About Us
About Tikkun
Tikkun Eco Center is a project of the Centro por Ecología y Economía Sustentable de San Miguel de Allende, A.C. We are located outside the World Heritage city of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Founded in 2008, Tikkun’s Permaculture site has developed into a beautiful and inspiring community hub for education, activism, and ecological restoration. The center offers programs, workshops and retreats that foster a deep sense of connection and responsibility towards the earth.
Our mission is to create a resilient and just world for present and future generations. To that end, we advance social and environmental justice through projects promoting equitable access to resources and empowering younger generations to repair and nurture their communities.
Directors, Team Members, Advisors
BEN ZION PTASHNIK
Co-Founder, President
Ben-Zion Ptashnik, born in Israel, is a lifelong environmental and social justice activist, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Ben graduated from the Bronx HS of Science, studied history at CCNY, and political science at Goddard College in Vermont. At Antioch University, New England, his postgraduate studies were focused in ecology and natural resources management.
Early in life Ben experienced cooperative agricultural life working on an Israeli kibbutz (similar to Mexican Ejido) and was an early organizer in the anti-war, civil rights and organic food coop movements. He served as the first Director of NOFA, the Northeast Organic Farmers Association, now over 5,000 members. Ben also co-founded Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR), served on the Vermont Governor’s Judicial Nominating Committee, and as Chair of the Board of Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG), Vermont’s largest environmental organization
In the 1990s Ben was elected for two terms as a Vermont State Senator, serving on the Government Operations, Economic Development and Agriculture Committees, where he spearheaded legislation for campaign finance reform, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture. As Co-Chair of the Vermont Senate Health and Welfare Committee, Ben sponsored a lawsuit against the tobacco industry, and legislation to stop Monsanto GMO hormone injections for cows. He was also a co-sponsor of the landmark Vermont Civil Union Bill, the first state law in the US codifying LGBT couples’ legal rights.
In his entrepreneurial life Ben was co-founder and President of Via Vermont, Ltd, an international fair-trade company working with over a hundred independent artisan families in San Miguel de Allende. Ben also pioneered renewable energy in Mexico, installing thousands of solar and wind systems in eight Mexican states from 2003 to 2013. He also worked in cooperation with the San Miguel Ecology Department to build solar systems for campesinos in remote off-grid villages, and to establish solar net metering in all 32 states through Mexican Congressional legislation.
Ben founded the Stopnitz Family Fund, a philanthropy endowed in memory of his immediate family and over 3,000 Jews of the Polish town of Stopnica who perished at Auschwitz or were forced into Nazi slave labor camps. In 2008 the Stopnitz Fund established the Centro Por Ecologia y Economia Sustentable de San Miguel de Allende, A.C. and began developing the Tikkun Eco Center. Today Ben continues to live, grow food and organize to heal the environment at Tikkun, with his partner Victoria.
VICTORIA COLLIER
Co-Founder, Farm & Communications Director
Victoria is a life-long activist and advocate for people and planet. Beginning her career at 16 as a door-to-door fundraiser for the New York Public Interest Research Group, Victoria has worn most hats in the non-profit field. For three decades she has been building organizations from the ground up, at the community and national level.
In the early 2000s, Victoria learned the philosophy and design systems of Permaculture as director of Tierra Lucero, a non-profit organization in Taos, New Mexico, located on a demonstration site designed by Permaculture co-founder Bill Mollison. The site included a Community Supported Agriculture program, and hosted internships and Service Learning groups from around the world. Their Home Gardens Project installed backyard gardens for low-income families and schools, and they helped launch the Red Willow Sustainable Education Center on the Taos Pueblo.
Though ecology is her passion, Victoria recognizes that healthy democracy is foundational. In 2013 she and her partner Ben Ptashnik co-founded the National Election Defense Coalition (NEDC) where, for ten years, she directed development, websites, communications and fundraising to secure U.S. voting systems and protect voting rights. The work of NEDC resulted in over $1.4 billion in federal funding to states to upgrade election security, and the ability of states to verify the results of the 2020 election.
Today Victoria is the co-founder and director of the Tikkun Eco Center where she oversees project development, grant writing, publishes the Tikkun website, and manages the community gardens. She is mother to four dogs, five cats, and a large flock of chickens. In her free time (which means not often) she is a creative writer and fine artist in pastel portraiture.
