Dr. Jones is originally from Minnesota. He grew up in both Florida and Georgia, and attended college at Florida State University, where he obtained a B.S., an M.S. and eventually a Ph.D. in Neurobiology. After a two-year research fellowship at the University of Wisconsin, he came to Chapel Hill to attend medical school. After graduation, he stayed on at UNC for a five-year residency in Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery. He was then a faculty member in the Dept. of Surgery for seven years before starting his own practice in Chapel Hill, which he ran for 17 years before retiring in 2015. He has a daughter adopted from Guatemala, and has been involved in GSSG since 2010.
Bob Dermody graduated from Niagara University in Niagara Falls, NY and has an MBA from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY. He is retired from working in the financial operations at University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill after almost 20 years of service. Prior to that he worked in public accounting and taught at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, NY. He and his wife, Julie, have been involved with GSSG since 2004. Along with others, he and his late wife, Julie, sponsored one of the current GSSG students, Blanca Guarcas.
While raising her three children, Debbie Lindsey volunteered in the community and worked part time as a substitute teacher and Catholic school music teacher. Her volunteer work with immigrants and love of the Spanish language and Hispanic people led her to earn a BA in Spanish Education and a certificate in ESL education from NC State University, After graduation, she worked as an ESL teacher in elementary schools for ten years. Debbie and her husband, Tom, hosted GSSG student Rafael in their home for three years. In the summer of 2017, she led a group of five volunteer ESL teachers to travel to Guatemala to teach English to local townsfolk through a GSSG partner, the John Bodoh English Academy. Debbie currently works as a teacher assistant.
Jorge Paque works as a consulting Director in the recruitment of new students and is responsible for obtaining health records, passports, visas, and transportation within Guatemala. He received his licenciado from Rafael Landivar University in Guatemala. He is a retired English teacher and an authority on the Guatemalan education system and conditions in Guatemala generally.
Byron Cap graduated three years ago, and has been involved in a number of projects since then. Byron seems to excel in developing businesses that both fill a need in his local community and at the same time provide jobs and income. His first venture was to organize a coffee cooperative that allows local growers to pool their product and resources so that they can scale up and sell their coffee to a much larger market. Byron handles the distribution and marketing, and now their coffee is sold in several places in Guatemala and also, through the internet, in the US and other countries. Check it out at “Byron’s Coffee” on Facebook, or order through Green Cafeen (greencafeen.com).
Joshua Lindsey is the social media manager for GSSG. He returns after previously serving GSSG in the same capacity from approximately 2014 to 2017. Joshua holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from St. Andrews Presbyterian College, which he earned in 2006. He is proficient in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint and is learning to use Facebook and Instagram for business. He has a passion for many things, including the performing arts and his Christion faith. He has a severe congenital disability, which has not prevented him from participating in many activities and interacting with people in all walks of life.
