How We Got Started

In early 2001, while planning a backpacking trip, Gerardo and Katy decided to add a new twist to their journey: incorporate volunteer work to the itinerary. The seed project of Por un mejor HOY was launched in summer 2001 as they traveled through South America and Mexico. They chose the inspiring Maya legend La Historia de los colores to read to children at schools, orphanages, after-school and child-care centers, and public squares in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chiapas (Mexico). During this incredible experience, Gerardo and Katy felt firsthand the benefits of a more in-depth and meaningful type of travel. Now they want to share this experience with you!

HOY was incorporated as a New York State nonprofit in 2004. It operates in Mexico since 2006.

Who We Are

Gerardo Jaime is an anthropology and linguistics graduate of ENAH, in Mexico City, he prefers to live life on the road. On an enlightening backpack journey through South America in 2001, he carried out community work while traveling and formulated a scheme for an organization that promotes community work and goodwill travelers around the world: Por un mejor HOY! He now helps run Casa HOY as executive director.

After graduating from Barnard College, Katy Barnhart left her native New York on a plane. Destination: Mexico City. Since then she’s alternated between a sedentary life, earning her living as a copy editor, and hitting the road on months-long trips to places in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. She founded Por un mejor HOY with her husband, Gerardo. She is a firm believer in the ability of travel to open minds and spread goodwill. She now lives in her second homeland, Mexico.

Rebecca Barnhart has a law degree from CUNY School of Law. Besides her commitment to criminal defense work and bringing social justice to the criminal justice system, she is an avid traveler. Fluent in French, she has lived in Montpellier, France, and traveled to Morocco, South Africa, Mexico, Jamaica, Majorca and many parts of Europe. Prior to entering the law, she owned a clothing boutique in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., and worked for several years in the New York fashion industry. After living in New York City for 6 years she went on a cross-country trip to the West Coast. She now lives in LA and works for the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office.

Jodi Finkel is a professor of political science at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She investigates human rights and democratization in Latin America. She is also a founder of MuJER, and NGO in Guatemala's red light district (www.mujer.cfsites.org). Prior to academia she worked in Latin America and studied art in Europe.

Miriam Fogelson is an educator, community organizer, and freelance photojournalist who lives in Brooklyn, NY. She currently works as the director of leadership programs at the Lower Eastside Girls Club of New York. She has worked with, and photographed, organizations committed to youth development and social justice in Argentina, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, and New Orleans. She has a B.A. in journalism from Boston University and a master's in international affairs from the New School.

Melina García was born and raised in Maracaibo, Venezuela. She came to live in New York City at the age of 14 and has lived in the metropolitan area ever since. She graduated from Hunter College with a double major in media studies and studio art and works as a freelance Spanish translator and copy editor. In 2003, she took a backpacking trip to seven European countries from July through September, where she spread the word about Por un mejor HOY. She lives in New Jersey.