The National Alliance for Hispanic Families promotes an assets- and strengths-based approach to its planning on behalf of Hispanic families. The NAHF will address these needs through a comprehensive approach to advancing Hispanic families.
Over the next several years, we will lead the charge toward:
- Promoting and advancing policies that strengthen and support Hispanic families
- Expanding and enhancing direct service
- Developing a research-driven policy agenda
- Identifying, cultivating and developing Hispanic leadership
By basing this plan and this movement on lessons of the past, a vision for the future and a core focus of grassroots, community-based work, the National Alliance for Hispanic Families will affect change across all sectors and at all levels of influence on behalf of Hispanic families in America.
During recent years, the conversation about Hispanics has been focused on immigration.
This isn’t just about immigration.
The NAHF will expand the national conversation regarding the Hispanic population—from one that is focused on immigration to one that recognizes the contributions and needs of the 50 million U.S. citizens of Hispanic heritage.
The vision of the NAHF is to affirm and advance Hispanic families so that children may reach their greatest potential and achieve their greatest dreams, making our communities and country stronger and more prosperous.
I am passionate about this mission and invite you to join us as we work toward making our country stronger by bringing out the strengths of our people.
If you haven’t already, see below and take a few moments to read about our new board. Let’s envision – and prepare to act on – a future we can achieve together.
Para nuestro futuro,
Yvette Sanchez Fuentes
President
National Alliance for Hispanic Families
NAHF BOARD MEMBERS
Noel Castellanos
CEO & President
Christian Community Development Association (CCDA)
Rev. Noel Castellanos is the CEO and president of the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) and is a highly sought-after speaker, motivator and mentor to young leaders throughout the United States.
Mr. Castellanos has worked in full-time ministry in Latino, urban communities since 1982 and served in youth ministry, church planting, advocacy and community development in San Francisco, San Jose and Chicago.
After serving on the Board of the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) for many years, Mr. Castellanos established the CCDA Institute, which equips emerging church leaders in the philosophy of Christian community development.
Committed to investing in the lives of leaders who serve the poor, Mr. Castellanos was appointed to serve on President Obama’s Council for Faith and Neighborhood Partnerships.
Mr. Castellanos co-authored A Heart for the Community and New Models for Urban and Suburban Ministry and has also contributed to various other books and publications, including Deep Justice in a Broken World, A Heart for the City and Crazy Enough to Care. His latest book, When the Cross Meets the Street, published by InterVarsity Press, is due in bookstores in March 2015.
Mr. Castellanos and his wife, Marianne, have three children—Noel Luis, Stefan and Anna—and make their home in the Chicago barrio of La Villita.
Dr. Blanca Enriquez*
Executive Director
Region 19 Head Start
A lifelong educator, Dr. Blanca Estela Enriquez is a highly recognized leader within the Early Child Development field. Under her leadership as Executive Director of El Paso’s Region 19 Head Start program since 1986, the program has grown from 1,200 preschoolers at 11 sites to more than 4,000 children at 30 sites and has won many local, state and national awards.
Currently a member of the State Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Early Childhood Education, appointed by Governor Perry, Dr. Enriquez was also nominated by President Bush to serve on a ten-person advisory board for the National Institute for Literacy.
Among other groups, Dr. Enriquez is a member of the National Head Start Association; the National Association for the Education of Children; the Texas and National Associations for Bilingual Education; and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Dr. Enriquez also serves locally with United Way of El Paso and is a founding member of Community En Acción. She was recently appointed by Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams as the fifth member of the El Paso Independent School District board of managers.
Dr. Enriquez holds a Ph.D. in Education Administration and Management from New Mexico State University and a M.S. in Education from the University of Texas at El Paso.
Carmen Nazario
U.S. Representative
Executive Board, UNICEF
Carmen Nazario is the former Assistant Secretary of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), where she was responsible for oversight of the ACF office within the Health and Human Services department.
She currently serves as the U.S. Representative to the Executive Board of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and as assistant professor of social policy at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico.
For nearly four decades, Ms. Nazario’s career in public service has focused on improving services to children and families within the U.S. and around the world. Prior roles include administrator for the Administration for Children and Families for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and senior resident investigator for the Jordan Poverty Alleviation Program.
