Juana Chávez

Juanita served as a board member of the DHF since its inception in 2003. Daughter of civil rights activist Dolores Huerta and niece of labor rights leader Cesar Chavez she was raised a “movement child.” Her first steps were on picket lines and marches in support of the United Farm Workers. She is an alumni of San Francisco State University. While there, she served as a mentor for “at-risk” youth as part of the Real Alternatives Program. She worked in collaboration with the Chicano Moratorium to provide guidance and secure support and resources for Bay Area youth who successfully organized to demand increased funding for education and ethnic studies. She took a year off to intern at the Feminist Majority. Upon graduation, she earned a teaching credential and taught at Mission High School in San Francisco where she co-founded and served as staff advisor for the first Gay Straight Alliance. She also taught in inner-city public schools in Los Angeles for a little over a decade where she served as UTLA chapter chair for several years.