Our People
As a truly “grass roots” organization, Rancho Feliz enjoys the benefits inherent in a small but active Board of Directors. With just four members, decisions can be made quickly and the charity operated efficiently. All Board members are volunteers, each bringing his, or her, own special talents to the organization. As well respected members of the community, the Rancho Feliz, Board of Directors have access to a far reaching infrastructure of donated goods and services.
Gil Gillenwater – Founder & President
Gil Gillenwater is a lifelong Arizona resident. He attended Arcadia High School in Scottsdale where he distinguished himself as an All-State football player. He attended college on football scholarships and was graduated from Arizona State University. After college Gil and a partner purchased a Century 21 residential real estate franchise and built the company up to the largest producing Century 21 office in the western United States. Gil is currently a principal in the Scottsdale-based SDI, Inc. This company was founded in 1984 and specializes in land investment and entitlement. Since its inception, SDI, Inc. has purchased and sold over 10,000 acres of land located in and around the Phoenix and Sedona areas.
Gil is a black belt in Kenpo Karate, a yoga and meditation practitioner and he enjoys both bicycling and hiking. Gil organizes and participates in Feliz’s grueling, multi-day, extreme sport, fund raising events. He has traveled extensively throughout the world. As a student of Eastern thought, he has concentrated his travels in Southeast Asia - including four expeditions/pilgrimages into the Himalayan “Hidden Lands” of Tibet and a fifth journey into the Himalayan Mountains of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh. Gil has been able to successfully integrate many of the ancient Eastern concepts garnered from his travels into his charitable work in Mexico. For more information on Gil’s Tibet travels go to: www.hiddenfalls.org
In addition to his involvement with Rancho Feliz, in 2005 Gil established the Guardian Warrior Foundation, Inc. Gil is President of this organization and he self-funds the charity.
In 1999, Gil was a recipient of the Hon Kachina Award, Arizona’s highest honor for volunteerism. In 2000, he was one of five members throughout the United States chosen to receive the National Association of Realtors, “Good Neighbor Award”, likewise honoring volunteerism.
Jim Armstrong – Director
Jim Armstrong founded JDA Software Services Limited in Canada in 1979. He is the co-founder, former Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of JDA Software Group, Inc. (JDA) based in Scottsdale.
In March 1996, JDA began trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol JDAS. JDA now has 1,586 employees worldwide and is the demand and supply chain partner to the world’s leading retailers, manufacturers and suppliers, helping more than 5,500 customers in more than 60 countries. For the 12-month period of January 1 through December 31, 2006, JDA had revenues totaling $277.5 million.
In 1996, Jim and his wife Jo-Ann established the Armstrong Family Foundation. In 1999 they founded the Kiita Foundation. Jim is President of both organizations. These charitable corporations are self-funded through donations made by Jim and Jo-Ann.
Jim is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Arizona State University Foundation. In addition, as an original member of the Board of Directors for Rancho Feliz, he also serves as the volunteer Barrio Education Program Coordinator. In this capacity Jim oversees a unique partnership with the Colegio Americano Anais, a private bi-lingual school in Agua Prieta. Jim coordinates the funding and management of over 70 private school scholarships and over 100 public school scholarships.
In 2002, Jim was the recipient of the Ernst & Young Arizona Master Entrepreneur of the Year award. In 2003 he was the recipient of the Governors' Celebration of Innovation, Ed Denison Business Leader of the Year award. Jim brings his extensive business background to the operation of Rancho Feliz, constantly working for, as he would say, “The biggest bang for our charitable buck!”
Jim is a private pilot as well as an active volunteer in Rancho Feliz’s extreme sport, fund raising events. He is a native of Elliot Lake, Ontario and attended Ryerson College in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Irene Carroll – Director
Irene Carroll serves as a Vice President for the prominent Scottsdale development company DMB and General Manager for DMB’s newest project, One Scottsdale; a unique, luxury retail, residential and lifestyle community in north Scottsdale. Irene is also a member of DMB’s Executive Leadership Team, composed of the most senior managers within DMB. She has been with DMB for more than 9 years. Prior to her involvement with One Scottsdale she was General Manager of Marley Park, another DMB planned community. Prior to joining DMB, Irene owned and operated Effistructure Residential, a land acquisition, development and entitlement company. She was also previously the Vice President of Land Acquisitions for Monterrey Homes and Division Manager for Richmond American Homes. Ms. Carroll is a graduate of University of Texas at El Paso and is a Certified Public Accountant.
