Cultural Competency Presenter Profiles
Latino Workshops
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.
María Alejandra Reyes-Cejudo serves as the Family and Children’s Services Director at Neighborhood House where she supervises the development of the ELL/Literacy, Health Access and the Youth Leadership Programs. Originally from México City, she moved to Minnesota in 1997. Alejandra received the 2004 Adult Basic Education Leadership Award and the 2006 Minnesota 25 on the Rise Leadership Award.
Hmong Workshops
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.
S
omali Workshops
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.
Presenters may be added or changed based upon availability.
