Our team members are our special sauce. We all have deep roots in the communities we serve and care deeply about the work we do.
Our Team
Miriam Yupanqui
Executive Director
Executive Director
Miriam Yupanqui is building a movement to transform East Palo Alto into a place where every resident thrives. A thriving community is one where everyone has a place to call home, a living wage, and the same opportunities for success we see across Highway 101. In her words, “President Obama once said that no one who works 40 hours a week should live in poverty. In East Palo Alto, people are working 60 hours plus per week and living in poverty. We are building leaders in our community to change that.”
An East Palo Alto native, Miriam is thrilled to be back in her old stomping grounds. Miriam attended College Track and graduated from Carlmont High School. She received her B.A. from UC Berkeley and her M.P.A. from the University of Southern California. Miriam served as a Board Member of Nuestra Casa prior to being hired as the Executive Director. Miriam also has vast experience working in our communities and program evaluation. Before Nuestra Casa, she was a Program Manager at Family Connections in Redwood City. There she developed and implemented their Young Scholars Program. Connect with Miriam on LinkedIn.
- Email:
- myupanqui@nuestracasa.org
Contact Info
Jennifer Adams
Environmental Justice Program Coordinator
Environmental Justice Program Coordinator
Having worked to connect Latinx communities to outdoor recreation, conservation, and programming for many years, Jennifer Adams knows firsthand the power of unleashing the Latinx community’s environmental stewardship. At Nuestra Casa, Jennifer continues to amplify our community’s voices for local long-term sustainability, native land restoration, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. She organizes and empowers the community residents of East Palo Alto, East Menlo Park, North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City to take ownership of their advocacy abilities and ensure the inclusion of low-income and immigrant communities in critical discussions and policies. She works closely with community partners to build strong, lasting, and mutual support to develop healthy and sustainable communities.
A graduate from UC Santa Cruz with a degree in Ecology Evolutionary Biology, Jennifer is a Bay Area Native. She loves spending time outdoors with friends and family. When she’s not working, you might find Jennifer hiking with her three dogs at the beach. Her previous work experience includes being Bay Area Regional Coordinator for Latino Outdoors, where she continues to be an ambassador, providing mentorship and support when needed. Connect with Jennifer on LinkedIn.
Sonia Escobedo
Food Recovery Program Coordinator
Food Recovery Program Coordinator
Sonia Escobedo is focused on reducing food insecurity and waste in East Palo Alto and North Fair Oaks. As our Food Recovery Program Coordinator, she oversees the boots on the ground to run our biweekly Food Distribution program that helps 1,000s of community members by rescuing 20,000 pounds of food from local landfills. She also cares deeply about the participants we serve. “Having a connection and relationship with community members motivates me to continue my work. Helping as much as I can and knowing my work helps others is the reason I love what I do.”
- Email:
- sescobedo@nuestracasa.org
Contact Info
Roxana Franco
Environmental Justice Programs Manager
Environmental Justice Programs Manager
Roxana Franco wants to change the “business as usual” mindset our community has about environmental quality. “People who live here don’t get that it’s not normal for brown water to come out of your kitchen tap. It’s not normal for your eyes to burn in the shower. I’m teaching my community about hazardous environmental and climate change issues to change that thinking.” Using her intuition and her organizational gifts, Roxana delivers on this promise. She trains community members to become environmental justice leaders in their own neighborhoods. She also manages our Food Distribution program.
She holds a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Entrepreneurship from San José State University.
- Email:
- rfranco@nuestracasa.org
Contact Info
Maricela Garcia
Program Assistant
Program Assistant
Maricela Garcia was born in Michoacan, Mexico, and moved to East Palo Alto when she was three years old. She grew up in the community with her parents, three sisters, and two brothers. She attended Ravenswood District Schools and is a graduate of Eastside College Prep. Maricela continues to support her alma mater as a full-time residential faculty member. As Program Assistant, Maricela supports our Executive Director and program staff to keep us all on track.
Maricela graduated from Cal State East Bay in 2013 with a major in Sociology and a minor in Psychology. Connect with Maricela on LinkedIn.
