Board of Directors

Carmela R. Castellano, Esq.
Angela Gallegos-Castillo
Gloria Flores-Garcia
M. Guada(Lupe) Gallegos-Diaz
Lorena Hernandez
Beatriz Leyva-Cutler
Ludmyrna Lopez
Ortensia Lopez
Maria X. Martinez
Evelyn Orantes
Viviana Paredes
Olga Talamante
Olga E. Terrazas, Ph.D.

Carmela R. Castellano, Esq.

Chief Executive Officer, California Primary Care Association (CPCA)
Sacramento, CA.

Carmela Castellano-Garcia, Esq., is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the California Primary Care Association (CPCA), an organization of over 650 nonprofit, community-based primary health care clinics, whose mission is to promote and facilitate equal access to quality health care for individuals and families through organized primary care clinics and clinic networks. Ms. Castellano-Garcia has been committed to advancing multi-cultural health policy issues for over 15 years, focusing on areas such as cultural and linguistic competency in health care delivery, ensuring the viability of safety net providers, health care reform, and access to care for vulnerable populations.

Presently Ms. Castellano-Garcia sits on the Board of Directors for the Chicana/ Latina Foundation, the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, and Capital Link and is a member of the Prevention and Early Intervention Committee of the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission.

Prior to joining the CPCA, Ms. Castellano-Garcia served as the Founder and Executive Director of the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (LCHC), a health care policy and advocacy organization seeking to improve access to health and human services for California's Latino population.

Ms. Castellano-Garcia's legal background includes six years as a Managing Attorney with Public Advocates, Inc., a public interest law firm in San Francisco. Ms. Castellano-Garcia has litigated in the areas of employment discrimination, insurance redlining, and ensuring access to the information superhighway for California's minority, low-income populations.

Ms. Castellano-Garcia holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley. She spent a year at La Universidad Central de Venezuela as a Rotary Foundation International Scholar. She is a graduate of the Yale Law School.

Angela Castillo

Assistant to the City Manager
Berkeley, CA.

Dr. Angela Gallegos-Castillo is currently the Assistant to the City Manager for the City of Berkeley, working on Youth Services and the Neighborhood Services Initiative. Prior to that she was Senior Research Associate at the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, where she conducted research and evaluation on juvenile justice and violence prevention initiatives.

Her areas of expertise include youth development, youth violence prevention, Latina/o health issues, domestic & family violence, alcohol prevention and general Latino population issues. She has worked and conducted local and statewide trainings; focus group facilitation, youth development, program planning, development and evaluation, as well as staff development training. She believes in the principles of community and individual empowerment and works from a strength-based perspective in her engagement with communities.

Dr. Gallegos-Castillo has been a dedicated community volunteer, with memberships in various organizations like the National Association for Chicano Studies, National Association for Women's Studies, Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, Latinos Unidos, Por La Paz Network, Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social, a Chicana/Latina Academic Organization. She also serves as advisor to bay area agencies and organizations.

She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, Ethnic Studies, and a B.A. from Santa Clara University, Political Science. Her lifelong partner, Federico Castillo is Costa Rican. She has two children, Emma Alejandra (9) and Federico Daniel (2) and lives in Berkeley, CA. She was the proud recipient of the Chicana Latina Foundation Scholarship in 1988.

Gloria Flores-Garcia

Assistant Executive Director, El Concilio of San Mateo County —
Nuestro Canto de Salud Project, Burlingame, CA.

In her position for over 10 years, Gloria has directed programs that promote health prevention, education, outreach, and case management for San Mateo County's Latino and other underserved communities. She is the co-founder of Nuestro Canto de Salud Health Project that is a multi-disciplinary collaborative effort that envisions all community as key stakeholders in the rhythm and harmony of a healthy community. Gloria has a long history of working in the community and is committed to social justice issues. She has served on several boards and councils, including the Spanish Speaking Citizens Foundation, American Diabetes Association, American Cancer Society, West Bay Breast Cancer Early Detention Program, KCSM's Community Advisory Committee, and currently serves on the LifeLong Medical Care Board in Alameda County. She was a past KQED Local Hero for Hispanic Heritage Month as well as the private sector Local Hero award for Peninsula Interfaith Action . Gloria is a Past-President and is current Secretary of the Chicana/Latina Foundation, and resides in Berkeley.

