Team
Ricardo Castillo A.
President of Universidad Francisco Marroquín
Brad Lips
President of Antigua Forum 2024
CEO of Atlas Network, one of the world’s largest market-liberal organizations; member of Mont Pelerin Society and John Templeton Foundation; former Internet entrepreneur, Wall Street analyst, and music journalist; co-author of The Reagan Vision and contributor to Freedom Champions
Lenore T. Ealy
International vice president of UFM; Former senior fellow for communities at Charles Koch Institute; founding president of Philanthropic Enterprise; founder of Thinktecture, Inc.; executive director of the Philadelphia Society
Wayne Leighton
Executive Director and CEO
Former chief of Office of Strategic Planning at US Federal Communications Commission; former senior policy director at Office of American Innovation in the White House
Carrie Conko
Vice president of communications at State Policy Network, a nonprofit that cultivates free-market, state-based movements rooted in economic and political freedom; former senior vice president at Mercatus Center at George Mason University, responsible for communications, marketing, outreach
Hugo Díaz
Angel investor, technology entrepreneur, and founder of five businesses serving more than three million customers in seven countries; specialist in business-to-business sales, health-care technology, software as a service (SaaS), and mobile applications; director of Acton MBA program at UFM
Will Dowell
Director of Poverty Initiative at Stand Together, a philanthropic community that works to remove barriers in education, business, communities, and government; CEO of Behind Every Door, an organization that provides services to improve life in underserved neighborhoods
Rajesh Jain
Serial tech entrepreneur; founder and managing director of Netcore Solutions, a global marketing technology firm; founder of IndiaWorld Communications, one of India’s first Internet portals; founder of Free a Billion, a nonprofit designed to mobilize popular support for market-liberal reforms
Surse Pierpoint
General manager of Colón Import & Export, S. A.; former manager of Colon Free Trade Zone; appointed by the president of Panama to establish rules for this free economic zone; former head of Colón Free Trade Zone Users Association; president of the market-liberal think tank Fundación Libertad Panamá
Daniel M. Rothschild
Executive director of Mercatus Center at George Mason University; former senior fellow and director of state projects at R Street Institute, a policy research organization; former director of external affairs at American Enterprise Institute; strategist, writer, and policy analyst.
Marcela Bonilla
Coordinator at Events Department at UFM
Krista Gonzalez
Director at Events Department at UFM
Isabelle Castellanos
Assistant at Events Department at UFM
Giancarlo Ibárgüen
Founding chairman
Entrepreneur and former president of Universidad Francisco Marroquín
Carmen Rodríguez
Lead Facilitator 2022-2023
Director of the Learning Innovation Center at UFM, a development and training program for teachers; former facilitator at Acton Academy Guatemala; researcher of active learning environments; former Peterson Fellow at the Acton School of Business
Karen Maeyens
Lead Facilitator 2021
Designer and facilitator of learning experiences and events that foster co-creation; facilitator trainer; former director of the Ongoing Learning program for UFM faculty and Michael Polanyi College at UFM; founding member of Juan de Mariana Institute in Spain; linguist and economist
Helmuth Chávez
Lead Facilitator 2020
President of Antigua Forum 2023
Entrepreneur and dean of UFM School of Business; cofounder and general partner of Invariantes Fund; consultant in business valuation and investment portfolio management
Lissa Hanckel
Lead Facilitator 2019
Director of development at UFM; member of UFM Board of Trustees
Hermina “Mina” Merkel
Lead Facilitator 2017-2018
Consultant and designer of events/processes that increase leader effectiveness in educational institutions and corporations; expert in experiential problem-solving methods; experience in over 50 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas
Christiane Schneider
Lead Facilitator 2012–2016
Entrepreneur and business partner at organizational consultancy cidpartners GmbH; specialist in planning and implementing complex change processes; researcher in self-organizing systems theory
Helmuth Chávez
President of Antigua Forum 2023
Lead Facilitator 2020
Entrepreneur and dean of UFM School of Business; cofounder and general partner of Invariantes Fund; consultant in business valuation and investment portfolio management
James Jones
President of Antigua Forum 2022
Co-founder of Local Voice Solutions, a consulting firm that assists political candidates who support accountable, representative, and transparent government; co-founder of Accountability First, a political action committee; entrepreneur and investor in oil and gas industry
Ricardo Castillo A.
President of Antigua Forum 2021
Provost and Secretary General of Universidad Francisco Marroquín Member of the Board of Directors of Center for Economic-Social Studies
Andrew Morriss
President of Antigua Forum 2020
Dean of School of Innovation at Texas A&M University; vice president for entrepreneurship and economic development at Texas A&M School of Law
Lawson Bader
President of Antigua Forum 2019
President and CEO of DonorsTrust, a community foundation that works with libertarian and conservative philanthropists; former president of Competitive Enterprise Institute; former executive vice president of Mercatus Center; board member at Atlas Network, State Policy Network, Solers, Inc.