- Email:
- mgarcia@nuestracasa.org
Contact Info
Maritza Leal
Outreach Program Coordinator
Outreach Program Coordinator
Maritza Leal is a true community advocate who has dedicated her career to connecting families to critical information. She has lived in Redwood City for 20 years and helped establish two new schools in North Fair oaks: Rocketship and KIPP Excelencia. Her book, Nuestra Proyecto, documents her experience leading a group of parents as part of this initiative.
As Nuestra Casa’s Outreach Program Coordinator, Maritza ensures that information about essential resources, messages, and health information reaches our community members. She started as a Promotora at Nuestra Casa and now supports the team by organizing the weekly outreach schedule, producing related materials, and conducting outreach herself. Maritza and the Promotoras get to know more about our neighbors and what they need by providing this valuable service. By sharing this information with our Program Director, they directly influence Nuestra Casa’s programming. Maritza shares, “I love to do this work! And I think I will continue to do it for the rest of my days. I just love to talk to people. I love to provide them with any resources they need.”
In 2015, Maritza received the CA Charter Schools Association Parent Volunteer of the Year award. In 2021, we interviewed Maritza about her work during the early days of the COVID-19 crisis.
Vicky Avila Medrano
Program Director
Program Director
Vicky Avila Medrano is a lifelong community Promotora/Mentor who has dedicated her career to connecting families to programs and safety net services that help them achieve stability. She believes that community well-being is intrinsically linked to the strength of each individual and family living in our community. Civic engagement and participation, economic equality, and social and environmental justice are the keys to healthy communities. “I love working at Nuestra Casa because… al informarnos y prepararnos crecemos para crear un circulo comunitario de solidaridad y sustentabilidad.”*
Vicky serves as Chairperson of the Bay Area Planning Committee for Binational Health Week, in collaboration with the Mexican Consulate and the Health Initiative of the Americas of the Department of Public Health, at the University of Berkeley. She was elected as Board Counselor at the Mexican Institute in EUA (IME)/San Francisco Mexican Consulate in the Bay Area. She is also an active member of the North Fair Oaks community leaders team, a fellowship awarded through the San Francisco Foundation Koshland Program. In this capacity, Vicky collaborates in planning and coordinating community events that promote a healthy lifestyle in the Latino migrant community. Before Nuestra Casa, she was a Food Connection Manager at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley. She implemented and managed a recruitment plan for Community Outreach Promotores in Latino communities and diverse monolingual populations, among many other responsibilities.
* By informing and preparing ourselves, we all grow and create a community circle of solidarity and sustainability.
- Email:
- vavila@nuestracasa.org
Contact Info
Rosa Nelson
Water Justice Program Coordinator
Water Justice Program Coordinator
Rosa Nelson joins Nuestra Casa as the Water Justice Program Coordinator. In this role, Rosa leads our team of outreach workers who are conducting tap water quality tests in homes throughout East Palo Alto. Says Rosa, “I am passionate about environmental justice, specifically water quality, because I firmly believe everyone deserves access to clean, safe drinking water. Safe drinking water is a basic human right, and I want to work to ensure sustainable water access for the community of EPA.”
She will graduate in May 2022 from Saint Mary’s College of California with a BA in Environmental Studies. Her undergraduate research was in blue carbon sequestration in the Contra Costa Wetlands. When Rosa is not with us, you can find her hiking the hills of the Bay Area or upcycling clothes.
Connect with Rosa on LinkedIn.
Maria Paula Moreno Vivas
Housing Program Coordinator
Housing Program Coordinator
Maria Paula Moreno believes that affordable and fair housing is more than a roof over one’s head. “Housing has the power to stabilize people’s lives.” At Nuestra Casa, she ensures that our local governing bodies hear the voices of East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City residents through a variety of community engagement activities. These activities bridge any communication divide between community members and legislators with the goal of equitable access to housing programs and services. An example of her work is conducting a series of confidential listening sessions to understand renters’ and owners’ energy-saving needs to reach those who have historically faced participation barriers.
