About Us
Who We Are
ConnectED Fellows invests in rural educators who are trusted leaders in their communities. We provide leadership development, mentorship, and resources that enable them to bring people together, identify priorities, and lead solutions that strengthen education and community well-being.
Our Mission
Connect, equip, and resource a network of education leaders to strengthen communities across rural Latin America.
Our Vision
A Latin America where local educators lead with purpose, skills, and resources to build stronger, self-sustaining communities.
OUR STORY
The Raechel & Jackie Foundation (RJF) was founded in 2013 in loving memory of Raechel and Jacqueline Houck. The two young sisters’ passion for children and education continues to inspire our work today. Guided by the lessons of our past and a commitment to continuous learning, we adopted the name ConnectED in 2019 to reflect a new chapter of growth and impact.
Thanks to the vision of our co-founders, Cally Houck and Sooni Gillett, the support of early partners, and the dedication of local staff, we developed a unique approach rooted in listening, trust, and local leadership.
From the beginning, we worked alongside rural communities to identify priorities and support solutions that improved opportunities for children and youth. Through this work, we discovered that some of the strongest leaders in these communities were educators – trusted voices, connectors, and problem-solvers who brought people together around shared goals.
Today, ConnectED Fellows is an investment platform for local leadership, investing in rural educators as catalysts for community change. We connect Fellows with leadership development, mentorship, peer networks, and catalytic seed funding, they need to bring people together around shared priorities and lead community-driven solutions. Together, they strengthen education, expand opportunities, and build stronger, more resilient communities.Our vision is simple: communities where people work together to create better opportunities for the next generation.
Our Timeline
RJF is Born
Co-founded by Cally and Sooni, RJF embarks on program research in Nicaragua and Guatemala to gain insights into the development of a community-driven education solution that will have sustained impact.
Nicaragua on the Map
Guided by insights from local communities, RJF initiates the Fellows Model with the goal to bring relevant and locally-based solutions addressing educational challenges to Nicaragua.
Meet the Fellows
RJF welcomes its first group of Fellows who engage their communities to implement projects that create new schools, improve computer literacy, train local teachers, improve water management, and more.
Pushing Forward
Ours is also a story of resilience as we navigate our operations and continued support for our Fellows amidst political unrest and economic instability within the region. During this period RJF also invests in a vigorous strategic planning effort to evaluate its impact to-date and refine its Fellows Model for scale and replication.
RJF is ConnectED
RJF rebrands as ConnectED to focus on bridging education leaders and communities to resources that will improve learning in Central America. ConnectED embarks on the first phase of its strategic plan, developing long-term partnerships with organizations and communities in Guatemala, to implement its revised Fellows Model there and beyond.
Fellows in Guatemala
Working with key local partners, ConnectED identifies and supports its first two cohorts of Fellows in Guatemala who, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, engage their communities to implement projects that create digital libraries with open education resources, school nutrition programs, safe spaces, and more. In 2021, to support local in-country leadership of the organization and in line with our values, ConnectED transitioned its primary CEO role to be based in Central America.
2020–2025 Strategic Plan: Building the Foundation
ConnectED Fellows refined and validated its Fellows Model in Guatemala. Together with Fellows, communities, and partners, we demonstrated that investing in rural educators strengthens local leadership and creates meaningful opportunities for children and families.
Our Vision for 2026–2028
Building on a decade of learning, ConnectED Fellows is entering a new phase of growth. Alongside the launch of our three-year pilot in Colombia, we are strengthening the network, partnerships, and organizational capacity needed to demonstrate that the Fellows Model can be successfully adapted and scaled in diverse country contexts across Latin America.
The ConnectED Fellows Team
We are fortunate to have a dedicated and experienced team with diverse expertise in education, conservation, advocacy, nonprofit administration and community development
Get Involved
How can you make a difference?
Invest in a Fellow.
Support a trusted rural educator with the leadership development, mentorship, and catalytic seed funding needed to turn community priorities into action.
Become a Volunteer.
Share your expertise to strengthen the work of ConnectED Fellows and support rural educators leading change in their communities.
Become a Partner.
Join a growing network of organizations committed to strengthening local leadership and expanding opportunities for children and families across rural Latin America.