Our Team
Margarita Ramirez
Executive Director
As the current executive director, I understand that our community's voices, cultural strengths, values, and experiences are crucial to our mission and vision. As a first-generation Latina individual who migrated from Mexico and grew up in the United States, I have firsthand experience with the struggles of accessing resources and navigating complex systems. My lived experiences inform how I approach my community work, and I firmly believe in Glenn Martin's words that "people who are closest to the problem are closest to the solution." Everything we do is informed by working with and listening to our community. We engage with them, invite them to our programming, sit with them, listen to what they have to say, and pay attention to their needs and reported trends, focusing on equity. This helps us create programming that fulfills their needs and think about recommendations that can begin to change systems. We provide immediate support through our programming as we strengthen their education and self-advocacy, help them continue learning on their own, and take their mental health on their terms. As a social entrepreneur that believes in strengthening our community's self-advocacy regarding systems change, I am always ensuring that our work doesn't stop at our organization and that we can continue serving, inspiring, and facilitating more processes so that other partners can continue helping more people than the ones we serve. We recognize that we can't do this alone and that working together is one way to change systems for everyone. Our communities have so much to offer, and reject the deficit mindset. Instead, we focus on our cultural strengths and work with our communities to awaken the leaders within them, empower their voices, and use their experiences as the power to advocate for happier and healthier lives, not only for themselves but for others. We cannot exist without them, and our ultimate goal is to help them achieve their dreams and empower their voices
Laura Zapater
Associate Director
Merling Flores
Program Supervisor
Laura Galindo
Program Director
Marisol Bermudez
Administrative Manager & Data Analyst
Laura Bustos
Office Manager
Melissa Flores
Workforce Coordinator
Rosalinda Arriola
Equity Coordinator
Lorena Cervantes
Helping Hands Coordinator
Neyda Juarez
Executive Assistant
Francesca Hagarty
Event Supervisor
Ricardo Romero
Farmworker Relief Program Assistant
Natalia Najera
Tribu de Mujeres Coordinator
Andrea Abernathy
Festival Coordinator
Itzayan Rocha
Executive Assistant
Carlos Lopez
Temporary Employee
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Cindy Meraz
Board President
Amanda Finn
Vice President
Angelica Wind
Committee Lead
Arwen March
Board Lead
Virginia Morfe
Senior Member
Juanes Ramirez
Board Member
Antonio Alanis
Board Member
Adriana Chavela
Board Member
Chip Cross
Board Member
Kimberly Effler
Board Member
Billy Martin
Board Member