Ramón Parellada
President of Antigua Forum 2018
Entrepreneur; director of Exploraciones sobre la libertad, a joint colloquia program between Liberty Fund and Universidad Francisco Marroquín (UFM); treasurer of UFM
Alfredo Timermans
President of Antigua Forum 2017
CEO of Telefónica Internacional USA; former secretary of state for communications and former deputy chief of staff under President José María Aznar; former director of the Foundation for Social Studies and Analysis (FAES)
Arthur Chait
President of Antigua Forum 2016
Founder of EoPlex semiconductor; former senior vice president at Stanford Research Institute, principal at Booz Allen, and senior vice president at Solectron/Flextronics; adjunct professor at Notre Dame de Namur University; mentor at Stanford’s StartX accelerator
Mónica Zelaya
President of Antigua Forum 2015
Dean of the School of Economic Sciences at Universidad Francisco Marroquín; director of UFM’s business administration and entrepreneurship programs; director of the Kirzner Entrepreneurship Center; senior consultant for Franklin Covey
Fred Kofman
President of Antigua Forum 2014
Executive coach and vice-president of leadership and organizational development at LinkedIn; author of Conscious Business
Jeff Sandefer
President of Antigua Forum 2013
Conceptualizer and promoter of reform in Texas state universities; co-founder of Acton School of Business and Acton Academy (K-12); founder of Sandefer Capital Partners; Socratic teacher
Roberto Salinas
President of Antigua Forum 2012
President of The Economist’s Mexico Business Forum; director of Alamos Alliance conferences
Lawson Bader
President and CEO of DonorsTrust, a community foundation that works with libertarian and conservative philanthropists; former president of Competitive Enterprise Institute; former executive vice president of Mercatus Center; board member at Atlas Network, State Policy Network, Solers, Inc.
Arthur Chait
Founder of EoPlex semiconductor; former head of Stanford Research Institute’s consulting division; principal at Booz Allen and SVP at Solectron/Flextronics; adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at Notre Dame and Menlo College; mentor at Stanford’s accelerator and Draper University; president of Antigua Forum 2016
John Chisholm
Entrepreneur in technology; president of MIT Worldwide Alumni Association; founder and former CEO of Decisive Technology (acquired by Google) and CustomerSat (acquired by Confirmit)
Juan José Daboub
Former Managing Director of the World Bank; former Minister of Finance; Founder of the non-profit Global Adaptation Institute which helps businesses and the public sector respond to climate change and other global issues
Daniel Austin Green
Program director of Templeton Religion Trust; former director of Individual Freedom and Free Markets program at John Templeton Foundation; former fellow and resident scholar at Liberty Fund;
lawyer, CPA, economist, theologian, and musician
Tom Hazlett
Former chief economist of US Federal Communications Commission; Macaulay Endowed Chair in Economics, Clemson University and Professor of Law & Economics, George Mason University
Vidar Jorgensen
Founding president of Grameen America, a microfinance entity; founding director of Grameen Health, a primary care program for low-income immigrant women and families; majority owner of Cambridge Healthtech Institute, Corporate Research Group, and World Health Care Congress
Leonidas Montes
Dean of School of Government at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez; former chairman of the board at Televisión Nacional de Chile
Asra Nadeem
Managing partner at Draper University Ventures; director of entrepreneurial programs at Draper University; expert in product strategy for emerging markets; interested in building technologies that skyrocket human potential
Tom Palmer
Vice president for international programs at Atlas Economic Research Foundation; general director of Atlas Global Initiative for Free Trade, Peace, and Prosperity; senior fellow at Cato Institute
Ruth Richardson
Former Minister of Finance; pioneer of first code of fiscal responsibility; architect of widespread reforms in 1990s
Roberto Salinas
President of The Economist’s Mexico Business Forum; director of Alamos Alliance conferences; President of the Antigua Forum 2012
Sean Sheppard
Founding partner of GrowthX, a seed-stage venture capital company; co-founder and lead instructor at GrowthX Academy, a school that trains growth talent for tech companies; Huffington Post contributor; sales influencer and serial entrepreneur who has successfully grown dozens of companies
Matías de Tezanos
Internet entrepreneur and investor; named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum; founder of Hoteles.com, the most visited hotel reservation site in Spanish (acquired by Expedia); founding CEO and chairman of PeopleFund, which invests in tech startups
Alfredo Timermans
CEO of Telefónica Internacional USA; former secretary of state for communications and former deputy chief of staff under President José María Aznar; former director of the Foundation for Social Studies and Analysis (FAES)
Chris Ullman
Founder and president of Ullman Communications, a strategic advisory firm; former director and managing director of global communications for Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest private equity firms; former director of communications for US Office of Management and Budget and House of Representatives Commerce Committee; expert in strategy and crisis management
Ian Vásquez
Director of Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity at Cato Institute; area of expertise in Latin America, especially in economic development
Bridgett Wagner
Vice president for policy promotion at Heritage Foundation, oversees coalition relations, lecture and seminar series, young leader development, and strategic outreach; trustee at University of Dallas and Intercollegiate Studies Institute
Mike Walker
Founding CEO of Fraser Institute, a market-liberal think tank; co-founder, with Milton and Rose Friedman, of the Economic Freedom of the World project, which is now a collaboration of 80 institutes worldwide
Linda Whetstone
Chairman of Network for a Free Society; former chairman of International Policy Network; board member of Institute of Economic Affairs and Atlas Network