February – March 2010
Andrea Hidalgo

Andrea Hidalgo was born in Houston. She is first generation Guatemalan-American; her mother emigrated from Guatemala to the US in 1977. At 1 ½ years old, Andrea returned to live in Guatemala with her abuelita until age 5, when she went to Los Angeles for a year before being reunited with her mother in Houston at the age of 6. Andrea has since visited Guatemala during the summers.

She grew up in a gang ridden neighborhood but her “family kept her focused on life, dreams, and the desire to do better.” Andrea attended Sweet Briar College outside of Lynchburg and was the first in her family to graduate from both high school and college.

Since leaving Sweet Briar, Andrea has lived in Charlottesville where she has been a software engineer for six years. She currently works as a SW Test Engineer for a local software company. Andrea is “excited about helping CJ with the redesign of its website.” She feels she has found a way to contribute to the Latino community using her skills.

December 2009 – January 2010
Julio Zelaya

When he was 3 or 4, Julio left El Salvador and came to the U.S. undocumented, along with his mother, a single parent. She worked long hours as a cleaning woman in Maryland, and Julio and his siblings were latchkey children, brought up by the barely older sister who was attending school, learning English, and speaking it in the household.

Before coming to Albemarle County Social Services, Julio lived in California farm country, and worked with homeless men for Tulare County Social Services. In addition to his own caseload at ACSS, Julio often assists other Latino clients who seek him out because he is bilingual and bicultural. He also has performed outreach services to Latinos, the last time during a Southwood Neighborhood Watch event.

Julio enjoys and views working with Latinos as an opportunity to help people with a similar background who, he believes, need and deserve support to help them get beyond a here and now mentality. “In their countries, they can’t think beyond survival. But now that they are living in the U.S., they need to consider and plan for the future, instill in their children the value of an education and good job, while striving to maintain their Latino identity.”

Julio resides in Augusta County with his wife Hope and their two girls who are being raised to speak both English and Spanish to value their Latino heritage.

October - November 2009
Carlos Valladares

When he was 18 months old, this Salvadoran, along with an aunt, snuck into the U.S. in a car trunk. Carlos lived most of his life in gang ridden Los Angeles where he became a citizen before enlisting in the Army (serving multiple tours in Iraq) and becoming an Albemarle County Police officer in April 2008. Recently, the 26 year old donated a kidney to his mother with whom he lives. For a September 2009 Spanish language article about Carlos, click here.

August – September 2009
Gerardo Pandolfi and Carolina Parietti

Gerardo Pandolfi and Carolina Parietti, a Uruguayan couple with four children, came to the U.S. in 2000, and a few months later moved to Harrisonburg, Virginia. They are known in Central Virginia as the owners of Nuevas Raíces, a newspaper which has made countless contributions to Latinos and the service providers working with them. While they reside in Harrisonburg, the couple is featured because of the impact of their work in Charlottesville and surrounding counties. Please click here to read about them.

June – July 2009
Gloria Rockhold

Originally from Paraguay, Gloria has been the Hispanic/Latino Outreach Coordinator for Albemarle County Public Schools, assisting with the integration of Latino families into the community. She has helped create programs for low income students at risk of dropping out of high school, like the “Southwood Study Group” which provides tutoring in core classes and test-taking skills. Gloria was also involved in getting Albemarle’s Open Door program to offer self-enrichment classes in Spanish and in the development of El Barrio, the name of a book and exhibition featuring photos made by a group of elementary and middle-school students living in Albemarle’s Southwood Mobile Home Park. Email:g.rockhold@gmail.com

April – May 2009
Jaime Reyes

Jaime was born in Guatemala. He came to the U.S. “to better his situation, to support his family and to feel free.” He owns Guadalupana, a grocery store located on Carlton Avenue, which specializes in Mexican food, soccer team merchandise, piñatas, sweets from Central America, and religious items. The store also provides a mail service to expedite remittances from Latinos to their loved ones in Latin America. While “gringos”, Brazilians and Africans have frequented Guadalupana, its customers are largely Mexicans, Hondurans and Salvadorans. Telephone: (434) 977-5556