M. Guada(Lupe) Gallegos-Diaz

Director, Chicano/Latino Affairs
University of California, Berkeley, CA.

In her present position, Lupe advocates for Chicana/Latino undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) and also serves as a community affairs liaison. She has a Masters from the University of California, Berkeley in Social Work and is a PhD candidate working on - Chicanas in the Nonprofit Sector: A Case Study of the Bay Area. As an instructor at UCB her courses include: Community and Leadership Development, and Fundraising and Philanthropy in Latino communities. She has served as a council member of the North Fair Oaks Advisory Council and commissioner on the Commission on the Status of Women in San Mateo County. Among many commitments she has also served as chair to the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies and is currently the national treasurer to Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social (MALCS) a national Mujeres higher education organization. Lupe is currently the Vice-Chair of the Chicana/Latina Foundation, and resides in Berkeley.

Lorena Hernandez

Regional Director Communications Bay Area, Comcast

Lorena Hernandez is currently the Regional Director of Communications of the Bay Area for Comcast Corporation, the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services.

Ms. Hernandez was recently appointed to the California Student Aid Commission, the principal state agency responsible for administering financial aid programs for students attending public and private universities, colleges, and vocational schools in California. As a Commissioner, Ms. Hernandez is committed to its mission of making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians.

Prior to joining Comcast, Ms. Hernandez served as Vice President of Communications and Community Development for the Marchese Company — a real estate development firm in San Francisco were she managed all communication and community outreach for a $1 billion healthcare development project in the City and County of San Francisco. Before joining the Marchese Company, Ms. Hernandez served as Vice President of the Walter Kaitz Foundation, the cable and broadband industry's premier foundation dedicated to diversity; also served as Communications Program Officer at the California HealthCare Foundation, and as Associate Director of Media Relations for Children Now, a national children's policy and advocacy organization.

Ms. Hernandez has more than 18 years of experience in media relations, public relations, government relations and community development. She is very committed to enriching the lives of others by mentoring high school and college students as well as serving on several Boards and committees including the Chicana/Latina Foundation and National Association of Latino Independent Producers. Ms. Hernandez received a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from California State University, Sacramento.

Beatriz Leyva-Cutler

Executive Director, The Bay Area Hispano Institute for Advancement (BAHIA)
Berkeley, CA.

Beatriz Leyva-Cutler is the Executive Director of The Bay Area Hispano Institute for Advancement, Inc. (BAHIA) located in West Berkeley. BAHIA is one of the only full time bilingual child development programs providing vital early to school age care services to the Hispano/Latino familias in Northern Alameda County. She has been with BAHIA since 1980 and the Executive Director for over 18 years. Her primary responsibility is supervising, administering and managing three programs, Centro VIDA, Bahia School Age Program and La Academia.

Beatriz has taught Child Development in Spanish in local community colleges as a way to bring more Latinas into the position of Teachers and Directors, she is a mentor to early childhood Directors and a member of the Latinos Unidos de Berkeley (LUB) and United in Action (UIA). Both LUB and UIA are groups that advocate for the improved quality of life and education of Latino and African America students and their families living in Berkeley. Beatriz was honored in 1997 as Berkeley's Outstanding Woman, in 2004 as Exemplary Child Care Worker in Berkeley, and in 2005 recognized as Woman of the Year by Honorable Assemblywoman Loni Hancock and in 2006 as KPFA's Peace and Social Justice Awardee, recently elected as Democratic delegate for District 14. She graduated with her BA from San Francisco State in La Raza Studies, received her Master of Arts in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, California. Beatriz is also the Board Chair of the Chicana/Latina Foundation which provides scholarships to undergraduate and graduate Latina students in nine surrounding counties. She is graduate fellow of LeaderSpring which provides a two year fellowship for non-profit Executive Directors and currently a fellow with Emerge California which prepares democratic women for political office.

