Ricardo Mangione 
     President 
     Owner, Casa Caribe
     Full-time resident of North Akumal 

Ricardo Mangione was elected President of Vecinos in 2023. He and his wife, Monica, have five children and three grandchildren.

His background includes:

• Fluent in Spanish and English
• Graduated in Universidad Central de Venezuela with Bachelors Degree in Cardio-Respiratory Science.
  
• Graduated in NOVA Southeastern University Medical School with Bachelors Degree in Physician Associate Studies and a Master Degree in Public Health.
• Worked as Interventional and Vascular Surgery and Neurosurgical PA-C for over 20 years in Miami Florida.
  
• Worked as Assistant Professor Interventional and Vascular surgery fellowship for University of South Florida Medical School. 
  
• Worked as Assistant Professor for PA program at Florida International University.
• In charge of multiple medical committees and medical task forces that implemented guidelines and protocols at Baptist Health System during COVID 19 pandemic.
  
• Excellent listener and communicator with extensive leadership abilities.

   Helmie Atarie 
     Vice President 
     Property Manager 
     Full-time resident of Tulum, MX  

Helmie was elected Vice President of Vecinos in 2022. His background includes:

• The Akumal Dive Shop as Receptionist 1987 - 1992
• The Akumal Dive Shop as Manager 1992 – 2002
•  Akumal Management Company – Co founder and Manager 2002 – 2006
• Locogringo Inc – Reservations Specialist 2006 – 2011
• The Akumal Dive Shop – Reservations Specialist 2011 – 2014
• Akumal Sunshine Vacations -  Owner / General Manager 2014 – Present
• ADMAK(Akumal Property Managers Association) - President  2015 - Present
•  Vecinos de Akumal Norte honorary member  2018 - Present
•  Vecinos de Akumal Norte Government Committee member 2019 - Present 

   Neil Canter      

     Treasurer

     Owner, Casa Cascadas   

     Resident of Weston, Connecticut

Neil was elected Treasurer of Vecinos in 2023. He and his wife, Lisa, have owned Casa Cascadas since 2004.

Vecinos involvement:

• Member of Finance and Charter Committees 
  
• Builder and administrator of Vecinos’ website
• Established new Vecinos systems for membership management, online credit card processing, and accounting
  

Career highlights:

• Degrees in engineering and finance
  
• 33 years in statistical modeling and analysis for marketers and advertisers 
  
• CFO, head of analytics, and co-owner of a start-up marketing analytics consultancy 
  
• President of global analytic consulting division at Nielsen
• Retired in 2015

   Monica Gabriela Estrada Apodaca 
     Secretary
     Owner, Coco Propiedades 
     Full-time resident of Solidaridad, MX

Monica was elected Secretary of Vecinos in 2022.  Highlights of her resume include:

• Associate Degree in Hospitality Management, Southwest Institute 
• Texas Realtor since 2002
• Akumal Villas Vacation Rentals Reservations 2007-2009
• Coco Propiedades Property Management & Rentals, President and Owner since 2012
• ADMAK (Akumal Property Managers Association) Founder & Secretary since May 2015
• NAS (North Akumal Security) Assisted raising money from Businesses and Owners 2015-2018
• As ADMAK member worked along Vecinos de Akumal Norte President Dan Freeman since 2016
• Vecinos de Akumal Norte honorary member since 2016
• Assisted with coordination of Solar Lamps for Akumal Norte 2017
• Worked on Promotion Project #Come2Akumal in 2020
• Created FB page Vecinos de Akumal Norte March 2021
•  Vecinos de Akumal Norte Government Committee member since 2019 

   Ingrid Datica 
     At-large Board Member
     Owner, Casa Balam Ek
     Full-time resident of North Akumal

Ingrid has special responsibility for The North Akumal Security Program, a program she's been involved with since its inception, before Vecinos took over managing it.

Ingrid’s experience includes ecology, event planning, real estate rentals, and property management, arts, dance, and theater, photography, and painting as a hobby.

She is currently John Allen's personal assistant and archivist and works with the institute of Ecotechnics. As vice president of ADMAK, the local Akumal Property Managers, Ingrid is active in the local community. 

   Lynda Kerney
    At-large Board Member
    Owner, La Sirena #9
     Full-time resident of North Akumal

After 46 years of residency in Palm Springs, California, Lynda was able to make the transition to digital nomad lifestyle and, with her husband Mike, moved full time to Akumal Norte in September of 2017. They were drawn by the unique atmosphere, beauty and vibe of the community. Lynda joined the Vecinos Board to help ensure that the ambiance and character of Akumal Norte is preserved under the encroaching pressure of nearby development. She is also committed to expediting construction of the sewer line.

