Cultural Proficiency Presenter Profiles
Enrique “Cha-Cho” Estrada joined Neighborhood House as a Community Youth Advocate in February of 2008 after working with the Boys and Girls Club in the Twin Cities for 24 years. He is best known for his program development, training and leadership in gang prevention and intervention work for youth living in at-risk circumstances. Cha-Cho, a second generation Mexican-American, grew up on Saint Paul’s West Side, the “Ellis Island” of Minnesota.
Wa Yang is a second generation Hmong whose family was forced to escape Laos due to his father’s support of the United States in the Vietnam War. He was born only a year after his parents came to the United State. Like many Hmong families in the Twin Cities, his family raised vegetables and sold them at local farmers’ markets. A graduate of Metropolitan State, Wa pursued an acting career that included roles in Hmong films. Wa recently moved back from Los Angeles to care for his parents and continue his education with a goal of pursuing a medical career.
Kalue Her is Annual Funds Manager at Neighborhood House and a graduate of the College of Saint Benedict. Her parents immigrated to the United States in the early 1980s. They struggled to integrate into a new culture and social system and found help through the support of social service agencies and the tight-knit Hmong communities. When not working, Kalue helps tutor Hmong youth at Neighborhood House and stays engaged with various groups advocating for positive social change in the Hmong community.
Garat Ibrahim joined the Center for New Community in 2008 as the Minnesota Organizer for the Midwest Immigrant Health Project. He works with Somali refugees and Hispanic immigrants on health and safety issues at their workplaces and in their communities, primarily in Willmar, Minnesota. Prior to starting at the Center, Garat was the Program Associate/Rural Community Organizer for the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. He also worked as a community organizer for the Lexington Hamline Community Council in Saint Paul for four years and spent five years with Lutheran Social Services working to secure affordable
Abdimalik Askar left Somalia in 1991 after civil war erupted and moved to Minnesota in 1993. He received an AA degree from Normandale Community College, a BA in Information Technology and a MA in Project Management from St. Mary’s University. He is currently working on his Doctor of Leadership Ed. D. at St. Mary’s University. Mr. Askar was the outreach coordinator for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities where he developed programs to encourage disadvantaged and minority high school students to graduate from college.
Eh Taw Dwe came to the United States in 2004 as a political refugee. In 1996, Eh Taw was hired by Earth Rights International (ERI) to document the human rights abuses by the Burmese military junta. For two years, Eh Taw served as the leader of his village in Burma until being arrested and tortured by the military junta for his ethnicity and human rights work.
In 2002, he and his family fled to Thailand where Eh Taw served as an interpreter in the Tham Him refugee camp. Shortly after arriving in Minnesota, Eh Taw was hired by the St. Paul Ramsey County Department of Health, where he is currently employed.
Eh Taw has been a tireless advocate for the Karen people in Minnesota. Soon after arriving in Minnesota, Eh Taw joined the Karen Community of Minnesota (KCM) and served as the Volunteer Youth Committee Chair, later serving as KCM’s Health Committee Chair. Eh Taw has been asked to speak before numerous government, civic, and business organizations regarding the Karen people.
Milena Gebremeskel is the Family Support and Education program manager at Neighborhood House, where she oversees Early Childhood Education and other Family Support programs. She has wide experience working with immigrant/refugee populations and individuals with disabilities. A native of Ethiopia, Milena moved to the Minnesota in 1990. She received a Masters of Social Work from the University of Minnesota in 2006. She speaks Amharic, Tigrinya, French and English.
Donna Council is a licensed Social Worker for Saint Paul Public School's Indian Education Program. She is an enrolled member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe and completed her college education at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, South Dakota.
Norman Benson is a Chemical Health Specialist for Saint Paul Public School's Indian Education Program. He is an enrolled member of the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota where the Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation live.
John Bobolink is a Lead Teacher for Saint Paul Public School's Indian Education Program. He has 23 years of experience in the education field and is an enrolled member of the Leech Lake Ojibwe Reservation.
Presenters may be added or changed based upon availability.
