Growth ➪ Resources ➪ Action ➪ Community ➪ Empowerment
A catalyst for development; where communities take the lead.
Year Established
Current Projects
Communities Impacted
of every dollar goes to projects
We are a Catalyst
GRACE Cares’ mission is to partner with local leaders to catalyze action through small-scale development projects. We aim to support communities in sustainably meeting their own needs while respecting local cultures and traditions.
Founded in 2002, GRACE Cares has been at the forefront of community development and empowerment for over 20 years. Our projects, spread across various sectors, have significantly contributed to creating healthy, educated, just, and productive communities worldwide. We provide much-needed expertise, funding, and support for a diverse range of projects, including those focused on health, education, peace and social justice, cultural preservation, and economic development. Through our consistent efforts, we strive to instigate positive changes that resonate for generations to come.
Our Model
Local Heroes
Through our network of international partners, we are able to identify motivated individuals and communities brimming with innovative ideas poised to make a significant difference. Our focus is directed towards projects that align well with our mission, and typically require modest funding – usually less than $10,000.
By concentrating on such projects, we ensure that even small funds can create a ripple effect of change, indicating our belief in the power of localized, grassroots efforts. This strategy not only allows us to support a greater number of initiatives but also reinforces our commitment to fostering self-reliance and sustainability within the communities we serve.
Advisory and Technical Guidance
GRACE Cares is dedicated to empowering local heroes and communities by providing them with necessary and technical support to turn their projects into sustainable realities. With extensive experience in international development, public health, and project planning and implementation, we have honed our expertise over the years.
Our mission is rooted in the belief that change is most effective when it is driven by those who understand the community’s needs best. Thus, we are committed to leveraging our knowledge and resources to aid passionate individuals and groups in their endeavors to make meaningful and lasting impacts.
Sustainable Change
GRACE Cares supports sustainability by partnering with projects that have established a relationship and connection to the community in which they are working. GRACE Cares works hand-in-hand with these partners through all aspects of project development, funding requests, implementation and evaluating impact.
Partner Projects
Cindy entered the GRACE Cares world in 2016 to redesign their website. She eventually moved into supportive roles and took over the day-to-day financial operations as well as maintaining the website. She is proud to be part of this organization that supports others in their missions that help communities thrive.
Aziza joined the GRACE Cares team in 2020. As Program Coordinator, she supports the Executive Director and the Program Manager in coordinating meetings, tasks, and communication between the GRACE Cares team and our partners. She also works on creating documents and templates to help organize information and workflow within GRACE Cares as well as with partner projects.
Carol Katz has over 40 years of experience in finance and administration, primarily in the healthcare field. She received her MBA from Babson College, and her undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She has been living in the Tampa St Petersburg area for the past 20 years where she owned and operated a revenue cycle management company.
Austin joined GRACE Cares as an intern in 2021, helping with social media, then transitioned into his current role as a Communications Specialist. He operates GRACE Cares’ social media accounts. As a Communications Specialist, he makes sure there’s always engaging content on Instagram and Facebook.
As Program Manager, Dorothee has provided support to project leaders and partners based on their goals and needs since 2022. She enjoys working in International Development and supporting people with ideas and a passion for changing their communities.
Lamia Lahrech joined the GRACE Cares team in August, 2018 as the Executive Director. Under her direction, GRACE Cares continues expand project engagement and refine the organization's processes.
Isabel is a bilingual professional with over 8 years of program and data management experience across sectors and industries. She earned a Masters in Quantitative Methods of the Social Sciences from CUNY’s Graduate Center and Bachelors degrees in Economics and Latin American Studies from the University of Miami. This formal education was informed by and is balanced with international experience in social impact organizations, where she’s been responsible for strategic program and measurement framework design, development of indicators and data collection channels, program execution and iteration, and all things analysis: data cleaning, statistical analysis, visualization, and communication of outcomes to diverse stakeholders. Outside of impact learning and measurement, Isabel is called by nature, conflict transformation, and creative exploration.
Noah Steinberg-Di Stefano is a seasoned humanitarian Program Manager with expertise in Cash and Voucher Assistance, Disaster Risk Reduction and food security programming. He has worked on emergency response, refugee support and early recovery projects throughout Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Colombia, Jordan and East Africa. He has a MA Degree in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University Heller School for Social policy and published a MA Thesis on Neuroscience frameworks for positive youth development and reducing violent extremism. Noah first connected with GRACE Cares in 2021 and has supported with fundraising and grant writing strategy for partners.
With 17 years of nonprofit and corporate leadership experience, followed by 15 years founding, growing and selling her own businesses, plus multiple volunteer leadership roles, Suzanne is a values driven leader who is passionate about making systems, structures and organizations perform better for all stakeholders.
Dr. Zoe Kopp is originally from Tarrytown, New York. She has lived and worked throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. She received her PhD in Health Behavior from Union Institute and University in 2007 and her Master of Public Health in epidemiology and evaluation from Tulane University in 1987. In 1981 she founded North Florida Women’s Health and Counseling in Tallahassee, Florida, and was guest Lecturer at Florida State University. During 1987-1989 she was Clinical Services Officer for International Planned Parenthood Federation and led that organization’s development of clinical guidelines for reproductive health and quality of care initiatives. As Deputy Director for Primary Health Care for CARE International (1990 -1992) she guided health education programming and expanded HIV prevention activities in Asia and Africa. Dr. Kopp, as a consultant to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) programs, authored several texts on Women’s Health/Urology and helped to establish the continuing education department for the Indian Medical Association. Zoe is retired from Pfizer, where she was Senior Director of Outcomes Research, leading international research teams and studies from 1996 until 2012. She and her husband currently reside in Florida.
Kasey Ochiltree joins the GRACE Cares Board from Boston, Massachusetts, where she is currently the Program Specialist for the Humanitarian Team at Oxfam America. Kasey graduated with her MA in International Peace Studies from the University for Peace in Costa Rica and her BA in Intercultural Studies with minors in Missions and Islamic Studies from Houghton College in Houghton, NY. Her growing area of focus with Oxfam is around Gender Justice and Transformative Leadership for Women’s Rights. Kasey enjoys soccer, photography, and exploring the world. She is very excited for this opportunity to be a part of the GRACE Cares community.
Dean Gallea is a co-founding board member of GRACE Cares. A test engineer with Consumer Reports since 1974, Dean has provided mentorship, technical expertise and capacity building to GRACE Cares projects for over a decade. Dean continues to lead annual service tours in the Dominican Republic with Project Hearts. He is passionate about the transformative effect of technology, arts, health and education for GRACE Cares community partners..
Danielle Huffaker, MA, is a social scientist, community development practitioner, and communications professional. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology from UC Berkeley and a master’s degree from the Centre for Development and Environment at the University of Oslo, where her thesis research focused on what the Cosmovision of the Maya people of Guatemala can offer a transformative enactment of climate change adaptation. She has eight years of involvement in grassroots development projects in Indigenous communities in Guatemala, having lived in Guatemala from 2013-2017. She now lives at the Monastic Academy for the Preservation of Life on Earth (MAPLE), a training center for developing leaders able to confront global existential crises with wisdom, love, and power. She is excited to lead the board of GRACE Cares because she finds inspiration in the passionate service of local heroes serving their communities all around the world.