Lynda is a remote worker for two water districts in California.  In her professional career, she served as Legislative Assistant to the County Supervisor and worked on policy matters, community issues, communications, and as liaison to three communities. She has more than 20 years’ experience with high-level confidential administrative support, utilizing her experience with sunshine laws, meeting protocol, agenda preparation, minute-taking, and knowledge of local government operations. 

Lynda is a strong advocate for community involvement and is a longtime and well-known volunteer in her former home community, including the local neighborhood organization. She is known for consensus-building, organization and planning. Lynda devoted thousands of hours to Palm Springs-area civic organizations and charities, serving as a Board member and avid volunteer for such organizations as the Cabot’s Pueblo Museum, Leadership Coachella Valley, the Palm Desert Golf Cart Parade Committee and the Tahquitz River Estates Neighborhood Organization.

    Peter William Swenson   
      At-large Board Member 
     HOA President, Mi Casa Del Mar
     Resident of Boulder, CO

• Peter and his wife, Barbara, bought their condo at Mi Casa del Mar in 1999 to enjoy the diving and the local culture, and now split time between Akumal and their home in Boulder Colorado. They typically spend 4-5 months in Akumal a year.  Peter is a semi-retired consultant in the nuclear engineering field, having spent his professional life as an executive in large programs world-wide. He is currently supporting the design of the next generation fast breeder reactor for ARC Clean Energy. Previous assignments include:
• Program Director, United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
• Head of Project Office, ITER experimental fusion reactor, Cadarache France,
• Deputy Director, FIFA World Cup, Doha Qatar
• Director, Contracts and Procurement, CH2MHILL, Denver Colorado
•  Director, Rocky Flats Plant, Golden Colorado
• Senior Consultant Positions:

Paris 2024 Olympics

Dubai Work Expo 2020

West Valley Nuclear Plant

Express Canada Pipeline

   George Ernest Pritchard
     At-large Board Member
    Owner, La Bahia #4
    Legal Resident of both Quintana Roo and Kirkwood, MO

George is a board member of Vecinos and serves as treasurer for La Bahia.  He and his wife, Josie, started coming to Akumal in 2000 and bought their condo in La Bahia in 2012.  They usually spend a total of 6-7 months a year in North Akumal.

Before retiring in 2005 George owned and managed construction companies for 35 years.  He has served on many boards, both for profit and non-profit companies. Most notably, he was President of the Mid America show board, a 6-member board that held trade shows in 11 states.  George also helped form an education training program for training personnel in the swimming pool industry and was an instructor for the program.  

   Beryl van Lierop
   At-large Board Member
    Owner, Yalku Cai #2
    Full-time resident of North Akumal

Beryl is a current Vecinos board member, a past Vecinos Vice President, and President of the Yal Ku Kai condominium Homeowners’ Association. He has owned his condo in North Akumal since 1994.  Highlights of Beryl’s resume include: 

• Attended schools in Buenos Aires, Beirut, New York, Mississippi 
• Bilingual Spanish/English
• Graduated in Political Science/Spanish 
• Taught in the International Baccalaureate program in Jackson,Mississippi public schools. 
• Chairman foreign language department Jackson Public Schools 
• Led student and college alumni tours of Yucatán/QR.
• Board member Belhaven Heights Homeowners Association 
• Member of Vecinos and Akumal council until their dissolution 
• Vice President Vecinos de Akumal Norte 2016-present 
• Presiding President of Vecinos de Akumal Norte Annual Meeting 

Recently retired board members

   Roy Daniel Freeman II 
     President Emeritus 
     Owner, Casa Gatos 
     Full-time resident of North Akumal 

Dan Freeman was president of Vecinos from 2016 until 2023. Dan’s background includes:

• Taught 6th grade in Philadelphia for 7 years
• Owned and operated Occasions Caters for 12 years
• Acted as Director of Sales and Marketing for Philadelphia Zoological Gardens 12 years
• Worked with the Zoo team to develop, build. Opened the New Jersey State Aquarium as the Director of Marketing & Sales 2 ½ years. Returned to the Zoo
• Joined Barry Caterers as their development officer. 6 years
• Retired to Akumal Norte, Casa Gatos to live and develop our reservation program

Dan also has extensive background in working with team projects, negotiations, raising capital, building institutions.  In Philadelphia, he served as President of Washington Square Civil Association and President of Coles House for Women (created in 1868).