Destiny Alvarez
Stanislaus County Office of Education - Tracy

Destiny was born and raised in the Central Valley, currently residing in Tracy. Destiny attended college at California's only tribal university, D-Q University in Davis. She has 6 years experience working in non-profit agencies. She has served as a Program Case Manager and Interim Executive Director. She currently serves as a Student Support Advocate for the Stanislaus County Office of Education serving foster youth. Destiny is co-founder of Circulo Coatlique, Women's Circle and The Modesto Brown Berets. She is also an Aztec Dancer with Quetzalcoatl-Citlalli of Sacramento. In addition to her social activities, she enjoys being a mother and wife.

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Jesus Andrade - Stockton
Latino Issues Forum

Jesus was born and raised in Stockton, CA and attended CSU, Sacramento where he earned his B.A. in Philosophy. After graduation, he was accepted into the Jesse M. Unruh California State Assembly Fellowship Program, where he worked for Assembly Member Wilmer Amina Carter (D-62) and earned 12 graduate units in Public Policy. Also, Jesus worked on the Obama Presidential Campaign during the 2008 General Election as a Field Organizer, where he spent 4 months working in predominantly Hispanic communities in Pueblo, CO. There he was able to mobilize volunteers to help with the highest turnout of voters in the city's recent history.

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Alejandra Beltran
Northern Valley Catholic Social Services - Corning

Alejandra was born in México, She came to United States thirteen years ago. She works as a Program Manager of Home Help for Hispanic Mothers; this is a program under the umbrella of Northern Valley Catholic Social Services in Tehama County. Alejandra started as an ESL student in this program and over the years she has been promoted to her current position. Coming to this country without knowing the language and costumes, has caused her to make a priority for her to help women who are now in the same position she was some years ago. Her agency offers some elementary life tools to survive in our New Home in California.

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Kristina Brown
Newsroom/Office of the Governor - Davis

Kristina was born and raised in Visalia, where her family operates a custom farming business. She graduated with honors from University of California Davis in 2008, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in International Agriculture Development. During her time in College Kristina worked as a student advisor and held internships with many agriculture-related organizations, including Community Alliance with Family Farmers, California FarmLink and the USDA Risk Management Agency. She also spent a summer in Washington DC interning in the newsroom of Governor Schwarenegger and is preparing to obtain a Masters degree in Public Policy and Administration. She intends to pursue a career as an agriculture advocate.

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Bayarsaihan Dagvadori
Mongolian Community - Sacramento

Bayaraa was born and raised in Mongolia and studied in Russia, where she obtained a Masters in IT from Novosibirsk State Technical University. Subsequently she graduated from Mongolian's Khan-Uul University with a Business Administration degree. She worked as a researcher at the Energy Institute of Mongolia and directed a non-profit organization which helped small business owner. When moving to Sacramento in 2002, she faced challenges due to language and cultural barriers. As a result she has been striving to bring the Mongolian community together and help other Mongolian families with children. She is married and has three young children.

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Luis E. Flores
Merced College - Livingston

Luis Enrique Flores was born in beautiful Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico and, at early age, moved to Livingston, CA. At UC Berkeley, as an active member of Berkeley MEChA, ¿Y QUÉ?, and Cal Band, he participated in various community and social justice efforts all in the name of promoting higher education to students of color throughout the greater Bay Area and the Central Valley; he received degrees in French and Sociology. He recently has moved back to the Central Valley after finishing his graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where he continued his community participation, working as the Graduate Student for Programs and Services for La Casa Latina and at the Mexican Consulate in Philadelphia. Here, his thesis dealt with deproblematizing Chicana/o school failure through narratives. Since returning, he has been involved locally in government, activism, and the arts, advocating for accessible and democratic education for all. He is honored to be a part of the IDEAL program and hopes to take away a life's worth of new and worthwhile experiences.

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Rene Guerrero
Planning and Conservation League - West Sacramento

René Guerrero was born and raised in Yolo County and has been a lifelong resident of the city of West Sacramento. Currently, he is the Public Health and the Environment Program Manager for the Planning and Conservation League and sits on the Planning Commission for the City of West Sacramento. René earned a B.A. in International Relations from UC Davis. He is a Steering Committee member for Central Valley Air Quality Coalition and Californians for Pesticide Reform. Renéspends his leisure time running after and from his two young boys.

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LaTisha Lawson
Oak Park Weed & Seed - Sacramento

LaTisha Lawson moved from Los Angeles to Sacramento when she was 13 years old. LaTisha is married and has three great children. She currently works two jobs both in the non-profit sector. The Weed & Seed Federal Grant in the community of Oak Park empowering resident to get involved in taking their neighborhood back. Also with Fresh Producers which works with youth empowering them to be advocates in their community around nutrition. She is very involved in her community and building her leadership skills. Her passion is building strength in herself and others and taking advantage of opportunities to grow her skills.

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Mehmet McMillan
WildPlaces - Springville

Mehmet McMillan was born in Sinop, Turkey, raised in Louisiana and moved to California in 1994. From 1994 until 2000, he worked with the Los Angeles-based TreePeople; he organized high profile direct action campaigns around social and environmental justice issues; he co-founded the Burma Humanitarian Mission which brings medicines into Burma; and he came to know and explore the Sierra Nevada regions where he moved in 2001. In 2002, Mehment founded WildPlaces. Through grassroots and volunteer-driven projects in the southern Sierra and SJV, WildPlaces, under his direction, has achieved an important role in organizing place-based programs that inspire people to protect and enhance natural and social capital. Mehmet's international and local work has shaped for him a strong and caring vision of equity, sustainability, justice and hope.