During the Clinton Administration, Ms. Nazario served as Associate Commissioner for Child Care in the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, later becoming the principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Administration for Children and Families.
Among various state-level roles, Nazario has also held a number of national leadership roles, namely Vice President of the Board of Directors of the American Public Welfare Association; President of the National Council of Local Public Welfare Administrators and Secretary of the National Council of State Human Service Administrators.
Ms. Nazario is from Bayamón, Puerto Rico, where she earned a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Puerto Rico. She also has a M.S. in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work.
Raul I. Raymundo*
Co-Founder and President
The Resurrection Project
Raul Raymundo is co-founder and president of The Resurrection Project (TRP). He is responsible for facilitating more than $250 million in community reinvestment through multiple channels and has created affordable housing, community facilities and economic development projects. He became TRP’s CEO in 1991 and in 1995 was named a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow.
Today, TRP has more than two dozen initiatives and is the lead organization in the Lower West Side for Chicago’s “New Communities Program.”
Raymundo was named one of the 40 Chicago Pioneers between 1970 – 2010 by Chicago Magazine; one of “40 Who’ve Made a Difference” by the Business and Professional People for the Public Interest of Chicago (2009); and he received the De La Salle Community Leaders Award from Lewis University (2011).
Appointed to the Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic School Board in 2009 by Cardinal Francis George and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning in 2007 by Mayor Richard M. Daley, today Raymundo serves as board chair for the National Association of Latino Asset Builders. He was also president of the Alumni Council of his alma mater, Carleton College from 2000 – 2002.
Raymundo received a B.S. in Sociology from Carleton College. He continues to live in Chicago’s Pilsen community with his wife, Maria Luisa, and their three children.
Dr. Luis Torres
Associate Professor
University of Houston
Dr. Luis Torres believes social work education and research can play a critical role in addressing a community’s needs and building upon its many assets.
An associate professor at University of Houston’s Graduate College of Social Work, his primary research interest is Latino health disparities, with specialization in co-occurring disorders (substance use, mental illness and medical conditions); HIV/AIDS; family strengthening; and Hispanic families and communities.
Dr. Torres holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Fordham University and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Puerto Rico.
José Villalobos *
Senior Vice President
TELACU Industries
As Senior Vice President of TELACU Industries, Mr. Villalobos manages TELACU’s public sector initiatives. Providing leadership to one of our country’s largest community development corporations, Jose is responsible for identifying and accessing government programs and affecting legislation at the federal, state and local levels that can be utilized in the expansion of the company’s subsidiaries and business activities. He also oversees TELACU’s non-regulated capital investment programs, including New Markets Community Capital and TELACU Community Capital.
Yvette Sanchez Fuentes
President
National Association for Hispanic Families
Prior to joining NAHF, Ms. Sanchez Fuentes served as Director for the Office of Head Start at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Appointed by President Obama, she helped lead ACF’s critically important mission of enriching the quality of early childhood development for our nation’s most vulnerable children.
Prior to her appointment, Yvette was the Executive Director of the National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association (NMSHSA). She worked with early education services, policies and resources for migrant and seasonal farm worker children and their families.
Ms. Sanchez Fuentes’ passion for education, policy and resource development for underserved communities spans many years. Prior to her appointment at ACF, she worked at the Education Development Center where she was the Early Childhood Specialist for the International Systems Division and provided technical assistance to projects in Honduras, El Salvador, and Egypt.
Ms. Sanchez Fuentes also served as a National Head Start Fellow where she provided consultation in literacy, parent education, child care collaborations, and program improvement to Migrant and Seasonal Head Start and other early childhood education programs nationwide.
Early in her career, Yvette managed services for a large migrant and seasonal program for staff development and family child care initiatives. She received her B.A. in Liberal Arts from California State Polytechnic University
As the president of National Alliance for Hispanic Families (NAHF), Ms. Sanchez Fuentes will lead the NAHF’s mission to build on the Hispanic community’s assets in the areas of research, program and public policy in an effort to better serve families in need.
*NAHF Founding Member