Ludmyrna Lopez

Principal Financial Analyst
City of Oakland

Ludmyrna Lopez was recently elected to the Richmond City Council and is currently the Principal Financial Analyst for the City of Oakland. Previous to this, she served as the Assistant Chief of Finance and Administration for the San Francisco Department of Child Support Services. Ludmyrna has worked for Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr. as a fiscal analyst for the City and County of San Francisco, advising department heads, the budget director, and the mayor during all phases of the budget, including fiscal planning of new programs. Prior to this position, she served in several leadership positions within the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. in particular related to the Superfund and Brownfields programs. She has also worked with the California State Assembly. Ludmyrna works with the Chicana/Latina Foundation because it encourages and validates Latinas' pursuit of higher education as a way to increase economic and political empowerment for the Latino community.

Ludmyrna holds a Masters of Science in Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. She first began her association with C/LF as a scholarship recipient while a student at California State University, Hayward.

Ortensia Lopez

Executive Director, El Concilio of San Mateo County
Burlingame, CA.

Ortensia has been directing El Concilio, an umbrella organization of Latino service providers that improve the quality of life for Latinos, for over 10 years. Previously she was a co-founding member and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Bay Area Latino Non-Profit Association, and CEO of the North Peninsula Neighborhood Services Center. In these capacities she was responsible for developing and managing successful and innovative programs for the poor and disadvantaged. She serves as Chair of the CPUC Low-income Oversight Board and on the Advisory Committees for Comerica Bank and One California Bank. Among the organizations for which Ortensia performs volunteer work are the Greenlining Institute, Latino Issues Forum, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, California Energy Efficiency Commission, California Community/Business Partnership on Diversity, and many more. Ortensia has received awards from Hispanic Magazine (Hispanic Achievement Award), Woman's Foundation, the San Mateo County Women's Hall of Fame, and many more. Her most recent recognition is The Women Who Could Be President award. Ortensia is a Past-President and Vice President and currently serves as Treasurer of the Chicana/Latina Foundation, and resides in Belmont.

Maria X. Martinez

Deputy Director of Community Programs, San Francisco Department of Public Health
San Francisco, CA.

Maria X. Martinez is currently Deputy Director of Community Programs, a division of the San Francisco Department of Public Health that includes prevention, behavioral health, primary care, maternal/child, supportive housing, and urban health services. In addition to her administrative responsibilities, Ms. Martinez has provided leadership for many regional and community-based initiatives and public policy developments on behalf of the Department of Public Health, including the 2001 Latino Health Summit, Families with Children Living in SRO's in San Francisco, SSI Advocacy, and welfare-to-work health programs. Ms. Martinez has worked for many years as a performance improvement consultant serving healthcare and financial organizations throughout the United States.

She is a 2004 recipient of the Iron Advocate Award from Positive Resource Center given in recognition of her advocacy on behalf of people affected by or at risk for HIV/AIDS. A community arts activist since 1991, she championed public policies, legislation, and charter reform to ensure long-term cultural equity in arts funding. She has served as a San Francisco Arts Commissioner, former President of the San Francisco Consortium of Community Cultural Centers, past President of the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, past President of the San Francisco Arts Democratic Club, and past board member of BRAVA for Women in the Arts. Most importantly, she is the proud mother of her nine-year-old daughter, Paloma.

