During his years in the United States he was very active in solidarity issues with Central America and the Caribbean Region. For two of those years he was a Nacional Co-coordinator for Pastors for Peace and lead humanitarian aid caravans and delegations to Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Cuba. He was a member of the board of directors of the Resource Center of the Americas, a non-profit organization, based in Minneapolis, MN, that educates about the realities of the Americas. He was also a volunteer for the Minnesota Cuba Committee and helped organize speaking tours for Cuban intellectuals, serving as an organizer and translator/interpreter. Currently he is a volunteer for Babel’s, a network of translators/interpreters which helps at World Social Forums.
Yury also has vast experience working with youth. He was a high school teacher at El Colegio Charter School, an alternative school in Minneapolis, Minnesota based on individual learning with emphasis in the environment, technology and the arts. For two years he was a Spanish instructor at the Science Museum of Minnesota summer camp, and for three years he worked with first graders at Adams Spanish Immersion School in St. Paul, Minnesota. In Ecuador he had taught at the high school and college levels.
Since December 2004 Yury has been working with Global Exchange coordinating its Ecuador program. He has led over 20 Reality Tours including two to Venezuela and several for educational institutions like Royal West Academy from Canada, Happy Valley School from California, Colorado State University, Beacon High School from New York City, San Francisco State University, and Villanova University, among others. Also as freelance, he organized, implemented and led trips for human rights organizations such as the NO US Bases Coalition, SOAW, and alternative media organizations like Real World Media from Vancouver, Canada.