February – March 2009
Maritza Gómez
Olga Castillo

Maritza and Olga were among the first health promoters trained by the Creciendo Juntos (CJ) Health Promoter Working Group (CJHPWG). They graduated from the program in December 2008 and as other graduates, continue to take extended training classes while providing medical services to the Latino community. Maritza is from El Salvador and she joined the health promoter program after volunteering at community health fairs. Olga, who is from Costa Rica, had volunteered for the Blue Ridge Medical Center. To contact them or to find out more information about the CJHPWG, visit http://www.cj-network.org/cjwgm/health.html

December 2008 – January 2009
Olga Morse

Born in Puerto Rico, Olga has worked as a Spanish teacher at Albemarle High School (1996-1999) and in 2000, after acquiring her real estate license, Olga began using her talents to help guide Spanish speakers through the complicated English process of buying a home. While she is still an Associate Broker/Owner of Homes and Land Realtors Ltd - specializing in sales of land, commercial property and residential – in August 2008, Olga launched FORWARD/Adelante. Its objective, to encourage all Virginians to focus on the contributions being made by Hispanics to the business environment, is carried out through networking (“Chapter 6”), a news magazine, and other initiatives. http://www.forwardvirginia.com

October – November 2008
Ingrid Ramos

Ingrid Ramos was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and came to the USA in 2002. She is a family counselor who works in the Central Virginia area and dedicates herself to community services, having worked with children and youth in her country. After coming to the USA she has focused her work on Hispanic families and women issues.

Ingrid’s volunteering and work experience has been varied. She has been a seminar facilitator for teenagers at the Aldeas Infantiles SOS in the Dominican Republic, a peer counselor at the Abba Women’s Care & Resource Center, a crisis intervention companion at the Shelter for Abused Women, a career counselor at Liberty University, and an event organizer for the International Guitar Festival of the Dominican Republic.

Too, before working as a counselor, Ingrid was in the business field for ten years where she acquired experience for data analysis, management, and team building. Ingrid speaks both Spanish and English and she is available as a family therapist at the Charlottesville League of Therapists where she works with individuals, couples and families. “I love the opportunity CLT has provided me to serve the Hispanic population in Charlottesville. My passion is to work with people and to help them in their emotional difficulties and challenges. My work brings me joy by connecting with others and providing them the compassion to deal with their problems, and to empower them to move on with their lives.”

Ingrid has a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago, Dominican Republic; a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Auditing from the Universidad APEC, Dominican Republic; and a Master’s degree in Professional Counseling from Liberty University, Virginia. Ingrid can be contacted at: ingrid.ramos@leagueoftherapists.com

August – September 2008
Karen Valencia

Karen was born in Bogota, Colombia. She came to the U.S. when she was 19. In Colombia she attended the Politécnico Gran Colombiano University for English classes and Marketing. Prior to moving to Virginia, she lived in Austin, Texas where she worked full time at various jobs to finance her education, and enrolled in school part-time to study English and Business Administration. She has been living in Virginia since 2000 and has always worked in positions related to healthcare. She received her certificate as a Medical Interpreter through Bridging the Gap in 2000, and has worked as an Interpreter, not only in hospital settings but also in courts, schools, and social services. She graduated from Piedmont Virginia Community College with an Associate’s degree in Business and currently holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Human Resource Management from the American Intercontinental University. She works as a Spanish Interpreter for the University of Virginia Health System where she daily helps many Spanish speaking families. She mainly works in the Pediatric area of the Hospital and helps families with not only their children’s appointments but Spanish community resources, Medicaid, insurance and financial assistance, billing, and much more. “I love my job as an Interpreter and as an advocate of my community to help overcome language barriers.” She also volunteers for Piedmont Housing Alliance, helping with translations and interpreting and as a facilitator and speaker for VHDA Spanish seminars for first time home buyers. Karen can be reached at kvalencia@piedmonthousing.org