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Bill Mensing
Retired Teacher - Modesto

Bill is a lifelong Valley Resident, born in Stockton, and living in Modesto, who recently retired after a 39-year high school teaching career. During his career, involving 8,000 students, he was active in coaching, curriculum and test development, teacher training and in-service, and the support and guidance of the gay and lesbian students through the Gay/Straight Alliance. Bill also spent 23 summers working in the agricultural industry as a ranch hand, State Fruit Inspector, and cannery supervisor. In the community, he was a leader in the Gay/Lesbian/Straight Education Network, supporting the needs of the LGBTQ students and helping develop the Modesto City Schools Safe Policy. Bill's personal interest include community issues, aerobic fitness, yoga, cooking, fishing and staying involved with his children and grandchildren.

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Araceli Ortiz
Tutoring Club- Bakersfield

Araceli was born in Zamora, Michoacan-Mexico and immigrated with her parents to California at the age of four. She is the first in her family to graduate from high school and pursue higher education. She attended the University of California-Santa Cruz (UCSC) and graduated with a B.S. degree in Molecular, Cell and Development Biology in June 2006. Her desire to contribute to her community has given shape to Araceli's future career goals. She plans to pursue a career as a physician or obtain a doctorate degree in public health. As a professional, she would like to help address the issue of health disparities by advocating for their right to affordable and accessible healthcare.

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Javier Parra-Martinez
Lamont School District - Lamont

Javier was born in Chihuahua Mexico and immigrated to the United States in 1992. He did not know a word of English but slowly learned to speak English with an accent of course. He has lived in the Kern County area for over 16 years. Worked in the ÒfieldsÓ as a young adult and then began to attend school and graduated from Arvin High School, National University, and California State University of Bakersfield. Currently, he has own businesses, restaurant, concert promotions, and is a private investor. Javier is the Even Start Program Coordinator for the Lamont School District but real state and stock market investments are his interests.

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Jesse Roseman
Tuolumne River Trust - Modesto

Jesse is the Central Valley Program Director for the Tuolumne River Trust. Located in Modesto, he works to conserve the lower Tuolumne River from La Grange to the confluence with the San Joaquin. He grew up in Alabama, and moved to California to attend college at U.C. Santa Cruz. After graduating, he worked in a variety of fields, including organic farming, environmental education, and political organizing. Among his extensive volunteer work, Jesse has been a board member for Butters Land Trust, which protects open space in the Oakland hills. Jesse completed studies and received masters degrees in Landscape Architecture and City Planning from U.C. Berkeley in the Fall of 2007.

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Ron Skaggs, P.E. G.E
Condor Earth Technologies, Inc. - Stockton

Ron Skaggs holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Fresno State, and a Masters in Engineering from UC Davis, 1985. He is a licensed Civil and Geotechnical Engineer in California, and is currently Division Manager of the Stockton office of Condor Earth Technologies, Inc. and a board member. His community activities include Past President of the Central Valley Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers, President of the San Joaquin Engineers Council, and three-term Chief Umpire for Sunset Little League. Ron is married to his wife, Karen, of 26 years and they have six children, ages 9 to 22. Their family makes their home in Stockton and they currently are hosting two foreign exchange students.

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Pao Thao
AmeriCorp Vista - Fresno

Pao was born in Laos and his family resettled in Merced in 1990. He earned a Bachelors of Science in Community Health from California State University, Fresno. As a AmeriCorp Vista with Fresno County Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Pao is responsible for conducting presentations to schools, community groups and businesses relating to emergency preparedness, disaster preparedness at home and infectious diseases. He is an Alumni of Eta Alpha Gamma, a Hmong-American Fraternity and a member of Clovis Emergency Response Team(CERT). Pao enjoys playing soccer and cleaning his car.

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Ashlee A. Williams
Westside Community Foundation - Los Banos

Ashlee grew up along California's Central Coast. She moved to the Central Valley for college at University of the Pacific in 1996 and has remained a Valley resident for ten of the past twelve years. Ashlee spent two years at San Francisco State University where she earned her Masters Degree in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management. After working as a development intern at Craigslist Foundation in San Francisco she moved back to Los Banos in 2007 to be the Executive Director of a young, emerging community foundation. She has worked in social services throughout her career, but most near and dear to her are issues related to community. She currently facilitates the Los Banos Community Resource Council, seeks to end poverty in Merced County through the up and coming Circles program, and volunteers where needed in her community. Outside of work, Ashlee loves yoga, slow food, and international travel.

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May K. Yang
Campaign for High School Equity - Clovis

May Yang is currently Research and Policy Associate of the Campaign for High School Equity (CHSE), a partnership of organizations representing communities of color. Prior to CHSE, she was an Executive Fellow at the California Department of Education (CDE) where she was responsible for higher education, school safety, anti-discrimination, and class size reduction legislation. May's interests are coalition building, providing access to higher education and legal assistance for disadvantaged communities, and spending time with her family. May holds a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies and Asian American Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She is originally from Fresno, California.

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