Tenga en cuenta que los horarios y la información de las sesiones en la Agenda pueden cambiar o actualizarse. Visite esta página para obtener la información más actualizada a medida que finalizamos la Agenda.
Los nombres de los presentadores se enumeran tal como han sido proporcionados por cada individuo. Tenga en cuenta que algunos presentadores pueden optar por una capitalización o un formato no tradicionales para reflejar su identidad personal o profesional.
La Feria de Salud – Los 3 días (expositores)
Todo el día
Ofrenda/Altar disponible (Espacio de Sanación y Ofrenda Sagrada) – Piñon Room
7:00 am – 10:00 am
Registración
7:30 am – 8:30 am
Desayuno – Embassy Suites Foyer
8:30 am – 10:00 am
Sesión plenaria de apertura – Sandia Ballroom
10:00 am – 10:15 am
Descanso
10:15 am – 11:45 am
Talleres de matutinos
Latinx immigrants often face compounded stressors related to migration, legal uncertainty, and trauma exposure, significantly affecting mental health across the lifespan. Bridging Care and Counsel: Integrating Immigration Legal Services and Mental Health Counseling in Latino Communities presents a multidisciplinary, evidence-informed framework aligning immigration legal advocacy with culturally responsive mental health counseling. This workshop reviews common immigration relief options for undocumented communities and examines how mental health providers can support clients throughout legal processes. Drawing from interdisciplinary practice, the session highlights collaborative strategies that improve outcomes, reduce access barriers, and promote ethical, trauma-informed coordination. Designed for clinicians, medical professionals, counselors, therapists, and researchers, this workshop advances integrated care for immigrants navigating immigration court and USCIS processes.
Sierra I
About the Presenter
Eduardo García, J.D., M.A.
Eduardo Garcia is an attorney currently based in Chicago, Illinois. He is a native of the El Paso, Texas borderland area. He holds a master’s degree in history with a focus on Borderlands and Public History from the University of Texas at El Paso, where he also earned his bachelor’s degree in history. Before pursuing a legal career, Eduardo served as a professor of U.S. and World History, and Chicano Studies.
During law school, Eduardo served as a law clerk at the Pueblo of Isleta Appellate Court and completed internships with the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center and the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, both based in Albuquerque.
Following law school, Eduardo was selected as an Equal Justice Works Fellow, practicing in New Mexico. He then went to become supervising attorney at a non-profit agency in Chicago, advocating for underserved communities. In 2025, Eduardo joined a large national immigration law firm.
Outside of work, Eduardo serves on the NLBHA Board of Directors. He is an avid gamer and appreciates relaxing with a craft beer and carne asada during Chicago’s summer months.
Domestic violence (DV) and chronic mental illness represent significant, often co-occurring, public health crises, particularly within the Latino community, where unique cultural and socioeconomic factors often lead to underreporting and delayed help-seeking. This presentation examines the bidirectional relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure and mental health conditions like depression and PTSD, highlighting how existing mental health problems can increase vulnerability to abuse and vice versa. We explore the specific barriers faced by Latina survivors, including language barriers, financial dependence, fear of retaliation or deportation, self-blame, and the influence of traditional gender norms such as machismo and marianismo. The core focus is on the critical need for culturally sensitive psychoeducational interventions designed to empower individuals, challenge stigma, and facilitate access to formal support systems. The presentation will detail strategies for implementing effective, community-based programs that address these psychosocial stressors and promote resilience and well-being among immigrant Latina women.
Sierra II
About the Presenter
Dr. Maria Ferreras-Mendez
This workshop presents the Bienvenido Program, a mental health promotion program for Latino immigrants, a as a framework for equitable implementation. The presenters will show how community-defined evidence requires active collaboration with local residents in the development and use of culturally responsive and a community-focused intervention that addresses their social and behavioral conditions. Scaling success of the Bienvenido Program to eight Midwest states through facilitator trainings will be presented. Bienvenido’s implementation record shows the critical importance of community-defined evidence to the development, use, and evaluation of programs that seek to improve the health and well-being of underserved communities of color.
Sierra III
About the Presenters
Gilberto Perez, Jr., Ed.D., MSW
Dr. Perez has 18 years of experience as a behavioral health therapist with the Latino community in North Central Indiana. He has authored a mental health promotion curriculum, Bienvenido, which has been selected as one of 16 community-defined evidence programs. Dr. Perez has trained over 300 leaders in the Bienvenido curriculum and it has been implemented in 10 states across the U.S. and will implement the Bienvenido curriculum in South Korea in June 2026. Dr. Perez has served as a community consultant with Harvard Medical School, Columbia University School of Social Work, and a trainer with the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Perez is passionate about mental health promotion in the immigrant community.
Juan Castillo Perez, PhD
Juan Sebastian Castillo Perez is an ASCP Ph.D. student Dr. Stephens’ Health Disparities and Cultural identities (HDCI) Research Lab. Over the past decade of teaching, research, and professional practice in Colombia, Juan Sebastian has combined counseling and research approaches to focus on well-being and its relationship with familiar, cultural, and social environments, precisely in interventions targeting different forms of violence across contexts, such as IPV, domestic violence and community violence. Specifically, he has focused on the intersections between mental health, socioeconomic status, and culture and how they inform the risk of different criminal forms of violence, including victimization. He has worked predominantly in socio-economically vulnerable populations, such as (ex)combatants of the Colombian internal war and their families; internally displaced people; homeless adolescents; pregnant teenagers; and (physically and sexually) victimized children and youth, both in rural and urban contexts of Colombia.
Across communities, gas stations, bodegas, and convenience stores have become unregulated access points for intoxicating substances, including hemp-derived THC, nitrous oxide, kratom, and psilocybin-like products. Frequently sold without age verification, clear warnings, or accurate information, these substances increase normalization, substance use, and addiction risk among Latino youth. This session examines how weak regulations, youth-targeted marketing, and policy loopholes fueled this public health crisis. Moving beyond risk awareness, the presentation emphasizes prevention, resilience, and the strength of la familia by offering responsive coping skills and practical guidance for trusted adults to support kids and advocate for stronger protections for Latino youth.
Ocotillo I
About the Presenter
Julie Dreifaldt, BA
Julie Dreifaldt is a nationally recognized subject matter expert and sought-after speaker for One Chance to Grow Up, focused on youth protection, THC prevention, and parent education. Since 2018, she has spoken nationally to policymakers, community leaders, parents, and schools about today’s marijuana, hemp, and intoxicating substances, equipping communities to protect kids. She holds a BA in History and English from Mount Vernon Nazarene University.
This presentation shares evaluation findings from AVANCE North Texas’s Promotoras model, a community-based approach to mental health education within a two-generation program serving Hispanic families. Trained Promotoras delivered culturally responsive mental health literacy sessions, reduced stigma, and connected families to supportive services. Evaluation data show increased comfort discussing mental health, improved mental health literacy, reduced depressive symptoms, and strong referral follow-through. Qualitative insights highlight the trust-based relationships that made these outcomes possible. The session will discuss key results, lessons learned, and how the model has since evolved into the Embajadoras approach to deepen family leadership and impact.
Ocotillo II
About the Presenters
Ana Lorena Carrasco
Ana Lorena Carrasco is a passionate advocate for families and education, currently serving as Executive Director of AVANCE North Texas. A proud AVANCE alumna herself, Ana’s journey—from program participant and parent to organizational leader—embodies the transformative power of the two-generation approach she now champions.
Before assuming her current role, Ana Lorena served as the Senior Director of Curriculum and Implementation at the AVANCE National Office, where she led the development, review, and continuous improvement of AVANCE’s curriculum, programs, and services nationwide. Prior to that, she spent more than a decade at AVANCE North Texas serving the community in a variety of roles, gaining deep, hands-on experience that continues to inform her leadership today.
Ana holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from the Instituto Tecnológico de Saltillo in Coahuila, Mexico, and a Master’s degree in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language from the Universidad Internacional Iberoamericana in Puerto Rico. She has also completed the Executive Leadership and Performance Leadership programs at Cornell University, a Professional Certificate in Online Curriculum Development from National University, the Applied Business Science–AI Prompting program through Texas Executive Education at the University of Texas at Austin, and a certificate in Women in Leadership from Southern Methodist University.
Under Ana’s leadership, AVANCE North Texas continues to walk alongside families to achieve social and economic justice—helping parents become their children’s first teachers and creating equitable pathways to opportunity. This mission reflects the organization’s broader commitment to empowering underserved families and strengthening communities through education and support.
Ana is also a proud graduate of the AVANCE Parent-Child Education Program (PCEP), which she completed alongside her youngest son—an experience that continues to inspire her work every day. Outside of her professional life, Ana enjoys exercising with friends, baking, and sharing desserts with family and loved ones.
Monserrat Mata
Monserrat Mata serves as the Mental Health Specialist at AVANCE, where she leads the implementation of the WELL TOGETHER Mental Health Curriculum for participants in the Parent-Child Education Program (PCEP). In this role, she also oversees key administrative functions and directs the training and professional development of Parent Educators, equipping them with the tools and knowledge necessary to strengthen community connections and promote mental health awareness among the families they serve.
Prior to her current role, Ms. Mata worked as a Parent Educator and Case Worker, where she focused on developing and supporting mental health promoters as vital liaisons between the community and health services. Through this work, she provided education on prevention, early identification, and access to resources for individuals experiencing mental health challenges—efforts that closely align with the Mental Health Ambassadors initiative.
Ms. Mata holds a Mental Health Certification from the MHFA Council for Mental Health Wellbeing, reflecting her commitment to advancing mental health education and empowering communities through culturally responsive and accessible support. She also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of NAMI North Texas, where she has contributed her leadership for the past two years.