In addition to her role and responsibilities at DMB, giving back to the community has always been a strong focus in Irene’s life. As an original member of the Board of Directors for Rancho Feliz, she also serves as volunteer Project Manager for the visionary Vecinos Dignos housing community for displaced families. Irene has been a mentor and role model for several young girls in Agua Prieta. Her leadership abilities and involvement with Rancho Feliz led her to receive national recognition when in 2004 she was named “Outstanding Woman of the Year in Construction” by the National Association of Women in Construction and the Del Webb College of Construction at Arizona State University.
An accomplished yoga practitioner, Irene has also run the New York Marathon and has participated in two of Rancho Feliz’s grueling, multi-day, extreme bicycling, fund raising events. She is also the proud mother of son, Derek Schurbon, who is an outstanding individual and high school Junior at Notre Dame Preparatory High School. Together, they have made many trips to Agua Prieta to share in the joy of service and spending time with the underprivileged.
Kim Kroger – Director
Kim Kroger is a native of Phoenix, Arizona where she attended local schools and was graduated from Arizona State University. She is self employed to allow time for travel, volunteer work and charitable projects.
Kim is an original member of the Rancho Feliz, Board of Directors and has been a volunteer for Rancho Feliz since 1998. She was instrumental in initiating and operating the “Guardian Warrior” Sponsorship Programs. Under Kim’s direction the Sponsorship Programs consistently raised over $10,000 per month in donations for the care and support of abandoned children and senior citizens in both Agua Prieta and Cananea.
Kim is a favorite of the shelters’ children and over the years she has served as a mentor to many of the family-less girls. In an effort to expand the abandoned children’s horizons, she has sponsored several trips to Phoenix where they tour the Science Center, Equestrian Centers, ASU, the Phoenix Zoo and other points of interest and education. Kim also coordinates the travel and appointments for many barrio children with special medical needs to visit doctors here in the United States. In addition, she works with children locally and was a big sister through Valley Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Kim is a strong animal advocate. She is involved locally in animal rescue and volunteers regularly at sterilization clinics. She was instrumental in establishing one of the first “dog parks” in Scottsdale. Kim has volunteered for The Arizona Animal Welfare League, the Animal Rescue Center, and Poverty’s Pets. Kim also donates in Mexico to Amigos de los Animales de Guanajuato. Her experience with dog rescue is greatly needed in Mexico. Accordingly, Kim has established “Mexico Mutts” which operates under the Rancho Feliz charitable umbrella. Mexico Mutts currently supports much needed education and mobile sterilization clinics in Agua Prieta.
Kim is a certified yoga instructor and she consistently participates in Feliz’s grueling, multi-day, extreme bicycling, fund raising events.
Mexican Partners
The Republic of Mexico is a country rich in tradition, customs and laws. Many of these are very different from those found in America. Consequently, in order for a U.S. charity to operate effectively in this foreign country it has been vitally important that Rancho Feliz align itself with well respected and knowledgeable Mexican citizens. While the value proposition of the American dollar to the Mexican peso has allowed Rancho Feliz’s donations to be stretched and leveraged to the maximum, equally important has been Rancho Feliz’s ability to leverage its efforts through relationships and joint venture partnerships with upstanding citizens in the communities in which it operates. Rancho Feliz’s decades of volunteer work in Mexico would not have been possible without the aid and assistance of these Mexican counterparts.
Chief among them are Demetrio and Queta Ibarrola. As life-long residents of Agua Prieta, the Ibarrola’s have been instrumental in helping and guiding Rancho Feliz in its many and varied charitable construction and educational endeavors. Not only have the Ibarrola’s been invaluable partners in the work arena, but over the years a strong bond of personal friendship has been forged between the Rancho Feliz volunteers and the Ibarrola’s. The volunteers often refer to Queta as the “Mother Teresa” of Agua Prieta.
Also of vital importance has been Agua Prieta resident, Alejandro Laureano. Fluent in both Spanish and English, Alejandro is responsible for the oversight and direction of Rancho Feliz’s popular and high-demand, volunteer “Exchange Program”. Averaging over 1000 participants per year, this program houses American volunteers in its on-site Exchange Dormitory and puts them to work helping the less fortunate in the local barrios. Over the years Alejandro has become a “Legend of Service” to the thousands of individuals who have volunteered under his direction.