Administration
Areas of expertise and training include: Wraparound 101 (October 2015); Motivational Interviewing (Jan.-Feb. 2016); Exym Electronic Health Records Implementation (Jan.-May 2016); Northwest Health Foundation Comminications Workshop (Sept. 2016); Catholic Legal Immigration Network - Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law (Feb.-Mar. 2017); Immigrant Family Emergency Preparedness Packet (Mar. 2017); Civil Liberties Defense Center: Know Your Rights 101 (May 2017).
Areas of expertise and training include: Values Based Management (December 2014); Wraparound 101 October 2015); CADCA Mid-Year Conference, Indianapolis (August 2015); Mandatory Reporter Training (November 2015); Oregon Health Plan/ONE Portal (January 2016); Motivational Interviewing (January-February 2016); Exym Electronic Health Records Implementation (January-May 2016); Trauma-Informed Care (July 2016); Northwest Health Foundation Communications Workshop (September 2016); Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale & Safety Planning (May 2017)
Areas of expertise and training include: Matrix Model of Intensive Drug and Alcohol treatment (2010); QPR Suicide prevention Gate Keeper Instructor (2011); Prevention Specialist Cohort Training October 2013-September 2014; Cultural Leadership training (2015);Tobacco Training, Advace Techniques Program (2015); Exym Electronic Health Records (2016); Motivational Interviewing (2016); Addictions Peer training (2017).
Evelyn has more than 10 years of experience working in the Mental Health field providing social services. She has worked to improve the lives of underserved Latino people, especially women, affected by immigration on both sides of the Mexican-American border. Evelyn was born in Guanajuato Mexico and moved to the US in 2013. Before moving to Eugene she lived in Athens Ohio where she earned her master’s degree in political science and a graduate certificate in women's gender and sexuality studies from Ohio University. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in social psychology from the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro. Evelyn has nurtured a passion working in nonprofit agencies because she is convinced community organizing is key to affect social change. When Evelyn is not working she loves spending weekends hiking in the National Forest.
Erin is a Portland native, currently interning as a graduate student. After graduating from Warner Pacific University with a bachelor’s degree in human development, she assisted in managing residential treatment facilities for teen girls and teen mothers, and provided support in a program for children placed in therapeutic foster care from 2013-2016. She then worked at a psychiatric behavioral school as a paraeducator from 2016-2017, offering academic assistance in the classroom. She worked on the equity team during her time at Portland Public Schools, coaching teachers around how to use culturally informed practices to best serve marginalized students. During the rest of her time with Centro Latino Americano she would like to work toward starting a diaper pantry supporting women and children, and address diaper need in the community. In her spare time, she enjoys creating art and finding new music to enjoy. Erin will be finished with her master’s degree in social work May 2019 and is looking into doctorate programs to continue her education.
Alcohol & Addictions
Oscar was born in Guanajuato, Mexico and was raised in Hood River, Oregon. He attended Lane Community College and is pursuing a major in Psychology and minor in Spanish at the University of Oregon. He plans to graduate in 2019 and work in the alcohol and addictions field. When he is not working he enjoys exercising and spending time outdoors. "I am passionate about personal development and I love helping others become the best person they can be."
Areas of expertise and training include: Mandatory Reporter Training (October 2016), Oregon JCP Assessment Training (December 2017), Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale & Safety Planning (May 2017); Life Skills (March 2018)
Mental Health
Monica was born in Vina del Mar, Chile and moved to the United States in 2003 with her husband Patrick. She has lived in Seattle, Washington for 7 years; then moved to Sioux City, Iowa where she lived for 8 years. In 2017, she returned to the Pacific Northwest with her family. She holds a B.A. in Psychology Counseling (Morningside College, 2012) and a Master’s degree in Social Work (Boston University, 2016). She has practiced as Substance Abuse Counselor and holds a CADC and a LMSW for the state of Iowa. She was also part of the crisis intervention team that provided support to first responders after critical incidents happening in the area.
Darien was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. She holds a B.A. in Psychology (Wesleyan University) and a M.Ed. in Counseling, Family, and Human Services with a specialization in Prevention Science (UO). She lived in Costa Rica for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer and for one year in Salamanca, Spain teaching high school English. She is currently a third year doctoral student in Counseling Psychology with a specialization in Spanish Language Psychological Service and Research and works at the Accessible Education Center on campus. Her work focuses on academic and advocacy skills with high school and college students, trauma healing, and asylum-seeking and access to justice.
Bryan is an immigrant of Costa Rican and Panamanian descent; raised in the Bay Area. Before being a college graduate he was a community organizer and DREAM activist. Upon graduation from San Jose State University, he earned his Masters in Counseling Marriage, Family and Child Therapy with a dual emphasis in College Counseling at San Francisco State University. A long-time slam poet and performer, he began to implement Hip Hop education with inner city youth and juvenile offenders through Insights, an AOD and trauma counseling program. Additionally, he has taught Hip Hop education to psychologist and educators in curriculum development classes. He is now a Counseling Psychology doctoral candidate with a Specialization in Spanish Language Psychological Services and Research at the University of Oregon. He provides bilingual individual and family therapy in the community. His research emphasis are on cultural competence development, immigrant psychology, DREAMer experiences, ethnic identity formation, critical consciousness, and postsecondary education attainment. He currently works with Latinx, and undocumented youth in an after-school intervention and research project. He is also working with previously detained immigrants escaping violence and seeking asylum in the U.S. He is a self-identified DREAMer, feminist, dancer, poet, and scholar-activist.