Originally from Colombia, Maria Paula has lived in the Bay Area since 2013. She has a true blend of public policy and community advocacy experience, having worked with elected officials and housing nonprofits in San Mateo County and San Francisco. She recently served as a Legislative Intern for Supervisor David Canepa and a Resident Services Intern at Homerise. Maria Paula received her B.A. in Political Science with a focus in Urban Studies from San Francisco State University. Connect with Maria Paula on LinkedIn.
Our Board
Sam Gaynor
Board Treasurer
Board Treasurer
Sam Gaynor grew up outside of Boston, MA. As the son of an immigration attorney, he spent much of his childhood hearing stories of the difficulty many immigrants have acclimating to life in the United States. He subsequently spent time working at the Asian American Civic Association in Boston, leading ESL classes and writing for their newspaper. This experience taught him the enormous value of community-focused programming to make life better for recent immigrants. Sam is now a private equity investor with Altamont Capital Partners, an investment firm in downtown Palo Alto.
Sam believes strongly in building equitable communities. He joined Nuestra Casa’s board in 2018 to improve financial literacy and access to entrepreneurial opportunities within East Palo Alto. To that end, Sam is a member of our Ad Hoc Program Committee. This Committee supports Nuestra Casa staff members’ efforts to build and pilot a business incubator program for members of our community.
Sam earned a B.A. with a double major in Economics and Chinese from Washington University in St. Louis and worked in management consulting with the Boston Consulting Group before joining Altamont Capital in 2011.
Uriel Hernandez
Board Member
Board Member
Uriel Hernandez grew up in East Palo Alto where he attended Ravenswood District Schools before graduating from Menlo Atherton High School. He attended college in rural Vermont where he studied how spaces and stories fit together. There, he developed a love for easily accessible green spaces for recreation and contemplation. He brought this love back to East Palo Alto through his work at Canopy where he organized community tree plantings and advocated for more green space for three years. Uriel is currently an Arborist at Hortscience. He joined Nuestra Casa’s Board in 2019 to help amplify our environmental justice work. He serves as a member of our Ad Hoc Program Development committee, supporting Nuestra Casa staff members to build and pilot a business incubator program for members of our community.
Uriel’s hobbies still include exploring the bay area in search of unique places, special parks, and public space treasures. His favorite places include the Baylands around East Palo Alto. He dreams of the day when he can bike along the bay through a green corridor from East Palo Alto to San Francisco, or walk through an East Palo Alto covered by a healthy and lush canopy of trees.
Uriel holds a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College, where he studied Architecture and History. He is studying to receive a Master of Natural Resources degree. He’s also Chair of the City of East Palo Alto’s Planning Commission.
Diana Luis
Board Chair
Board Chair
Diana Luis immigrated to East Palo Alto from Oaxaca, Mexico at age 3 with her siblings and parents. Her first job was at EPA CAN DO (a housing development organization in East Palo Alto) where she discovered her passion for community. Growing up in East Palo Alto, she experienced firsthand the inadequate representation and lack of resources, services, and healthcare in the Latino community. Diana joined Nuestra Casa’s Board in 2013 because she wanted to be part of the movement to create positive change in her community. She serves as Chair of the Board.
Diana received her insurance agent license in 2007 and started her career in sales and marketing for insurance companies. She is currently a sales and marketing coordinator at State Farm. She strives to serve as a consistent and evolving role model to her daughter and, through action, pass along her desire to serve others.
Juan Mendez
Board Member
Board Member
Juan Mendez grew up in East Palo Alto, where he attended Ravenswood District Schools before graduating from Phoenix Academy. Mendez joined the Nuestra Casa board in 2020 because of his commitment to issues that affect our community—affordable housing, financial literacy, sustainable communities, and high-quality education. No stranger to nonprofits, Mendez has worked in various roles at One East Palo Alto, Rising Sun Energy Center, and Attitudinal Healing Connection. Mendez firmly believes that nonprofit organizations like Nuestra Casa are the backbone to the success of many cities.
