Leadership

Mimi Marchev practiced law in New Jersey as a Public Defender and in Maine as an Assistant Attorney General and served as Executive Director of several feminist non-profit organizations in Maine before moving to Oaxaca in 1995 as a resident Academic Director of the School for International Training (SIT) study abroad program “Grass Roots Development and Social Change”. In 2004 she returned to SIT headquarters in Vermont to serve as International HR Manager, overseeing legal and labor issues of SIT’s local staff in 45 countries. Mimi retired in 2018 and moved back to Oaxaca as a permanent resident.

As a Board member, Mimi contributes to strategic planning, donor relations, staff development, and compliance with human resource regulations.

For 30 years Enid was the Director of the School of the Hartford Ballet and Founder and Director of the Dance Division of the Hartt School of the University of Hartford. She served as president of the National Association of Dance Schools and on the Board of the Association of Arts Accrediting Institutions, as well as other professional and civic groups in the United States.

Enid has resided in the city of Oaxaca since 2002 and shortly after her arrival, began work with LPP in many committees and volunteer groups. She is currently president of the Board of Directors, a position she assumed in 2015. Enid became a Mexican citizen by naturalization in 2018. Together with her husband, Jerry Kelch, they are Sponsors at Large and co-sponsors of the library in San Pedro y San Pablo Ayutla (Sierra Norte region).

Michael Bronn is a full-time resident of Oaxaca and brings with him a long involvement with reading promotion, English language instruction, and literacy programs – first with the large Oaxacan immigrant community in his hometown of Los Angeles and now with Oaxacan residents in their home state.

After obtaining his degree in urban sociology at Pomona College in Claremont, California, his interest turned increasingly to the educational needs of underserved immigrant populations in Los Angeles. For more than ten years, he worked with the Los Angeles Unified School District where he served as a language instructor and curriculum designer in a unique community-based program, the focus of which was “family literacy” with the objective of providing parents with the tools and experience to model study habits and to create a home environment in which to promote reading interest and activity.

Michael brings this experience and philosophy of “whole family involvement” to our specific focus of reading promotion for children. He was a member of the LPP Executive Committee for several years, and now as a Board Member, he manages communication projects and donor relations and leads tours to LPP-supported libraries. He is also a Sponsor at Large.

Deborah Gitlitz is an experienced Youth and Community Outreach Librarian and consultant based in Portland, Oregon. She has worked in culturally and economically diverse public libraries for over 25 years. Bilingual in Spanish and English, Deborah is the founder of the statewide consortium Libros for Oregon, which helps the state’s small and rural libraries take advantage of the resources of the Guadalajara Book Fair through cooperative book-buying.

Deborah is also co-creator of the free, research-based, K-3 afterschool literacy programming resource (with bilingual components), Fostering Readers. She consults for libraries and educators; offers early literacy staff training for the Oregon Registry of childcares; and served for many years as Storyteller for the nonprofit Portland Chamber Music. Deborah has been honored to serve on the prestigious selection committees for two of the “Oscars” of US youth literature: the 2022 national Caldecott Award and the 2026 Pura Belpré Award. Although she is home-based in Portland, since 2014 her family's other home has been in the village of Santa Cruz Etla, just outside Oaxaca City. Deborah’s extended family sponsors LPP together.

Summer is an international development strategist, peacebuilder, and lifelong musician who believes that human capacity — nurtured through creativity, connection, and opportunity — is the most powerful driver of sustainable change. With experience across more than 40 countries, she brings a global perspective to nonprofit strategy, peacebuilding, and program impact.

Summer holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish, Sociology, and Women’s Studies from Kansas State University. She received the Rotary Peace Fellowship in 2011, earning a master’s degree in International Studies: Peace and Conflict Resolution at the University of Queensland in Australia.

From 2017 to 2025, Summer led Rotary International’s global partnership with the Institute for Economics & Peace, designing and managing programs that equipped peacebuilders with tools to advance Positive Peace. She is also co-founder of True Roots, a consulting firm that helps mission-driven organizations design and evaluate programs that center people, purpose, and long-term impact.

Based in Oaxaca, Mexico since 2013, Summer continues to explore the intersection of social change, arts, and culture. She performs with a local music ensemble and supports community-based cultural initiatives. She sees music, literacy, and peacebuilding as interconnected forces — each a pathway to expression, resilience, and connection. Summer brings to the Libros Para Pueblo Board a holistic, values-driven perspective grounded in the belief that when people are supported to grow, create, and contribute, everyone benefits.