Dear Friends,
I hope this finds you well! I am writing to share an important organisational update for Natün.
Over eight years, I have had the privilege of helping guide Natün through periods of growth, transformation, and deepened local leadership. Today, I am excited to share the next chapter in Natün’s journey, as I prepare to transition out of my role as Co-Executive Director. While this is bittersweet personally, it is also an incredibly meaningful milestone for Natün and one that reflects how far the organisation has come.
We now step fully into our values and our community-led model by transitioning to full local Indigenous leadership. I am delighted to announce that Jacquelin (Jackie) Yoc will step into the role of Co-Executive Director of Sustainability, joining Ana Cumatz, our existing Maya Kaqchikel Co-Executive Director of Programs, in Natün’s co-leadership model.
Jackie Yoc & Elena Wason
Jackie is Maya Kaqchikel, from Panajachel, Sololá, and has been working with Natün for the past 12 years. Throughout that time, she has demonstrated exceptional strategic leadership, growing within the organisation through her talent, dedication, and vision. Jackie is fully bilingual in English and Spanish and has been my closest collaborator over the past few years.
This transition represents much more than a staffing change. Moving to a fully locally led Indigenous co-executive structure is the culmination of years of intentional work to strengthen local leadership and shift decision-making to local communities, ensuring that leadership sits closest to the realities, strengths, and aspirations of our partner communities.
It has been an honour to be a part of leading Natün through this process of stabilisation and changing models, and now it is time for me to truly live our values and pass the baton to where it belongs: in the local community. Jackie and Ana are extraordinary leaders, and I am fully confident and so excited about Natün’s future under their leadership.
This transition will be gradual and well supported. While Jackie will fully assume the role from July, I will remain involved in a strategic support capacity, primarily focused on the international side of the organisation. As a result, you may still see me in some conversations, meetings, or events over the coming period as we work to set up our local leadership team for long-term success and increase Natün’s visibility and impact.
Natün’s Management Team
Thank you for your support over the years and your continued partnership. We could not have got to where we are today without our incredible supporters and community, and we are so excited to share this next chapter with you.
With gratitude,
Elena Wason
Former Co-Executive Director
In Jackie’s Words
We invited Jackie to share a few words as she steps into this new role:
