This is a quick reference list for media professionals. These individuals can speak about issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Latina/os at the local and national level. They also serve as spokespeople for their particular organizations.

Elizabeth Amaya-Fernandez – New Jersey

Director of Youth Initiatives
National Latina Health Network
(732) 565-0070
e.amayafernandez@verizon.net
Area of expertise: Bisexual issues

Elizabeth Amaya-Fernandez is the Director of Youth Initiatives at the National Latina Health Network (NLHN), which promotes the health of Latinas and their families nationwide. She is responsible for a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded community mobilization project to develop HIV prevention leadership among Latina/o youth nationwide. Amaya-Fernandez is a well-respected sexuality educator and trainer. She speaks at national and community engagements on the health status of women, youth and the Latina community. She serves on the Latino Community Planning Advisory Board for the United States - Mexico Border Health Association (USMBHA) and advises the National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC) and Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) on their Spanish language materials.

Ruby Bracamonte – Washington, D.C.

La Clínica del Pueblo
(202) 332-2437
rubylatinadc@yahoo.com
Area of expertise: Transgender issues

A native from El Salvador who has lived in Washington, D.C. for the past 20 years, Ruby Bracamonte helped found "Creando Espacios (Creating Spaces)" because services for transgender people were nonexistent in the nation's capital. The group, sponsored by La Clínica Del Pueblo, has given rise to several activists and has empowered its members to fight for transgender rights locally and nationally. She is most proud of "Casa Ruby," a fairly new project that provides a safe space where LGBT people without a job or home can go for support and services.

Jesús Chaírez – Dallas

Executive Producer
Sin Fronteras (gay Latino radio show in Dallas)
(214) 826-8869
sinfronteras@hotmail.com
Area of expertise: Media and activism

Jesús Chaírez, a Mexican-American, became an activist after he wasn't allowed into a Dallas gay bar on the pretext that he didn't have his ID. As Chaírez walked away, he heard the bouncer tell his co-worker: "That's another Mexican down." It prompted him to form the Hispanic Gay & Lesbian Coalition of Dallas. He was later asked to help establish Dallas/Fort Worth's first gay Latino radio show, "Sin Fronteras," on community radio station KNON 89.3 FM. Sin Fronteras, which serves the under represented and often ignored LGBT Latino community, airs Sunday nights (10 p.m.-12 a.m.), and can be found online at www.knon.org.

Marta Donayre – San Jose

Love Sees No Borders
(408) 592-7314
marta_donayre@yahoo.com
Area of expertise: Immigration

Marta Donayre co-founded Love Sees No Borders, an organization dedicated to denouncing the injustices faced by binational same-sex couples in the United States. As the public education director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, she was the only rider in the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride representing an LGBT organization. She is a member of the National Steering Committee of Amnesty International USA OUTFront Program. She has received several accolades, including the prestigious American Immigration Law Foundation Award, and has been recognized by former California Gov. Gray Davis, the San Francisco Immigrant Rights Commission, the City and County of San Francisco, California State Assemblymembers Mark Leno and Sally Lieber and U.S. Congresswomen Barbara Lee and Nancy Pelosi.

Martha Duffer – Austin

(512) 476-5683
meduffer@yahoo.com
Area of expertise: Psychology

Martha Duffer, Psy.D., a licensed clinical psychologist, trainer and consultant based in Austin, Texas, is a proud, bisexual Latina mother. She began her career teaching psychology at several universities in Texas, and later practiced clinical psychology at the Texas A&M Counseling Center. In 1999, after witnessing daily examples of social inequities brought on by racism, sexism, heterosexism and classism, she decided to work for her community and became the executive director of the Austin Latina/Latino Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Organization. In January 2004, she created her own businesses in professional training, non-profit consulting and has a private practice that focuses on personal and spiritual growth.

Andrés Duque - New York

Director
Mano a Mano
(212) 584-9306
aduque@latinoaids.org
Area of expertise: Political asylum, media and activism

Born in Colombia, South America, Andrés Duque is the director of Mano a Mano, a network of Latino LGBT organizations and activists, and a board member of the Empire State Pride Agenda, the preeminent lesbian and gay civil rights organization in New York State. He also sits on the board of the Guillermo Vasquez Independent Democratic Club of Queens (GVIDCQ) and the People of Color Political Action Club, and is a founding member of the Audre Lorde Project and the Colombian Lesbian and Gay Association (COLEGA). He is recognized throughout the United States and Latin America for his activism in the Latino LGBT community, and was named one of Out Magazine's top 100 activists in 2002.

