Celebrating Hispanic Colleagues Who Are Shaping the Work of Love146

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! This month, we want to celebrate just a couple of the many Hispanic colleagues and partners who are shaping our history as an organization, and fighting to address disparities in their work to end child trafficking and helping support children in their vulnerabilities.

Also – if you’d like to explore resources around diversity and the cause of child trafficking, scroll to the bottom of this post and find some places to start.

Leticia Hashem brings relentless advocacy.

Leticia has been on the Love146 Board of Directors for the past six years. She brings sharp insights, strategic thinking, a compassionate presence, and an authentic heart to all that she does. She’s a graduate of Harvard College with a degree in Economics, and earned her MBA from Harvard Business School. Leticia’s years of leadership experience, in both public and private, non-profit, and for profit provide Love146 with a broad perspective as we move forward to address child trafficking. Leticia has a passion for responding to and empowering people in need around the globe, as evidenced by her current and previous nonprofit work, board leadership, pro-bono consulting, as well as volunteer service as a guardian ad litem for abused and neglected children. Leticia is a force and we are proud to have her as our Board Chair.

Ramona MacIntyre brings deliberate collaboration.

As our Development Manager, Ramona helps generate funding that make the services Love146 provides to youth possible. Whether it’s with donors, community members, or colleagues, Ramona brings warmth, hope, and authentic care to all of her connections. She connects throughout communities to raise awareness and support — helping dispel misconceptions about the issue of child trafficking and share resources. Reflecting on the value of this work, Ramona shared, “My family immigrated to the United States in the 1980s from Nicaragua, and I was born here. There were so many cultural gaps to navigate as I was growing up. Some conversations were really difficult to have, so I am always grateful to share Love146’s resources like the Caregiver Guide and our webinars with caregivers who also struggle with this subject.” Previously she worked in the economic development field, and has been an active part of service groups including Lions Club and Rotary which she credits for igniting her passion to serve people.

Leonela Cruz-Ahuatal brings deliberate collaboration.

Leonela is one of Love146’s partners in ending child trafficking. CIRI and Love146 make cross referrals for each other and sometimes collaborate on family cases. Leonela has astute awareness of foreign nationals and has an in depth knowledge of how their needs may be different than domestic minors. She is an important partner in our work because trafficking presents itself in so many different ways. She believes that it is essential to be the voice for many that are hiding in the shadows and unable to leave their situation. She works to end child trafficking because she wants to provide children with a sense of hope for a better tomorrow.

LANARIA BARNES BRINGS DELIBERATE COLLABORATION.

You may not think about someone in the field of finance as “mission-driven,” but for 5 years LaNaria has shown up each day at Love146 with purpose. She is in constant collaboration with each stakeholder’s needs, and she leads us away from a sense of scarcity and competitiveness around resources (which is hard work at any nonprofit!). LaNaria helps us balance the health of the organization with the real needs of children impacted by trafficking. She is committed to the ethical handling of each dollar that passes through our organization, and she knows the ability to be there for children over the long-haul means financial stability and planning — and every bill paid matters. At Love146, we know when LaNaria speaks, something important needs to be asked or addressed – and it’s always done with intentionality, gentleness, and power.

Maria reyes brings intentional thoughtfulness.

Maria is the first person many community partners, parents, and DCF staff connect with regarding Survivor Care/Rapid Response Referrals. She supports the equity and inclusion for Survivor Care youth, families, and team members. She also exemplifies patience, empathy, efficiency, and works with a spirit of excellence in all that she does. Maria handles the behind-the-scenes care of our organization. She finds that learning about survivor’s courage helps her figure how we can better serve them. She recognizes the importance of education and awareness of this issue, because with more awareness, there is more hope for change.

Daniella Alvarado Pérez brings relentless advocacy.

Daniella is not afraid of tough conversations – in fact, she loves them. She makes sure that our training programs emphasizes the importance of ending child trafficking. She believes that we must challenge each other to show up and do better to unlearn the societal issues that have led to child trafficking. She helps youth identify exploitation and create safety plans to be safe in areas of their life even beyond trafficking scenarios. She is driven to create engaging trainings that sparks passion in attendees. She is motivated by hearing stories from our Not a Number facilitators about how much fun they have running the curriculum and the great conversations they have with their youth.