Evelyn Orantes

Cultural Arts Developer, Oakland Museum of California

Evelyn Orantes is currently the Cultural Arts Developer for the Oakland Museum of California. She oversees art school programs for the education department as well as serves as the Project Director of the Days of the Dead annual exhibition and related public programs. Evelyn has devoted the last eight years of her career as a cultural worker advancing community based arts practice, and addressing issues of diversity in the arts. She has participated as a fellow at the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives, where she worked with staff from the National Museum of the American Indian to develop Days of the Dead programming and curriculum.

Ms. Orantes is an altar maker and installation artist. Her work has been shown in venues including the Mission Cultural Center, Triton Museum, The Legion Palace of Fine Arts and the Oakland Museum of California. She has donated her cartoneria pieces to the Chicana Latina Foundation's art auction and is excited at the opportunity to serve the Chicana Latina Community. She has served as Board Member, Galeria de la Raza Regeneration, 2002- 2005, as a Committee Member, The Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya, Legion of Honor 2004, and currently serves on the Día de Los Muertos Advisory Committee for The Oakland Museum of California.

Her education includes an AA in Social Sciences with Honors from Santa Monica College, studies at Universidad Complutense of Madrid, Spain and a B.A. in History from the University of California at Berkeley.

Viviana Paredes

Artist

Viviana Paredes is a local San Francisco artist who has exhibited her sculptures throughout Northern California. A graduate with distinction from the California College of Arts and Crafts, in Fine Arts, Sculpture, she makes her impact with the powerful glass, bronze and metal forms crafted by her hands, with her heart. She owns her own business, Viviana Paredes Fine Decorative Painting, where she specializes in painted finishes and color consultations. She has worked with the UCSF AIDS Health Project (1991-1992), the Berlitz Centro de Idiomas in Sao Paolo, Brazil (1989), Partners in Design in Miami, Florida (1988), and with Bay Area Rapid Transit in Oakland (1978-1988). She was a co-founder of the Amazonian AIDS Health Project, and former Board member of CURAS Latino Aids Project, and IRIS Project.

Olga Talamante

Executive Director, Chicana/Latina Foundation

Olga Talamante became the first Executive Director of the Chicana Latina Foundation in January 2003. Prior to this position, she was the Western Region Vice President of INROADS, a career and leadership development organization aimed at Latino, African American and Native American college students pursuing careers in business and engineering. In that position, she supervised the organization's 12 regional offices located throughout the western United States and in Mexico.

Ms. Talamante is well known for her community activism and has worked with several service-providing and public advocacy agencies, including Head Start, the YMCA, the American Friends Service Committee, and the Argentine Commission for Human Rights.

Some of her awards include: "Most Influential Latinos in the San Francisco Bay Area", from the SF Business Times and SF Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, "Heroes and Heroines of the Latino Community", from KQED-TV, the Diversity Award from Hispanic Magazine, the San Francisco Bay Girl Scout Council DAISY Award, and the "Women Making History Award" from the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women.

Currently she serves on the boards of the National Center for Lesbian Rights; El Concilio of San Mateo County, and the Friends of the Commission on the Status of Women. She is also active with GELAAM, a Latino LGBT organization in San Mateo County and with the Latino Forum of the San Francisco LGBT Center.

Ms. Talamante's family came from Mexico to Gilroy in the early 1960's and worked as farmworkers in the Santa Clara Valley. She received her B.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Olga E. Terrazas, Ph.D.

Educational Psychologist, El Cerrito, CA.

Olga works with preschool through middle school students, with an emphasis on primarily non-English speaking students. She is a spiritual advisor, and performs meditation and Reiki workshops. Olga has been employed as an employment counselor and college instructor. She is committed to performing volunteer work with Latino organizations. In the past, she has volunteered with Comision Feminil, Spanish Speaking Unity Council, Spanish Speaking Citizens Foundation, and United Way. She is one of the founders of the Chicana/Latina Foundation, and chairs the Scholarship Committee. Olga resides in El Cerrito.


