ABOUT US
OUR MISSION
"Gente Organizada (Gente) is a community-led social action non-profit organization based in Pomona, CA whose mission is to organize to build intergenerational power and wellness for youth and immigrant families in Pomona."
WHAT WE DO
Using an asset-based approach to community organizing, Gente Organizada works to partner with communities comprised of historically underrepresented, immigrant populations to understand their rights and the power of community action. Instead of focusing narrowly on the deficiencies and plight of immigrant communities, Gente builds upon the deep-rooted, unique cultural strengths that help have helped immigrant communities survive for generations and increase capacities for these communities to not just survive but to truly thrive.
We have three main components of our work:​
Our Social Action Groups
Our Six Organizational Pods
Our Coalitions and Partnerships
WHO WE ORGANIZE AND BUILD WITH
Gente is deeply connected to the families of Pomona, a majority of whom are immigrants. Rising fear within the community as a result of the national climate around immigration and policing has left much of our community seeking opportunities to pull together. We know from our experience these past years that our work is critical to helping families feel a sense of greater safety and empowerment.
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Gente is unique in our geographic focus area of the City of Pomona. As the largest city in the East Los Angeles County region, Pomona, which is known to be one of the most economically disadvantaged sub-regions of the County, is comprised of a largely Spanish-speaking immigrant population.
ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY
WHO WE ARE
Our team is representative of the Pomona community and all members of our staff have started with our organization as either members or volunteers of our social action groups
DIRECTOR'S COUNCIL
Gente has a shared leadership structure because we believe in leaderful movements and recognize that there is a more effective way of governing our organization than the traditional corporate nonprofit model. Instead of an Executive Director, we have a Director’s Council which guides and makes decisions on the organization’s day-to-day work to better align with our values of shared decision-making and power.
Enrique Villa
he/him
Director of Strategic Communications
Jesus Sanchez
he/him
Co-Founder and Director of Economic Justice
OUR TEAM
Sam Gutierrez
they/them
Youth Organizer (HQ)
Youth Organizing Pod
Cassandra Hernandez
she/her
Development & Special Projects Administrator
Economic Justice Pod
Iris Villalpando
they/them
Youth Organizer (PSU)
Youth Organizing Pod
José Luis Garcia
he/him
Farmer/Parent Organizer
Economic Justice Pod
Claudia Vanessa Reyes
she/they
Finance & Special Projects Administrator
Economic Justice Pod
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Our community-led Board of Directors is comprised of local youth and parents who live, work, and study in the City of Pomona. All members of our Board are current members of our social action groups. To further ensure Gente's work represented the vision of the youth of our city, our Board approved a change of organizational policy in 2019 to ensure that youth make up the majority of Gente's board, making us a youth-led organization. Our board meets monthly and is responsible for the overall vision and activities of the organization, setting policy, and allocation of resources. The Board of Directors is the principal governing body of the organization and oversees the Director’s Council.
BOARD MEMBERS
Destiny Rivera-Gomez, Board President (TAY Rep)
Ivan Hernandez, Board Secretary (Director Rep)
Ana Tostado, Board Treasurer (Parent Rep)
Violeta Acuna, Board Member (TAY Rep)
Samantha Salvador, Board Member (TAY Rep)
Romualdo Sanchez, Board Member (TAY Rep)
Samantha Zavala-Angulo, Board Member (TAY Rep)
Maria Garcia, Board Member (Parent Rep)
Yesica Limon, Board Member (Parent Rep)
Dr. Bianca N. Haro, Board Member (Community Rep)
Evelia Rocha, Board Member (Director Rep)
Jesus Sanchez, Board Member (Director Rep)
