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.

“Vive tu día”

Carlo Gómez Arteaga is an experienced organizer, advocate, fundraiser, and trainer with over 20 years of experience focused on LGBTQI+, Immigrant, and Youth Equity.  Currently, he is the Development Coordinator for the Dolores Huerta Foundation. He is the co-founder and facilitator of the first Spanish language support group for Latinx Trans men Grupo de Apoyo Fénix in the San Francisco East Bay. This is a partnership between The Pacific Center for Human Growth in Berkeley and Somos Familia in Oakland, CA

Carlo has a B.A. in Political Science & Spanish from DePaul University, studied at San Francisco State University’s College of Ethnic Studies. And holds certifications in a number of areas including: Grassroots Fundraising, Peer Counseling, Group Facilitation, Youth Development, Harm Reduction, and Family & Community Engagement Practices. Carlo was a New Voices Fellow through the Academy for Educational Development, funded by the Ford Foundation. He lives in West Oakland.

Yesenia “Jess” Contreras is a long-time resident of Arvin, California. Active in sports, she benefited from Title IV programs. She was one of a few girls on the Arvin High School Freshman Football Team. She was a founding member of LINK Crew, which mentored incoming freshmen. After graduating high school, she coached Arvin Little League Baseball for two years.

She began working with the DHF as a canvasser for Yes on Proposition 30 in 2012. She continued on as a volunteer, and was soon hired as a Team Lead to run the Obamacare outreach campaign. Her team pre-enrolled over 200 people into Obamacare.

In May of 2014, she joined the DHF team as a full time Community Organizer. In October 2014, she ran the campaign for Yes on Prop 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act. Her team contacted 9,433 voters and identified 5,844 in support of Prop 47. They recruited 107 volunteers to walk precincts in South Kern and Bakersfield on Election Day.

She became active in Civic Engagement as a canvasser for The California Vote Project, which registered over 12,000 voters in the Kern County area. She went on to work on various election campaigns, including Leticia Perez, for Kern County Supervisor, Rudy Salas for State Assembly, and Willie Rivera for City Council.

Paul is responsible for the procurement, storage, and distribution of DHF merchandise, supplies, and promotional materials. He coordinates DHF event merchandise sales and literature distribution as well as supports the material needs of the DHF’s departments & staff. He is also responsible for maintaining the donor financial information and social justice network database. Since joining the DHF, Paul is proud of his accomplishments of dramatically increasing merchandise sales, streamlining data input, and implementing new supply tracking procedures.

Paul has over 40 years of experience in medical administration, government services and procurement, and in the private sector. He was a DHF Celebrity Golf Classic volunteer for 10 years before becoming a full-time staff member. The 2016 Presidential elections motivated Paul to work full time in social justice and contribute towards a positive change in his community.

Every Sunday, Paul volunteers to feed and clothe the local homeless community. He also enjoys the occasional trip to Las Vegas.