Patricia Thorndike Suriel

Founder & Executive Director

Patricia Thorndike Suriel has been passionate about alleviating extreme poverty in the Dominican Republic since she first arrived on the island in 1992. After 20 years of traveling, mostly by bike and backpack, to over 50 countries on 6 continents, she chose to make the Dominican Republic her home. An avid cyclist, Tricia rode over 10,000 miles by bicycle all around the United States and continued her cycling all over the Dominican Republic. In 1993 she founded Iguana Mama Mountain Bike and Adventure Tours, an adventure ecotourism company that helped put the Dominican Republic on the map as an international adventure destination. During this time, Tricia guided many treks up the highest peak in the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean, Pico Duarte, including in 1995 where she first met author and Mariposa Honorary Chairwoman, Julia Alvarez.

Offering her clients discounts of up to 25% off if they donated children’s books in Spanish, Tricia was able to build three small libraries at local schools. The building of these libraries, the first libraries on the North Coast, led to the founding of her first nonprofit organization in 1999, “The Friends of the DR.” In 2002, with Tricia at the helm, this same organization with the help of friends, colleagues, and volunteers from around the world mobilized the establishment of the first educational nonprofit in Cabarete, The Dominican Republic Education and Mentoring (DREAM) Project.

For these pioneer initiatives, she received the Outstanding Citizen Award from the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic, which recognizes contributions made by a U.S. citizen abroad. After serving the Cabarete community and advocating for equal access to quality education for more than 15 years, Patrica recognized a critical need for innovative programs specifically for girls.

In 2009, in partnership with a group of passionate advisors, donors, volunteers and community members, Tricia founded The Mariposa DR Foundation – a nonprofit dedicated to educating and empowering girls to end generational poverty. In October 2009, The Mariposa DR foundation was granted its 501(c3) status. The Suriel family founded Cabarete Coffee Company and Tours, which they donated to the Foundation in 2017. Cabarete Coffee Company is now fully owned and operated by the Mariposa DR Foundation, employs graduates of the program, and all proceeds go towards supporting the organization. Today, the Mariposa Center for Girls in Cabarete, Dominican Republic serves more than 150 girls ages 7-24 and their families and has hosted over 3,000 international visitors who are eager to learn about Mariposa’s work.

Tricia’s greatest pride are her many “firsts” that she took part in creating or founding in the Cabarete community and in the Dominican Republic. Some of her many firsts include:

  • The first free preschool and Montessori school in the Dominican Republic

  • The first public computer lab on the North Coast 

  • The first libraries in public schools on the North Coast

  • The first free summer program on the North Coast 

  • The first free swimming pool for educational purposes on the North Coast 

  • The first free cycling, surfing, kitesurfing, and stand up paddle boarding programs for girls in the Dominican Republic

  • The first safe space for girls in the Dominican Republic (Mariposa is now the largest safe space for girls on the island) 

  • The first organic and fairtrade coffee and cocoa company on the North Coast (Cabarete Coffee Company) 

  • The first social enterprise in the Dominican Republic (Cabarete Coffee Company) and likely the only business on the island that gives 100% of proceeds to support educational programming 

As an adolescent, Tricia struggled with sitting still in classrooms, reading, and test taking. An undiagnosed dyslexic, Tricia’s traditional classroom experience was foundational to creating programs that were hands-on, creative, and exciting. A firm believer in experiential learning, she attributes a great deal of her knowledge and understanding of the world to her travels. Tricia has supported girls who are the first in their family to learn how to read, to graduate from eighth grade, to graduate from high school, and now to graduate from university. Tricia especially takes pride in the fact that the Mariposa girls have been able to get visas to travel outside of the country for no reason other than because they are pursuing higher educational attainment.

Tricia’s innovative ideas have created a sustainable, community-based model like no other and she believes that the Mariposa Center for Girls can be replicated not only across the Dominican Republic but in educational facilities and schools all over the world. After all, Mariposa’s mission is also to inspire the international community to join the global movement.