ING. REBECCA AYALA
Community Outreach Director
Rebeca was born in CDMX and grew up in Querétaro, México. At 18, for a year, she did social service in Santa Maria Quiegolani, Oaxaca in a Zapoteco community where she taught Math, Chemistry, Spanish and English in the community high school, there she also learned about permaculture and ecological service-learning living in the community boarding school. After that Rebeca lived in Germany for almost 2 years where she learned English and German.
Rebeca has a degree in Environmental Engineering from the Universidad Tecnológica de Querétaro, She did her professional practices in PROFEPA (Procuraduría Federal del Medio Ambiente) as an environmental industry inspector. From 2013 to 2015 Rebeca worked in Dow Chemical Company as a EH&S Manager, developing new models of efficiency in the Water Treatment Plant.
Rebeca worked a few years in government communication campaign but her environmental commitment pushed her back to the community way. In 2018, Rebeca got a Green MBA (Environmental Master Business Administration) from UMA Universidad del Medio Ambiente in Valle de Bravo, where she also worked as a project coordinator for UMA and ASPJ (Diseño ecológico de arquitectura, paisaje e intervención urbana).
In 2020 she worked in Tierra de Peña, an agroecological vineyard in Bernal, Querétaro developing an eco-tourism business model.
Nowadays, Rebeca is the internal and external community coordinator for the projects at Tikkun Eco Center.
ING. EDGAR MONZON
Chief engineer
Ing. Edgar Monzon is Tikkun's chief engineer and advisor in charge of solar, wind and water systems both at our Permaculture center, and for all outside water harvesting projects. He received his degree in Industrial Engineering from the Universidad Tecnológica de San Miguel de Allende.
Edgar was the chief engineer and technical project manager of the San Jose de Gracia reservoir restoration project and the eco park at the reservoir. Having successfully managed and brought to completion the San Jose restoration, he is now moving on to coordinate engineering for the twenty reservoir project- he is now our key technical advisor to water harvesting project development in other villages, towns, and residential developments. He is also director of technology for all solar systems and irrigation systems at Tikkun.
Edgar’s wife was born in San Jose de Gracia, and they live with their 4 year old son in the neighboring village of Organos.
MARY ELLEN COLON
Board member, program and development advisor
Mary Ellen Colon has been a consultant in the area of Intercultural Communication for over 30 years. She has offered seminars and workshops in various countries around the world including the US, Mexico, Colombia, Spain, England and France. A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and New Orleans, Louisiana, Mary Ellen is bilingual and bi-cultural, and has lived and worked in numerous countries, including a 4-year-long sailing voyage around the world.
Ms. Colón has a Masters in Intercultural Communication and a Bachelors degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA. Past clients include the US Embassy-Mexico; the Mexican General Consulate in San Diego, CA; Citibank; CONACYT; numerous universities throughout the United States, Mexico and Europe, Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior (Bancomext), Deloitte & Touche-Mexico; The International Community Foundation of San Diego, CA; Us-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership, among many others.
She presently resides in San Miguel de Allende, México.
ATAHUALPA CALDERA SOSA
Watershed Restoration Associate
Atahualpa Caldera Sosa has a degree in Biology from the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos, later he completed his master's degree in Integrated Management of Hydrographic Basins at the Autonomous University of Querétaro. He is a founding member of Grupo de Acción Interdisciplinaria Ambiental A.C. (GAIA).
He has worked as an advisor in the public, private sector and with other organizations on issues of watershed management, water, waste management, composting, sanitation, restoration and rehabilitation of rivers and streams, and erosion control.
Atahualpa has worked in the environmental education and communication sector, producing documentaries and short films. Together with his family, he is the founder of the "ecoaldea los carrizos" which is a demonstration center for ecotechnologies applied to sustainable rural housing where he has lived for 16 years, in the rural area of San Miguel de Allende.
AGUSTIN MADRIGAL
Watershed Restoration Advisor
Agustin Madrigal, has been the Director of Salvemos el Rio Laja for 11 years and coordinates conservation, soil restoration, and water projects in local rural communities as part of the National Program in Watersheds and Cities, funded by the Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza, A.C.
