“Life in Guatemala” talk by WINGS founder Sue Patterson at Rainbow Café

Join us for a talk with WINGS founder, Sue Patterson!

Sue first developed her passion for helping vulnerable women have control over their lives when she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in a rural area of Colombia from 1966 to 1968. Since that time she has been passionate about enabling such women to learn about and get access to reproductive health services. Starting in 1996, when she retired from a 24-year-long career as a Foreign Service Officer in the U.S. Foreign Service, Sue has lived in Antigua, Guatemala. She has dedicated her time and energy to improving the lives of marginalized Guatemalans, particularly women who are Mayan, undereducated, and live in rural areas. 

In 1999, when Sue was asked by a Guatemalan friend to help seven women, all with at least eight children, to be able to get the tubal ligations they desired, Sue contributed her own funds and wrote to others seeking donations. Within a few months she had received over $4,000, and she decided there was a need for a family planning non-profit organization in Guatemala and for the resources to fund it. So, Sue started WINGS (Women’s International Network for Guatemalan Solutions).

Sue has remained an active WINGS Board Member, and she has contributed in fundamental ways to the growth of the organization and to the professionalization of its Board of Directors.

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