Foundation Home History Staff Board of Directors Contact Us Mission Statement Leadership Activities Scholarship General Information Application Annual Dinner Leadership Institute Alumni Award Success Stories Sponsor Community Inspiration Sponsors Youth Adelante Symposium Overview Latina Agenda Policy Dialogues Art Exhibit & Reception	Board of Directors Carmela R. Castellano, Esq. Angela Gallegos-Castillo Gloria Flores-Garcia M. Guada(Lupe) Gallegos-Diaz Lorena Hernandez Beatriz Leyva-Cutler Ludmyrna Lopez Ortensia Lopez Maria X. Martinez Evelyn Orantes Viviana Paredes Olga Talamante Olga E. Terrazas, Ph.D. Carmela R. Castellano, Esq. Chief Executive Officer, California Primary Care Association (CPCA) Sacramento, CA. Carmela Castellano-Garcia, Esq., is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the California Primary Care Association (CPCA), an organization of over 650 nonprofit, community-based primary health care clinics, whose mission is to promote and facilitate equal access to quality health care for individuals and families through organized primary care clinics and clinic networks. Ms. Castellano-Garcia has been committed to advancing multi-cultural health policy issues for over 15 years, focusing on areas such as cultural and linguistic competency in health care delivery, ensuring the viability of safety net providers, health care reform, and access to care for vulnerable populations. Presently Ms. Castellano-Garcia sits on the Board of Directors for the Chicana/ Latina Foundation, the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, and Capital Link and is a member of the Prevention and Early Intervention Committee of the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. Prior to joining the CPCA, Ms. Castellano-Garcia served as the Founder and Executive Director of the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (LCHC), a health care policy and advocacy organization seeking to improve access to health and human services for California's Latino population. Ms. Castellano-Garcia's legal background includes six years as a Managing Attorney with Public Advocates, Inc., a public interest law firm in San Francisco. Ms. Castellano-Garcia has litigated in the areas of employment discrimination, insurance redlining, and ensuring access to the information superhighway for California's minority, low-income populations. Ms. Castellano-Garcia holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley. She spent a year at La Universidad Central de Venezuela as a Rotary Foundation International Scholar. She is a graduate of the Yale Law School. Angela Castillo Assistant to the City Manager Berkeley, CA. Dr. Angela Gallegos-Castillo is currently the Assistant to the City Manager for the City of Berkeley, working on Youth Services and the Neighborhood Services Initiative. Prior to that she was Senior Research Associate at the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, where she conducted research and evaluation on juvenile justice and violence prevention initiatives. Her areas of expertise include youth development, youth violence prevention, Latina/o health issues, domestic & family violence, alcohol prevention and general Latino population issues. She has worked and conducted local and statewide trainings; focus group facilitation, youth development, program planning, development and evaluation, as well as staff development training. She believes in the principles of community and individual empowerment and works from a strength-based perspective in her engagement with communities. Dr. Gallegos-Castillo has been a dedicated community volunteer, with memberships in various organizations like the National Association for Chicano Studies, National Association for Women's Studies, Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, Latinos Unidos, Por La Paz Network, Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social, a Chicana/Latina Academic Organization. She also serves as advisor to bay area agencies and organizations. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, Ethnic Studies, and a B.A. from Santa Clara University, Political Science. Her lifelong partner, Federico Castillo is Costa Rican. She has two children, Emma Alejandra (9) and Federico Daniel (2) and lives in Berkeley, CA. She was the proud recipient of the Chicana Latina Foundation Scholarship in 1988. Gloria Flores-Garcia Assistant Executive Director, El Concilio of San Mateo County — Nuestro Canto de Salud Project, Burlingame, CA. In her position for over 10 years, Gloria has directed programs that promote health prevention, education, outreach, and case management for San Mateo County's Latino and other underserved communities. She is the co-founder of Nuestro Canto de Salud Health Project that is a multi-disciplinary collaborative effort that envisions all community as key stakeholders in the rhythm and harmony of a healthy