patients, she is also a fitness instructor and Zumba® enthusiast. A highlight of our jornadas is Liz's modified Zumba® class, which she offers to one of our favorite elderly groups in Quiché.
Cheryl Davies spent a month volunteering her healthcare services in Guatemala – an experiences she describes as a “life changer”. The people of Guatemala have touched her heart deeply, and her experience in Quiché has encouraged her to continue her outreach efforts wherever and whenever she can. Thanks Cheryl for all you have done to support our healthworks!
Sebastiana Pol Suy es diferente a cualquier otra persona. Es una talentosa sanadora, Sebastiana sirve desde el corazón, y ella puede ayudar de muchas maneras a sanar a su comunidad local y a la comunidad global. Junto con los miembros del equipo de Global Healthworks Foundation (GHF) de Guatemala y Norteamérica, ella trabaja para crear la experiencia de tratamiento más estimulante y empoderadora posible para que cada paciente pueda conocerla. Nos sentimos honrados de tenerla como parte de nuestro equipo.
Ángel Solís comenzó a trabajar con Global Healthworks Foundation (GHF) en 2015. Como piloto del bus hasta un Coordinador de la Clínica Móvil. Ángel se ha convertido en uno de los miembros más confiables del equipo de GHF. Actualmente está estudiando acupuntura con la esperanza de expandir la atención médica integral a más comunidades en un futuro cercano.