June – July 2008
Maria Williams

Maria Williams was born in Colombia, and at the age of 10, she came to the United States where her family settled in the Washington metropolitan area. Maria graduated from the University of Maryland with a liberal arts degree focusing on dance and special education. Prior to attending college and throughout her career, Maria has worked extensively with people who have special needs. In August of 2007, Maria began her work at the Arc of the Piedmont with the Infant Development Project, a program targeting at-risk children from ages 0-3, which is funded by a Smart Beginnings grant. Maria works specifically with the Latino community in Albemarle County, where she focuses on infant development and the transition process prior to attending school. She has been instrumental in the founding of a local playgroup for Latino children and their families. In collaboration with the Bright Stars program, Albemarle ESOL, and the Word of Faith church, this playgroup serves as a valuable resource for Latino families, where children benefit from an interactive learning environment while their parents get the opportunity to practice speaking English and hear from speakers around the community. Maria is an active participant in the Creciendo Juntos network, and she attends meetings every month. She is thankful for the networking opportunities that CJ provides, by which it is possible for her to gain awareness of community needs and explore potential solutions. In addition, she also views Creciendo Juntos as a support group connecting Latino professionals and the Charlottesville community, which can further improve the lives of Charlottesville’s Latino community members.

February – March 2008
Rita Salsini

Rita Salsini, Health Specialist at MACAA Head Start, was born and raised in a bi-lingual home on Long Island, NY. Rita’s parents were immigrants with her dad coming to America from Ecuador and her mother from Spain & Cuba. Rita has a degree in nursing and practiced in a variety of medical organizations in New York, Illinois, Oregon, Maryland and Virginia. She also worked in special education through the Frederick, Maryland school system. Rita relocated to Charlottesville during the summer of 2005. She started with Monticello Area Community Action Agency in 2006 as the Health Specialist for Head Start. MACAA Head Start operates in Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Louisa and Nelson counties and serves over 200 children. Her current role involves ensuring local Head Start programs are in compliance with Federal health and dental regulations. As a licensed RN, Rita interacts with teachers, students and families on a day-to-day basis. There has been an increased in the number of Hispanic children enrolled in Head Start. Many come from homes where the child is the first one learning English. Rita’s bi-lingual skills and background have been most useful in forming connections with families who are new to the country and have limited English proficiency. Rita and her husband have 3 wonderful girls who keep them very busy during the year. Rita is looking forward to becoming more involved in Creciendo Juntos Plenary and working groups. Rita can be contacted at rsalsini@macaa.org

December 2007 – January 2008
Silvia and Carlos Palma and Judith Then

Silvia, Carlos and Judith are the owners of Restaurante & Pupusería Cason Tropical, an unusual and much welcomed addition to lovers of Latin American cuisine who are looking for something much more than a Mexican restaurant. Cason Tropical, which opened in January, has a small menu of delicious and well-prepared dishes from El Salvador, Honduras and the Dominican Republic, the most popular being pupusas. The restaurant’s fresh iced tamarindo (fruit) and horchata (rice) drinks are the best in town. Silvia is a Salvadoran who was a businesswoman before coming to the States three years ago. She and Judith, an architect from the Dominican Republic who has been in the U.S. for eight years, warmly welcome and serve customers. Judith is married to one of Carlos’ brothers. Carlos, a Honduran chef who worked at Outback Steak House for nine years, is in charge of the kitchen. He enjoys playing soccer with the local Latino Real España team. On Sundays, he and Silvia go to Casa del Padre church while Judith and her family attend services at Luz y Vida. The three are excited about offering area residents a place where they can expand their cultural appreciation for Latino food and people. Cason Tropical is open daily from 11 am to 9pm, and on Fridays and Saturdays until 10 pm. It is located on 29 N behind Kohr’s Ice Cream/across from Lowe’s. Call ahead (293-1119) if you have a large group, to order pupusas for your next office party, or to order carryout.

October 2007 – November 2007
Martha Trujillo

Martha Trujillo, the United Way’s new Information and Referral Specialist, says that she has found her calling helping people connect with community resources through the United Way. A native of Mexico City, Martha earned a Bachelors degree in Administration from the Commercial Academy and Linguistic Center there. She is putting her organizational skills to work by creating a vibrant outreach program to let area residents, in particular Latino residents, learn about health and human service programs in our community.

The City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County are partnering with the United Way to support bilingual outreach to the Latino community. “Martha is very familiar with local resources and is a great help in addressing the needs of our community’s Latino residents,” said Jon Nafziger, United Way’s Vice President for Community Initiatives.

Before coming to the United Way, Martha helped lead the Strengthening Families group at the Region Ten Community Services Board, and she was a long-time volunteer at Greer Elementary School.