Celeste was born in El Salvador and grew up in Guatemala. She came to the united Stated in 2013. Celeste got her Bachelor's degree in Psychology at the University of Oregon in 2016. She is currently a graduate student in the Masters of Couples and Family Therapy at the University of Oregon. She works at the Stress Neurobiology and Prevention Research Lab more in depth with the FIND project, which focus on enhancing parent-child interactions. Celeste is currently an intern at HEDCO, where she works with families, couples, and individuals from different backgrounds and ages.
Social Services
Francisca is first generation Mexican-American; her parents migrated to the U.S. in the 1980’s. Francisca was born and raised in South Central, Los Angeles and moved to Oregon during her high school years. She has multiple years of experience in customer service and she is the first line of contact at Centro Latino and her charismatic personality will make you feel safe and welcomed. Francisca enjoys going camping, swimming, sports events and spending time with her husband and three boys. She also enjoys spending time with her dog Luna.
Areas of expertise and training include: Mandatory Reporter Training (November 2015); Cultural Competence Training (December 2015); Motivational Interviewing (Jan.-Feb. 2016); Trauma-Informed Care (July 2016)
Karla is originally from Cartago, Costa Rica and moved to the United States in 2000. She became a U.S. citizen in March 2016 completed a M.A. in International Studies at the University of Oregon.
Areas of expertise and training include: Oregon Academic Advising Conference (June 2016); Coaching for Education Equity - CFEE (March 2017); Know Your Rights (in progress, June-July 2017); Certified Associate of Project Management (in progress)
Catherine comes from Chattanooga, Tennessee. She learned Spanish primarily through work and study in Chile, Argentina, and Spain. Additionally, she has worked with the Latino community living in the U.S. for many years. These roles have included social services, medical resource navigator, and OB coordinator. She and her partner moved to Oregon in 2017 to being her educational pursuit towards a Masters in Social Work. They enjoy exploring the outdoors with the two dogs and look forward to becoming a part of the Eugene community.
Ana was born in El Salvador. Her parents migrated to the United States in 1996. She has lived in Oregon all her life. Ana started to work at Centro Latino Americano in 2017 as a Receptionist; after a year, she transitioned to Social Services, specifically Case Management. She is certified as a Peer Support Specialist (PSS) and Community Health Worker (CSW). Ana enjoys outdoors like camping, hiking, fishing, gardening, biking and listening to music. She loves to be with her husband and children who are her motivation and support.
Daniel is originally from Santa Cruz, California and is a second-generation Mexican-American. He moved to Eugene to study at the University of Oregon where he obtained a B.A. in Sociology and minor in Spanish (2018). He served as an intern with Centro Latino Americano during his final year of studies at the University of Oregon and stepped into his position shortly after graduating. He has taken a lot of pleasure in being apart of an organization that empowers and provides accessibility to an underserved community.
Sonia was born and raised in Eugene Oregon. In 2018 she graduated with her Bachelors in Social Work from Portland State University. Currently she is attending Pacific University’s Masters of Social Work program. Sonia is a first generation Mexican-American and the first in her family to graduate from higher education. Sonia is inspired by the ever growing grassroot organizations and activist of our day. She loves working alongside Latinx folks in urban and rural Lane County. She hopes to continue working alongside the Latinx community and work towards reducing social injustice and increase equitable services.
Luis was born in Ruiz, Nayarit Mexico and raised in Carson City, Nevada. Before he received his A.S. in Biophysical Science from Western Nevada College and his B.S. in Community Health Science he worked as a bus boy at various restaurants, in shipping and receiving departments, and as physical therapy technician for a local hospital. Luis truly finds joy in working with people from all different paths and backgrounds to better their lives either individually or as a family through community resources, education, and networking. Luis recently graduated from National University with his Master’s in Public Health and hopes to continue his own education to assist the communities that have always supported him.
Much of his time away from work is focused on exploring Oregon alongside his brilliant girlfriend and beloved dog Karson.
“There are no random acts...We are all connected...You can no more separate one life from another than you can separate a breeze from the wind...”
― Mitch Albom
Youth Mentoring
Estela is a UO College of Education graduate. She is a passionate youth and family advocate, working to connect youth to resources and opportunities that will help them thrive.
Areas of expertise and training: Mandatory Reporting, Higher Education, Mentoring
Allison is a Masters of Social Work student at Pacific University. She grew up in Minnesota and is new to Oregon. She enjoys working with youth and families. In her free time, she likes to hike and explore the outdoors with her 2 dogs.