Supporting the Mission, Building for the Future
Behind the work happening every day in Guatemala is a dedicated administrative team that helps Seeds for a Future grow, increase its impact, build partnerships, and provide the systems and resources that support the Program.
Working closely with the team in Guatemala, they strengthen the organization behind the fieldwork while expanding Seeds for a Future's reach and long-term impact.
The Team Behind the Team
Leilani Yats - Executive Director
Leilani Yats is a nonprofit executive, community builder, and experiential travel entrepreneur whose work is rooted in community development and cross-cultural connection. As Executive Director of Seeds for a Future, she leads the organization closest to her heart, advancing its mission to reduce malnutrition and improve food security in rural Guatemala through nutrition education, mentorship, and sustainable backyard farming. Having earned her MBA and supported the growth of the Silicon Beach community in Los Angeles, Leilani applies her skill set to increasing the impact of Seeds for a Future.
She is also the Founder of an impact travel company that connects organizations to the communities they support across Central America, and she serves as a Board Member for WCCN to empower international economic development. Above all, Leilani believes in the Seeds philosophy at its core: that when you plant with intention, i.e., knowledge, nutrition, and trust, communities grow strong from the inside out.
Christopher Warren - Operations Officer
Christopher brings a broad background in operations, business development, marketing, technology, and project management to Seeds for a Future. Over more than 25 years, his work has ranged from building and managing digital imaging operations and working in geospatial technology to sales and marketing leadership, real estate, and digital marketing. Across those roles, a consistent thread has been bringing people, systems, and technology together to help organizations work more effectively.
He joined Seeds in 2021, building and supporting much of the infrastructure behind the organization’s work. His responsibilities span the website and digital systems, donor and foundation information, CRM and email platforms, fundraising systems, analytics, search visibility, and other operational systems that keep the administrative side of Seeds connected and moving forward.
Marty Appleton - Development Officer
Martha "Marty" Appleton brings 15+ years of nonprofit development expertise to Seeds for a Future, where she leads the donor and partner relationships that fuel the organization's food security work for families in rural Guatemala.
Marty’s skills and experience span major gifts, donor relations, corporate partnerships, annual giving, and capital campaigns, alongside an earlier 15-year career in aviation management and marketing that sharpened her instincts for strategy and execution. Her real strength is connection, meeting with donors or partners and aligning their goals with causes that create lasting impact. At Seeds for a Future, she brings that expertise to the relationships that fuel the organization's work, drawn to a hands-on approach to food security she sees as a foundation for dignity and self-reliance, building partnerships to assist families in rural Guatemala in building healthier, more secure futures.
Dr. James "Jim" Barlow, Program Consultant & Agronomist
im Barlow serves as a Program Advisor and Agronomist for Seeds for a Future, bringing a lifetime of expertise directly to the families the organization serves, helping them build the healthy, living soils that grow more nutritious food, stronger harvests, and more sustainable income. It’s a full expression of the belief that has guided his whole career: care for the soil, and you care for everyone who depends on it.
Jim has spent more than five decades working at the intersection of soil health, nutrition, and better health, driven by a single conviction: that healthy food begins with living soil. An agronomist trained at California Polytechnic State University and a pioneer of regenerative agriculture long before it had a name, he co-founded the groundbreaking soil ecology laboratory Soil Foodweb, Inc. and has advised farmers and governments across four continents, from a 30,000-acre farm's transition to regenerative practices to contributing to an international soil carbon standard. His connection to Guatemala reaches back to his very first fieldwork in 1972, and he has been drawn to Central America's smallholder farms ever since.