Latino professionals remain underrepresented in behavioral health leadership despite being deeply connected to the communities most affected by mental health inequities. This session examines how intentional career development, mentorship, and advocacy can build strong leadership pipelines within behavioral health systems. Participants will explore strategies to identify emerging talent, reduce barriers to advancement, and advocate for organizational practices that promote equitable promotion, retention, and leadership representation.
Sandia Ballroom 7
About the Presenter
Rosita L. Marinez, MS-NPL, ADV-CSW, MSW, SIFI
Rosita L. Marinez, MS-NPL, ADV-CSW, MSW, SIFI, is an executive strategist, award-winning author, and nationally recognized leader advancing equitable behavioral health and housing systems. Most recently, she served as Senior Vice President of Supported Housing at the Institute for Community Living (ICL)—one of New York City’s largest behavioral health organizations—where she oversaw one of the nation’s most extensive scattered-site housing portfolios serving individuals with serious mental illness and complex health needs.
With more than two decades of nonprofit leadership experience, Rosita has led large-scale initiatives that integrate behavioral health, housing stability, and community-based services to improve outcomes for historically underserved populations. Her work focuses on designing sustainable service models, strengthening cross-sector partnerships, and advancing culturally responsive systems that promote dignity, access, and long-term recovery.
She is the founder of Housing ER Consulting (HER), a strategic advisory practice that helps nonprofit organizations strengthen compliance, operational strategy, and equity-centered program development. An award-winning author and speaker, Rosita is a contributor to Latinx/e in Social Work (Volumes 2 and 3) and a contributing author to Today’s Inspired Leader, Vol. VI. She is also the creator and host of the Fostering Social Impact podcast, where she elevates emerging leaders across housing and behavioral health systems.
Her honors include the 2026 CUNY Recognition of Excellence, the 2026 P.O.W.E.R. Women of Empowerment Award, and the 2025 NYC & State Latino Trailblazer Award. Currently pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration, Rosita remains committed to advancing culturally grounded leadership and developing transformative behavioral health systems that strengthen Latine communities nationwide.
Description Coming Soon
Sandia Ballroom 8
About the Presenter
Jose A. Canaca
Dr. Jose A. Canaca is a Board-Certified Psychiatrist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of New Mexico (UNM). He currently serves as the director of the rural psychiatry program and the medical director of the telehealth program within the Division of Community Behavioral Health.
The filmmakers, Diego Lopez MA and Harry Gantz created a series of four videos that covered a myriad of issues addressing the opioid crisis in Rio Arriba County
La Ventana
About the Presenter
Diego Joaquín López
Diego López is a community leader, artist and a filmmaker with a unique and authentic style. López is a Chicano from northern New Mexico, son of renowned artists Benjamín J. López and Irene López. López is currently Executive Director of a non-profit organization, Hands Across Cultures, which believes “La Cultura Cura”. The vision of “Hands” is: culture as the foundation of human growth; spirituality as the strength of the people: each person’s need to love and be loved; family preservation; and the pursuit of human potential. The mission of the organization is to improve the health, education and well-being of the people of Northern New Mexico through family-centered approaches deeply rooted in the multicultural traditions of their communities.
Lopez is a firm believer in team collaboration. He partners closely with RAC STOP and is a long time member of the Joint Task Force, as well as, the National Latino Behavioral Health Association as a Strategic Prevention Framework Sector Representative for the “Connecting Our Voices” Workgroup. Diego López is the 100% Rio Arriba Initiative County Leader and the President of the 100% Rio Arriba Community Health Council. With his team, he helps to spearhead creative prevention, art and film projects across northern New Mexico. “In order to grow and continue the healing of our communities from the long-endured trauma and suffering, it is essential that we come together as creative entities. It is vital to collaborate in ways that are unique, exciting and bring vibrancy to the zeitgeist of Northern New Mexico. We need it now more than ever.”
In 2007, López completed his Master’s in Screenwriting from the College of Santa Fe and his Bachelor’s of Arts with a focus in Media Arts from the University of New Mexico in 2001. He has showcased his work nationally in festivals, museums, galleries and collaborative exhibitions. López has been privileged to participate in several community and professional murals, as well as, creative shows, such as “Española Leadership Lowrider Bike Club Showcase” at the Nuevo Mexicano Museum in Santa Fe, NM. Most recently López was Executive Producer on award winning film “The Way We Carry Water” and was a producer on “Rio Arriba Recovery”. He has won Best Narrative Short Film at the Santa Fe Film Festival, Best Narrative Feature Film at the Albuquerque Film and Media Experience and an Addy Award for his writing and directing.
López paints primarily in oils and acrylics, most recently exhibiting at the XICO Gallery in Phoenix, Arizona. Utilizing a visually bold yet fine-handed style, Lopez’s body of work envelops an intrinsic struggle combining iconic symbolism and a dark cultural mysticism. López draws inspiration from the roots of heritage colliding with the raw emotion of present day life. López brings an enthusiastic and culturally skilled background to his work, and has established rapport and respect in the communities he serves.
Ahmed Dadzie
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Sorteo/Almuerzo– Sandia Ballroom
1:00pm – 2:30 pm
Talleres vespertinos
Behavioral health professionals serving Latino/e communities often work within systems that require fragmentation—separating mind from body, culture from professionalism, and meaning from productivity. This session reframes occupational wellness through a holistic, culturally grounded lens, reconnecting mind, body, and spirit as essential to workforce sustainability. Drawing on findings from prior funded workforce trainings in Spanish, the presentation centers lived experiences of bilingual and bicultural providers, including system-driven exhaustion, cultural labor, and moral fatigue. Participants will explore how integration restores dignity, supports regulation, and strengthens culturally responsive care while remaining grounded in real-world clinical and organizational realities.
Sierra I
About the Presenter
Ruth Yanez, MSW, LCSW
Ruth Yáñez, LCSW, is a bilingual and bicultural therapist, speaker, educator, and founder of Voces de Vida Counseling, Coaching & Consulting Services in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Born in Chihuahua, Mexico, her work is shaped by lived experience as a first-generation immigrant, interpreter, neurodivergent clinician, trauma survivor, and community advocate.
Ruth is passionate about bridging mental health, culture, nervous-system awareness, embodiment, spirituality, and subconscious healing through a healing-centered and decolonizing lens. She is EMDR-trained, trained in the RTM Protocol for trauma processing, and completed holistic hypnosis training through AHHDT in Monterrey, Mexico. Her work integrates somatic awareness, mindfulness, guided imagery, Reiki, subconscious exploration, and culturally grounded healing practices to support deeper emotional integration and reconnection to self.
She is known for creating warm, relational spaces that honor both clinical knowledge and community wisdom. In addition to therapy, Ruth facilitates national trainings and bilingual workshops on trauma, burnout, migration, occupational wellness, cultural humility, and healing-centered care for Latino/e/x and immigrant-serving communities.
Ruth Yáñez, LCSW, es terapeuta bilingüe y bicultural, educadora, conferencista y fundadora de Voces de Vida Counseling, Coaching & Consulting Services en Albuquerque, Nuevo México. Nacida en Chihuahua, México, su trabajo está profundamente influenciado por su experiencia como inmigrante de primera generación, intérprete, clínica neurodivergente, sobreviviente de trauma y defensora comunitaria.
Ruth siente pasión por integrar la salud mental, la cultura, la conciencia del sistema nervioso, la espiritualidad, el cuerpo y la sanación subconsciente desde una perspectiva centrada en la sanación y la descolonización. Está entrenada en EMDR, en el protocolo RTM para trauma, y completó su formación en hipnosis holística a través de AHHDT en Monterrey, México. Su trabajo integra conciencia somática, mindfulness, visualización guiada, Reiki, exploración subconsciente y prácticas de sanación culturalmente arraigadas para apoyar una integración emocional más profunda y una reconexión con el ser.
Es conocida por crear espacios cálidos y relacionales que honran tanto el conocimiento clínico como la sabiduría comunitaria. Además de ofrecer terapia, Ruth facilita entrenamientos nacionales y talleres bilingües sobre trauma, agotamiento emocional, migración, bienestar ocupacional, humildad cultural y cuidado centrado en la sanación para comunidades Latino/e/x y organizaciones que sirven a inmigrantes.
The prevention roadmap outlines a strategic evidence-based approach to reducing risk factors and strengthening protective factors across the domains of family, individual, and community. The presentation will highlight how to implement and integrate culturally responsive practices that engage the family, school and youth.
Sierra II
About the Presenters
Julie Priego, MS
Ms. Julie Priego is the Vice President of Prevention Intervention Strategies at Aliviane, bringing over 27 years of experience in substance use prevention and intervention services. Her work is centered on advancing evidence-based prevention efforts aligned with the state’s four prevention priorities: reducing underage drinking, marijuana use, tobacco use, and prescription medication misuse across El Paso County and Hudspeth, Culberson, Presidio, Brewster, and Jeff Davis regions. Julie has led collaborative prevention initiatives across a wide range of community sectors, including law enforcement, faith-based organizations, schools, parents, youth, Health care providers, Businesses, workforce development, Higher education, Civil and volunteer groups and media partners. Through innovative strategy development and change management, she drives organizational stability, program effectiveness, and sustainable community impact. She provides executive leadership over more than 12 prevention programs and supervises a multidisciplinary team of over 30 staff members. Julie is a sought-after public speaker and subject matter expert, delivering training and technical assistance in prevention, intervention, mental health, substance use and behavioral health at the local, state, national, and international levels. She holds a master’s degree in psychology, is an Advanced Certified Prevention Specialist and was honored as Specialist of the Year in 2015.