Prado Gómez - San Francisco

Program Director
Proyecto Contra SIDA Por Vida
(415) 575-1646
prado@pcpv.org
Area of expertise: HIV/AIDS and transgender issues

Prado Gómez is the Director of Proyecto ContraSIDA Por Vida (PCPV), a community building organization by and for the queer Latina/o community in San Francisco's Mission District. Over the last 15 years he also has worked with youth (queer youth of color, youth of color and young women), using writing and theater as a tool for self expression and social change. Prado is a Mestizo (Chicano, Apache, Hopi) activist, parent, singer and husband. He dedicates his time to sharing knowledge in an effort to promote holistic health and wellness, especially in and for transgender communities of color through his work at Proyecto, as a trainer with the Harm Reduction Coalition and Training Institute and with his children.

Mario Guerrero - Southern California

Mario Guerrero is the public affairs associate for Bienestar Human Services, southern California's premiere community-based organization. Bienestar provides social services, health prevention and education for Latino men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS, and those at risk of other sexually transmitted diseases and infections. Before joining Bienestar, he worked as a program coordinator for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund. Guerrero is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. He has a bachelor's degree in Spanish from the University of La Verne.

Lorenzo Herrera y Lozano – Austin

Lorenzo Herrera y Lozano is a queer Xicano writer and community organizer. He was born and raised somewhere between Chihuahua, Mexico and California. He writes to the perpetual family value of silence, passed on from generation to generation. Lorenzo is the author of "Santo de la Pata Alzada: Poems from the Queer/Xicano/Positive Pen" published by Evelyns Street Press, 2005. He currently lives in Austin, Texas where he works as the Executive Director of ALLGO, a queer people of color organization.

Nila Marrone - NY/New Jersey

Nila Marrone is a Bolivian American, emeritus professor from the University of Connecticut. Her passion is educating families and society to move them from homophobia to acceptance to celebration of LGBT people. Since her retirement in 1997, she has volunteered full-time for PFLAG (Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). She is the president of PFLAG NYC and director of its subgroup, NYC Latino PFLAG. She is also the founder and member of the advisory board of FAMILIES OF COLOR NETWORK (FOCN), a collective group that facilitates PFLAG activists of color to work together at the local and national level to fight homophobia and achieve equality for our LGBT loved ones.

Lisbeth Meléndez Rivera - Washington, D.C./NY

As a 20-year veteran of the LGBT and labor movements, Lisbeth Meléndez Rivera has extensive experience organizing and training at the intersections of sexual orientation, gender identity and culture as they relate to communities of color. Most recently she was the senior march organizer at NARAL Pro-Choice-America for the March for Women's Lives. In this role, she helped create the largest delegation of women of color and LGBT people at a national pro-choice rally. Meléndez, a Puerto Rican lesbian, has served on the boards of the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health, the National Youth Advocacy Coalition, Pride @ Work & the National Organizer Alliance.

Dilcia Molina – Washington, D.C.

Dilcia Molina, a lesbian, Honduran mother, specializes in social psychology, investigations and popular education. Molina has lived in the United States under political asylum since 2002. Because of her work as a human rights activist in the LGBT Honduran community, she has become an information specialist for other LGBT Latina/o asylum seekers. At the Clínica del Pueblo, Molina coordinates support groups for people living with HIV, and is conducting a study on immigrant Latinos who are involved in commercial sex in the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia area. She also helps female victims of domestic violence, and along with other community leaders, plans to create a center that provides support to domestic violence victims.

Jesús Ortega - Austin

Executive Director
Out Youth
(512) 419-1233
jortega@outyouth.org
Area of expertise: Youth

Jesús Ortega is the executive director of Out Youth, a non-profit organization that works with sexual minority youth. The youth-lead organizing initiative of Out Youth SMYLE (Sexual Minority Youth for Leadership and Equality) works toward creating change to make spaces safer for sexual minority youth, particularly in public schools. SMYLE is also doing political work to impact policy regarding discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression at the state level. Ortega has worked with non-profit organizations for 10 years. Prior to working in the nonprofit sector, he worked on urban planning and development overseas, and co-founded environmental justice programs in Venezuela. He has also worked as an economic development director focused on implementing community projects regarding economic justice, youth organizing and youth development, and later as deputy director of a low-income housing development corporation.

