Staff

Georgia Anderson, Chief Development and Communications Officer

Born in Jamaica and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Georgia moved to South Florida in 2003. Georgia’s first job was Development Manager at Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches, before beginning what would be a 15-year long career with local non-profit organizations. Since leaving Adopt-A-Family in 2009, Georgia has held development leadership roles with YMCA of South Palm Beach County and Urban Youth Impact.

Georgia has been involved in the community through her membership with the Association of Fundraising Professionals and she currently serves on Healthier Jupiter Marketing Committee.
As our CDCO, Georgia is responsible for grant writing, fundraising and communications efforts at El Sol. Georgia in her spare time enjoys traveling.

(561) 745-9860 ext. 4212

georgia@friendsofelsol.org

Diana Ruiz, Office Manager

Diana Ruiz was born and raised in Colombia, she moved to the United States in 2015, and has been living in Jupiter since then. Diana has a bachelor’s degree in statistics from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and experience working with diverse populations.

When she arrived in the States, she started taking English conversational classes at El Sol, and immediately fell in love with the center’s mission. In January 2019, Diana joined El Sol’s staff as our Computer Class Coordinator, then as our Community Support Case Manager and now she serves as our Office Manager.

(561) 745-9860 ext. 4300

diana.ruiz@friendsofelsol.org

Surynai Janowicz, Legal Coordinator

Surynai Janowicz, better known as Suri, graduated with honors from Indian River State College with a degree in Organizational Management. She has over 10 years of experience in the legal field, and is a Florida Registered Paralegal. Her passion is in the area of immigration law. Suri is a big supporter of small businesses since her parents were small business owners in Venezuela and in the United States.

(561) 745-9860 ext. 4202

surynai@friendsofelsol.org

Kate Layton, Worker Development Coordinator

Kate Layton is a Jupiter High School alumnus who graduated with a Masters in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. She speaks five languages and has extensive experience working and traveling in Latin America. Her master’s thesis was developed during her time living in Brazil and was titled “Ride to Live, Live to Ride: Motorcycle Dispatches from Maceió”.

Kate is responsible for implementing El Sol’s Strategic Plan for expanding the curriculum for the Worker Development Program. Her experience as a researcher, teacher, and writer complements El Sol team as we continue collectively to offer stimulating, diverse training opportunities for our workers.

(561) 745-9860 ext. 4501

kate.layton@friendsofelsol.org

Veronica Martinez, Youth Literacy Coordinator

Veronica was born in California to Guatemalan parents. She moved to Florida at the age of thirteen and has lived in Lake Worth since then, being very much involved in her community and local church. She has over 13 years of experience working with children and families. One of Veronica’s previous roles included serving as an Early Learning Specialist for ParentChild+, an early literacy program offered by The Guatemalan Maya Center. She has experience implementing reading, conversation and play activities and techniques to stimulate parent-child interaction and promoting the development of verbal, cognitive, and social-emotional skills, critical for children’s long-term success. In her free time, she enjoys spending quality time with her children, their favorite activities are baking and painting together.

(561) 745-9860 ext. 4602

Veronica@friendsofelsol.org

Lynda M. McReynolds, Adult Literacy Coordinator

Lynda M. McReynolds holds a bachelor of Arts degree in Social Communication and Journalism from La Sabana University in Colombia.

Her involvement with El Sol began in June 2016 as a Volunteer.  In September of 2017 she joined the teacher’s team in Plazas Comunitarias and in June 2019 became the Adult Education Literacy Program Coordinator.Lynda believes education begins with leadership and is passionate about learning. Lynda stated; “I care where my students want to go and I will help them get there.”

Lynda enjoys painting, reading, cooking…everything that connects her with life.

(561) 745-9860

lynda@friendsofelsol.org

Silvia Pedraza, Sewing Coordinator

Silvia Pedraza leads El Sol’s Cosiendo por un sueño (Sewing for a Dream) Vocational Training Program. Silvia has a lengthy background in the industry from working on 5th Avenue in New York to Worth Avenue in Palm Beach.

(561) 745-9860 ext. 4101

silvia@friendsofelsol.org

(561) 745-9860

silvia@friendsofelsol.org

Betzy Rega, Health Coordinator

El Sol’s Health Program’s objective is to guide individuals to the right medical resources and to provide prevention and healthy lifestyles education. Betzy was the ideal candidate for this position. She has been volunteering for 13 years within the Jupiter Community and for four years with our programs at El Sol. Betzy was born in Guatemala, raised in New York and has been in Jupiter since 1993. She is a Licensed Massage Therapist and Skin Care Specialist in the State of Florida since 2003. Betzy is a certified medical interpreter in Spanish/English and has received a certification from the Florida Department of Health for the Volunteer Healthcare Provider Program. Her familiarity with the needs and resources within the Jupiter community and her passion for helping those in need are great assets for our organization.

(561) 745-9860 ext. 4202

betzy@friendsofelsol.org

Ana Reid, Labor Coordinator

Ana brings with her much experience in the social services field.  She has worked with children and families and has directed a homeless shelter. Ana also spent years in Honduras coordinating medical and construction short-term teams, facilitating educational and family building programs, and running a medical clinic in a marginalized community. As the Labor Coordinator, Ana is in charge of managing El Sol’s Labor Hall.

(561) 745-9860 ext. 4100

Ana@friendsofelsol.org

David Rogers, Volunteer and Communications Coordinator

David served as Volunteer Coordinator for The Lord’s Place for over four years recruiting and retaining volunteers for their many programs including the group residences, thrift stores, Cafe Joshua and Job Ready Center.  He was also a writer/editor/videographer and social media producer for the Palm Beach Daily News for more than 20 years. David brings a perfect set of skills to help us grow all of our programs via volunteer engagement and communications. David has been married to his husband, Angel, since 2016. They adopted their son Jacob, now 17, in 2020. David’s hobbies included long-distance running, reading, travel and watching Downton Abbey over and over again.

(561) 745-9860 ext. 4102

David.Rogers@friendsofelsol.org

Cliff Ross, Garden Coordinator

Cliff Ross was born and raised in Sterling Heights, Michigan where he spent most of his summers on his grandparent’s farm. Cliff moved to Florida to become an Environmental Chemist, testing water and soil samples. After a few years in the laboratory, Cliff decided to pursue a teaching career at Martin County High School in Stuart, Florida, where he taught science for thirteen years. In the last year, Cliff decided to follow his dreams of starting a landscaping business called Absolutely Growing. Cliff is excited to join the El Sol team as the Part-Time Garden Coordinator. As the Garden Coordinator, he will be in charge of managing the Sunshine Organic Community Garden.

(561) 745-9860 ext. 4300

cliff@friendsofelsol.org