Victor Nava, BBA, MBA, CPA
Drawing on Dr. Pierce’s extensive leadership in trauma-informed treatment and service delivery – including trainings, coaching, and consulting with CYFD, Juvenile Justice Services, APS, and SFPS — this session builds sustainable resilience for clinicians, nonprofit leaders, and legal professionals. Participants learn to respond skillfully to stress, uncertainty, and emotional demands by distinguishing worry, anxiety, stress, and overwhelm, and understanding how unmanaged stress contributes to burnout. Grounded in evidence-based frameworks such as SPIRE, PERMA+, and emotion regulation models, the session emphasizes mindset, mindfulness, self-regulation, and the protective role of connection, kindness, courage, and community. It supports values-based practices for long-term wellbeing.
Sierra III
About the Presenter
Craig Pierce, LPCC, LMFT
Craig Pierce, PhD, LMFT, LPCC, is the founder and CCO of Southwest Family Guidance Center & Institute. Founded in 2004, Southwest Family Guidance Center serves children, adolescents and families in seven counties throughout New Mexico. As the Chief Clinical Officer of the Institute, he and our training team provide extensive training to clinicians, educators, New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Division (CYFD), and other partnering stakeholders. He is the author of Parenting Without Distraction: The Attunetion Approach and the co-author of Parenting Through Grief: The Attunetion Approach, as well as our Thriving Kids and Thriving Students curriculum, and programs offered to CYFD and school districts throughout New Mexico.
Culturally and linguistically responsive mental health support is essential for effectively reaching and empowering Spanish-speaking communities. Traditional clinical approaches are not always accessible or culturally resonant, creating gaps in care and reducing community trust. In this session, we will introduce Escucha tus Emociones, a community-based mental health initiative founded and led by Clinical Director Ana Paula Soares, MS, LPC, CCTP, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Escucha tus Emociones bridges the gap in accessible, culturally affirming care by training and mentoring Peer Support Specialists and Community Leaders to incorporate psychoeducational workshops, mental health resource tables, and community ancestral healing circles as alternative approaches to promote emotional well-being that are culturally and linguistically affirming for the Latine community of Milwaukee. The interactive session will explore how community-based mental health initiatives and educational outreach programs—when designed to be culturally responsive—can foster connection, healing, and resilience. Through personal testimony, attendees will learn about the training of local promotores de salud as mental health leaders, who offer peer-led healing spaces to address public mental health needs, combat stigma, and improve mental health literacy. Participants will gain insights into implementing similar culturally attuned approaches in their own communities and organizations.
Ocotillo I
About the Presenters
Cecilia Eva Tenorio, M.B.E.
Patricia Luevano Mayorga, BA
Patricia serves as a Facilitator, Mentor, Certified Peer Support Specialist, and Breathwork Practitioner in training with Escucha tus Emociones. She brings years of experience working at a federally qualified community health center, where she developed a deep understanding of health disparities among diverse communities on Milwaukee’s near south side. During her time there, Patricia built strong relationships with residents and local organizations and coordinated Líderes Por La Salud, a leadership development and advocacy program focused on expanding health education, access to nutritious foods, and opportunities for safe physical activity. Guided by her passion for improving the social determinants of health, Patricia combines her advocacy for nutritional food access and movement with her commitment to community based mental health. She believes that nourishing the body and fostering connection through movement and somatic awareness are essential pathways to healing and emotional well-being.
Description Coming Soon
Ocotillo II
About the Presenter
Salvador Amezola, CADCII, QMHAI, CGAC-R
Salvador Amezola holds CADC II, QMHA I, and CGAC-R certifications, as well as a National Executive Leadership Certificate for Hispanics and Latinos. He has worked in the field of substance use treatment since 1998, bringing decades of experience to his role.
He currently serves as the Director of the Madras Recovery Program (PRM) at BestCare Treatment Services, the only culturally specific residential rehabilitation program in the state of Oregon, located in Central Oregon.
In addition to his leadership role, Salvador serves on the Board of Directors for the Oregon Council for Behavioral Health (OCBH), where he is an active member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. He is also the President of Latinos Unidos Oregon, where he leads efforts to advance equity, access, and representation for Latino communities in behavioral health.
Salvador Amezola cuenta con las certificaciones CADC II, QMHA I y CGAC-R, así como con un Certificado Nacional de Liderazgo Ejecutivo para Hispanos y Latinos. Desde 1998, ha desarrollado una amplia trayectoria en el campo del tratamiento del uso de sustancias.
Actualmente, se desempeña como Director del Programa de Recuperación de Madras (PRM) de BestCare Treatment Services, el único programa residencial de rehabilitación culturalmente específico en el estado de Oregón, ubicado en el centro de Oregón.
Además, forma parte de la junta directiva del Oregon Council for Behavioral Health (OCBH), donde participa activamente en el comité de Diversidad, Equidad e Inclusión (DEI). Asimismo, es Presidente de Latinos Unidos Oregon, desde donde impulsa iniciativas enfocadas en la equidad, el acceso y la representación de comunidades latinas en el ámbito de la salud conductual.
Description/Presenter List Coming Soon
La Ventana
2:30 pm – 3:45 pm
Talleres vespertinos
Cultural adaptations are crucial in order for mental health services, assessments and treatments to be personally effective, accessible and relatable to Latino migrant populations. Integrating cultural values, considering sociocultural factors, providing linguistic accommodations, addressing barriers to treatment and integrating community resources are some examples to consider when implementing cultural adaptations to deliver interventions that address the holistic identities of Latino clients. This session will equip clinicians with specific cultural adaptation strategies, collaborative treatment strategies, application of health equity principles and specific culturally adapted interventions and translated assessments to help clinicians learn how to better serve their Latino migrant populations.
Sierra I
About the Presenters
Esther Rodriguez, M.S.
Esther Rodriguez is a mental health professional currently based in Austin, TX with over ten years of experience working with all age groups in a variety of social services settings including human rights organizations, community-based mental health agencies, domestic violence shelters, and juvenile justice facilities. Originally from Miami, FL, Rodriguez earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Music in 2015 and a Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling in 2018 from Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, FL. Rodriguez discovered a passion for working with refugee and migrant populations both from serving pockets of local communities in various states across the USA and from personal experience as a first-generation child of immigrant parents.
Dr. Danyelle S. Goitia Beal
Dr. Beal earned her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Her dissertation: Trauma and Resiliency in Black American Women began a journey of breaking the stigma of traumatic events that can plague the Black community. Dr. Beal contributed to an anthology titled “Shenomenal Women that became a #1 Best Seller. Simultaneously, she completed her pre- and post-doctoral internship supporting survivors of domestic violence, sexual abuse and within the LGBTQIA2+ communities. Currently, she supports children, families and women who are underrepresented. She owns a non-public agency called Loving Hands FSS, LLC. where she provides educational and behavioral support in various contexts. She trains community agencies on how to safely de-escalate sensitive members of the community who are in behavioral and mental health crises. As a trauma survivor, dr. beal has overcome insurmountable odds that has formed her journey through healing which she calls “heart work”. She understands that to truly begin to live a life of intention, one must get to the “heart work” of their own healing journey. This incorporates every aspect of a person’s environment and her approach to healing is comprehensive and multi-faceted.
This presentation explores shared pain as a relational and healing pathway within Latino and collective-centered clinical contexts. Drawing from trauma-informed, decolonial, and culturally responsive practice, it reframes tears not as pathology or weakness, but as an expression of love, connection, and relational repair. Through clinical reflections, cultural narratives, and applied therapeutic strategies, participants will examine how communal grief, emotional witnessing, and shared vulnerability can strengthen attachment, restore dignity, and support collective healing. The session offers clinicians practical tools for ethically holding emotion in ways that honor cultural meaning, interdependence, and resilience within Latino communities.
Sierra II
About the Presenter
Diana Anzaldua, LCSW-S
Diana Anzaldúa is a Xicanx psychosomatics therapist devoted to embodied trauma alchemy. She is the founder of the award-winning Austin Trauma Therapy Center and Contigo Wellness. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Board-Approved Supervisor, and second-year Decolonial Ph.D. scholar, an eighth-generation descendant of families whose histories were shaped by colonization on lands historically stewarded by Indigenous peoples of Nuevo León and Yanaguana—lands that continue to inform her understanding of how trauma lives in both bodies and territories. She is committed to dismantling colonial narratives in therapy and creating justice-rooted, liberation-centered healing spaces that are trauma-informed, anti-oppressive, and culturally responsive.
With over 17 years of clinical experience and lived wisdom as a trauma survivor, Diana has supported thousands toward deep, embodied transformation. Her work integrates ancestral healing, somatic therapy, spiritual care, and wellness justice—honoring healing as both personal and collective. Her clinical expertise has been featured in Allure, USA Today, and The Atlantic. She serves on local and national nonprofit boards, has received multiple awards for community leadership, and is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. She is licensed in Illinois, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
Eating disorders in Latino/a/x populations are frequently missed or misdiagnosed due to cultural norms, stigma, and limited access to culturally responsive care. This presentation focuses on practical strategies for clinicians working with Latino/a/x individuals and families, including culturally informed screening, engagement, and treatment planning. Key considerations such as language use, family roles, acculturation stress, and clinician cultural humility are discussed. Recommendations aim to enhance equitable, effective care for Latino/a/x populations.
Sierra III
About the Presenter
Rocio Avila Salinas, LCSW-S
Rocio is a bilingual and multicultural therapist who has dedicated the last 16 years of her career to working with those with mental health needs in the central Texas region. Rocio earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Texas State University San Marcos, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. Rocio’s experience includes managing clinical operations at multiple levels of care, including acute inpatient psychiatric, and outpatient clinics. She has also served on various hospital and company committees including bioethics, diversity inclusion and belonging, and speciality therapy committees. Rocio has extensive experience in working with individuals with severe mental illness, complex trauma, eating disorders and disordered eating, obsessive compulsive disorder, and acute crisis intervention. Currently Rocio works as Clinic Director for Family Care Center and is a member of the Clinical Advisory Committee for National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). Rocio is passionate about working with Latina/o/x individuals and family systems and strives to educate, support, and empower others to promote healing.