Mendez returned to East Palo Alto after graduating college. During the past few years, he’s demonstrated a significant commitment to his community by running for City Council and serving as a Planning Commissioner Alternate for the City of East Palo Alto. He’s currently running for Delegate to serve on the Democratic State Central Committee of the California Democratic Party to represent our District.
Mendez is a proud first-generation college graduate from the University of California Berkeley, with a B.S in Legal Studies and a minor in Public Policy. He mentors college students in his spare time, enjoys reading, trips to the beach, and spending time with his family.
Delia Perla
Board Member
Board Member
Delia Perla has lived in East Palo Alto since 2001 and raised 3 sons. She immigrated to the US from Peru with her mother, a widow, and four siblings. Delia credits these early experiences as inspiring her to volunteer throughout her life with organizations that work with families, youth, and adults navigating economic, citizenship, legal, and education opportunities. She joined the Board of Nuestra Casa in 2019 and serves on the governance committee. In the past, Delia served as Board Chair.
Delia is Regional Strategic Digital Sales Manager at Hearst. During her 13 years of digital media experience, she has put data to work for businesses, entrepreneurs, startups, nonprofits, and major national brands. At Hearst, Delia innovates within the complex challenges of digital marketing by leveraging data insights, human-centered design, and technology.
Before Digital Marketing, Delia had a career in nonprofit management and development. She co-founded an entrepreneurial training program for youth in Seattle, WA, was an Area Director for a Global nonprofit, and served as a Co-Professor for Service Learning courses at Seattle Pacific University, where she was awarded Advisor of the Year. Delia graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the School of Social Work in Community Organization and Development at the University of Washington.
Rigo Rosas
Board Member
Board Member
Rigo Rosas is an immigrant from Michoacan, Mexico and has resided in California since his arrival at age 12. Rigo joined the Board because he is passionate about increasing culturally and linguistically competent services to Latino families. Moreover, Rigo is committed to improving his leadership and professional development skills to continue to serve as a leader to represent communities in need.
Rigo is an experienced mental health professional committed to serving underprivileged communities in Silicon Valley. In his current role as Senior Program Coordinator at the City of Fremont, Rigo works on ensuring services are provided via a family-centered, strengths-based, needs-driven process designed to stabilize the family unit. Rigo’s work has focused on preventing, reducing, and eliminating the impact of mental health conditions on families in the SF Bay Area.
Rigo is also a 2018 fellow for the New Leader’s Council, the premier leadership institute in the country for progressive leaders. He currently serves on the Executive Board to New Leader’s Council. He is a graduate of the Latino Board Leadership Academy which provided him training to serve on the Board of Nuestra Casa. He is also a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with a B.A. degree in Psychology. He completed his Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Santa Clara University.
Maria Salamanca
Board Secretary
Board Secretary
Maria Salamanca immigrated to Orlando, FL, from Colombia at age 7. She has a deep understanding of the immigrant experience and the importance of community support and advocacy. She is passionate about supporting Latinx families and small businesses. Maria joined the Board in 2016 and serves as Board Secretary.
Maria Salamanca is a Principal at Unshackled Ventures, a fund that fills a unique space in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, funding teams with immigrant founders at pre-seed. Maria joined the fund close to its formation in 2015. During her time there, she has been involved in 40+ investments and sees ~1,500 deals a year. In 2018, Maria was the first Latina named Forbes 30 Under 30 for Venture Capital and Business Insiders Under 30 Rising Stars. Her support for the Latinx community also won her the 2017 California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Shark of the Year.
She’s also spent time in the political world. She started her career at FWD.us, a bipartisan political organization focused on immigration and criminal justice reform. The group was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Ron Conway, Reid Hoffman, and other tech leaders. After the 2016 election, she was founding COO at Swing Left and supported Higher Ground Labs with the first-ever political technology landscape.
She attended UC Berkeley and received a double bachelor’s degree in Public Policy and Legal Studies. She is a mentor at Year Up, IDEO, Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative, and Founders Institute.
