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Supporting positive change through service projects in the Yucatan Peninsula.
Our Mission
What is the Yucatan Peninsula Mission?
YPM is committed to building real and sustainable transformations in the lives of the Mayan/Mexican people in the Zona Maya region of the Yucatan Peninsula. Incorporated as a nonprofit in both the US and Mexico, YPM provides opportunities for positive change to children, adults, families, and communities in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico – through service projects, education, health care, and spiritual support.
YPM has been promoting positive change in the Yucatan since the 1960’s, when Cancun was a small fishing village of about 200 people. As the population of Cancun increased, YPM began to focus on the Zona Maya, the villages of the interior of the peninsula. In 2004, YPM established a base for our work in the village of Leona Vicario.
In 2007, the vision for YPM’s impact grew exponentially with work beginning to build a school. Originally the goal was to provide a high school for the region, but over the years that vision developed to include a university offering various high needs degrees as well. In 2020, YPM formed a partnership with a Living Waters for the World team to start construction of a safe water plant to serve the community.
Today, YPM supports various projects in the Zona Maya: educational projects, public health projects, and much more!
The village of Leona Vicario is located in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo on the Yucatan Peninsula, approximately 40 km southwest of Cancun. With over 6,000 inhabitants, it is growing into an important connection point between Cancun and the smaller villages of the Zona Maya. The town was named for Leona Vicario, one of the most prominent figures of the Mexican War of Independence and one of the first female journalists in Mexico, who financed the rebellion with her fortune and was married to Mexican independence figure Andres Quintana Roo.
The YPM Mission House (known locally as “Casa Americana”) is a secure, walled base that comfortably hosts groups of up to 40 people. Mission group members may sleep in hammocks, as the locals do, or in beds. YPM hosts provide all meals on-site using safe food preparation and water. The town center has several small shops and a professional police department, making the town safe for residents and tourists.
The Yucatan Peninsula Mission is incorporated as both a 501(c)3 in the United States and as an Asociación Civil (A.C.) in Mexico. Both organizations are run by volunteer boards.
Our Values
- Service: We lead and act with humility, putting people at the center. Each action exists to serve people and not structures.
- Hope: We believe that transformation is possible even in the most adverse contexts with the greatest vulnerabilities.
- Dignity: We believe that each person has intrinsic worth and deserves respect, care, and opportunities to fully develop.
- Integrality: We serve people in an integral way: physical, spiritual, emotional, educational, and social.
- Community Commitment: We walk together with communities, respecting their identity, culture, and active participation in their own development.
- Justice and Solidarity: We promote just, supportive, and collaborative relationships that strengthen the fabric of the community.
- Responsibility and Transparency: We administer resources with ethics, accountability, and faithfulness.
YPM Mexico
Board of Directors
The YPM Mexico Board is responsible for the life changing impact work of YPM in the Zona Maya community, overseeing the various YPM projects. The YPM Mexico Board are members of the Maya community and are deeply integrated with the needs of the people we serve.
Wilian Colli Cen
President
Reverend Cen is a Mayan/Mexican National who is an ordained Presbyterian pastor and an ordained elder in the Mexican National Presbyterian Church. His communication skills and excellent relationships are responsible for providing leadership, implementation, expansion, and continuance of the YPM mission and work. He is also responsible for handling all the relationships of the organization with group coordinators, group attendees, community members, and other workers.
Erly Flor Santos Cen
Treasurer/Secretary
Erly’s highest priority for YPM is to fully and completely record all receipts and disbursements, as well as prepare accounting records for necessary government tax reports, and handle official business with government agencies (such as the Hacienda-IRS tax and licenses departments; Municipal, Social Security and Emigration offices). Erly also has financial powers for the organization, such as banking, accounting, purchasing and monthly reporting.
Ricardo Ismael Tun Santos
Board Member
Ricardo lives in Cozumel, Mexico, with his wife Sarai Pech and son Ricardo Jr. Ricardo is an ordained pastor and member of the Presbyterian Church of Mexico. Ricardo holds professional degrees in Theology (Universidad Evangélica Nicaragüense “Martín Luther King Jr.”), Education (University-Instituto de Estudios Universitarios), and a Masters Degree in Educational Institutions Administration. At present, he is a full time pastor, professor and Director at the YPM Institute.
