Edgar Barron
Chicago, Illinois' The Resurrection Project
Edgar currently serves as Asset Manager Assistant at The Resurrection Project in Chicago, IL. He works closely with the Property Management Department to enforce compliance rules and regulations for the affordable housing the organization offers.
Edgar obtained his Bachelor of Science in Business Management in 2010 from the University of Illinois at Chicago. During his free time, he enjoys mentoring and assisting high school students in the neighborhood of Pilsen with the process and transition to higher education.
Marucci Guzman Beard
Orlando, Florida's Latino Leadership, Inc
Marucci holds a Bachelor's in Interdisciplinary Studies and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Central Florida. Inducted as a lifetime member of the Delta Mu Delta Honor Society in Business, Marucci successfully completed her Masters in Management/Public Administration from the University of Phoenix.
Currently, Marucci serves as Vice President of Development at Latino Leadership, Inc, a leading Latino community base organization. She has helped secure funding from local and state entities, as well as national corporations.
Eduardo Corona
Forest Grove, Oregon's Adelante Mujeres
Eduardo joined Adelante Mujeres in 2010 as Business Training Coordinator, charged with developing bicultural tools to help aspiring Latino entrepreneurs. Thus far he's witnessed great success, with 18 student completing the program and 9 new businesses added to the Adelante Empresas business network. The network continues to grow and see great success!
Eduardo is a graduate of the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana in Atzcapotzalco with a degree in Business Administration. He also holds a Computerized Accounting certificate from MTI College.
Victor Corral
San Francisco, California's Mission Economic Development Agency
Victor Corral is currently the Evaluation Analyst at the Mission Economic Development Agency. Prior to joining MEDA, he served as Program Manager for the Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Initiative, a national effort to close the racial wealth gap in a generation at the Insight Center for Community Economic Development. At the Insight Center, Victor helped lead a national network of experts of color on asset building develop and advocate for racially equitable public policies.
Victor is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley where he worked at the student garden and the Center for Latino Policy Research. Victor's writing has appeared at the Huffington Post, Colorlines Magazine, and The Cultural Connect. He is a proud veteran of the US Navy.
David Garay
Charlotte, North Carolina's Latin American Coalition
David currently serves as Economic Development Coordinator, informing, educating, and advocating on behalf of Latinos in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region. Since taking on the position earlier this year, he has successfully implemented their workforce development and economic development programs.
He holds a Bachelor's in History and Latin American Studies from and is currently pursuing a Masters from the University of North Carolina- Charlotte.
Cool David fact: He worked as a financial crimes analyst prior to joining LAC.
Diana Garcia
El Paso, Texas' El Paso CUSO
As Housing Specialist, Ms. Garcia management EPAH's Individual Development Account (IDA) Program as well as various down payment assistance programs, including the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP2). Diana is an active participant of the VITA program, with seven years of tax preparation experience.
Diana is currently pursuing her Bachelor's of Science in Management and Human Resources, set to graduate in March of 2012.
Scarlett Lanzas
New Orleans, Louisiana's Puentes New Orleans
Originally from Nicaragua, Scarlett is a world traveler having lived and worked in North, Central and South America. Prior to joining Puentes, she worked with the United Nation's World Food Programme where she was exposed to unique aspects of community development that impact her work to this day.
Currently Scarlett serves as Program Manager at Puentes New Orleans, a Latino community development organization. Puentes mission is to build assets and create access towards economic development, civic engagement, education, policy research and advocacy to integrate and improve the lives of the Latino Community in the Greater New Orleans region.
Scarlett holds a BA in International Relations with a concentration on Foreign Trade and a Master's in International Development.
Sara Lopez
Minneapolis, Minnesota's Latino Economic Development Center
Ms. Lopez is a 2009 graduate of Carleton College and holds a Bachelors in History. Prior to graduating, Sara traveled to Mexico City as part of her senior thesis research project and quickly realized her interest in resource ability and outreach. After graduation, she returned to the Twin Cities and interned with the Mercado Central and volunteered as outreach coordinator with the Northeast Farmers Market.
Sara currently serves as Outreach and Training Program coordinator. Her work focuses heavily on workforce development and designing a strategy to increase LEDC's presence within the Latino Community.
Martin Medina
McAllen, Texas' Affordable Homes of South Texas, Inc
A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas-Pan American, Martin is an experience nonprofit manager with an emphasis in sustainable program design. He is an expert in grants management and writing, assisting local, state, federal and private foundations on a regular basis.
Martin currently serves as Director of Strategic Initiatives where he is diligently implementing AHSTI's program priorities.
Carmen Lopez
Kansas City, Missouri's Hispanic Economic Development Corporation
Ms. Lopez has more than 14 years experience working with the Latino community in the Greater Kansas City area. Ms. Lopez joins the HEDC team after her position as Assistant Vice President of Bank of Belton in which she managed the loan administration department. Ms. Lopez's work experience also includes nonprofit development manager and job placement project manager.
Ms. Lopez received her B.A. degree in Communication and Spanish from Rockhurst University and her M.B.A. from Baker University.
Maria Rodriguez
Yakima, Washington's Rural Community Development Resources
As Business Counselor and Loan Manager at RCDR, Maria has been able package and fund 112 microloans to various microenterprises investing over 2.5 million into rural communities of which 61% are low income borrowers and 39% are microloans made for job creation which created 150 new jobs and helped retain 177 jobs.
Maria is fluent in Spanish and English and her experience include grant writing, budgeting, accounting, fundraising and many other activities necessary for the day-to-day operations of the organization which have allowed her to provide high quality services for microenterprise development in rural Central Washington State.
Martha Silva
Nashville, Tennessee's Conexion Americas
Originally from Bogota, Columbia, Martha moved to Tennessee in 2009 and quickly showed interest in helping the community by volunteering with Conexion Americas. Martha was hired as a full-time tax preparation specialist for the 2010 season. She has also lead in flood recovery efforts.
Martha is currently managing the Small Business Development program, Negocio Prospero.
Rudy Ulin
Portland, Oregon's Hacienda Community Development Corp.
Rudy joined Hacienda as an AmeriCorps volunteer in 2007 and quickly became a key player in the development of Hacienda's newest affordable rental housing site, Miraflores. In mid-2009, Rudy became a member of Hacienda's homeownership team as a bilingual housing counselor. He works closely with banks, lenders and government programs to assist first-time homebuyers into their first home, as well as provide foreclosure mitigation to homeowners facing hardship.
Rudy has a degree in Business Administration from the National University of Guatemala USAC and hopes to go back to Guatemala someday to develop programs similar to Hacienda's. He and his wife Katie enjoy salsa dancing and merengue, watching movies, and hanging out at the beach.
Abel Valladares
Woodburn, Oregon's PCUN
Born in Queretaro, Mexico, Abel began his activist career in 2005 while still in high school. In 2006 he co-led organizing protests, marches and walkouts in support of immigrants' rights and immigration reform. During recent election seasons, he registered and organized Latino voters in Willlamette Valley. Abel is active nationally in the DREAM Act campaign.
Abel currently served as coordinator of the CAPACES joint training and leadership building intiative and PCUN's Coordinator of Donor Fundraising for the CAPACES Leadership Institute, opening October 2011.
