Our Team
Kate welp
executive director
HI, my name is Kate. I am Co-founder and Executive Director of HFH. My journey started many years ago when I cared for a patient from Ecuador. It was with the assistance of his family that we adopted our daughter Maya in Dec of 1998.
I wanted to give back to this beautiful country that gave my husband and I such an amazing gift. With the support and encouragement of Louise Randall and Gino Poggi, together we founded HFH in 2001. Running the foundation is one of the most difficult things to do and one of the most rewarding. After 20 years, we are still going strong. Changing lives one child at a time.
beth tracy
board member
Hola! My first introduction to HFH was in 2011 when I read an article in the newspaper enlisting volunteers. That trip had a profound impact on me in so many ways. I was in awe of the dedication Kate had to the people of Ecuador. The gratefulness that the Ecuadorians showed us was humbling. The children were well taken care of, but pulled on my heart strings. I have since made many trips, each of which is unique, and volunteers play a huge part in making them successful.
Jorge
board member
Native to Portoviejo, Ecuador, I started volunteering at San Lucas Foundation and Hands For Humanity at the young age of 15 as a medical interpreter during HFH's annual mission trip to Ecuador. This experience spurred my passion for translation and volunteering, culminating in pursuing my degree in Translation and Interpretation. Through HFH, I met my wife, Shelley and in 2010 ultimately moved to Rochester, MN. I continued to actively volunteer with HFH throughout the next decade and officially joined the board in 2018, where I provides valuable support, guidance and insight. My family and I are actively engaged in advancing HFH's mission and serve the Ecuadorian community.
kate hudson
board member
Hi, I’m also Kate! I’m a registered nurse with a passion for travel and healthcare. I went on my first HFH medical volunteer trip in 2016, returning again merely weeks later to assist with immediate recovery needs of a devastating earthquake. It was the combination of these two trips so close together that pulled Ecuador, and especially this foundation, into my heart. Since then, I have made supporting HFH part of my being.
I joined the board in 2017, working closely with our Ecuadorian counterparts to support both the college scholarship students as well as the CPR program. I also enjoy diving into any other exciting project that our team can dream up.
“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” - Mother Teresa
Noralma andrade
ecuador logistical coordinator
Hi. I´m Noralma Andrade. I joined Hands for Humanity 18 years ago when my friend Gino and my sister Liliana asked me if I wanted to help as a translator for doctors and nurses that were coming to the San Lucas Foundation to perform surgery. Gino and Liliana were already volunteering here in Ecuador. I have only gotten more involved with Hands for Humanity since that first trip. Besides translating, I also helped with the logistics and coordinating for the family members of the medical professional volunteers that joined the trip. While the doctors and nurses were at the clinic, I would usually take their families to the Orphanage “Hogar de Belen” to work on the projects there. Currently, I am in charge of “Noralma’s Closet” which consists of buying things that are needed for babies and small children.
Since the first day of volunteering, the friends I made I now consider family. Even my own family members have become volunteers. I thank God that He put friends like Kate, Beth and Ann in my life, as I see them as my sisters now. Thank you all for volunteering in our country, your financial support and helping those that need it here through Hands For Humanity. May the Lord bless you always.
smaro spandonidis
social media committee
Hello there! I am a registered nurse and work with Kate Welp and Kate Hudson and learned about the organization through them. I took my first trip with Hands For Humanity in 2019 and loved it so much that I wanted to be involved even when I wasn’t present in Ecuador. Cue the creation of the social media committee in 2020! I collect content to share on our Facebook and Instagram pages, create posts for the page and helped create our new website. I try to stay creative in ways that our volunteers in the US can stay connected to our family in Ecuador, and am always open to new ideas and suggestions!