Since joining the United Way in July, Martha has participated in several community resource fairs and helped set up cultural awareness trainings for local nonprofits. She is a welcoming presence in our office, helping individuals connect with programs that can help them, and even assisting them in filling out applications and paperwork.

“I love my job because it is all about helping people,” said Martha. “There are so many services in this community, but not everyone knows what is available. My job is to connect people with solutions and it is a great feeling to know that I’ve had a positive impact on someone’s life.”

Martha lives in Albemarle County with her husband and son who attends Greer Elementary School, and has a daughter in college.

August – September 2007
Christianne Queiroz

Christianne is a bi-lingual/bi-national lawyer who was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In Brazil, Christianne taught law and participated in a pioneer partnership as a Human Rights instructor to military policemen with Amnesty International. In 2000, Christianne took a sabbatical and was a visiting scholar at UVA for six months. The following year, she began a Master of Laws program at UVA Law School. Christianne lives in Charlottesville and has worked as an interpreter for IRC and as an outreach worker for the Migrant Farmworkers’ Program at Central Virginia Legal Aid Society. Last year, Christianne acquired American citizenship, was admitted to the Virginia Bar and was hired as the first staff attorney to the Child Health Advocacy program with the Legal Aid Justice Center. Her passions include fighting for justice and respect of human rights, animals and environmental protection, and acting. For more information about the Child Health Advocacy Program and Christianne’s work there, visit www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/Internet/childadvocacy/ The Legal Aid Justice Center is will be updating its webpage to contain links to the Child Health Advocacy Program and its resources. The LAJC website is: www.justice4all.org

June – July 2007
Marie Murray

Marie is a Shelter for Help in Emergency’s Advocate for the Spanish Speaking Community.
She was born and grew up in Madrid, Spain. She has degrees in Philosophy and Psychology, the latter from the University of Maryland. As a military wife, Marie traveled through many countries and lived in the US, Spain, Greece, Germany and Iran. At different times, she taught High School Public Speaking, Short Story Writing and Spanish Language; managed the Army Community Services financial and credit-counseling department in Germany; and also managed the Latin American (16 countries) Automation market for General Electric for almost ten years. In addition, she has volunteered in activities for the advancement of peace and justice through her church and other associations. In the personal area, she is still married to the same man after 47 years, has 3 daughters, two granddaughters and a grandson. Her passion is to eliminate injustice and work for peace. For fun she likes to read, garden, travel and cook. These experiences have given Marie extensive exposure to different cultures and opportunities to develop broad understanding of the importance of being open to and accepting of individual differences to being successful in a multicultural setting. According to Marie, “when I took the advocate’s position with SHE and learned of the existence of CJ, I immediately knew I wanted to be involved and collaborate in its meaningful initiatives.” Marie can be reached at: mmurray@shelterforhelpinemergency.org

April – May 2007
Dilcia Colindres

Dilcia was born in Honduras and went to college in San Pedro Sula, where she graduated in accounting, fulfilling her father’s dream. Dilcia continued her education in Sociology and Administration before coming to the US in 1988. Her desire to learn English was so great that she took some classes and worked as a babysitter before going to Oxnard College in California.

In 2000, she and her family moved to Virginia at the advice of her best friend who said there were exceptional educational opportunities here for Dilcia’s daughter and that the area was very family oriented.

In 2001, Dilcia began working as a Family Support Worker for CHIP (Comprehensive Health Invested Project). She was the first Latino in the Health Department and in MACAA, the two organizations sponsoring CHIP. She served the Latino community and quickly became known by Social Services workers. She then worked for the Shelter for Help in Emergency/SHE as a Latino Outreach worker, but because she missed working with children, she returned to CHIP a year later. Dilcia later went back to SHE as a Case Manager, working predominantly with the English speaking community. Presently, she works as SHE’s Latino Outreach Advocate and is the Chair of Creciendo Juntos (CJ).