Rocío es una terapeuta bilingüe y multicultural que ha dedicado los últimos 16 años de su carrera a trabajar con las personas con necesidades de salud mental en la región central de Texas. Rocío obtuvo su licenciatura y maestría de la Universidad Estatal de Texas en San Marcos, donde se graduó Summa Cum Laude. La experiencia de Rocío incluye la gestión de las operaciones clínicas en múltiples niveles de atención, incluyendo hospitalización psiquiátrica aguda, y clínicas ambulatorias. También ha formado parte de varios comités del hospital y de la empresa, como los de bioética, diversidad, inclusión y pertenencia, y terapias especializadas. Rocío tiene una amplia experiencia en el trabajo con personas con enfermedades mentales graves, trauma complejo, trastornos de la alimentación y trastornos de la alimentación desordenada, trastorno obsesivo compulsivo, y la intervención en crisis aguda. Actualmente Rocío trabaja como Directora de Clínica para Family Care Center, y es parte del Comité Asesor Clínico de La Asociación Nacional de Trastornos Alimentarios (NEDA). A Rocio le apasiona trabajar con individuos y sistemas familiares latinos/o/x y se esfuerza por educar, apoyar y empoderar a otros para promover la sanación.
Efforts to expand access to substance use treatment often focus on language, assuming that Spanish speaking staff alone can bridge gaps in care. Drawing on systems level experience in substance use treatment and integrated behavioral health settings, this session examines why access does not always translate to engagement. Participants will explore how treatment curriculum, group and individual counseling approaches, and unexamined assumptions about culture, trauma, and stigma influence trust, retention, and outcomes. The presentation highlights practical, culturally responsive strategies that move beyond translation to support meaningful engagement across levels of care in diverse Latino serving systems.
Ocotillo I
About the Presenter
Kim Rodriguez, MPH
Kim Rodriguez, MPH, is a behavioral health program manager supporting withdrawal management and sobering services in Oregon. Originally from California, she brings experience across substance use treatment, care coordination, and integrated behavioral health settings. Her work focuses on improving access and engagement, with an emphasis on culturally and linguistically responsive approaches. Grounded in her Mexican heritage, she approaches her work with a deep respect for culture, language, and lived experience.
Latine behavioral health programs are often shaped by the needs of their communities. Unstable and short-term funding can place sustained pressure on those responsible for overseeing programs, staff, and communities served. This panel brings together program directors and administrators to examine how funding uncertainty influences leadership decision-making, organizational priorities, and the capacity to maintain culturally responsive care for Spanish-speaking communities. Rather than focusing on technical funding structures, the discussion centers on how leaders process and manage ongoing financial challenges. Panelists will reflect on the emotional, strategic, and operational impacts of working within constrained systems, including how funding stress shapes program planning, staff support, and long-term vision. The conversation creates space to name the often-unspoken toll of sustaining community-centered work amid resource limitations. Designed as a facilitated panel discussion, this session emphasizes reflection, peer exchange, and shared problem-solving. Attendees will gain insight into how administrators navigate uncertainty, balance accountability with care, and adapt organizational practices in response to funding instability. Audience participation will be encouraged through guided discussion and Q&A.
Ocotillo II
About the Presenter
Devan Diaz
Devan Diaz, Community Partners Network Coordinator, Partnership to End Addiction. Diaz is a journalist whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, Vogue, and Artforum.
Description Coming Soon
La Ventana
About the Presenter
Haner Hernández, PhD, CPS, CADCII, LADCI
Dr. Hernández is from Borikén (Puerto Rico), fluent in Spanish and English, lives in Massachusetts, and has over 39 years of experience in planning, implementing, and evaluating Substance Use Disorder, Mental Health, HIV/AIDS, HCV, Problem Gambling, and related services. As a public health professional, with experience across the continuum, he embraces and promotes a greater understanding of the multiple strategies over multiple domains and multiple pathways of wellness and recovery.
Dr. Hernandez also believes that quality public health work cannot be accomplished without true partnerships and engagement with people with lived and living experiences, their families, and formal and meaningful relationships with community-based organizations and institutions.
Dr. Hernandez earned a PhD in Public Health at the University of Massachusetts, Amhurst and holds a GED (high school equivalence), which he earned in prison. As a person in long-term recovery from Substance Use Disorder, Haner is also deeply committed to uplifting the voices and experiences of people in wellness and recovery processes.
3:45 pm – 4:00 pm
Descanso
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Sesión plenaria de clausura y reflexiones del día 1 – Sandia Ballroom
Todo el día
Ofrenda/Altar disponible (Espacio de Sanación y Ofrenda Sagrada) – Piñon Room
7:00 am – 10:00 am
Registración
7:30 am – 8:30 am
Desayuno– Embassy Suites Foyer
8:30 am – 10:00 am
Sesión de apertura – Sandia Ballroom
10:00 am – 10:15 am
Descanso
10:15 am – 11:45 am
Talleres matutinos
Across the United States, many youth are falling through the cracks of traditional systems as fear, mistrust, and uncertainty push them away from schools, health care, and social services. Youth from marginalized communities may be especially hesitant to seek help due to stigma, surveillance, or system involvement. This workshop explores culturally grounded, community-driven strategies for engaging youth who are disconnected or wary of formal systems. Drawing on examples from The Organization for Latino Health Advocacy and Mental Health America, participants will learn how trusted spaces, peer and family engagement, and real-time data from the National Prevention and Screening Program can create safer, lower-barrier pathways to prevention, mental health support, and care.
Sierra I
About the Presenters
Dr. America Paredes
Dr. America Paredes is the Chief Social Impact Officer at Mental Health America (MHA) and a dynamic leader in the mental health field with over 20 years of experience expanding access to care, fostering inclusion, and addressing systemic barriers. She leads MHA’s approach to systems change through innovative partnerships, measurable impact, and community engagement. Dr. Paredes champions data-driven strategies that bridge communities with accessible mental health resources and guide meaningful, sustainable change. She manages cross-functional teams and oversees a broad portfolio of programmatic and philanthropic efforts, ensuring initiatives are grounded in cultural understanding and collective action.
Jeanette Contreras, MPP
Jeanette Contreras is the founding Executive Director of the Organization for Latino Health Advocacy (OLHA), a national nonprofit empowering Latino communities across the U.S. to achieve better health through advocacy, education, and research. Before launching OLHA, she founded Latina Health Collab, a consulting firm focused on engaging diverse stakeholders in public policy advocacy. Jeanette has held leadership roles at major organizations like the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, UnidosUS, National Consumers League, and American Academy of Family Physicians. She also previously served over a decade in public service in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Jeanette currently serves on the boards of the Hispanic Society for Rare Diseases and HealthyWomen. She holds a Bachelor’s in Political Science from California State University, Los Angeles and a Master’s in Public Policy from American University in Washington, D.C.
Power to the Parents / Poder Para los Padres is a bilingual, culturally responsive program designed to equip parents with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to support their children across the full continuum of behavioral health needs. This presentation highlights an integrated model combining evidence-based strategies from Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) and Adolescent Dialectical Behavior Therapy (A-DBT). Participants will gain up-to-date information on substances of concern impacting Latino communities, alongside a practical overview of the neurobiological foundations of trauma and substance misuse. The program centers on parental empowerment, cultural strengths, and actionable tools that promote connection, resilience, and recovery within families.
Sierra II
About the Presenters
Brian Serna, LPCC, LADC
Brian Serna, LPCC, LADAC, is the CEO and Founder of Serna Solutions and an internationally recognized trainer, consultant, and keynote speaker in behavioral health, leadership, and systems change. He holds a BA in Psychology from New Mexico State University and an MA in Counseling from the University of New Mexico, with advanced certifications in Motivational Interviewing, CRAFT/CRA/A-CRA, DBT, and Contingency Management. Mr. Serna has trained and consulted across more than 20 U.S. states, five countries, and over 20 Tribal Nations, working at the intersection of clinical excellence, cultural humility, and organizational effectiveness. He serves on multiple state and national advisory bodies and has been appointed to gubernatorial and congressional mental health initiatives. His work integrates evidence-based practice, lived experience, and practical leadership strategies to drive measurable impact across healthcare and human-service systems.
Valeria Acevedo, MA, LMHC
Valeria Acevedo, LMHC, is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with experience working with children, adolescents, and adults. She holds a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Texas at San Antonio and is a certified Bilingual Counselor. Her client-centered, trauma-informed approach integrates evidence-based modalities including CBT, DBT, Motivational Interviewing, and EMDR. She works with individuals navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, substance-related concerns, relationship challenges, and major life transitions. Her focus is on fostering healing, resilience, and sustainable personal growth.
EMDR ha devenido un tratamiento efectivo y popular en el tratamiento, del reprocessmiento de eventos traumáticos, en dolencias como la ansiedad, trastornos compulsivos, episodios depresivos y/o adicciones. El uso en diversas poblaciones se ha estado validando con protocolos y recomendaciones aprobados por EMDRIA. Hoy quiero compartir nuestra experiencia de esta modalidad terapéutica basada en 15 años de su uso en la práctica clínica con la poblacion Latina en las ciudades gemelas. Estas modificaciones y/o variaciones de la ambientación lingüística e incorporación de elementos religiosos y creencias místicas están basadas en la sistemátizacion clínico empírica. Futuras validaciones estadísticas serán necesarias.
