Agnes Portalewska, Senior Communications Manager, is originally from Warsaw, Poland. She studied Anthropology, Latin American Studies, photography, and media production at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and holds a Master’s degree in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University, where her studies focused on Rights-Based Approach to Development. She has traveled extensively in Latin America and the Caribbean, researched Indigenous media, and taught photography workshops to children. For the past 20+ years, Agnes has served as a consultant to several nonprofits in the area of communications, fundraising, and advocacy. Agnes has been working at Cultural Survival since 2002. She started as Membership Coordinator, then from 2004 to 2008, was Program Officer for the Cultural Survival Bazaars Program leading the expansion of the program from two to ten events a year. She currently directs all communications for program and advocacy initiatives, including the Cultural Survival Quarterly and social media efforts. She speaks English, Polish, French, and Spanish. Contact Agnes at agnes@cs.org.

Cesar Gomez (Maya Pocomam), Community Media Program Coordinator. Cesar is from Palin, Escquintla, Guatemala. Palin is a Pocomam town that is located only 25 miles from Guatemala City. Pocomam was once a widely spoken language but, in Cesar’s words, “the colonial Spanish language media in Guatemala City have eroded our language and culture over time.” The Pocomam of Palin are an exception; they have maintained their language and many cultural practices. From a young age, Cesar has been involved in cultural revitalization in his community, as a founder and member of Cultural Association of Poqoman Qawinaqel. In 1999, Cesar started as a volunteer at the Palin community radio station where he worked for five years. In 2005, he was selected as a regional representative to the Association of Guatemalan Community Radio Stations. In 2007, he was hired as the Office Administrator of the National Congress of Community Radios. In 2008, he joined Cultural Survival as Content Production and Training Coordinator for the Community Media Program in Guatemala. Cesar is also the President of the Board of Directors of Asociación Sobrevivencia Cultural. He holds a degree in communications from the University of San Carlos, Guatemala. Contact Cesar at cgomez@cs.org.

Sofia Flynn, Accounting and Office Manager, is originally from Cali, Colombia. Sofia worked in international banking in Venezuela for 10 years before moving to the United States. Fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and English, she has worked at Cultural Survival since 1989. Contact Sofia at sflynn@cs.org.

Danielle DeLuca, Senior Development Manager, has been with Cultural Survival since 2009, when she started volunteering from our Guatemalan office in Antigua. Planning to stay for one year, she fell in love with Guatemalan culture and community and stayed for five years. Danielle has worked in many areas of Cultural Survival's work, including the Community Media Program, where she trained alongside our Guatemalan team in doing legislative advocacy to advance the rights of freedom of expression. In 2012, she began working in our Advocacy Program in defense of Indigenous land and resources, through which she has worked and traveled to Honduras, Guatemala, Peru, Ghana, and Mexico. Between 2013 and 2017, she helped to establish and run the Indigenous Rights Radio content and distribution platform. Starting in 2019, Danielle has been managing fundraising efforts. She speaks English and Spanish and holds a degree in Cultural Studies from McGill University, in Montreal, Canada. Contact Danielle at danielle@cs.org.

Jess Cherofsky, Advocacy Program Manager, builds processes and connections across programs towards the implementation of Cultural Survival's advocacy strategies. She also serves as a program liaison and lead on reporting for the Development team. She previously managed the Bazaar Program and, before that, co-managed the Indigenous Rights Radio program and deeply values the teamwork and emergent possibilities of the co-management model. Jess recently completed her MS in environmental science at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She identifies as queer and Ashkenazi Jewish, is fluent in English and Spanish, and speaks a few words of Yiddish. Contact Jess at jess@cs.org.

Kaimana Barcarse (Kanaka Hawaiʻi), Chair

A former Indigenous Rights Radio Producer for Cultural Survival, Kaimana has represented Cultural Survival at United Nations events in New York and Lima, Peru, and has produced dozens of radio programs. Kaimana is also the lead DJ of the Hawaiian language program "Alana I Kai Hikina" on KWXX-FM, the Hawaiʻi Island member of the state Board of Education, and the West Hawai’i Regional Director for Kamehameha Schools, whose mission is to improve the capability and well-being of Hawaiians through a healthy community ecosystem with a focus on education. Kaimana was the director of the former Exploration Sciences and Voyaging Division of the 'Aha Punana Leo which utilized the wa'a (canoe) as a platform to strengthen the Hawaiian language skills and cultural traditions of its participants. He continues to educate and further his work on voyaging and navigation through his roles with the ʻOhana Waʻa, a board member of Nā Kālai Waʻa Moku o Hawaiʻi, a captain and on the leadership team of Honuakai, and as a member of the Polynesian Voyaging Society. Kaimana also serves as chair of the board of directors at The Cultural Conservancy, Vice-President of the Hawaiʻi Council of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, and Hope Pelekikena of ʻAhahui Siwila ʻo Ke Aloha ʻĀina.