US Board of Directors and Annual Report

Home About US Board of Directors and Annual Report

The Entreamigos Annual Report

The Entreamigos Annual Report is available to the public in a physical print version and digital copy.

To request the most current or past annual reports, please visit our reception desk or email our team at info@entreamigos.org

The US Board of Directors
Jennifer Burke

Board President

I’m Jennifer Burke, originally from Northern California, and now happily, a full time resident of San Pancho.
I spent the bulk of my professional life working in the Bay Area as an artist, art teacher, curriculum designer and teachers’ mentor. In 1999, I founded the Young Artists Workspace (YAWS) in Berkeley, California after realizing there was an unmet need for affordable, accessible art instruction for children. At YAWS, and at schools all over the Bay Area, I designed projects that highlighted the innate creativity and artistic potential within every student. I also curated yearly exhibitions that provided a forum for young artists to explore in their work themes relating to social justice, gender equality, climate change, and environmental restoration.
It was on my family’s very first trip to San Pancho nearly 20 years ago that I stumbled upon Entreamigos and met its founder Nicole Swedlow. This began years of collaboration and volunteer work that eventually inspired my husband and I to make San Pancho our permanent home.
I have been honored to watch the incredible evolution of EA, and I remain deeply inspired by the strength of community I find whenever I walk through its doors. To see how children of every age thrive in this safe and encouraging space is truly heartwarming, and I look forward to witnessing the multitude of ways EA transforms lives for years to come.
John Gillett

Treasurer

John graduated from the University of Wisconsin and Thunderbird Graduate School of International Business.  An entrepreneur and mortgage banker, he currently is retired and shares his time between Chicago and Sayulita.

“Entreamigos has allowed us to do what we like to do, help individuals who, by the lottery of birth, have not had the opportunity to reach their potential. It has been great privilege to participate in and contribute to its success.”

Ana Sofia Cardenas Covarrubias

Board Member

Growing up between Guadalajara and a small nearby town gave me an early sense of what community truly feels like and what’s lost without it. That contrast stayed with me.

When I discovered San Pancho in 2011, I recognized it as a special place where people genuinely show up for each other. I moved here permanently in 2018.

With a background in communication sciences and years of experience as an entrepreneur, I’ve focused my work to nurturing that spirit, which is why an organization like Entre Amigos feels so essential to me, certainly San Pancho would not be what it is today without it.

Frieda Fredenhagen

Board Member

I’m Frieda Fredenhagen, I am Mexican, born in Guadalajara with German roots on my paternal grandfather’s side.

I am a painter and muralist, I love creativity and learning and teaching with children, because as beeing a mother of two, married to a musician, so art and creativity are very important in my life. 

From the moment I took the tour at entreamigos .I felt a great love for their mission and having worked there for 10 years I was able to see the beautiful positive impact on the community, and I feel a great honor to receive the invitation and be part of the US Board of Directors, it inspires me to continue participating and supporting the mission and vision of the organization which changes lives, including my own. Seeing how we are all a great community that values art, creativity, love and all the values that the organization shares and always inspires me and I want to continue supporting, so that many more can live the experience.



Elise Wilks

Board Member

Elise is originally from New York, and more recently from the northern California Bay Area, where she raised her two kids. Throughout her career in accounting and finance, Elise has worked primarily with non-profit, women-owned, and child-focused businesses. She is thrilled for this opportunity to bring her experience to such an inspiring organization in a community that has given her so much joy and connection.
Paulina Lua Delgado

Board Vice President

Pau has been involved in Entreamigos since 2010, working as EA’s Scholarship Coordinator. During her tenure, she really enjoyed connecting scholarship families with sponsors, and quickly fell in love with the mission of the organization, a place where she found many of her passions in life: Education, Social Work and Environmental Actions. She moved to California, became a mom and that led her to a new professional path: providing therapy sessions for moms.

She spends part of the year in San Pancho and this has given her the opportunity to participate with the organization as a volunteer staff facilitator. She has seen the organization grow and evolve over the years and feels honored to now be a member of the US Board of Directors.
Michele Gillett

Secretary

Michele attended University of the Pacific and the Thunderbird Graduate School of International Business.  Michele has been an active school volunteer for over 40 years in Illinois, Mexico & Peru and a volunteer at Entreamigos since 2006.

“From the moment I walked into EA over 10 years ago, the connection was immediate.  The same vibe exists today & just thinking about EA energizes me.  It is such a vibrant community of individuals from little ones to seniors offering a wide variety of activities. It’s a place where people gather & feel connected; a place where people care about one another.  It’s the pulse of San Pancho & I’m proud & honored to be part of it.”

Allison Elkan Rodríguez

Board Member

Allison Elkan Rodriguez graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara with a degree in Business Economics. Not long after graduating, Allison moved to San Pancho where she has been raising her family and operating her local business, San Pancho Rentals & Real Estate. 

“Through the dedication of the leadership team at Entreamigos, San Pancho is rapidly changing for the better. I rarely see a child out of school during school hours. More and more local families are getting involved and the community is becoming richer with culture and education. Entreamigos has done so much to guide the community of San Pancho toward positive and conscientious growth through its scholarship, art and environmental awareness programs. As someone on the sidelines for all these years, I feel honored and excited to have the opportunity to be on the US Board of Directors and continue the mission of Entreamigos.”



Lorn Dittfeld

Board Member

I’ve been an adoring resident of San Pancho since 2018. In my time here I have worked on an innovative boutique development project, learned – and then forgot – how to surf, fallen in love with the music scene & wrote a well-received article about it, have volunteered for the San Pancho Music Festival, volunteered  several times at EA & declared the pellizcada con Suadero at Arbolito the best alt-taco in town.

Before coming here I lived in the Other San Francisco for 27 years, worked at the Alternative Newsweekly, the San Francisco Bay Guardian for 8 years and owned ground-breaking modern furniture & design showroom in San Francisco called Propeller. As I’ve always believed in supporting local & independent artists, makers & businesses, Propeller’s mission was to champion independent & emerging & mostly American designers at a time when modern meant European. 

In my 7 years here I have witnessed & experienced the absolutely integral role that Entre Amigos plays in supporting, developing & fostering community programs principles to support the residents of SanPancho. As a member of the US board I look forward to putting my belief in the importance of supporting local community  into action to help bring EA into its next chapter.