USA Staff
Jennifer Hoock, MD, MPH
Co-Founder & Director of Programs (Volunteer)
Dr. Hoock is a graduate of Duke University Medical School and completed her MPH at the University of Washington. She has devoted her career to teaching Family Medicine residents and faculty, and is currently in charge of the Community Medicine training at Kaiser Family Medicine Residency program in Seattle WA. She is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Washington. As a cofounder of Guatemala Village Health, she is passionate about improving health in rural villages and developing an educational model for primary care medical training in Guatemala.
Sean Murphy
Co-Founder & Director of Operations (Volunteer)
Sean Murphy retired from Engineering & Management at Boeing. Sean has a degree in Electrical Engineering. He has served on the board as Treasurer for 4 years. Sean manages the organization's electronic resources including our electronic medical records, and has led construction & installation of a communications tower to bring internet to remote villages, and has connected 3 remote Mayan middle/high schools and a number of villages to the internet as of 2025
Ruth Harmony
Fundraising Manager
Ruth graduated with her MBA in 2003 before spending 2 years with the Peace Corps in Guatemala, where she became fluent in Spanish. There, she worked with women and children in villages outside of Quetzaltenango, helping them start small businesses and writing a curriculum for financial self-management that she taught to 6th graders (the last year of school in those villages). All of the programs that Ruth implemented while there outlasted her, continuing at those same schools until the Peace Corps site closed. Since returning to the US, Ruth has worked in non-profit management and the government sector in various fields. She has a personal commitment to create access for people who are structurally excluded from resources and systems. Ruth lives in Kirkland with her two teenagers and many pets, and enjoys rock climbing and cooking in her free time.
Gabriela Vera-Kavanaugh
Program Assistant
Gabriela is a recent graduate from Pacific Lutheran University where she double majored in Hispanic & Latino Studies and Gender, Sexuality, & Race Studies. As a Chilean-American Gabriela is passionate about learning about different experiences, traditions, and ways of life throughout Latin America. Gabriela has various caregiving experiences, and is excited to learn more about the successes and challenges involved in rural healthcare.