community. Gloria has a long history of working in the community and is committed to social justice issues. She has served on several boards and councils, including the Spanish Speaking Citizens Foundation, American Diabetes Association, American Cancer Society, West Bay Breast Cancer Early Detention Program, KCSM's Community Advisory Committee, and currently serves on the LifeLong Medical Care Board in Alameda County. She was a past KQED Local Hero for Hispanic Heritage Month as well as the private sector Local Hero award for Peninsula Interfaith Action . Gloria is a Past-President and is current Secretary of the Chicana/Latina Foundation, and resides in Berkeley. M. Guada(Lupe) Gallegos-Diaz Director, Chicano/Latino Affairs University of California, Berkeley, CA. In her present position, Lupe advocates for Chicana/Latino undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) and also serves as a community affairs liaison. She has a Masters from the University of California, Berkeley in Social Work and is a PhD candidate working on - Chicanas in the Nonprofit Sector: A Case Study of the Bay Area. As an instructor at UCB her courses include: Community and Leadership Development, and Fundraising and Philanthropy in Latino communities. She has served as a council member of the North Fair Oaks Advisory Council and commissioner on the Commission on the Status of Women in San Mateo County. Among many commitments she has also served as chair to the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies and is currently the national treasurer to Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social (MALCS) a national Mujeres higher education organization. Lupe is currently the Vice-Chair of the Chicana/Latina Foundation, and resides in Berkeley. Lorena Hernandez Regional Director Communications Bay Area, Comcast Lorena Hernandez is currently the Regional Director of Communications of the Bay Area for Comcast Corporation, the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services. Ms. Hernandez was recently appointed to the California Student Aid Commission, the principal state agency responsible for administering financial aid programs for students attending public and private universities, colleges, and vocational schools in California. As a Commissioner, Ms. Hernandez is committed to its mission of making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians. Prior to joining Comcast, Ms. Hernandez served as Vice President of Communications and Community Development for the Marchese Company — a real estate development firm in San Francisco were she managed all communication and community outreach for a $1 billion healthcare development project in the City and County of San Francisco. Before joining the Marchese Company, Ms. Hernandez served as Vice President of the Walter Kaitz Foundation, the cable and broadband industry's premier foundation dedicated to diversity; also served as Communications Program Officer at the California HealthCare Foundation, and as Associate Director of Media Relations for Children Now, a national children's policy and advocacy organization. Ms. Hernandez has more than 18 years of experience in media relations, public relations, government relations and community development. She is very committed to enriching the lives of others by mentoring high school and college students as well as serving on several Boards and committees including the Chicana/Latina Foundation and National Association of Latino Independent Producers. Ms. Hernandez received a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from California State University, Sacramento. Beatriz Leyva-Cutler Executive Director, The Bay Area Hispano Institute for Advancement (BAHIA) Berkeley, CA. Beatriz Leyva-Cutler is the Executive Director of The Bay Area Hispano Institute for Advancement, Inc. (BAHIA) located in West Berkeley. BAHIA is one of the only full time bilingual child development programs providing vital early to school age care services to the Hispano/Latino familias in Northern Alameda County. She has been with BAHIA since 1980 and the Executive Director for over 18 years. Her primary responsibility is supervising, administering and managing three programs, Centro VIDA, Bahia School Age Program and La Academia. Beatriz has taught Child Development in Spanish in local community colleges as a way to bring more Latinas into the position of Teachers and Directors, she is a mentor to early childhood Directors and a member of the Latinos Unidos de Berkeley (LUB) and United in Action (UIA). Both LUB and UIA are groups that advocate for the improved quality of life and education of Latino and African America students and their families living in Berkeley. Beatriz was honored in 1997 as Berkeley's Outstanding Woman, in 2004 as Exemplary Child Care Worker in Berkeley, and in 2005 recognized as Woman of the Year by Honorable Assemblywoman Loni Hancock and