Growing up in El Salvador, Mercedes Navarrete showed an interest in sports from a young age. However, when she joined the scout movement, at age 15, she fully realized the positive impact sports can have on human development. Mercedes is now a volunteer with the organization and fully recognizes that sports and activity-based programs like these can serve as catalysts to improve girls’ confidence, self-esteem, and self-worth. 

Professionally, Mercedes serves as the Senior Communications Coordinator for Glasswing International, a non-profit organization in El Salvador that addresses poverty and violence through education and health-based programming. Rooted in her passion for strengthening communities, Mercedes hopes to expand the reach of the organization’s programs and to learn unique methods for reaching underserved populations. In 2020, she partnered with Parque Cuscatlán, an urban park in San Salvador, to implement outdoor aerobics classes for children and adults during the Covid-19 pandemic.