Sierra III
About the Presenter
Dra. Damaris Perez Ramirez
I am Clinical Psychologist originally from Cuba. I have been in practice for over 40 years. I was a professor of Medical Psychology at a University of Medical Sciences in Cuba. As a beginner full of dreams never imagined that life had unpredictable events waiting for. And one day I found myself living and practicing in Spain, still not the last stop in my destination. When I eventually moved to Minnesota, I chose to convert my degree and credentials which would allow me to continue my practice in mental health care settings. I obtained a Master Degree from University of Saint Mary in 2005 and i received a training in EMDR in 2009. I obtained the Licensed in Psychology in 2009. The journey that started from the scratch, working for nonprofits organizations, such as, Catholic Charities and American cancer Society did not end there. Sooner, i was full time psychotherapist at a Behavioral Health Department of Health Partners in Minnesota. Then I moved to a private practice in 2018 and became EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) Certified Therapist. Currently, I am working as a consultant and supervisor. I want to highlight that from the very beginning to very end, from the top to the lowest, my commitment to the immigrant population had been always the same.
This interactive workshop introduces healing justice and collective care as essential frameworks for supporting behavioral health providers and the communities they serve. Participants will explore how culturally grounded, community-centered practices can strengthen ethical care, resilience, and sustainability within clinical and organizational settings. Through reflection, dialogue, and interactive activities, the session highlights the distinction between individual self-care and collective care, emphasizing wellness as a shared responsibility. Grounded in New Mexico’s cultural and historical context, the workshop invites providers to reimagine healing as relational, accountable, and rooted in community.
Ocotillo I
About the Presenter
Brenda Quiñonez Cortés
This program provides a comprehensive framework for understanding and addressing the behavioral health needs of Latino populations through culturally and linguistically responsive practices. It emphasizes five key areas: specialty services and community collaboration, wellness and prevention, culturally appropriate care, workforce development, and theoretical applications within Latino contexts. Participants will explore substance use and mental health challenges. The curriculum highlights the Mattie Rhodes Center’s integrated model, incorporating the Social Determinants of Health and triage-based approaches to enhance access and early intervention. Emphasis is placed on tools such as the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), psychoeducation, spirituality, and wellness-based interventions to reduce stigma and promote community engagement. Additionally, the program fosters professional growth through mentorship, workforce diversity, and leadership development, preparing practitioners to deliver equitable, culturally grounded behavioral health services that reflect and empower Latino communities
Ocotillo II
About the Presenter
Monica Sierra-Mayberry, LCSW
Monica Mayberry, MSW, LCSW has dedicated 26 years to the field of social services, with a strong focus on advocacy, education, and community collaboration. Throughout her career, she has trained hundreds of medical and criminal justice professionals on issues related to domestic violence and on effectively serving limited English–proficient and immigrant populations. Monica played a key role in assisting the Kansas City Police Department with the development and implementation of the Lethality Assessment Screen Protocol, a tool still used today in partnership with the local domestic violence shelter to enhance victim safety and response. Her leadership extends to numerous committees and initiatives addressing barriers to mental health access within immigrant communities. She has provided guidance to the Community Coordinated Response Team, serves on the Equity and Access Committee, and contributes to improving systemic responses for individuals and families impacted by domestic violence. Monica currently serves as the Director of Community Behavioral Health Services at the Mattie Rhodes Center, where she continues her commitment to advancing equitable, trauma-informed care and strengthening community well-being.
Latino behavioral health is shaped by a complex interplay of individual psychological factors, deeply rooted cultural norms, and pervasive systemic inequities. This panel highlights the intra-group heterogeneity of the Latino population by utilizing an intersectional lens to examine how distinct subgroups—including immigrant men, Hispanic mothers, LGBTQ+ individuals, and farmworking communities—navigate unique behavioral health challenges. The session begins with an analysis of how individual-level cognitive processes, such as alcohol outcome expectancies and traditional gender norms (machismo), drive substance use in immigrant men. It then shifts to the interpersonal and systemic level, exploring how Hispanic mothers utilize coping mechanisms in response to the distinct stressors of general life versus systemic discrimination. Finally, the panel bridges these findings with a community-wide assessment of the “SAVA” (Substance abuse, Violence, and AIDS/HIV) syndemic, highlighting how localized data reveals unique vulnerabilities that national trends often overlook. By integrating longitudinal analysis, mediation modeling, and community-based participatory research (CBPR), this panel provides a holistic framework for developing culturally grounded, systemic-level interventions that address the root causes of health disparities in diverse Latino communities.
La Ventana
About the Presenter
Gira J Ravelo
Dr. Mariana Sanchez is an Associate Professor and Assistant Chair in the Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work at Florida International University (FIU). She also serves as Associate Director of the Center for Research on U.S. Latino HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse (CRUSADA), as well as Director of FIU’s Population Health Initiative and Health Disparities Initiative. Dr. Sanchez’s program of research focuses on understanding how sociocultural determinants influence substance use and related behaviors among marginalized Latino/a populations, including recent immigrants, unauthorized immigrants, and farmworkers. Over the past decade, she has maintained continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), supporting her work on longitudinal, community-based studies examining socio-cultural influences on pre- to post-immigration alcohol use trajectories among young adult Latino/a immigrants. She has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, with a primary focus on the role of cultural and contextual factors in shaping alcohol use, sexual risk behaviors, and mental health outcomes among diverse Latino/a immigrant populations.
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Presentación de los ganadores de las becas JTR de NLBHA
Sorteo/Almuerzo – Sandia Ballroom
1:00pm – 2:30 pm
Talleres vespertinos
This session will provide an overview of the history of the ACE study and its application in medical and behavioral health settings. Included in the consideration will be how unique stressors to the Latino population such as immigration, discrimination, poverty and family separation leading to increased risks. Participants will gain an understanding of the neuroscience behind why childhood experiences matter, allowing them to integrate trauma-informed care and lead others to do the same. We will deepen our understanding of how becoming ACE-aware builds resilience in our work, both individually and as part of a community.
Sierra I
About the Presenter
Lucila Beaton, LISW-CP, LCSW, LCSW-C
Lucila Beaton, LISW-CP, LCSW, LCSWC graduated with an MSW degree from Yeshiva University. She is an independently licensed clinical social worker with a specialization as a Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapist. She is also a Certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor for the National Council of Behavioral Health, and a trainer for Living Works providing suicide intervention and prevention training such as ASIST and Safe Talk. She also provides parent trainings in English and Spanish.
She is bilingual and bicultural and embraces the intersectionality of being an Afro-Latina and all that it brings. She never forgets that she began her career as an ESOL student in the public school system in Brooklyn, NY. She is a proud mother and grandmother and enjoys pickle ball and spending time in Honduras with her husband.
This workshop explores the concept of Healing Spaces as culturally responsive environments that support emotional, mental, and physical well-being within Latino communities. Participants will examine Circles of Care as collective healing practices rooted in cultural humility, community connection, and shared responsibility, addressing stigma, shame, and barriers to behavioral health support. The session also provides practical, scalable strategies for designing, implementing, and sustaining Wellness Rooms in community, school, and organizational settings. Emphasizing prevention, peer support, and community resilience, this workshop equips participants with actionable tools to strengthen behavioral health outcomes and foster collective healing in Latino communities.
Sierra II
About the Presenters
Enrique Lopez-Escalera, JCL, STL, LMSW
Enrique was born in El Paso, Texas and raised in Cd. Juarez, Mexico. Since the age of nine he has resided in New Mexico, except for a few years living in Rome, Italy where he pursued post graduate education. He deeply identifies with the Borderlands. He is fully bilingual and bi-cultural.
He is a life coach. In 2021 he established his own agency, Gemas de Vida, LLC. He has post-graduate degrees in Social Work, Canon Law, and Theology, with a minor in Philosophy. He has 25+ years of experience of serving people directly in southern New Mexico through pastoral work. His range of experience includes spiritual counseling and mentoring in mental and behavioral health.
He is a master trainer. His delivery method is characterized by professionalism, warmth, and simplicity – communicating important concepts in easy-to-understand terms.
He is a servant leader. His passion is serving the most vulnerable populations of the community.
Elizabeth Rodriguez Diaz, BA
Elizabeth Rodriguez Diaz is a native of Los Angeles, CA. After graduating high school, she went on to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology with an emphasis in Social Justice and Social Welfare at California State University, Northridge. Upon graduating, Elizabeth focused her career to support and empower underserved and economically disadvantaged communities of color. Serving as an AmeriCorps Volunteer, Elizabeth strengthened communities through different sectors. She enhanced student access to higher education for first generation high school graduates and assisted self represented litigants navigate family law matters at The Superior Court of California County Los Angeles. Most recently, Elizabeth has worked with Central City Neighborhood Partners, a highly impactful non-profit, in implementing their SAMHSA funded Minority Aids Initiative project in delivering an evidence based prevention intervention program for youth and young adults where her passion for substance misuse prevention has grown. She is now seeking to keep growing and developing in the field of substance prevention to promote and work towards healthier and stronger communities.
Healthcare workers are often portrayed as selfless, resilient, and self-sacrificing (Stanley et al., 2022). This heroization creates labor expectations that exacerbate burnout and compassion fatigue. Healthcare systems working with underserved populations are frequently under-resourced, understaffed, and funding-dependent, relying on workers’ sacrifices and cultural values such as familismo to sustain care (Flores et al., 2009; Singh et al., 2020). This presentation: 1) examines how systemic failures and provider heroization harm worker wellbeing, thereby contributing to compassion fatigue; and 2) explores adaptive, systems-level strategies for change without placing responsibility solely on individual self-care or work–life balance.