BARBARA R. ARNWINE, ESQ
Board Member
Barbara R. Arnwine, president and founder of Transformative Justice Coalition, is internationally renowned for contributions on critical justice issues including the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1991 and the 2006 reauthorization of provisions of the Voting Rights Act. She was the head of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, one of the most prominent civil rights NGOs in the US from 1989 until June of 2015. She holds the honorific title of President Emeritus. Arnwine’s work also includes women’s rights, immigrant rights, judicial diversity, criminal justice reform, racial profiling, and LBGTQ rights.
A prominent leader in the civil and human rights community, she continues to fight for the preservation of affirmative action and diversity programs. She has received numerous national, regional, and local awards. In 2015, Arnwine received the prestigious Charles Hamilton Houston Medallion award, along with co-honoree Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In 2013, she received the Feminist Majority Foundation’s Fearless Trailblazer Award and during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 2013 Annual Legislative Conference, she was awarded the Sojourner Truth, Woman of Truth award. In May 2013, she received the Leadership Conference on Civil andHuman Rights’ coveted Hubert H. Humphrey Civil and Human Rights Award.
Arnwine is a graduate of Scripps College and Duke University School of Law.
NICK MENZIES
Water and food Security International Funding Advisor
Nicholas Menzies is lawyer by training, with deep experience in third world climate projects. He is a Senior Governance Specialist for Latin America and the Caribbean in the Governance Global Practice at the World Bank.
At the Tikkun Center Nicholas has served as a volunteer and trusted advisor in our reservoir restoration project. In the winter of 2022-2023 he helped as researcher for the Village scale Reservoir restoration projects in San Jose de Gracia and at the Llano Blanco Ejido in the Town of Sosnabar.
Nicholas has worked at the intersections of plural legal systems as a land and natural resources lawyer for indigenous communities in Australia, on legal empowerment and access to justice issues in Cambodia and in providing policy advice to the Papua New Guinean cabinet across a range of matters, from participatory budgeting and micro-enterprise development to gender-based violence.
Nicholas has also worked in progressive political advocacy, building social movements for political, cultural and environmental action.
At the World Bank, Nicholas works on climate change, ecosystem restoration, and decentralization. Nicholas is also a member of the Bank’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Task Force.
JUSTIN TALBOT ZORN
Climate and Mindfulness Policy Advisor
Justin Talbot Zorn serves as senior climate policy advisor for Tikkun. In his years in Washington DC Justin served as both a policymaker and as Legislative Director to three Members of the US Congress. He holds graduate degrees in international relations and public policy from Oxford University and Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
Justin is also a Senior Adviser to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a Truman National Security Fellow. In his policy and communications work, Justin specializes in climate, innovation, manufacturing, and economic competitiveness, with a focus on increasing federal investments in translational research focused on clean energy, health, and climate adaptation. He has organized ideologically diverse coalitions in business and government to support policy reforms to allow Net Metering and Community Solar, and to increase funding for election security and administration. He served as Policy Director of the National Election Defense Coalition (NEDC) from 2016 to 2021
Justin helped to launch and lead a first-of-its-kind mindfulness program in the US House of Representatives, bringing together people from across the political spectrum to do the work of finding greater calmness and insight. He is co-author of Golden: The Power of Silence in a World of Noise.
THE REVEREND
RODNEY S. SADLER JR., PhD
Board Member
Rodney S. Sadler, Jr. is an ordained Baptist minister and presently serves as Associate Pastor of Mount Carmel Baptist Church and as Associate Professor of Bible at Union Presbyterian Seminary. A passionate social justice activist and environmentalist, he is long time member and organizer in the NAACP, and currently serves as the North Carolina NAACP chairperson of their Healthcare Committee. He has also been active in election protection and voting rights.
Reverend Sadler is a widely published author and editor. Among his research interests are the intersection of race and Scripture, the development of African American biblical interpretation in slave narratives, the enactment of justice in society based on biblical imperatives, and the intersection of religion and politics.
A graduate of Howard University (1989, B.S. Psychology/Philosophy), Howard University School of Divinity (1992, M.Div.), and Duke University (2001, Ph.D. Hebrew Bible and Biblical Archaeology), Rodney has also studied at Hebrew University (1990) in Jerusalem.
