Who We Are
The Community REfund executive team
Sara Murphy is a certified lawyer who has lived in Nicaragua for 3 years following a time commuting between Managua and Houston for her oil and gas consultancy career and her work in corporate social responsibility. Now dedicated full time to Coldwell Banker, Sara specializes in ensuring that clients are guided smoothly through the entire purchasing process. She is in the process of developing a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) for Central American Investing. Sara is one of the original visionaries behind Community REfund which she hopes will ensure that the tourism and real estate development in Nicaragua also benefits local communities and the environment.
Following a career in management consultancy in London, Claudia Gonella began researching Nicaragua as a real estate investment destination in 2000 on behalf of a group of investors and has been actively following the market ever since. She works in both commercial and residential real estate and has co-authored a number of “Market Analysis Reports” for investors and property owners charting latest real estate trends. Both Sara and Claudia were involved in the establishment of the Institute of Social and Ethical Accountability in London.
Jon Thompson graduated from Centre College in 1997, first came to Nicaragua in 1998 and returned every year until early 2005, when he and his Nicaraguan wife moved to live in San Juan del Sur full time. In 2002 Jon obtained his Masters of Social Work with a concentration in Community Development. He went straight to work for United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, where he created and managed asset development programs focusing on small businesses, homeownership and education for low-income households. Jon is currently the Executive Director of Fundacion A. Jean Brugger, as well as Co-Director of Comunidad Connect. His background in community development in low-income neighborhoods of Atlanta, combined with almost ten years of experience in Nicaragua make Jon an important asset to the Community REfund initiative.
Roman Yavich attended the University of Colorado in Boulder where he studied economics with an international emphasis and business administration with a concentration in finance. He graduated in May of 2006 with Suma Cum Laude high honors. In economics his interest has always been development and the labor market. His honors thesis dealt with the effect of the growing informal sector in Buenos Aires on income inequality. Roman spent 6 months in Argentina in 2004 researching this topic. He also studied abroad in Santiago de Chile in 2003, where he attended the Universidad de Chile. After graduating, Roman received the Fulbright grant to research the sustainability of tourism development in Nicaragua. This research project started in October 2006 and during his time in Nicaragua Roman joined Comunidad Connect and the Community REfund initiative.
Sarah Fahey graduated from Skidmore College in 1999, and went on to work as a Children’s Television Producer for PBS for 6 years. Later, she returned to graduate school and received her Masters in School Counseling from Boston University in 2006. She entered the counseling field working with middle school youth at an international boarding school and then with pregnant and parenting teens at a women’s homeless shelter.
Sarah moved to Nicaragua with her husband, Justin, and dog, Cooper, in January 2008. Sarah is currently the Community Liaison for Community REfund, providing the essential connection between the CRF initiative and the real estate community.
Ben Patterson graduated from North Carolina State University with a degree in Business Administration with concentrations in Finance and Information Systems. He came to Nicaragua in May 2005 as a Peace Corps Volunteer. His main assignment was to give a business course to high school juniors and seniors. During Ben's two and a half years as a volunteer over fifty student businesses were started. He also trained 3 local teachers on how to give the course. Ben is now teaching a business course to local business owners in San Juan del Sur through the Savings Start program of Community REfund. He also works as a sales representative for Coldwell Banker and teaches English.
The initial idea for Community REfund resulted from an ongoing conversation between Comunidad Connect, a community based non-profit organization started in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, and Coldwell Banker Nicaragua, an international real estate agency devoted to serving the communities where it operates.
Partners
Over 2006 and 2007 Community REfund gained the support of numerous national and local level organizations including:
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- INTUR, the Nicaragua Tourism Institute
- ANID, the Association of Nicaraguan Investors and Developers
- Banco ProCredit an international banking network prioritizing social consciousness
- ASODENIC a Nicaragua microfinance organization with over 30,000 clients
- ProNicaragua a private sector organization devoted to promoting Nicaragua's opportunities
- Calvet & Asociates one of Nicaragua's top tourism and investment consulting firms
- Opportunity International a network of microfinance organizations all over the world
- Garcia & Bodan a Managua based law firm
- First American Title Insurance Company
- Fundación A. Jean Brugger a San Juan del Sur based charitable organization
- Pelican Eyes, Piedras y Olas Hotel in San Juan del Sur
- El Canto Del Sur, an emerging coastal community
- Playa Coco, a luxury condominium residence
- All of the major real estate agencies in San Juan del Sur including