YPM USA
Board of Directors
The YPM USA Board is responsible for recruiting and managing support for the YPM Mexico AC through volunteer groups as well as monetary and in-kind donations. The YPM USA Board may also serve in an advisory capacity to the YPM Mexico Board as needed.
Jim Wittmer
President
Jim has been participating since 2007 on YPM construction trips and has been a Board member since 2014. He is married to Ann, has three grown sons and two grandsons. With 44 years in the electric utility industry, Jim is now a retired electrical engineer. As a member of Northminster Presbyterian Church, Jim is active in Building and Grounds, and Mission Teams. “I love the Mayan people and their love of God and for each other. I believe in the YPM purpose and hope to remain active for many more years.”
Grace McConaghie
Vice President
Grace first came down to Leona Vicario on a mission trip in 2018 and then returned every year she could. After visiting five times, she joined the board in 2025 and decided she wanted to spend more time with Wilian and Erly and their mission in Quintana Roo. So, she moved to Mexico in January 2026. Grace’s career is in immigration law where she helps immigrants apply for their work permits, green cards, and U.S. citizenship. She deeply values the hospitality, patience, and resilience her clients exemplify.
Rich Delano
Treasurer
Rich joined the YPM Board in 2019. He is an Elder at First Presbyterian Church, San Antonio where he currently is Board Chair of the Zbinden Center for Biblical Leadership. After a career in various accounting and internal audit roles with large international retail organizations, he currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer for San Antonio Academy. Originally from Ohio, and a graduate of Indiana University, he is an avid Big Ten sports fan. He has been married to his college sweetheart Linda for 40 years.
Emmy Soyka
Secretary
Emmy has been a board member since 2024 and first learned about YPM when Wilian and Erly presented to her church. Emmy’s professional career is in international affairs and nonprofit management and it was all sparked by service trips to Temuco, Chile, and Las Maravillas, Mexico, in high school and college. Just like YPM’s trips, working alongside the Mapuche and Maya people brought God’s light alive for Emmy and she is so excited to reconnect with that passion working with YPM.
Cynthia Robinson
Board Member
Cynthia grew up on the Texas border, has spoken Spanish since childhood and holds a BA in Spanish. Her first mission trip was to Guatemala in 2005. 2008 was her first Medical Mission Trip to YPM with FPC San Antonio. “What I love most about YPM is the leadership and mission: Wilian and Erly are visionaries dedicated to bringing educational opportunities and healthcare to the underserved Maya population…It is a blessing to serve in whatever capacity I can in order to help bring about positive change.”
Lori Rohlfing
Board Member
Lori is has been serving on YPM construction trips since 2019. She loves getting to know the Maya people and sharing God’s love wherever she goes. Lori is a member of Northminster Presbyterian Church in Peoria, IL. She is a retired engineer from Caterpillar and now volunteers at Northminster and an inner city nonprofit afterschool program for middle school students. Lori loves the outdoors and spends free time hiking, kayaking, and gardening. She is married to Roger and they have 3 adult children.
Mark Hughey
Board Member
Mark Hughey is an ordained Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor with decades of ministry experience. A founding board member of Yucatan Peninsula Mission (YPM), he has been involved since 1999, when his first mission trip to Cancun sparked a lifelong commitment to the Maya people. Mark holds a Master of Divinity from the University of Dubuque Theological School and is a certified Health and Life Coach. He enjoys kayaking, biking, hiking, and nature photography with his wife, Loriann.
Mike Gross
Board Member
Mike Gross is currently serving as a commissioned pastor at United Presbyterian Church in Ft. Morgan, Colorado. Mike is a retired school teacher and was able to go to YPM for the first time in 2020. He joined the board the next year and has led presbytery-wide trips for missions to YPM. His wife Mary and two of his three children have also joined work trips. Mike now has grandkids (2). There is great joy in serving alongside the dedicated staff and volunteers that make YPM such a vibrant ministry.
