LATINITAS OUTSTANDING VOLUNTARIOS

Meet a few of the outstanding volunteers that help Latinitas meet its mission of empowering Hispanic girls through media.

Outreach: Marcela Evans
Tireless and compassionate about supporting girls, Marcela Evans co-facilitated Club Latinitas this year steering a new fleet of middle school Latinas towards the pathways of journalism through fun media and technology. An excellent role model, Marcela provided the girls with editorial feedback, story ideas and other guidance. She also writes for Latinitas and is always on hand for fundraising and marketing projects.

Editorial: Sandie Taylor
Last year's Club Latinitas co-facilitator Sandie stepped up to lead the Teen Reporter Intern Program this year, guiding high school Latinas with excellent mentoring and editorial advice. Sandie continues to contribute to Latinitas as a writer and she, too, also supports many of the organization's events in the community.

Translation: Ivette Lopez and Rossio Ruiz
Ivette and Rossio had the most translations and translation edits, respectively, of their twenty-plus peers in the translation committee. Latinitas is indebted to these skilled bilingualists for their dedicated and incredibly fast turnover rate. New to Latinitas this year, they are like old friends now. Rossio actually contributes from Louisiana and we thank her for stepping far out of the parameters of her own community to be a part of ours.

Photography: Fern Ramirez
Precise and gifted in photography, Fern Ramirez has covered Latinitas happenings at the Hispanic Health Fair, last year's Youth Encuentro Camp and this year's Club; frankly, anywhere that needs documenting. Her photos are of great quality and reveal the emotion of our programs. Her photo essays have made Latinitas a visual delight!

Publicity: Meghan Milburn
Taking the helm of the Tower PR - Latinitas sect last and this year, Meghan Milburn is an upbeat, professional up and comer in public relations. She has been responsible for writing numerous press releases to promote Latinitas' doings, as well as informing the media through email and phone calls. She truly has the heart of a Latinita!

Web - Angelique Ayala
A genius with a mouse, "Angie" Ayala has been contributing to Latinitas on numerous levels since she was recruited oh so many years ago. One of the first co-facilitators of Club Latinitas, Angie has worked one on one with girls helping them develop their websites and their voice. She has continued this work at numerous web workshops for Latinitas in the community and joined the board this year to support our growth. Her skills as the Latinitas web master are reflected in the newly launched site. Self-taught in html coding and Dreamweaver, she is an inspiration to all!

Art - Chris Nay
Starting with a simple drawing of a young Hispanic girl in the "feminine protection" aisle at the drugstore, Chris Nay has been drawing cartoons for the Latinitas site since its origin. A prolific animation artist, Chris captures Latina themes with humor and device. He, like our photographers, has vitalized the site with unique images and thoughful commentary.