About Us
Support the Cuban People is a non-political, Florida-based 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization focused on initiatives that support the Cuban people residing in Cuba through programming that provides humanitarian aid, promotes cultural exchange, fosters collaboration, and empowers Cuban artists and entrepreneurs.
Our Journey: Milestones of STCP
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![Three young girls smiling and standing together outside a colorful house.]()
2019 – The Spark of an Idea
Formation of the Organization: A group of passionate individuals, driven by a shared love for Cuba and its people, came together to establish Support the Cuban People. This initiative was born out of firsthand experiences and deep connections with Cuban communities.
Launch of The Cuba Project: Initiated efforts focusing on student engagement, collecting oral histories, documentary film projects, and facilitating academic collaborations between U.S. and Cuban institutions.
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![An elderly woman with glasses and a headband stands at a table filled with groceries and food items, smiling at the camera.]()
2020 – Rising to the Challenge
First 'Art & Love In Action' Auction: Despite global uncertainties, hosted the inaugural auction in Jacksonville, FL, raising over $30,000 to support Carmen and Rey’s Kids, a program aiding children battling cancer in Cuba.
Humanitarian Aid Amidst Pandemic and Protest: Successfully transported hundreds of pounds of essential food and medicine to Cuba during the height of COVID-19, showcasing resilience and commitment to those in need.
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![Children playing soccer and others watching on an outdoor basketball court in a neighborhood with old, weathered buildings.]()
2021 – Solidifying Foundations
Continued Aid Deliveries: Dispatched hundreds of pounds of food and medicine, reinforcing our role as a reliable conduit for humanitarian assistance.
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![Elderly farmer holding large green plant leaf in a lush crop field at sunset, with two other farmers riding ox-drawn carts in the background.]()
2022 – Expanding Horizons
Achieved 501(c)(3) Status: Officially recognized as a non-profit organization, enabling expanded outreach and fundraising capabilities.
Micro-Entrepreneurship Grants: Developed a grant program supporting Cuban private businesses, empowering both urban entrepreneurs and rural farming families to be executed in 2026.
Cultural Exchange Initiatives:
Partnered closely with Cuban artists and oral historians to nurture meaningful collaborations. Supported project development, research, and creative discovery while connecting participants with international platforms that amplify Cuban voices and foster global dialogue. -
![Multiple organized soft-sided medical and food supply bags on a tiled floor, labeled as containing 200 pounds of food and medicine.]()
2023 – Deepening Impact
Expanded Humanitarian Aid Network:
Built stronger logistical channels to receive and distribute more aid—resulting in the delivery of over 2,000 pounds of food, medicine, and essential supplies across Havana and surrounding rural communities.Grassroots Distribution Model:
Strengthened on-the-ground partnerships with trusted community members and families, creating a more efficient and locally guided system for getting aid to those most in need.Oral History & Storytelling Efforts:
Conducted and archived new oral histories in collaboration with Cuban elders, farmers, artists, and families, preserving rich stories that might otherwise be lost. -
![A diverse group of children and adults outdoors, smiling for a photo, with trees and a building in the background.]()
2024 – Strengthening Bonds Across Cultures
Second Art & Love In Action Auction:
Hosted the second edition of our signature fundraising event, bringing together artists, collectors, and supporters across borders. The auction raised critical funds for humanitarian aid and cancer support programs in Cuba, while celebrating Cuban creativity, resilience, and love in action.Deepened Educational and Cultural Partnerships:
Expanded academic and organizational collaborations, as well as fieldwork opportunities—supporting students, scholars, academics, and artists engaged in Cuban studies, oral histories, documentary photography, and humanitarian outreach. These exchanges fostered dialogue, mutual learning, and a deeper understanding of Cuba’s complex realities.Sustained Support for Cuban Creators:
Provided essential tools, supplies, and logistical support to Cuban artists, musicians, and entrepreneurs—empowering them to sustain their work and share it with both local communities and international audiences. -
![Illustration of a blue and brown bird with a yellow beak.]()
2025 – Laying the Groundwork for Deeper Impact
Improving Humanitarian Aid Delivery:
We are investing in new strategies to fund and coordinate bulk shipments of food, medicine, and supplies to Cuba. With growing support, we’re working to make our aid pipeline more reliable, cost-effective, and sustainable.Strengthening Program Design:
We’re focused on refining the structure of our key initiatives—from grant funding for Cuban entrepreneurs to the preservation of oral histories—to ensure they remain impactful, locally guided, and built to grow.Revitalized Online Presence:
We re-launched our website with updated branding and content so we can more effectively raise much-needed funds for programs.Laying the Foundation for What's Next:
We are dedicated to honing in on strategic planning, building our board, and program expansion.
