Board of Directors

Emily Pauletto | Director, Board Chair

Emily is an advertising professional by day and avid yogi (practitioner and instructor) by night. She was drawn to Building Dignity in 2015 after graduating from DePaul University and looking for a community-based organization to lend her marketing & communications talents. She was delighted to be given the opportunity to join the Advisory Board in 2018 and continue to support the people and mission of Building Dignity. While on the Board, Emily was at the helm of unique fundraising events such as Giving Tuesday, rooftop & virtual yoga classes, and pop-up events at local Chicago establishments. She also kept donors and supporters informed with management of newsletters and social media. After over 3 years on the Advisory Board, Emily is ready to take her commitment to Building Dignity’s mission to the next level as the Chair of the Board of Directors

David Smeath | Director

David is a British accountant working for the UK-based non-profit Street Child. He started doing volunteer finance consultancy in 2013 and loved the combination of adventure to faraway places and using his professional skills to help worthy organizations. He has supported organizations across Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa, including as a volunteer for Building Dignity in 2016. David was incredibly impressed with the work and spirit of the Villa El Salvador community, and gratified to improve finance processes to ensure the organization runs efficiently. After 3 years on the Advisory board, he feels privileged to have the opportunity to serve on the Board of Directors and to play a part in this small but powerful organization.

Jonah Watt | Director

Jonah is a Programs Associate for Asia and Latin America & the Caribbean with Innovations for Poverty Action, where he works to support impact evaluations of development programs in those regions. He holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Bowdoin College, and he spent a semester in Valparaiso, Chile. Jonah was Building Dignity's Princeton in Latin America fellow for 2018-2019. Highlights from his year in Villa include leading Voices of Youth, teaching violin classes, and helping lead a neighborhood census. He currently lives in Chicago, but enjoys getting updates on Villa from the kids and mothers that he is friends with on Facebook.

Joscelyn García | Director

Joscelyn is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Affairs at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. She attended Tufts University, where she earned a B.A. in International Relations and minors in Latin American studies and Chinese. Upon graduating in 2016, Joscelyn headed to Taitung, Taiwan, where she was a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant at an elementary school. Afterwards, she spent a year as Building Dignity’s Princeton in Latin America Fellow for 2017-2018. There, she was fortunate to build strong bonds with the children, mothers, staff and her host family whom she still keeps in contact with today. Joscelyn feels privileged and is excited to join the Board of Directors.