meet the team

Melanie discovered the agricultural world at ENCA (National Agricultural School), which guided her to Zamorano University, and then to the beautiful world of coffee. She started working in an amazing coffee farm (where she currently works). There she learned from production to marketing coffee. In this path she has learned and continues to learn more each day. She has also met beautiful, inspiring people. And has also faced the many needs of Guatemalan people as a reality. The desire to help and the passion for coffee merged and gave rise to UTZ Kapeu, which is now Don Rafael, whose goal is to encourage consumption with awareness, generate employment and serve others.

Clay completed a Systems Engineering degree at the University of San Carlos of Guatemala. Then, when looking for a job in the systems area, he decided to make a radical change in his life. The opportunity to serve the most needy people of Guatemala arose by hosting Christian missionary groups from the United States in Pathway Church in Guatemala. Eventually he was promoted as the Director of Housing in the project called Mil Casas (A thousand Homes). He currently holds this position at the Centro de Sueños Foundation in Antigua Guatemala. At the same time he is the Sales Manager of the family business at Café Don Rafael.

After graduating from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro with a bachelor's degree in Communications, Danielle began traveling the world. On one of her several backpacking trips, she went through the beautiful city of Antigua Guatemala in 2014. Little did she know that her life would change there forever. A year later she returned to join as a volunteer at Ahava Ministries in Pastores, Sacatepéquez. She shared the vision of a friend who started a children's program whose goal was to help and sponsor children so they can attend school. Between bible studies and football, she fell in love with the children of Ahava and also with Clay, now her husband.