Our Board Members
Based throughout the United States, Canada, and Cuba, our Board of Directors are diverse individuals from varied backgrounds dedicated to making a difference in the lives of the Cuban people. We work together to fundraise, facilitate programs, and spread awareness of our mission.
Interested in joining our efforts? Please be in touch!
Vanessa K. Harper
Co-Founder & Chair
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Vanessa K. Harper has lived and worked in Cuba as a researcher, tour guide, documentarian, and facilitator of collaborative agreements between the U.S. and Cuba since 2005. She is co-founder of Support the Cuban People.
She currently owns and operates Travel Cuba With Usin partnership with her husband Alejandro Berroa. Their company provides personalized cultural immersion experiences that directly support the Cuban people. They design custom itineraries for solo travelers and guide group trips that specialize in history & culture, artist’s studio visits, photography workshops, rural farm adventures, and their signatureCuba Yoga Retreats program – an immersion experience that physically, spiritually, and culturally engages guests both on and off the mat.
She is former Executive Producer at TigerLily, a film production company, and previously served three years as Cuba Scholar in Residence at Jacksonville University, where she co-created The Cuba Project and facilitated a collaborative agreement between the university and the Antonio Núñez Jiménez Foundation in Havana, Cuba. Prior to that, she was Strategist at Brunet-Garcia Advertising following her role as Director of Education and Community Outreach at the World Affairs Council of Jacksonville, an organization part of a broader effort to promote an understanding of world affairs by sponsoring public programs, fostering discussion of international issues, and providing a venue to meet others with similar interests.As a documentary photographer and film producer, Vanessa is the creator of Honoring El Moro: A Cuban Collective Memory, a nineteen-year, multimedia body of work that documents the lives of subsistence farmers in the western mountains of rural Cuba, and their stories, over time, using photography, film, genealogies, oral history interviews, and archival material.
Vanessa has been a practitioner of yoga for more than 25 years, became a RYT 200-hour certified yoga teacher in 2013, and regularly practices a variety of styles of asana, including Bikram, Ashtanga, Baptiste, and Mixed-Level Power Vinyasa. She is currently working toward her 500-hour certification through Asheville Yoga Center – where she practiced yoga for the first time in 1998. Vanessa is former inaugural Board Chair and current Advisory Board Member for Florida-based Yoga 4 Change, a nonprofit organization that achieves lasting, demonstrative change for veterans, individuals experiencing incarceration, youth, and those living with mental health conditions through an evidence-based, purpose-driven yoga curriculum.
A proud native of North Carolina, she received a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies (2000) from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and a Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Ecology (2006) from the University of Florida, where her research focused on rural subsistence farmer households in the Sierra del Rosario mountains of western Cuba. She recently earned a Master of Arts in Oral History (2021) from Columbia University’s OHMA program following completion of her thesis: Trust, Love, and Collaboration: On Doing Oral History in Cuba.
She is the co-owner of La Shambhala de la Habana – a yoga studio and community collective based in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, Cuba.
Yeneir Vera
Vice Chair (Cuba & Canada)
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Bio coming soon.
Katrin Casey
Vice Chair (USA)
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Bio coming soon.
Jake Peek
Secretary
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Bio coming soon.
David Strickland
Treasurer
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Bio coming soon.
Adianez Garcia Campos
Board Member
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Bio coming soon.
Robert Hudson
Board Member
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Bio coming soon.
Elizabeth Moscarillo
Board Member
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Bio coming soon.
Alejandro Berroa Alvarez
Co-Founder & Board Member
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Alejandro is a certified translator/interpreter and oral historian. He was born in Cuba and lived there for 36 years before immigrating to the United States in 2020 (right before Covid). Today he splits his time between Cuba and the U.S for family and work. He has more than 15 years’ experience working as a Havana-based tour leader and has guided visitors from all over the world across the island. His specialties include tours on Cuban culture and heritage, architecture, history, religion, and ecotourism – with extensive experience guiding birdwatchers.
He holds a BA in Linguistics from the University of Havana with specializations in French and English language, and a minor in German. He spent many years studying and then working as a professor at the French Alliance based in Havana. He sits on the Board and is co-founder of Support the Cuban People.
A lover of photography, languages, history, and peoples’ stories, he prioritizes the facilitation of collaborative agreements, as well as the apolitical exchange of information and culture, between the United States and Cuba, and is committed to being a part of creating economic opportunity in Cuba from the ground up.
He is the co-owner of La Shambhala de la Habana – a yoga studio and community collective based in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, Cuba.
Our Advisory Committee
Our Advisory Committee includes thoughtful individuals who offer guidance and help us out as needed as we navigate this complex work.
Stand With the Cuban People – Make a Difference Today
Your donation helps provide essential resources, support community programs, and uplift lives across Cuba. Every contribution—no matter the size—directly empowers the Cuban people with hope, opportunity, and dignity.
