Our Team
Kind-hearted people, for sure, but they all have commitment and varied skills needed for Chaptops’ success.
Rex A. Dwyer, PhD
Cofounder and Executive Director
Rex A. Dwyer, PhD is adoptive father of two adult children from Guatemala. He earned the PhD in Computer Science at Carnegie-Mellon University in 1988 and taught at NC State University for more than a decade. An enthusiastic life-long learner, he then earned the MS in Economics and Latin American Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill at age 48. He subsequently worked in the biotech industry and drew his last paycheck in late 2021, not long before cofounding Chaptops.
Bayron R. Cap
Cofounder and Guatemala Director
Byron, a Poqomchi’ native of Tactic, is a serial social entrepreneur. He was “discovered” by Guatemalan Student Support Group Founder John Bodoh and supported to attend high school in Raleigh. He studied Business Administration at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh before returning to Tactic to help his family and pursue several community development projects. He lives in Tactic with his wife Judi, son Abraham (a.k.a. “Byrito”), Jonatan (a.k.a. “JB”) and step daughter Betzy.
Fredy Oxom, MS
Founding Board Member
Fredy Oxom is the Executive Director of Q’eqchi’ Association Xch’ool Ixim (Heart of Corn Association). He is a Mayan Q’eqchi’ Education Specialist and an experienced Community Development Professional that speaks Q’eqchi’, Spanish, and English.
He has a wide variety of experience that includes developing community projects, and training teachers at a local level but also as an Adviser to the Vice Minister of Bilingual and Intercultural Education at the Ministry of Education. He also was a consultant at UNICEF’s United Nations Children’s Fund and coordinated USAID’s funded projects at the Inter-American Dialogue.
He is pursuing a PDH in Education and he holds a Master’s degree in Bilingual and Intercultural Education, both from the San Carlos University of Guatemala. He also earned a B.A. in Global Studies from Methodist University, NC, USA. He is a Scholar of the United World Colleges, earning an International Baccalaureate Diploma from Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific, BC, Canada.
Fredy has received several awards, recognitions, and scholarships, including the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award from Methodist University, the Projects for Peace Award from the Davis Foundation, An Outstanding Guatemalan by AlDía Newspaper, and a recognition for Cofounding the Instituto Maya Comunitario K’amolb’e (IMaCK). He is also a current Board Member of Chaptops and Planting Seeds International, both are NGOs based in the United States to support education in Guatemala.
Greg Schwendinger, MSEE
Founding Board Member
Greg is cofounder with his wife Alice Lee of CasaSito, a highly successful youth program with sites in Antigua and San Cristóbal Verapaz. He lives with Alice in Antigua and is a paddling enthusiast with an interest in developing river tourism in Guatemala. Greg worked for Intel in California as a chip designer in the 1990s before the travel bug bit and eventually brought him to Guatemala.
Drew Birnbaum
Board Member
Andrew Birnbaum is a retired Technical Executive and Systems Engineer who spent much of his career with IBM. His work primarily focused on developing and implementing advanced information systems for international clients, with a strong emphasis on network architecture and systems integration. Andrew’s professional reach extended widely, as he collaborated with organizations and clients across Eastern Europe and Asia to modernize their technological infrastructure.
During his years at IBM, Andrew also devoted significant time to volunteer work with international development agencies, including the United Nations, the World Council of Credit Unions, and USAID.. Notably, in the late 1980s, Andrew played a key role in the first large-scale computerization effort for micro credit unions in West Africa (where he had previously served as a Peace Corps volunteer), helping to establish systems that improved financial access for underserved communities.
In his spare time, Andrew is an avid soccer fan and player who also builds custom furniture.
Our Chaptops Tactic Staff and Volunteers
Byron Cap, Guatemala, was also able to assemble a great team of paid staff as well as volunteers.
Marlon Rey
Image and Design Manager
Our Paid Staff
We opened our center with a single paid staff member. We’ve grown, and we’ve hired a second!
Lic. Julio Herrera
Academy Director
Lic. Julio Herrera joined us early in 2025. He recently received his licenciado in Business Administration from Universidad Mesoamericana. He is currently continuing with studies in teaching English as a Second Language at Universidad Rafael Landívar.
At Chaptops, Julio wears several hats. He teaches English, manages inventory and finances, and assists customers. He was also a great assistant with Raspberry Pi courses last year and was instrumental in obtaining financial support for the class from Tactic’s municipal government.
Julio is very inquisitive and passionate about learning. He likes to read in his spare time – a bit of a rarity in Guatemala. Not surprisingly, he likes to visit new places, and he also spends time at the gym and playing videogames.
Guillermo Cantoral
IT Manager
Guillermo (“Guille” to his friends) joined us several months ago as Head of Technology and Computation. He earned a Diploma in Scientific Computation and completed the first year of a degree program in Systems Engineering at the University of San Carlos, Guatemala’s only public university.
Guille maintains all the laptops and electronic equipment and provides customer service. He has several years’ experience teaching at a local school, and he will teach computer skills at the Academy when it officially opens in January 2026. He describes himself as “committed to continual learning with a call to contribute to our community’s technological and educational development.”
In his off hours, he goes to the gym, plays video games, and watches wildlife documentaries.