David Valle
CEO, Board Chair, Co-Founder

David is a former Major League Baseball player; he played for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers and the Texas Rangers. Dave was a color commentator for the Seattle Mariners television and radio broadcasts from 1997 through 2006, and since 2007, has co-hosted the post game show on the Mariners’ radio network. Dave founded Esperanza International in 1995 with his wife Victoria.

Victoria Valle
Secretary/Treasurer, Co-Founder

Victoria Valle, wife of David Valle, lives with her husband and family in Bellevue, Washington. While traveling with David, as he played winter ball in the DR in 1985 they made a promise to go back one day and help the people of the Dominican Republic, Esperanza was their answer to this commitment. Today she remains involved with the growth and expansion of Esperanza’s programs.

Stephen Brookshire
Principal, Pegasus Ablon

Stephen Brookshire is a Principal with Pegasus Ablon, a Dallas, TX-based firm providing real estate investment, development, property management and leasing for its own account and for its institutional partners. Stephen and his wife Gail are actively involved in Wilshire Baptist Church and he is also involved in several other Dallas-based ministries and business ventures. Their son, Andy is currently in law school at George Washington University in Washington, D.C

Nancy Cahill
Attorney at Law, Holman, Cahill, Garrett, Ives, Oliver & Anderson

Nancy has been a Board Member with Esperanza since it began in 1992 and was an integral part in preparing the legal work for Esperanza during in its foundational years. She is currently a Principal at the law firm of Holman Cahill Garrett Ives Oliver & Anderson PLLC and practices law emphasized in Estate Planning, Real Estate, and representing small business. Nancy studied law at Seattle University and graduated with an undergraduate degree in History from Yale University.

Peter Greer
President, CEO, HOPE International

Peter Greer is the most recent addition to the Esperanza Board but has served as the President and CEO of HOPE International since 2004 and has been an integral part of Esperanza and HOPE’s International’s six year partnership. Formerly employed by World Relief as the managing director of Urwego, a microfinance institution in Rwanda, and as a microfinance advisor in Cambodia, he also served with CARE Zimbabwe implementing fraud protection measures.Co-author of The Poor Will Be Glad , he has an M.P.P. from Harvard’s Kennedy School and a B.S. from Messiah College.

Brian Holman
Principal and Managing Director, Ron Blue Company

After a successful Major League Baseball career with the Montreal Expos, the Seattle Mariners, and the Cincinnati Reds, Brian was forced to retire due to an arm injury. Brian began his business career in 1995 and joined Ronald Blue & Co. in 2000. Aside from Esperanza, Brian is also involved with many non-profit and philanthropic organizations. Brian and his wife, Jami, have four children and live in Overland Park, Kansas.

Joseph Leninger
Partner, Resource Land Holdings

Joseph Leininger is the founding partner of Resource Land Holdings LLC, a private equity group investing in agriculture, timber, and mining properties across the country. Prior to RLH, Joseph spent 10 years trading Eurodollar Options as an independent trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He authored a book about his experience entitled Lessons from the Pit. A Chicago native, Joseph received his degree in Agricultural Economics at the University of Illinois. In addition to Esperanza, he serves on the board of CURE International and The Paradigm Project.

Omar Minaya
Major League Baseball Advisor

A native to the Dominican Republic, Omar Minaya has been with Esperanza since its foundations. Omar began his career in Major League Baseball after being drafted by the Oakland Athletics and later joined the Texas Ranger's Scouting Team, helping to sign players such as Sammy Sosa and Juan Gonzalez. In 2002, Omar accepted a position as General Manager of the Montreal Expos, becoming the first Hispanic General Manager in Major League Baseball. He continued on in his career to become the General Manager of the New York Mets until 2010. He is still currently involved in Major League Baseball and frequently returns to visit his home country.

Carlos Pimentel
President, Board Member

Carlos Pimentel Sanchez joined Esperanza as country director in 1998 after over twenty years in the field of community development for various organizations including: World Vision, Food for the Hungry, and CARE International. After thirteen years of exemplary leadership for Esperanza, Carlos was recently promoted to President. Carlos directs and supervises all functions of Esperanza International’s operations in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti. He received his bachelors of science in business systems analysis and design from APEC University in 1992.

Rafael Sena
Administration and Finance Director

Rafael Sena has served as the Director of Administration and Finances for Esperanza since 2000. As the Director of Finances, he oversees all financial operations for the organization.He graduated from the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Urena with a B.S. in Accounting in 1987.

Inmaculada Bonilla
Finance Manager

Inmaculada Bonilla has been with Esperanza for seven years now and was recently promoted as the Financial Manager after years of experience in the accounting field in the public and private sectors. Inmaculada graduated from the Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo in 1998 with a degree in Accounting. She currently manages all of the international and national financial reporting in addition to all commercial and interbank relationships for Esperanza.

Andres Barreto
Information Technology Manager

Andres Barreto joined Esperanza as IT Manager in 2002. Andres oversees the creation and management of Esperanza’s own Microfinance Information System, data and communication infrastructure, etc.. Andres received his Telecommunications Engineering Degree in 1991 and a Master of Science in Microelectronics in 1999 from the ISPJAE University in Havana, Cuba.

Pedro Lacen
Microfinance Services Manager

Pedro Lacen joined Esperanza in 2006 as the Manager of Microfinance services after over ten years of professional experience in the formal banking sector and in the public sector. Pedro graduated in 2001 from the Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo, with a degree a B.S. in Business Administration and a post-graduate degree soon after in Corporate Finance. He directly overseas the accurate coordination and disbursement of all loans throughout the DR and Haiti.

Patricia González
Communications and Resources Coordinator

Patricia Gonzalez has held various positions at Esperanza since joining in 2003: front end-receptionist, assistant to the Vice-President of International Operations, and now in her current position as the Communications and Resources Coordinator. In her present role, she oversees all of the correspondence between the DR’s programs and people stateside as well as the coordination of all visiting group trips. She is currently balancing her full-time work with Esperanza to study Marketing at APEC University in the evenings and expects to graduate in 2012. She will complete an international leadership program (ILEAP) this upcoming Fall in Seattle, Washington.

Kayla Villnow
Development Manager

Kayla Villnow rejoined the Esperanza family in 2011 after completing her MBA at the University of Washington. Prior to graduate school, Kayla worked as the Communications and Marketing Director of Esperanza in the Dominican Republic, and in donor relations with the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health. Kayla is currently based out of Dallas, Texas and oversees all of Esperanza’s development work in the United States. She received her B.S. in Commerce from Santa Clara University.