Hispanic Heritage Month 2023
We collaborate with a vast array of Hispanic leaders across California who are deeply rooted in transforming their communities for the greater good. Many of them are champions of food justice and supporting working families. Please join us in celebrating their collective legacies and genius.
Bea Alvarez – Climate Resiliency Coordinator, FoodShed
A native of Uruguay, raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Alvarez is deeply committed to soil health and climate mitigation through carbon sequestration. Her organization, FoodShed, was a recent partner of Growing The Table which distributed fresh produce to communities across Pauma Valley, CA. She also serves on the teaching staff at Solidarity Farm School and became a farm steward in Spring of 2020.
Verónica Mazariegos-Anastassiou – Co-Founder, Brisa Ranch
Mazariegos-Anastassiou is a Co-Founder of Brisa Ranch in Pescadero, CA. She serves as a member of the CA Farmer Justice Collaborative Farmer Governance Committee. This proud Guatemalan/ Venezuelan powerhouse previously served in the Peace Corps as a volunteer in West Africa and was named a California Political Leadership Fellow in 2021.
Mia Bonta was elected to serve California’s 18th Assembly District in a special election on August 31, 2021. She previously served as Chair of the Alameda Unified School Board which primed her to be a champion of SB 348: Healthy School Meals for All in the CA Assembly.
Assembly Speaker pro Tempore Cecilia Aguilar Curry
Assembly Speaker pro Tempore Cecilia Aguiar-Curry was elected to the California Assembly in 2016. She has been a fierce advocate for child nutrition and supportive of School Meals for All in California. As the former Mayor of Winter, CA she was instrumental in developing the city’s Farm to School program and has continued her support for local farmers.
Rosa Garcia – John Liechty Middle School Cafeteria Manager
Former Restaurant Manager Rosa Garcia decided to take her expertise to LAUSD where she serves as the Cafeteria Manager of John Liechty Middle School. She has championed child nutrition for over 21 years and has always believed students should be able to eat regardless of their status or where they come from.
Rosie Guitterez -Assistant Supervisor to Child Nutrition and Wellness, Rio School District
A 17-year veteran of the Rio School District, Rosie has helped her district become a national model for farm to school programs. She handles logistics to ensure each school features a Harvest of the Month and offers students a fresh salad bar highlighting a variety of fruits and vegetables. Read this blogpost to hear more about her work for children in the Rio School District.
Rita Mancera Hernandez – Executive Director, Puente de la Costa Sur
Originally from Mexico City, Mancera Hernandez has served as the Director of the nonprofit Puente de la Costa Sur, in Pescadero, CA for over a decade. Her work centers around providing resources to her rural, largely agricultural, community with an emphasis on farmworkers and their families. Our colleagues at TomKat Ranch Education Foundation have been honored to work with Rita, Puente, and the Pescadero community to support community health, engagement, and development.
Moises Plascencia – Farm to School Coordinator, Santa Ana Unified
Moises Munoz Plascencia was born and raised as a first generation Mexican-American in Santa Ana, California. As a food justice advocate and Farm to School Coordinator he is revolutionizing the way his community interfaces with locally sourced produce by infusing his background as a Professor of cultural anthropology.
Speaker Robert Rivas was first elected to the State Assembly in 2018. During his tenure as Chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee, we’ve had the pleasure of working with him to support farmers and farm workers via Growing The Table. As the grandson of a Mexican immigrant who organized alongside prominent leaders like Dolores Huerta, Rivas was fated to become a champion of the people. He has spent his political career spearheading farmer protections and as a freshman lawmaker in 2019 led a bill to streamline farmworker housing permits.
Lissette Rooney -Director of Nutrition & Wellness Services, Lawndale Elementary School District
Dominican born Lissette Rooney currently serves as the Director of Nutrition & Wellness Services for the Lawndale Elementary School District. Her team has pioneered the “Smarter Lunchroom Movement” which creates a lunchroom experience that promotes, encourages, and teaches students to make healthy choices. Learn more about the incredible work that Lissette supports in the Lawndale Elementary School district here.