Hugo Ovejero - Seattle

Latino MSM Program Manager
Entre Hermanos Agency
(206) 322-7700
hugo@entrehermanos.org
Area of expertise: HIV/AIDS

Hugo Ovejero has eight years experience working with people who are living with HIV, which includes counseling, education, preventative care of HIV/AIDS and STDs and educating infected persons about various treatments. He is currently the coordinator for the HIV/AIDS and STD prevention program "Atrevete" for men who have sex with men in the Latino community in King County. He is the radio host for "Enterate," the first radio program for the LGBT Latino community in the Pacific Northwest. He also publishes the newsletter "Entre Hermanos Noticias," and writes a column in Spanish for the Seattle Gay News, which after 30 years finally has space for the Latino community.

Aurora Pineda – Chicago

Board of Directors
Amigas Latinas
(773) 704-8270
apzrorie@yahoo.com
Area of expertise: Activism, women's issues and LGBT families

Aurora Pineda has always advocated for Latinos, but didn't become interested in LGBT Latino issues until she came out of the closet and joined Amigas Latinas in 2000. As a member of the Program Committee for Amigas Latinas, she constantly advocates for LGBT youth and young adults. She has worked with adolescents and young adults, ages 13-25, who are affected by HIV/AIDS. In May 2004, Pineda created Entre Familia: PFLAG (Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) en Español, a support group for Spanish-speaking parents. Besides advocating for Latina lesbians and bisexuals, she was also a member of The Chicago Kings Troupe. In the art of gender bending, Pineda becomes Andres De Los Santos – the only artist to perform Spanish-language songs on a predominately Caucasian LGBT stage.

Bamby Salcedo – Los Angeles

Prevention Case Manager
Transgéneros Unidas, Bienestar Human Services
(323) 660-9680
bsalcedo@bienestar.org
Area of expertise: Transgender issues

Bamby Salcedo is an activist regarding issues that impact transgender Latinas at the local and national level. As a prevention case manager at Bienestar, she has been providing HIV/AIDS prevention services to the transgender Latina/o community. Salcedo has organized several marches to protest violence against transgender people and participated in several rallies for transgender equality. She represents transgender Latinas at the LGBT community forum organized by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). She is also involved with various planning groups such as: Alianza Conference (a Latino Caucus on HIV-AIDS); NLAAD (National Latino AIDS Awareness Day) in Los Angeles; Transgender Youth Consortium Los Angeles; Trans-Unity Event in Los Angeles; and LULA (Latinos Unidos LA).

Pedro Julio Serrano – Puerto Rico

President
Puerto Rico Para Todos
(787) 602-5954
pedrojulio@prparatodos.org
Area of expertise: Politics and legislation

Pedro Julio Serrano oversees Puerto Rico Para Todos, a grassroots organization that advocates social justice for all human beings. He is a pioneer in the LGBT rights movement in Puerto Rico. In 1998, he was the first openly gay candidate to run for office in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives. He also was the first openly gay, on-air talent for a morning radio show called "El Enchufe" in Puerto Rico. Serrano, a former communications director of LLEGO, a defunct national LGBT Latina/o organization, is an assistant manager and teacher at Kaplan, a company that provides educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses.

Heriberto Sosa – Miami

Executive Director
Unity Coalition
(786) 271-6982
Herb@unitycoalition.org
Area of expertise: Politics

A Cuban-American activist, Miami historian and preservationist, Heriberto Sosa was a founding member of, and currently serves as director of Unity Coalition / Coalición Unida, a nonprofit, grassroots initiative created to offer leadership on issues that concern Latino/Hispanic LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning) and other minority groups in Florida, the Caribbean and Latin America. Sosa is currently developing Ambiente US Media, and is co-founder and Editor in Chief of Ambiente Magazine (www.ambiente.us), a Florida and Latin America focused bilingual e-magazine for the Latino LGBT community, and Ambiente TV, a national Latino/Hispanic LGBTQ weekly TV program, the first of its kind, seen in over 85 cities in the U.S. and Latin America.

Mónica Taher - Los Angeles

People of Color (POC) Media Director
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
(323) 634-2025
taher@glaad.org
Area of expertise: Media and referrals nationwide

Mónica Taher is the People of Color (POC) Media Director for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). She is responsible for outreach on behalf of communities of color as well as the organization's efforts to increase visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of color representations in mainstream and people of color media, including Spanish-language press. California Senators Sheila J. Kuehl, Jack Scott, Gloria Romero and California State Assemblymember Jackie Goldberg have recognized Taher for her invaluable and dedicated support for equal rights of all LGBT people. She also worked for Salvadoreña de Televisión, Canal 12, as a talent for a community-oriented show. She later joined Telemundo Los Angeles KVEA 52 and Arizona's Telemundo affiliate KDR-64, where she worked in the news department and as a talent for a variety show.