Mario Chocooj is a Q’eqchi’-speaking Maya from Cobán, Guatemala, where he worked as an English teacher before coming to the United States. He now works as a graphics developer for print, web and video, at the USDA, Forest Service, Region 5, located in Vallejo, CA.

He joined Endangered Threads in 2007, assisting on the documentary “A Century of Color: Maya Weaving & Textiles,” and related publications. He is contributing to the nonprofit’s research on Picb’il weaving, an ancient form still practiced outside of Cobán.