Dr. Sadler resides in Charlotte NC with his wife, Dr. Madeline McClenney‐Sadler (president of the Exodus Foundation.org) and his daughter Ariyah Sadler.
JEFF WOLFE
Climate Policy Advisor
Jeff Wolfe is a lifelong environmentalist and renewable energy pioneer and solar energy entrepreneur. As a renowned climate crisis mitigation advocate Jeff has organized and presented on the issue of climate change and climate action at multiple conferences, institutions and public venues.
Jeff brings to Tikkun his in-depth renewable energy and environmental background as former Chair of the Solar Energy Industries Association (the association representing the US Solar Energy Industry) and as a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists National Advisory Board. He also served on the Board of the National Election Defense Coalition.
He is a recognized leader in grid transformation and a pioneer in creating the US solar photovoltaic industry, consulting on solar and utility strategy, policy, regulation, programs and product development.
A serial entrepreneur with broad experience and success, he is founder and Chairman of GroSolar, one of the larger solar energy companies in the US, with operations in the Americas, Asia and Africa. Jeff has advised and collaborated with many solar energy companies, and steered Shell Connected Energy (Shell Energy) into its current strategy.
Jeff worked in Mexico with Solar San Miguel International S.A. de C.V. as a project development expert and consultant
FAVIOLA RUIZ
Community Water Projects Advisor
Faviola Ruiz is the Delegada (Representative) to the Municipal Council of San Miguel Allende for the Pueblo of San Jose de Gracia, where the Tikkun Center for Ecological and economic Sustainability is located. Faviola was born in San Jose de Gracia, and she was elected and served as Delegada under three different City administrations as the spokesperson and advocate for the community. She also manages a local farm.
Faviola has been a great partner and supporter to Tikkun, active in organizing the San Jose community to participate in the planning of the reservoir project, as well as mobilizing volunteers for tree planting at the restored reservoir.
Faviola now also serves as the head of the San Jose Reservoir Water Committee, charged with mapping out the future eco park the community aims to establish at the reservoir site. She has also promoted our project to the San Miguel municipality, and has managed to get San Miguel City to donate a playground and a soccer and basketball court for the new eco park at the reservoir.
VICKY JASPEADO
Board Member
Vicky Jaspeado is a long time member, supporter and dear friend of Tikkun. She is also a passionate tree planter and a public park developer. In 2020 Vicky “adopted” a 3000 square meter park close to her house in San Miguel Centro, where she has been planting trees and supporting them to thrive.
She has over 30 years of experience practicing Meditation and has certifications as a yoga teacher and as a Hellenistic Astrologer.
An instructor at the Kane Intentional Communication™ Institute, Vicky is a graduate of Daily Life Semiology at the Instituto de Semiología de la Vida Cotidiana and has trained in the areas of Intercultural Communication, Emotional Release Therapy, and Emotional Freedom Technique.
Vicky currently lives in central Mexico in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato.
She raised three amazing women.
DENISE ROSENFELD
Board Member
Denise was born and raised in Mexico City, has travelled extensively, and lives today in San Miguel de Allende. She is a long time supporter and dear friend of Tikkun, and serves Tikkun as both a Board Member and terrific translator of documents.
Mother to two strong women, Denise is a professional baker and owner of Postres Artesenales, dedicated to lovingly prepare healthy and delicious desserts in San Miguel. Denise is a passionate lover of nature, Mother Earth and all living beings, and has stated that she is “grateful to be able to be on the Board of this beautiful project”.
Denise volunteers at Tikkun as a trusted advisor and translator.
ADRIANA ARISTIZABAL
Board Member, Translator
Adriana is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Paladria an international translation agency that operates out of Spain. A native of Colombia, Adriana lived in San Miguel for twenty years, and is a professional translator with 30 years of experience and an extensive record of translating books and other publications into over a dozen languages.
Adriana worked specifically in the field of self-help publications for renowned authors such as the Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, Abraham Hicks, and many others.
A long time neighbor of the Tikkun Eco Center, Adriana has helped translate our website and publications into Spanish, and has been a great supporter and friend.