Sierra III
About the Presenters
Yolanda Rodriguez, Ph.D., NLBHA Board President
Dr. Yolanda Rodriguez is a licensed clinical psychologist with extensive experience serving Latino communities across the United States. She earned her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Mississippi and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Cherokee Health Systems, where she honed her skills in integrated and community-based care. Over the past decade, Dr. Rodriguez has worked across Texas, Mississippi, and Tennessee in community mental health centers, non-profit organizations, federally qualified health centers, and federal agencies where she has remained deeply committed to health equity and expanding access to culturally responsive behavioral health services. In 2014, she played a key role in establishing a refugee welcome center in South Texas, further demonstrating her dedication to immigrant and refugee populations.
A proud graduate of the National Latino Behavioral Health Association (NLBHA) Executive Leadership Academy, Dr. Rodriguez now serves as Secretary on the NLBHA Board of Directors and is a conference presenter. She brings both clinical expertise and strategic vision to her leadership and is passionately invested in advancing behavioral health equity and workforce development for Latino communities nationwide.
Currently, Dr. Rodriguez provides bilingual psychotherapy and psychological assessment services to adults, with a strong emphasis on culturally competent, trauma-informed care. She also serves her community through her private practice by supporting Latino-led nonprofit organizations, providing psychological services, and offering tools to enhance organizational wellness.
Arnoldo Amador, MA
Arnoldo (Arnold) Amador, MA is a dedicated and passionate researcher with a background in programmatic evaluation in mental and behavioral health at local, state, and federal levels. He is an ardent advocate of implementing culturally and linguistically appropriate measures in the space of evaluation in order to ensure the accurate inclusion and representation of marginalized communities. Frequently utilizing both quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods, Arnoldo attempts to bridge gaps between agencies, communities, and consumers. Arnoldo earned his Master’s Degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
ATLAS is a peer-informed data and engagement platform designed to support individuals with substance use and co-occurring mental health conditions across diverse service contexts. Integrating peer recovery support with structured data collection, ATLAS tracks recovery capital, behavioral health indicators, service engagement, and stages of change to inform real-time, person-centered care. This presentation explores how ATLAS enhances peer practice, improves continuity across clinical, carceral, and community settings, and supports predictive identification of risk and recovery trajectories. Findings demonstrate how peer-driven data systems can strengthen outcomes, accountability, and equity within recovery-oriented systems of care.
Ocotillo I
About the Presenters
Christopher Bailey, RSPS, PSS, TE, MA
Christopher Bailey is a person in long-term recovery and a Peer Recovery Support Specialist with nine years of experience building and leading peer-driven substance use disorder services. He is a Project Coordinator at Project Vida Health Center and convener of the Paso del Norte Recovery-Oriented System of Care, where he helps design, manage, and scale integrated SUD and recovery programs. Christopher has served in multiple state and national leadership roles, including chairing the Texas Recovery Action Workgroup, advising the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, and serving on SAMHSA’s Region 6 Peer Advisory Council. Recognized as a national expert in peer recovery, he consults with agencies at the local, state, and national levels and has presented widely, including for academic institutions, national conferences, and international partners. He holds a BA in Psychology and Philosophy, an MA in Analytical Philosophy, and additional certifications in peer supervision, herbal medicine, and outdoor leadership.
Fernando J. González-Maese, MD, MPH
Fernando González-Maese is a seasoned public health professional and epidemiologist who served as Lead Epidemiologist for the El Paso Department of Public Health from 2010 through 2021, where he oversaw epidemiologic surveillance, outbreak response, and community health data systems. He played a key role in directing El Paso’s infectious disease monitoring and response strategies, including coordination of contact tracing and public health communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fernando’s work involved collaborating with local, state, and regional partners to strengthen disease prevention infrastructure and improve public health outcomes across the Paso del Norte region. Prior to his leadership in El Paso, he developed extensive experience in epidemiological methods and applied public health practice. He continues to advocate for evidence-based public health approaches and community health equity through consulting, education, and professional engagement in epidemiology.
MiA – Mujeres in Action is the first organization in the Spokane region dedicated to serving survivors of domestic and sexual violence in Latine communities. Our region is the second most populous in Washington state. About 8% of the population (based on the last census) identifies as Latino/Hispanic. MiA began in 2018 when the founder realized there was a gap in culturally responsive services for Spanish-speaking survivors of domestic violence and/or sexual assault. Since then, MiA has strived to close gaps in specialized services for the Latine community. After much effort and locating the needed funding, the state approved MiA as a Behavioral Health Agency, which allowed us to develop the much-needed services. In 2025, MiA started offering specialized behavioral health services for survivors in their native language. Even though we are new providers, our staff is not new to the behavioral health field. We would like to share with all of you our efforts, development, learning process, and recommendations for others interested in closing service gaps in your communities.
Ocotillo II
About the Presenters
Dr. Hilda Caquias, PsyD
Dr. Hilda Caquias was born and raised in Ponce, Puerto Rico. She is the middle child of three sisters. Grew up in a neighborhood with both of her parents, a huge family, and surrounded by nature as a playground. Her roots were humble, but in her house, there was always food and time together. She has two adult, wonderful children who are her all. Dr. Caquias obtained her doctorate in clinical psychology at the Ponce School of Medicine and Behavioral Sciences in Puerto Rico in 2010. She is a licensed mental health counselor and clinical supervisor certified in Washington State, a licensed psychologist in Puerto Rico, and is certified to provide services in English and Spanish. Her special interests include prevention and intervention of violence, trauma recovery, women’s and minorities’ issues, LGBTQ+ community, immigration, and social injustices, integrated care, holistic approaches, and promoting a healthy lifestyle. Dr. Caquias bases her therapeutic approach on the biopsychosocial model, which emphasizes holistic care and uses evidence-based therapies. She passionately believes that educating patients and providing proper techniques are key to improving symptoms and self-perception. Dr. Caquias facilitates the therapeutic process by working with the patient as an expert on themselves and promoting opportunities to seek and find more permanent and relevant alternatives.
Monica Rey Serantes
Monica Rey Serantes is a licensed psychologist from Argentina with over two decade of experience in mental health. She holds a master’s degree in Human Resources and is certified as a counselor by the Washington State Department of Health. In addition, she is a trained Somatic Practitioner and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Counseling in the United States.
Monica specializes in evidence-based practices, integrating cross-cultural and holistic approaches to promote well-being. She works within a trauma-informed framework, supporting crime victims—particularly survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. Deeply committed to fostering resilience and healing, she empowers individuals through compassionate, client-centered care.
Grita Tu Identidad is a community-driven conference in Español focused on mental and behavioral health. Designed for professionals, advocates, and community members, it offers a space to explore culturally relevant approaches, share lived experiences, and discuss innovative strategies for promoting emotional well-being. Through workshops, panels, and networking, participants will gain practical tools to support mental health in Latino communities, celebrate resilience, and foster inclusive dialogue. This event emphasizes empowerment, identity, and community engagement as key components of holistic mental wellness.
La Ventana
About the Presenter
Julissa Molina Soto
Julissa Soto is a globally recognized health equity strategist, social justice advocate, and systems disruptor who is redefining immigrant and Latino health across the United States and beyond. She is the Founder and President of Grita Tu Identidad, Immigrant Health Access Collaborative, Julissa Soto Latino Health Equity Consulting, and Casa Inmigrante, and serves as Founder and Board Member of the National Hispanic Medical Association Colorado Chapter. As Founder and CEO of “Prevención es Salud con Julissa Soto,” she fearlessly challenges health care systems, speaking truth with a raw, unfiltered voice that centers community power and accountability. A member of the Forbes Business Council, named to Who’s Who in America, and featured by Time her leadership has earned national and international acclaim. In recognition of her transformative impact, the State of Colorado officially proclaimed September 20th as “Julissa Soto Day,” honoring her relentless pursuit of equity and justice for immigrant and historically underserved communities.
2:30 pm – 3:45 pm
Talleres vespertinos
Nonprofits serving Latino, immigrant, and multilingual communities face a persistent communication gap that directly affects behavioral health access. Traditional outreach—email, social media, and printed materials—often fails to reach individuals who need timely, clear, and culturally grounded information to support their mental well‑being. Health Care UnTold will share insights from responding to local emergencies and developing an affordable bilingual SMS text service designed to reduce stress, increase access to behavioral health resources, and improve client engagement. This session will highlight how simple, accessible technology can strengthen connection, trust, and continuity of care for communities historically excluded from digital communication systems.
Sierra I
About the Presenter
Barbara Garcia, MPP
Barbara Ann Garcia has been a Community and Public Health leader for over 30 years. Presently she is the CEO of HealthCare UnTold, LLC a health multimedia and productions company focused on vulnerable communities, where she co-hosts the HealthCare UnTold podcast and InformaText a SMS text service for nonprofit organizations. Barbara Garcia served 22 years with the San Francisco Health Department, including eight as Director of Health, overseeing a $3 billion budget and 8,000 employees across two hospitals, more than 20 clinics, and the city’s public health division. She led major initiatives addressing homelessness, behavioral health, and violence, expanding services such as respite and sobering centers, intensive case management, homeless outreach teams, and supportive housing. Before San Francisco, Barbara was Associate AIDS Administrator at SAMHSA and spent 15 years serving farmworker communities in Watsonville, where she co‑founded and directed Salud Para La Gente. She was recognized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for her leadership after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. She holds a B.S. from UC Santa Cruz, an M.P.A. from the University of San Francisco, and honorary doctorates from CIIS and USF for her contributions to health equity and community service.
Las promotoras transformamos comunidades rurales ganando confianza, educando sobre salud física y conductual, rompiendo el estigma y empoderando familias. Con apoyo de colegas, agencias y líderes, construimos comunidades resilientes y nos cuidamos a nosotras mismas para seguir adelante fuertes, unidas y comprometidas con un cambio real y duradero.
