Meet the Team.

Kathy Faller

Founder

First year with CDL: 2005

Favorite food: A good glass of chardonnay at the end of the day.

Favorite free time activities: Hiking, walking, going to Mexico and eating tacos, experiencing different cultures while travelling.

Kirsten Chaplin Rojas

High School Leadership Team Mentor

Kirsten began her journey with Casas de Luz in 2013 as a freshman in high school. Over the years, she became a master carpenter and helped build more than 60 homes while also developing a range of community development initiatives, including a food security program. Today, Kirsten serves as the High School Leadership Team Mentor, where she channels her passion for empowering young people to create meaningful change—just as she was inspired to do when she first joined CDL as a teenager.

Sunday Wakeham

Donations Coordinator

Sunday began volunteering with Casas de Luz after attending a build in October 2024. She loved the idea of being able to furnish our homes with donations, allowing teams to not only build a house, but create a home for the family. Some of her favorite activities include Softball and Pilates

Darío Cano

Master Carpenter

Darío started building with CDL when he was just 12 years old. He has a passion for building houses because they have the capacity to change the lives of families in ways we will never realize. He has seen those changes in his family and wants every family to have that opportunity. Darío loves to play guitar, listen to music, drink coffee and go to new coffee shops, build things, and go to the beach.

Marián Anyeli Reyna Muñoz

Master Carpenter

Marian truly enjoys being part of Casas de Luz and the entire process of building a home for families. It brings her great joy to see how everyone gets involved and enjoys being part of the project just as much as she does. She is a music lover and listens to it almost all the time. She has a special affection for animals, especially dogs. She loves being in touch with nature, particularly when going to the beach or hiking, another one of her great passions is food, Her favorite dishes include ramen, pasta, and very especially guava empanadas, which is a mexican pastry.

Ruben Dario Cruz (Flaco)

Master Carpenter

Better known as Flaco, Ruben loves watching a team come together to build a house for a family that they don’t even know. It makes him happy to see how everyone connects and fills the home with love. Ruben always has a smile on his face and is sure to put one on yours! Ruben likes to watch TV (especially anime), play video games, play guitar, and repair electronics or just take them apart to see how they work!