La Fundación Yanomami
La Fundación Yanomami es una organización sin fines de lucro 501(c)(3) comprometida a apoyar al pueblo yanomami. Nuestro diverso equipo de expertos colabora para recaudar fondos y gestionar proyectos que brinden a las comunidades yanomami las herramientas, los recursos y la capacitación intercultural necesarios para proteger su forma de vida y preservar su tierra natal amazónica. Nuestro objetivo principal es proporcionar recursos y financiación para garantizar el éxito y la prosperidad continuos de las comunidades yanomami. Mantenemos un profundo respeto por su cultura y trabajamos en estrecha colaboración con los lÃderes yanomami y miembros de la comunidad para abordar sus desafÃos.
Asesores
Our Board and Advisors bring experience in nonprofit governance, ethical partnership with Yanomami communities, and supporting community-identified initiatives across health, education, and territorial protection.
Hortensia Caballero-Arias, PhD
President
Hortensia is an anthropologist whose research examines cultural, historical, and political transformations among Yanomami communities in Venezuela, as well as broader intercultural processes and Indigenous rights across the Amazon. She is a senior researcher at the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC). Her work emphasizes respectful, community-informed collaboration that centers Indigenous knowledge and self-determination.​​​
Grant Rogers
Director
Grant holds a BA in Economics from Boston University. He began his career as a private banker at Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Company and later marketed equities for Julius Baer and CIC Securities to institutional investors. He served as Head of Sales for CIC’s fixed-income, derivatives, and currency division in Paris, France. As founder and CEO of Metis Capital, he manages the Yanomami Endowment Fund investment portfolio.
David Ãyõpëwë Good, MSc
Director
David Ä€yõpëwë Good is a Yanomami researcher and nonprofit leader. He is a PhD candidate in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Guelph (Canada), where his work explores human–microbiome interactions and ethical research that respects Indigenous knowledge systems. Through long-term, community-informed collaboration, he supports Yanomami-led priorities related to health, education, and environmental stewardship.
Serena Belsby, MBA
Director
Serena earned a BA in Economics from the University of Texas and an MBA from Texas Christian University. She wrote, directed, and produced her first feature film, The Merry Graingers, and her work has been showcased at the Sundance Writers Lab and the Plume et Pellicule Writers’ Workshop sponsored by Dreamago in Sierre, Switzerland. What began as a creative project has evolved into a lasting personal commitment to supporting the Yanomami people.
Simone Renwick, PhD
Secretary
Simone is a microbiome scientist focused on understanding how microbial communities influence health and on supporting ethical, community-partnered research. She completed her PhD at the University of Guelph and has pursued postdoctoral research in microbiome science. Her work draws on laboratory microbiology and multi-omics approaches to study microbial community function. She is committed to advancing microbiome research responsibly, with attention to equity, reciprocity, and real-world benefit.
Britt Rios-Ellis, PhD
Director
Britt earned an MSc in Health and Fitness Management and a PhD in Community Health from the University of Oregon, along with certification in Women’s Studies. She completed leadership programs at Harvard University and the HERS Program for Women’s Leadership in Higher Education. She currently serves as President of California State University, Stanislaus, where she advances inclusive education and community health.
Asesores
Emma Allen-Vercoe, PhD
Professor and Canada Research Chair, University of Guelph, Canada
Dr. Emma Allen-Vercoe began her career at the Central Veterinary Laboratories and the Centre for Applied and Microbiological Research in the UK. After postdoctoral work at the University of Calgary, she received a Fellow-to-Faculty Transition Award from the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology to study how the human microbiota influences health. Now a professor at the University of Guelph, she co-founded NuBiyota to develop Microbial Ecosystem Therapeutics for disorders linked to gut microbial dysbiosis.
Andrew Balcof
Filmmaker
Andrew Balcof is a filmmaker and storyteller who creates emotionally resonant works highlighting voices often excluded from mainstream media. His projects Wayumi and Angels of Mercy explore identity, resilience, and belonging, offering audiences immersive experiences that persist long after they leave the theater.
Javier Carrera-Rubio, PhD
Anthropologist
Dr. Javier Carrera-Rubio earned his PhD in Anthropology from the University of St Andrews, Scotland. Since 1990, he has worked among the Yanomami in the Upper Orinoco (Amazonas State), Venezuela, serving as anthropology advisor to the Yanomami association SUYAO (Shaponos Unidos Yanomami del Alto Orinoco), the Upper Orinoco Biosphere Reserve Project of the Venezuelan Ministry of Environment, and the Yanomami Health Plan of the Venezuelan Ministry of Health.
Larry Weiss, MD
Partner, Holobiont Medical Research Foundation
Dr. Larry Weiss is an experienced microbiome scientist and biotechnology executive with extensive expertise in research and development, FDA regulatory processes, and protein chemistry. He holds a BSc in Biochemistry from Cornell University and an MD from Stanford University School of Medicine, and he leads innovative efforts to translate microbiome science into medical and wellness applications.
Luciana Campos Paulino, PhD
Professor, Universidade Federal do ABC, Brazil
Dr. Luciana Campos-Paulino earned her MSc in Biological Sciences and PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology from the Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil, followed by postdoctoral research at New York University. As a professor at the Federal University of ABC in São Paulo State, she investigates microbial communities associated with the human body, particularly those of the skin, and explores how built environments influence health.
Julianna Durack, PhD
Microbiologist | Executive Director, Holobiont Medical Research Foundation
Dr. Julia Durack is the Executive Director of the Holobiont Medical Research Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing microbiome research for human health. She earned her PhD in Food Microbiology and BSc in Biomedical Science (Honors) from the University of Tasmania, Australia, and completed postdoctoral training at UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco. Her work focuses on developing microbiome-centered products in the cosmeceutical and dietary supplement fields.