Sierra II
About the Presenters
Josie Mendoza, CCHW, NM-TX
Josie Mendoza is a Certified Community Health Worker and Promotora with eight years of experience serving rural communities in Southern New Mexico and Texas. She has dedicated her career to empowering underserved populations through health education, outreach, and advocacy. Josie has been actively involved as a member of several boards in both Texas and New Mexico, contributing her expertise to community initiatives. For the past five years, she has worked with the University of Texas at El Paso, collaborating closely with other universities across New Mexico. Her work reflects a deep commitment to improving community health and building partnerships that promote lasting change.
Maria Retana, CCHW, NM-TX
Maria Retana is a Certified Community Health Worker and Promotora with eight years of experience serving rural communities in Texas and Southern New Mexico. She presided as President of the Migrant Education Program in Texas for 6 yrs, and serves on the Certification Board for the New Mexico Department of Health. Maria has collaborated with various universities and organizations to strengthen community health initiatives across the border region. Her leadership and dedication have earned her several county recognitions in Doña Ana County. She is passionate about empowering families and promoting equitable access to health and education.
This workshop invites participants to rethink Latino behavioral health through a Wise Compassionate, culturally rooted lens. Using case examples from community, school, and clinical settings, the session shows how traditional healing, relational care, and Western behavioral health practices can be braided together to serve Latino youth, adults, and families. Participants explore a simple “bridging” framework, reflect on their own practice, and work with tools that honor cultura, language, and spirit. Attendees leave with concrete strategies and a 90 day plan for strengthening collaboration, cultural humility, and healing in their own settings.
Sierra III
About the Presenter
Dr. Felipe Mercado, MSW, PPSC
Dr. Felipe Mercado, Ed.D., MSW, PPSC is a Professor of Social Work at Fresno State, a former K–12 principal and school counselor, and the founder of Wise Souls LLC, a consulting and training firm supporting healing-centered systems change across education and behavioral health. He is the bestselling author of Rethinking Education Together and A Journey to Compassion, which introduce the Wise-Compassionate Framework, a practical model for building cultures of dignity, trust, and measurable care. Dr. Mercado partners with districts and community teams, including multi-year work with Madera and Sanger Unified, to strengthen integrated school mental health, Tier 2 trauma supports, culturally grounded engagement, and educator wellness. His work centers lived experience, cross-sector collaboration, and community-rooted healing.
Colleges are often where students first confront serious mental health and substance use challenges, yet many Latino students face added barriers such as stigma, cultural misunderstanding, and limited access to supportive care. This workshop shares real-world, culturally responsive approaches to supporting mental health and recovery on college campuses, using the University of New Mexico Collegiate Recovery Center as a lived example. Presenters will discuss how peer support, trauma-informed care, and strong campus partnerships help students feel seen, supported, and connected. Through practical examples and lessons learned, participants will gain tools they can take back to their own institutions to better support Latino students navigating mental health and recovery.
Ocotillo I
About the Presenters
Liliana Spurgeon, CHW, CFPSW
Liliana Spurgeon is the Program Coordinator for the University of New Mexico Collegiate Recovery Center and a bilingual Community Health Worker and Certified Family Peer Support Worker. She brings lived experience in recovery alongside professional expertise in developing culturally responsive mental health and recovery supports for college students, particularly within Latino and underserved communities. Liliana has led campus-based initiatives focused on peer support, harm reduction, and stigma reduction while collaborating across clinical, academic, and community systems. Her work centers equity-driven program design, community engagement, and the integration of cultural identity into behavioral health services. She is currently pursuing a Master of Public Administration to strengthen systems-level change in behavioral health and higher education.
Leila Zazueta, LCSW
Leila Zazueta, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker and Senior Counselor with the University of New Mexico’s Student Health and Counseling Center, where she provides culturally informed mental health care for diverse student populations. She holds a Master of Social Work from New Mexico Highlands University and a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies with a focus on Latin American and Spanish Literature, grounding her work in both clinical skill and cultural context. Leila began her career as a community organizer and has long been committed to social justice, bilingual practice, and grassroots engagement to improve behavioral health outcomes in New Mexico. She brings deep experience in trauma-informed care, culturally responsive counseling, and collaborative systems-based approaches to support student well-being. Leila’s work centers the voices and strengths of historically underserved communities in higher education to advance equity, resilience, and healing.
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools such as ChatGPT are rapidly entering behavioral health, research, and community-based practice settings. GenAI uses neural networks to learn patterns from existing data and generate new content. In this interactive workshop, participants will learn core GenAI concepts, explore practical applications, and examine key challenges and opportunities for responsible use.
Ocotillo II
About the Presenter
Adolph Delgado, Ph.D., M.Ed., M.S
Adolph “AJ” Delgado, PhD, is an applied demographer and quantitative researcher known for translating complex data into clear, actionable insights. He is a Bridge to Faculty postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Public Health at the University of Texas at San Antonio, bringing nearly a decade of experience teaching quantitative methods, research design, and community-engaged work in Bexar County, Texas. His work centers on practical and responsible applications of generative AI—particularly ChatGPT—to enhance research workflows, teaching, evaluation, and workforce development. He has designed academic coursework and professional workshops that equip audiences with strategies for prompt development, managing AI limitations, and addressing ethical considerations. His sessions are designed to be engaging, applied, and immediately useful for academic, nonprofit, and professional audiences.
Description Coming Soon
La Ventana
About the Presenters
Stacey Boone
Stacey A. Boone is the Senior Statewide Behavioral Health Manager of the New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts. Throughout her career, she has worked to develop and implement programs at the intersection of criminal justice and behavioral health. She has experience working in nonprofit leadership, criminal justice case management, behavioral health case management and court programs focused on behavioral health issues. Ms. Boone has participated in many pilot projects advancing the work of behavioral health services and diversion options for those in the criminal justice system. Additionally, she has experience developing and enhancing collaborations with local and statewide partners across multiple agencies. She is a national speaker and currently serves as the Secretary of the National Council of State Court Behavioral Health Administrators. Her current focus is on breaking the stigma associated with behavioral health and increasing behavioral health equity for those that are justice involved and their families.
Pamela Trujillo
3:45 pm – 4:00 pm
Descanso
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Sesión plenaria de clausura y reflexiones del día 2 – Sandia Ballroom
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Evento de Música y Baile Tributo a Selena – Sandia Ballroom
Todo el día
Ofrenda/Altar disponible y ofrenda será exhibida para la ceremonia de curación del 11/9 – Piñon Room
7:00 am – 10:00 am
Registración
7:30 am – 8:30 am
Desayuno– Embassy Suites Foyer
8:30 am – 10:00 am
Sesión de apertura – Sandia Ballroom
10:00 am – 10:30 am
Descanso
10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Sesión especial – Sandia Ballroom
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Sorteo/Almuerzo – Sandia Ballroom
1:00pm – 2:30 pm
Sesión especial – Sala Ventana
2:30 pm – 2:45 pm
Descanso
2:45 pm – 4:00 pm
Talleres vespertinos
Lotería de Salud Mental is a culturally grounded, interactive tool designed to make mental health conversations more accessible within Latino communities. Rooted in the beloved tradition of lotería, this workshop invites participants to play, laugh, and heal while exploring topics such as depression, anxiety, grief, medication, and healthy coping practices. Through familiar imagery and collective storytelling, the game reduces stigma and fosters connection, joy, and empowerment. This session will share how Lotería de Salud Mental has been successfully used to engage Spanish-speaking and immigrant communities in meaningful, healing conversations.
Sierra I
About the Presenter
Samantha Ramirez
Samantha Ramirez (she/her/ella) is a Senior Program Coordinator for Bilingual Outreach & Engagement with Behavioral Health & Recovery Services (BHRS) in Marin County. A proud first-generation college graduate from San Francisco State University and daughter of Central American immigrants, Samantha brings both lived and professional experience to her work advancing mental health equity.
She is passionate about creating culturally rooted, stigma free spaces where communities, especially youth and Spanish speaking families, can explore mental health in ways that feel accessible, joyful, and real. Through innovative approaches like Mental Health Lotería!, Samantha blends play, storytelling, and connection to spark meaningful conversations about healing, resilience, and seeking support.
Her work centers authenticity, creativity, and cultura, helping bridge gaps to care while reminding communities that healing can be both powerful and full of joy.
In this presentation, two Latina licensed clinical social workers will demonstrate holistic ways to support our mental health and connect to our purpose. Health providers are often undervalued, overworked, and burnt out. Without supporting ourselves, we cannot support others. This presentation will provide actionable ways to engage in ancestral wisdom, as well as introduce these approaches to clients. Healing through holistic practices ensures that we can show up as our best selves when serving others. Presenters will demonstrate accessible holistic practices including mindful meditation, altar building, and sound therapy. Participants are invited to bring an item for the altar.
Sierra II
About the Presenters
Erica Sandoval, LCSW, SIFI
Erica Priscilla Sandoval, LCSW, SIFI is the Executive Director of Siembra Today, a nonprofit devoted to providing accessible mental health and wellness support to Latine and BIPOC communities. She is the founder and CEO of Sandoval Psychotherapy Consultation—known as Sandoval CoLab—which offers talk therapy, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP), and holistic offerings. To further this work, she founded Casa Wellness in Queens, NY, and Casa Andes in Filandia, Colombia, to host community circles and wellness retreats. She is also the creator of the book series Latinx/e in Social Work, three volumes of personal narratives that amplify the voices of Latinx/e social workers nationwide. Erica holds a Master’s in Social Work and a Post Master’s in Clinical Adolescent Psychology from New York University, Silver School of Social Work.