in 2006 as KPFA's Peace and Social Justice Awardee, recently elected as Democratic delegate for District 14. She graduated with her BA from San Francisco State in La Raza Studies, received her Master of Arts in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, California. Beatriz is also the Board Chair of the Chicana/Latina Foundation which provides scholarships to undergraduate and graduate Latina students in nine surrounding counties. She is graduate fellow of LeaderSpring which provides a two year fellowship for non-profit Executive Directors and currently a fellow with Emerge California which prepares democratic women for political office. Ludmyrna Lopez Principal Financial Analyst City of Oakland Ludmyrna Lopez was recently elected to the Richmond City Council and is currently the Principal Financial Analyst for the City of Oakland. Previous to this, she served as the Assistant Chief of Finance and Administration for the San Francisco Department of Child Support Services. Ludmyrna has worked for Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr. as a fiscal analyst for the City and County of San Francisco, advising department heads, the budget director, and the mayor during all phases of the budget, including fiscal planning of new programs. Prior to this position, she served in several leadership positions within the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. in particular related to the Superfund and Brownfields programs. She has also worked with the California State Assembly. Ludmyrna works with the Chicana/Latina Foundation because it encourages and validates Latinas' pursuit of higher education as a way to increase economic and political empowerment for the Latino community. Ludmyrna holds a Masters of Science in Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. She first began her association with C/LF as a scholarship recipient while a student at California State University, Hayward. Ortensia Lopez Executive Director, El Concilio of San Mateo County Burlingame, CA. Ortensia has been directing El Concilio, an umbrella organization of Latino service providers that improve the quality of life for Latinos, for over 10 years. Previously she was a co-founding member and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Bay Area Latino Non-Profit Association, and CEO of the North Peninsula Neighborhood Services Center. In these capacities she was responsible for developing and managing successful and innovative programs for the poor and disadvantaged. She serves as Chair of the CPUC Low-income Oversight Board and on the Advisory Committees for Comerica Bank and One California Bank. Among the organizations for which Ortensia performs volunteer work are the Greenlining Institute, Latino Issues Forum, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, California Energy Efficiency Commission, California Community/Business Partnership on Diversity, and many more. Ortensia has received awards from Hispanic Magazine (Hispanic Achievement Award), Woman's Foundation, the San Mateo County Women's Hall of Fame, and many more. Her most recent recognition is The Women Who Could Be President award. Ortensia is a Past-President and Vice President and currently serves as Treasurer of the Chicana/Latina Foundation, and resides in Belmont. Maria X. Martinez Deputy Director of Community Programs, San Francisco Department of Public Health San Francisco, CA. Maria X. Martinez is currently Deputy Director of Community Programs, a division of the San Francisco Department of Public Health that includes prevention, behavioral health, primary care, maternal/child, supportive housing, and urban health services. In addition to her administrative responsibilities, Ms. Martinez has provided leadership for many regional and community-based initiatives and public policy developments on behalf of the Department of Public Health, including the 2001 Latino Health Summit, Families with Children Living in SRO's in San Francisco, SSI Advocacy, and welfare-to-work health programs. Ms. Martinez has worked for many years as a performance improvement consultant serving healthcare and financial organizations throughout the United States. She is a 2004 recipient of the Iron Advocate Award from Positive Resource Center given in recognition of her advocacy on behalf of people affected by or at risk for HIV/AIDS. A community arts activist since 1991, she championed public policies, legislation, and charter reform to ensure long-term cultural equity in arts funding. She has served as a San Francisco Arts Commissioner, former President of the San Francisco Consortium of Community Cultural Centers, past President of the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, past President of the San Francisco Arts Democratic Club, and past board member of BRAVA for Women in the Arts. Most importantly, she is the proud mother of her nine-year-old daughter, Paloma. Evelyn