Jennifer Edwards, Executive Director
Desireé Ledet, Peru Program Manager
Charlotte Bumbulis, Development Associate

Jennifer A. Edwards, Executive Director (Austin, Texas) May 2011-present

Jennifer directs the day-to-day management and growth of DiscoverHope Fund from our Austin headquarters and travels to Peru to work with our field-based Peru Program Manager and support partners.

Jennifer has over 15 years of extensive nonprofit leadership experience with an emphasis on fund development, operational innovation, and strategic planning.  Prior to joining the DiscoverHope family, Jennifer held a variety of leadership positions in the Central Texas nonprofit community, most recently as the founding Chief Executive Officer of United Way of Williamson County.  Other organizations she has contributed to include Helping Hand Home for Children, United Way Capital Area, Keep Texas Beautiful, March of Dimes, Paramount Theatre, and Austin Shakespeare.

Like thousands of others over the years, Jennifer first fell in love with Austin while attending UT and has called it home ever since.  Continuing a family tradition, she named her son Julian Austin to honor the community she loves.    Jennifer has a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre & Dance from the University of Texas at Austin.  Along with her commitment to DiscoverHope Fund, Jennifer also volunteers in the Film Archives of the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas.

A Note from Jennifer:  On my first day at DiscoverHope, I bought a new journal.  Opening the journal, I stared at the blank page and then carefully wrote the date, my name and my job title, “Directora Ejecutiva.”  At that point, a big grin spread across my face.  I truly believe I have spent my career in preparation for the role I play today with DiscoverHope.  Over the years I have seen and worked with hundreds of nonprofit organizations.  Very, very few have ever matched the tremendous merging of head and heart that is demonstrated among the people of DiscoverHope – starting with our board, staff and passionate supporters here in Austin and flowing down and into the local villages where we work in Peru.  When I first “discovered” this community, I felt that even its’ name was speaking to me.  I had finally discovered the mission I had been searching for.

Writing the title page of my journal on that first day, I looked for a memorable quote to grace the page.  Something beyond “Be the Change.”  Something more definitive.  Something of a manifesto that would speak to my vision of DiscoverHope.  I found it in Muhammad Yunus’ groundbreaking book, Banker to the Poor.   Dr. Yunus wrote “We want only courageous, ambitious pioneers in our micro-credit program.  Those are the ones who will succeed.”   DiscoverHope is entirely made up of courageous, ambitious pioneers who are succeeding.  Every day we take a stand for a world without poverty.  Every day we are making it happen — one loan at a time, one woman, one family, one village at a time.  That’s how you change the world and that’s what DiscoverHope does.  I couldn’t be prouder.

Desireé Ledet, Peru Program Manager (Cajamarca, Peru) January 2011 – present

Desireé is our most recent addition to the DiscoverHope Team, replacing Nora Bedard as Field Program Manager. In 2009 she served as a Curtis W. Meadows Summer Fellow and spent the summer working alongside Nora engaging in the everyday practice of our microcredit plus training programs. In spring 2010, “Des” spearheaded our site vetting committee to determine potential sites for our work. Most recently, she participated in a three month training module under Nora’s supervision preparing for her new position.

Desireé joins DiscoverHope from a variety of international and national experiences. During the spring of 2010, she completed her Masters of Public Affairs at the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs in Austin, Texas focusing on environmental policy and nonprofit studies. During that time, she worked as a graduate research assistant at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality-Border Affairs Division. Prior to completing her graduate studies, Desireé served three years with Peace Corps Peru as a community health extension volunteer in the northern coastal community of Salas, a mere six hours from Cajamarca.

A Note from Desireé:

I am so excited to be in Peru working with the women of DiscoverHope and continuing the legacy of the past three years. Nora has left an incredible platform from which to build and I feel blessed to have spent three months working alongside her and witnessing our women grow in so many ways. The decision to return to Peru was not taken lightly. As Nora made that big decision three years ago to leave her family and life as she knew it in the States, I too had to contemplate a life away from the comforts of home. I know in my heart that I am making the right decision and I am 100% committed to helping DiscoverHope fulfill their mission of creating abundance in the lives of women entrepreneurs in Cajamarca.

I would like to thank DiscoverHope for entrusting their confidence in me and allowing me to embark on such an exciting new chapter in my life. The entire DiscoverHope Family continues to inspire me on a daily basis with their love, dedication, and belief in our work. I promise to make you all proud of your decision to be a part of this important labor of love. I look forward to sending you updates as we grow the program to form new village banks and increase the number of entrepreneurial trainings so that more women can make the journey from poverty to prosperity.

Charlotte Bumbulis, Development Associate (Austin, TX) May 2011-present

Charlotte is responsible for the daily management of our donor database and processes, fundraising event details, volunteer coordination, website management, and various other operational details.  With her background in education, Fair Trade program development, event management and volunteer coordination, Charlotte is ready and capable of harnessing and shaping Discover Hope’s “growing pains” as we look towards a bright future full of possibilities.

She first became aware of DiscoverHope in February 2010 as the lead volunteer coordinator for Global Women’s annual Summit and Global Marketplace hosted at her church.  She was encouraged by a mutual friend to invite Discover Hope to be a vendor in the marketplace.  After researching DiscoverHope’s website, her first thought was “What a unique and brilliant micro-credit plus training model!  I want to work for them someday!”

Charlotte has been nurturing her passion for socio-economic justice and international development since October 2008 where she experienced her first Fair Trade market, and her worldview was broadened to understand the inter-related reality of our globalized world and the impact her consumer choices had on vulnerable and impoverished populations. She holds a BM in Music from the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor and is pursuing further education in the areas of business and international development.

A note from Charlotte: “May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that we may live deep within our hearts. May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that we may work for justice, freedom and peace. May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.  And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done.” –A Franciscan Blessing

I feel truly blessed and elated to have been granted the opportunity to work beside, learn from the DiscoverHope family. Since my first coffee interview to my first meeting with the DiscoverHope Board, I have been greeted with immense love (and lots of hugs), captivated by the authenticity, generosity, and dedication of the DiscoverHope family, and inspired by the life-giving vision and work of DiscoverHope’s model—life giving not only for the women with whom we work, but for my own life as well.  I am grateful to be a part of the growing, innovative, and dynamic organization that is DiscoverHope.