Maria E. Ortiz, MA, LCSW
Maria is a New York and New Jersey clinically licensed social worker, with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Forensic Psychology and Master’s degree in Social Work. Maria lives and works in New York City in her community at Ryan Health in a school-based clinic providing psychotherapy to students referred for service, and is also a SIFI and Field Instructor at her alma mater, Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Service. She is the founder of the private practice Mindful Growth with Maria PLLC. Maria believes in serving others outside of work and is currently the Co-chair of the Housing, Health, and Human Services committee on Manhattan Community Board 4, which covers the areas of Chelsea, Hudson Yards, and Hell’s Kitchen (Clinton) in the community where she was born and raised. Maria is also a contributing author to two books: 100 Women Who Lead and Latinx in Social Work Vol 1.
Since Latines view health holistically, this presentation uses Indigenous cosmovision to explore their relationship with nature. These practice testimonies demonstrate curanderismo applications in social work through limpias (energetic cleansings), temazcales (sweat lodges), herbal remedios, and pláticas (counseling) to address trauma and substance use. The case composite of Luna shows treating susto and substance use with traditional healing. This interactive workshop invites participants to discuss cases in small groups and develop culturally grounded approaches to support each client, integrating traditional healing practices into contemporary social work interventions.
Sierra III
About the Presenters
Diana Franco, DSW, LCSW-R (NY), LISW/LCSW (NM)
Dr. Diana Franco is a Clinical Associate Professor at Loyola University Chicago’s School of Social Work, specializing in migration trauma among immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking minors, as well as traditional indigenous healing practices. With over 25 years of clinical social work experience, she holds a Master of Social Work from Columbia University (2000) and a Doctor of Social Work from New York University’s Silver School (2018). Dr. Franco served with the NYC Department of Education, developing expertise in the connection between academic success and social-emotional well-being. She currently volunteers as a clinician for Physicians for Human Rights, conducting psychological assessments for asylum seekers.
Justine Saavedra, MS
Justine Saavedra is a Program Manager at the University of New Mexico Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences where she works on implementing a program to provide peer-support telehealth treatment services to individuals with substance use disorder in rural New Mexico. Previously, she has worked on implementing an early psychosis screening process for all students seeking mental health services on UNM campus. She has a diverse research background including molecular neuroscience, Alzheimer’s and related dementias, substance use disorders, and clinical trials. She is also a 13th generation New Mexican who practices curanderismo and brings traditional healing modalities to her community.
Rosa Gallegos-Samora, LCSW
Rosa is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and therapist in private practice at Blue Bird Healing in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Rosa has a background in providing therapy to children, families, people of color, incarcerated and returning individuals, those experiencing homelessness, LGBTQ+, immigrants and refugees, and those experiencing substance use. Rosa has advanced training and specialized knowledge in immigration evaluation, in treating complex trauma, suicide bereavement, racial discrimination, and depression. Rosa is passionate about social justice and using her education and experience to dismantle systems of oppression. She is a skilled trainer in racial equity, anti-oppression, mental health disorders, de-escalation, and suicide prevention. She is a third generation curanderismo practitioner from northern New Mexico. Rosa carries the medicine of her grandparents and ancestors and shares it with community in her offerings of platicas (heart to heart talks), limpiezas (spiritual cleanse of self and home), ventosas (fire cupping), and remedios (herbal remedies). In Rosa’s professional life, she blends both her traditional medicine knowledge and her clinical education and training. Rosa shares her family’s history of traditional healing in professional and community settings to encourage remembrance and reconnection of cultural cures.
This presentation examines the ethical, clinical, and epistemological challenges of integrating Latinx Ethnoindigenous healing practices, such as Curanderismo, into contemporary behavioral health systems. Grounded in a biocultural framework, the session highlights how biological processes, cultural meaning, and historical context jointly shape experiences of distress and healing. Ethical tensions related to cultural appropriation, scope of practice, power differentials, and epistemic justice are critically explored. Emphasis is placed on interdisciplinary collaboration among behavioral health professionals, traditional healers, and community stakeholders to support culturally centered, ethically grounded, and relational models of care that move beyond mind–body dualism.
Ocotillo I
About the Presenter
Thomas A. Chavez, PhD
Thomas A. Chávez, Ph.D. is a research professor at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Community Behavioral Health. His scholarly work has centered Latinx behavioral health including immigrant access to educational and medical care, immigrant trauma, substance use, and culturally centered intervention. He has a special interest in the application of critical frameworks (e.g., decolonial, liberation, and intersectionality) in behavioral health pedagogy, community-engaged research, and practice. In addition, he is a practitioner and educator of cultural health paradigms (traditional medicine) of the U.S. Southwest and co-directs the RAICES Community Education on Traditional Medicine.
Today’s youth are growing up in a world filled with noise, disconnection, social media pressure, artificial intelligence, and constant comparison, yet many are struggling more than ever with identity, emotional pain, loneliness, anxiety, and hopelessness. In the absence of cultural connection and meaningful relationships, many young people are becoming “heart sick” — disconnected from who they are, where they come from, and the teachings that once grounded generations before them. Participants will reflect on the importance of returning to the teachings of our abuelos, abuelas, tias, tios, elders, and ancestors — the stories, values, traditions, language, spirituality, and sense of belonging that once helped guide identity, purpose, and healing within our communities. While technology, AI, and social media may offer temporary distraction and information, they cannot replace the human connection, cultural wisdom, and matters of the heart that young people desperately need. This presentation emphasizes that healing begins when youth are reminded of who they are and the strength they come from. By restoring cultural pride, intergenerational connection, community support, and spaces where youth feel seen, heard, and valued, we can begin breaking cycles of trauma and help young people rediscover purpose, resilience, and hope for future generations.
Ocotillo II
About the Presenter
Andrea Michelle Lucero
Andrea Michelle Lucero is a regional Spanish music performer, vocalist, and member of the musical group Divino, as well as a solo recording artist recognized with multiple music awards for her contributions to preserving Northern New Mexico’s cultural sound and traditions. Through her music, she actively promotes cultural identity, heritage, and intergenerational connection across communities.
For more than twenty years, Andrea has worked as a dedicated advocate supporting individuals and families impacted by domestic violence, substance use, and incarceration. Her work has centered on walking alongside community members seeking safety, treatment, stability, and pathways back into belonging. These experiences shaped her belief that true healing requires not only services, but connection to identity, culture, and community roots.
Andrea currently serves as Director of Collective Impact at United Way of Northern New Mexico, where she leads collaborative strategies that support youth resilience, prevention, and culturally grounded healing. Her work focuses on strengthening protective factors for young people experiencing the impacts of intergenerational trauma, including family separation due to violence, substance use, and incarceration.
She is deeply committed to advancing approaches such as Cultura Cura—the understanding that culture itself is medicine. Through art, storytelling, mentorship, and traditional knowledge, Andrea works to help youth reconnect with identity, belonging, and purpose while addressing the root causes of behavioral health disparities.
As both an artist and community leader, Andrea continues to build bridges between tradition and prevention, culture and wellness, and community voice and systems change across Northern New Mexico.
Description Coming Soon
La Ventana
About the Presenter
Estrella Sandoval Becker, NMD
Dr. Estrella Sandoval-Becker, NMD is a licensed Naturopathic Medical Doctor in the states of Arizona, California and New Mexico. She specializes in Functional Medicine and Digestive Health at her private family medical practice. As a health care provider she has been in medical practice for over eight years and in the health care industry for almost 20 years. Starting her medical career as phlebotomist, working as Kinesiologist specialist moved up the corporate ladder at Healthwaves Corp. as an operations manager before becoming a licensed practitioner.
Dr. Estrella Sandoval-Becker, opened her first medical practice in 2016 then branched off to established her own private practice in 2022 to provide more concierge care. She also shares her nutritional education with weight loss patients at Saguaro Medical Weight Control, in the Arizona Valley and Brea Weight Loss in Brea California.
Estrella means “star” in English and that’s exactly the type of quality she provides to her patients, star quality, hence the reason she named her practice Dr. Star NMD, PLLC. Dr. Sandoval-Becker’s education started at Mesa Community College where she obtained her Associates in Applied Sciences, then attended Arizona State University graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology finally receiving her doctoral degree from the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in 2015 (now Sonoran University of Health Sciences). She prides herself as a health catalyst who helps her patients stay committed to their goals of reaching optimal health. Her primary focus is getting to the root cause of her patient’s ailments while equipping them with the tools and knowledge they need to “heal thy self.”
Being a Hispanic female, doctor, entrepreneur and owner of her own small business is why she is proud to offer her services to all walks of life. Raised in New Mexico “curanderas,” also known as medicine women, have a long practice of being entrusted with their communities’ health using traditional medicine in ancient ways. By empowering communities and encouraging them to take care of one another through shared traditions she continues to follow in the footsteps of her ancestors. Naturopathic Medicine allows Dr. Estrella Sandoval-Becker, NMD a.k.a “Dr. Star” to bring traditional medicine to the forefront of primary care by focusing on the fundamentals of health and prioritizing preventative measures.
Dolores E. Roybal
Dolores E. Roybal, a native New Mexican, retired in 2021 after a career spanning 50 years, including her 15-year tenure as the former Executive Director of Con Alma Health Foundation, where she secured over $60 million in funding for nonprofits in partnership with local, state, and national funders. Roybal’s experience includes serving on the boards of Grantmakers in Health, Hispanics in Philanthropy, New Mexico Association of Grantmakers (now Groundworks NM), Santa Fe Community Foundation, and the U.S.-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership, among others. Aligned with her career path, her studies focused on social work, community services, social planning, and organizational behavior & development in the philanthropic and nonprofit sector. She currently serves as a volunteer and consultant for NM nonprofits.
4:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Ceremonia de sanación en la sesión plenaria de clausura y Bendición final – Sandia Ballroom
Créditos de educación continua (CE) disponibles: 17.5 aproximadamente / Créditos de educación médica continua (CME): 7.5