Orantes Cultural Arts Developer, Oakland Museum of California Evelyn Orantes is currently the Cultural Arts Developer for the Oakland Museum of California. She oversees art school programs for the education department as well as serves as the Project Director of the Days of the Dead annual exhibition and related public programs. Evelyn has devoted the last eight years of her career as a cultural worker advancing community based arts practice, and addressing issues of diversity in the arts. She has participated as a fellow at the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives, where she worked with staff from the National Museum of the American Indian to develop Days of the Dead programming and curriculum. Ms. Orantes is an altar maker and installation artist. Her work has been shown in venues including the Mission Cultural Center, Triton Museum, The Legion Palace of Fine Arts and the Oakland Museum of California. She has donated her cartoneria pieces to the Chicana Latina Foundation's art auction and is excited at the opportunity to serve the Chicana Latina Community. She has served as Board Member, Galeria de la Raza Regeneration, 2002- 2005, as a Committee Member, The Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya, Legion of Honor 2004, and currently serves on the Día de Los Muertos Advisory Committee for The Oakland Museum of California. Her education includes an AA in Social Sciences with Honors from Santa Monica College, studies at Universidad Complutense of Madrid, Spain and a B.A. in History from the University of California at Berkeley. Viviana Paredes Artist Viviana Paredes is a local San Francisco artist who has exhibited her sculptures throughout Northern California. A graduate with distinction from the California College of Arts and Crafts, in Fine Arts, Sculpture, she makes her impact with the powerful glass, bronze and metal forms crafted by her hands, with her heart. She owns her own business, Viviana Paredes Fine Decorative Painting, where she specializes in painted finishes and color consultations. She has worked with the UCSF AIDS Health Project (1991-1992), the Berlitz Centro de Idiomas in Sao Paolo, Brazil (1989), Partners in Design in Miami, Florida (1988), and with Bay Area Rapid Transit in Oakland (1978-1988). She was a co-founder of the Amazonian AIDS Health Project, and former Board member of CURAS Latino Aids Project, and IRIS Project. Olga Talamante Executive Director, Chicana/Latina Foundation Olga Talamante became the first Executive Director of the Chicana Latina Foundation in January 2003. Prior to this position, she was the Western Region Vice President of INROADS, a career and leadership development organization aimed at Latino, African American and Native American college students pursuing careers in business and engineering. In that position, she supervised the organization's 12 regional offices located throughout the western United States and in Mexico. Ms. Talamante is well known for her community activism and has worked with several service-providing and public advocacy agencies, including Head Start, the YMCA, the American Friends Service Committee, and the Argentine Commission for Human Rights. Some of her awards include: "Most Influential Latinos in the San Francisco Bay Area", from the SF Business Times and SF Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, "Heroes and Heroines of the Latino Community", from KQED-TV, the Diversity Award from Hispanic Magazine, the San Francisco Bay Girl Scout Council DAISY Award, and the "Women Making History Award" from the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women. Currently she serves on the boards of the National Center for Lesbian Rights; El Concilio of San Mateo County, and the Friends of the Commission on the Status of Women. She is also active with GELAAM, a Latino LGBT organization in San Mateo County and with the Latino Forum of the San Francisco LGBT Center. Ms. Talamante's family came from Mexico to Gilroy in the early 1960's and worked as farmworkers in the Santa Clara Valley. She received her B.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Olga E. Terrazas, Ph.D. Educational Psychologist, El Cerrito, CA. Olga works with preschool through middle school students, with an emphasis on primarily non-English speaking students. She is a spiritual advisor, and performs meditation and Reiki workshops. Olga has been employed as an employment counselor and college instructor. She is committed to performing volunteer work with Latino organizations. In the past, she has volunteered with Comision Feminil, Spanish Speaking Unity Council, Spanish Speaking Citizens Foundation, and United Way. She is one of the founders of the Chicana/Latina Foundation, and chairs the Scholarship Committee. Olga resides in El Cerrito.
	©2006 Chicana/Latina Foundation 1419 Burlingame Ave. Suite N., Burlingame, CA 94010 info@chicanalatina.org