Board of Directors

Message from the President

Attorney Ed Ricci, President

“A heartfelt thank you to all our friends and supporters of El Sol. I am humbled by the confidence shown me taking the reins from Jill Hanson. I will do my utmost to assure that El Sol continues to be a beacon of light to the neediest member of our Jupiter community.”
-Ed Ricci

Ed Ricci is a practicing civil trial attorney with the law firm of Edward M. Ricci, P.A. in West Palm Beach. In addition to serving as vice president of El Sol, Ed has been voluntary counsel to Hope Rural School in Indiantown for 29 years. He and his wife founded the Ricci-Lupo Charitable Trust, which funds public interest programs and scholarships. Ed is active in development for Palm Beach Dramaworks and Kidsanctuary Campus in West Palm Beach. He also provides financial support to The Public Citizen Foundation in Washington, D.C, the Saint Dismas Society Prison Ministry and Mothers Against Brain Injury Foundation in Florida. He is involved in many other charitable works in the U.S., Haiti , Bangladesh and India.

Board of Directors

Roger Buckwalter

Journalist Roger Buckwalter spent 28 years at The Jupiter Courier, where he was editorial page editor, before retiring in 2001. He has served on numerous local boards, including as past president of the American Cancer Society and past chairman of the Loxahatchee River Historical Society. Currently he is chairman of the Northern Palm Beaches Cultural alliance and chairs the community relations committee of the Advisory Board of Florida Atlantic University’s Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College. Roger grew up in Juno Beach and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Florida. He is a Vietnam War veteran.

Jeronimo Camposeco

Jeronimo Camposeco, co-founder of Corn Maya Inc., for many years has assisted the immigrant community with its educational, cultural and social needs. He has worked with several migrant associations, tutoring, mentoring and assisting immigrants and their families, as well as working as an interpreter, paralegal, radio producer, social worker, researcher, and consultant. Jeronimo has co-authored and collaborated on six published books and documentaries. In addition to his work at El Sol, he works with many charitable organizations, including Catholic Charities and the Guatemalan Maya Center.

Suzanne Cordero

Born in the United States and raised in Guatemala, Suzanne Cordero has a degree in clinical psychology from the Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala City. She has been in Florida for the past 20 years, spending a short time working with the Palm Beach County School Board Early Identification Program, and now is office manager for her husband’s dental practice. Suzanne is on the board of directors of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society of St. Peter’s Catholic Church, was on the PTO board at limestone Creek school, and has volunteered extensively at her children’s school.

Sister Marta

Sister Marta was born in Medellin, Colombia, and immigrated with her family to the United States in 1970. She completed high school in Miami and began college there as well. It was in Miami that she met the Guadalupan Sisters and in 1975 went to Mexico to study and become a sister. Sr. Marta finished her studies in religious education and then returned to the United States to begin evangelization and religious education with the migrant community. She worked in Massachusetts, Puerto Rico, Miami and California before coming to St. Peter Catholic Church in Jupiter in 2003.

Jill Hanson

Jill Hanson is a 20+ year resident of Jupiter and a labor attorney. She was a member and past chair of the Palm Beach County Citizens Advisory Committee on Health and Human Services and pro bono legal advisor to the Martin Luther King Coordinating Committee and the Florida Labor Management Conference. A graduate of Manhattanville College and Rutgers Law School, Jill is a member of the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, and the Palm Beach County Coalition for Immigrant Rights. She received the Women in Leadership Award as Volunteer of the Year in 2008 from the Executive Women of the Palm Beaches.

Sheila Hirsch

Sheila Hirsch is an 18-year resident of Jupiter. Her professional career has been dedicated to providing accounting services in a variety of challenging fields, including medicine and television. For the past 10 years she has been in the financial services industry and is Series 7 Securities licensed. Sheila spent several years on the production crew for the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon on WPEC-TV, and was an original organizer of Project Thanksgiving. Shelia is currently serving on the Owner’s Board a The Barristers Building in West Palm Beach. An active member at Jupiter FIRST Church, Shelia works with the Web Ministry, is an enthusiastic high school youth leader and has served as treasurer of the Church.

Lee McCarthy

Lee McCarthy has a long career in travel planning and charity work. A graduate of the University of Georgia, Lee has worked as an international flight attendant, flight interpreter, travel planner and certified travel counselor. In addition to her volunteer work at El Sol, where she is secretary of the executive board, Lee volunteers at the Quantum House at St. Mary’s Medical Center.

Ed Ricci

Mike Richmond

Mike Richmond is a former Journalist with nearly 30 years experience in newspapers in Oregon and California. A graduate of the University of Oregon, he retired in 2002 as San Diego District director for U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. Mike is a member of the Palm Beach Gardens Lions Club and the Jupiter Senior Softball League. He is El Sol’s immediate past president.

Hon. Ann Brown

Frank Walsh

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Frank Walsh has served on the board of directors for Steton Hall University, Leigh University, the University of Vermont, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Newark, N.J. as well as the boards of Avis, Wilson Sporting Goods, Atlas Van Lines and Western Auto. He currently serves on the board of Covenant House of New Jersey. Frank Graduated from Lehigh University and holds an honorary degree from the University of Vermont.

Soteros ‘Sut’ Maniatty

Sut Maniatty

Jupiter resident Soteros “Sut” Maniatty is a consultant with extensive experience in financial operations and management for non-profit agencies and businesses. He was a vice president and chief financial officer for the Palm Beach Zoo until December 2009. His professional experience includes operating a consulting organization specializing in acquisitions, startups, taxation and business funding. He also was a senior accounting analyst for the Wackenhut Corporation.

A native of Vermont, Maniatty previously served as financial officer for the Clara Martin Center, a private, non-profit mental health center in Randolph, Vt., and controller of the Rutland (Vt.) Area Community Services, another non-profit mental health center. He also was an assistant chief miner for the Vermont Department of Banking & Insurance. He received a B. S. Degree in Business Administration from the University of Vermont and has an active CPA license in Vermont.

Gerald Holm

Genaro Mateo

Patricio Silvestre

Patricio Silvestre is the president of Corn Maya, Inc., a non-profit organization and El Sol’s sister organization. He is also a superintendent for Total Maintenance, a landscaping company. Corn Maya sponsors the annual Fiesta Maya in Jupiter, as well as a soccer league of more than 14 teams, and provides other services to immigrants in Jupiter.