About Us

Marcela and Kevin Shine

Kevin and Marcela have been married for over three years and are New Jersey residents. Marcela was baptized in her birth city of Medellin Colombia as Marcela Eugenia Gaviria Saldarriaga. Her family immigrated to the United States in 1979. She has kept very close ties with her family in Medellin, whom Kevin met in November. Kevin’s primary role will be to manage the business side of Shine On Marketing, their marketing firm that supports project Asi Crecemos, while Marcela works on marketing and distribution.

Kevin is a mutual fund Research Analyst and Marcela is the Chief Operating Officer for an online advertising firm. Both companies are based in New York City.

Iryna and Nathaniel Clark

Iryna Clark emerged, not unscathed, from the ruins of the former Soviet Union, having been born in an 'occupied' Germany, then spending much of her life in St. Petersburg. Her interest in Design began as an inverse reflection of her Fine Art/Media Arts studies at the University of California, San Diego, where she became obsessed with "doing something useful" in art. Iryna now lives on the outskirts of San Diego with her husband Nathaniel, who enjoys the cries of the coyotes, and their teen daughter Katya, who is athe age where- as J.D. Salinger said- she "just dies" about 12 times a day. Find out more about her work at http://www.irynaclark.com/

Nathaniel began to code in his spare time, never once thinking he might make a living from it. His overall laziness has forced him to work overtime in his pursuit of abstractions and automations, since he'd rather design a system than do the same thing over and over again. He began this fruitful collaboration with Marcela through the online advertising firm where they work.  A clever and enthusiasitc email via Craig's List earned him the key to future projects with the Shines. Really, though, he is an artist: find out more about his artwork at http://www.nathanielclark.org/

Beatriz Elena

During the week Beatriz works as a professional in the field of medicine. She now spends every weekend, however, volunteering her time at local villages. Her first project taught 45 women how to knit and 16 of them are now making a living and supporting their families through this work. Today, she is helping over 60 families improve their lives through the production and distribution of Productos Fique: Bolsos y Accesorios. Read the entire story here. Beatriz currently lives in Medellin, Colombia with her mother and two children.