February – March 2007
Luciana Bernardos

Luciana accompanied her husband to Charlottesville after his acceptance at UVA’s Darden Business School. Luciana is a member of Brazil's "Live and Let Live," promoting culture and education for youth in hospitals. Since coming to the area, Luciana has been a storyteller at the UVa’s Children's Hospital and will read a Cuban folktale in a bilingual children’s event during the 2007 Festival of the Book. Luciana is also the International Liaison for Zona Latina, a new bilingual television program broadcasted from Charlottesville. She and her husband will be returning to Brasil in May 2007. The community will miss her. You can contact Luciana at: lucbernardos@uol.com.br

To read a Spanish language article about Luciana and the 2007 Festival of the Book, visit:
http://www.nuevasraices.com/content/templates/articulosnr.asp?articleid=3632&zoneid=6

December 2006 – January 2007
Ivonne López

Ivonne López is from Bogotá Colombia, where she studied and worked as a doctor (GP). When her husband received a job offer at UVA, Ivonne moved with him to Charlottesville in May 2001. Since then she has spent much time studying English and U.S. culture, and helping the Latino community to overcome language and cultural barriers. She is especially committed to the health area and helps inform and guide Latinos through local health systems so they can access the services they need. Since June 2005, Ivonne has been a volunteer at the Rural Health Outreach Program, offering a variety of services like working with the Mobile Clinic that provides monthly medical attention in the evening (5:00 – 10:00 pm) at the Southwood Trailer Park and the Church of the Incarnation. In the summer, Ivonne also works with RHOP health promoters assisting local migrant workers with health assessments, identifying risk factors, and providing health information, attention and referral services to guarantee that the fruit workers receive needed health services. According to Ivonne, “It has been a privilege to be associated with RHOP and participating in Creciendo Juntos has also been a marvelous experience. Through CJ I have developed many important contacts with local service providers who are attempting to help Latinos access their agencies.” Ivonne hopes to continue contributing to the Latino/Hispanic community through health care and prevention initiatives. Click here to read Ivonne’s CV.

Rolando was born in El Salvador and tries to visit there in the summers. He graduated from Charlottesville High School in June 2006, entered UVA a few months later, and expects to graduate with a BS in Biology and a BA in Chemistry in May 2010. Since coming to Charlottesville in August 2002, Rolando has offered IT support to a Latin American non-profit, Probidad (http://www.probidad.org), and among other volunteer efforts, he has worked for the Virginia Discovery Museum, the Democratic Party, and has been the webmaster for Creciendo Juntos (CJ) since the site began in April 2006. For over four years Rolando also volunteered on semi-monthly Public Nights at the UVa McCormick Observatory, operating its telescope and speaking with guests about astronomical phenomena. More information on Rolando’s activities and about the academic recognitions and awards he has won can be found at http://www.cj-network.org/cjlatarea/RoResume.doc

Also see articles written about Rolando at:
http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=5884
http://www.nuevasraices.com/content/templates/articulosnr.asp?articleid=3302&zoneid=6#
http://www.nuevasraices.com/content/templates/articulosnr.asp?articleid=3158&zoneid=6

Pablo Julian Davis, a New York City native of Argentine origins, has been in Charlottesville for 7 years. He has studied and taught Latin American history and culture, and has a great interest in comparative study of the Americas.He's a lifelong musician (pianist) whose first love is jazz, especiallythe Latin kind. He is also an experienced professional translator. In Virginia he's been part of several beginnings, as UVa's first student affairs administrator for Latin American/Latino programs (1999-2003), a charter member of the Governor's original Virginia Latino Advisory Commission (2003-2005), and now director of the new South Atlantic Humanities Center, a Virginia Foundation for the Humanities partnership with UVa and Virginia Tech involved in public programs on the history and culture of the region including Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Puerto Rico, and US Virgin Islands. He's excited at how 'Creciendo Juntos' offers a place to compare notes, educate each other, and work together for, and with, a fast growing part of our community.

"He planted 'nuevas raíces' new roots - in Charlottesville hoping to unite the growing Hispanic community in Central Virginia. Three years later, those roots have spread throughout the area, linking Hispanics to one another and to a predominantly English speaking community. Carlos C. Terán's job as Charlottesville regional manager of Nuevas Raíces, the first Spanish newspaper in the Shenandoah Valley and Central Virginia, is the basis for his tireless work in the Hispanic community … [who] is working to produce a bilingual TV show, 'ZONA LATINA,' which is scheduled to air in 2006 on ABC-16. Daily Progress, December 29, 2006. Click here to read more.