These are just a sampling of the findings from a massive, yearslong effort to survey the health needs of Latinos who comprise about a quarter of Santa Clara County’s total population — most of whom live in East San Jose and agricultural South County. Of Santa Clara County’s 2 million residents, more than 480,000 are Latino.

The findings range from social alarm bells to systemic red flags. For instance, the report found East San Jose has double the number of tobacco and smoke shops compared to the rest of the valley. The area saw twice as much tobacco retailer density at 6.7 smoke shops per square mile, compared to the countywide density of three.

Officials with the Santa Clara County Public Health Department are recommending the creation of a South County cultural center to serve as a safe youth space and resource hub for families. They also say the county should invest in more early childhood education programs, with the goal of having at least 40% of Latino children ready for kindergarten by 2030.

“These aren’t ideas for tomorrow. They are responsibilities for today,” District 1 Supervisor Sylvia Arenas, who requested the Latino Health Needs Assessment in 2023, said at a Monday news conference about the findings. “Our families have waited long enough in a crisis that is too great.”

The findings will be presented to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday, where supervisors will grapple with grim statistics on mortality and health, including the finding that 29% of Latino adults are obese, compared to 18% of all adults in the county. The Latino life expectancy is two years below the countywide average of 84 years, according to the report.

“I’m going to keep repeating it: Slow systematic death we are experiencing,” Victor Vazquez, co-executive director of SOMOS Mayfair, said at the news conference.

Vazquez noted the timing of the report’s unveiling.

“In the spirit of Cinco de Mayo — it’s not time to panic, freeze or get caught up in hopelessness. It’s time to organize so we can stand together and take action for our community,” Vazquez said. “We urge the board to not only look at the data, not only study it, but take concrete actions.”
Santa Clara County is already taking steps to serve Latinos in more profound ways. Last year, supervisors unanimously approved moving forward with plans for a Latino health and wellness center that would be informed by this month’s report — and whether there should be multiple locations.

Arenas vowed the county’s response to the report will be led by residents — not the county.

“The report belongs to you and our next steps will be shaped by you,” she said.

Contact Brandon Pho at brandon@sanjosespotlight.com or @brandonphooo on X.

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What began as a $141 million California Lottery jackpot in 2001 became, in time, a modern parable. A wave of excitement that fateful day between Castellano and his wife, Carmen, turned into clarity. The couple came up with a list of names they could help in Silicon Valley — and so began the Castellano Family Foundation.

“He’s always been an activist as long as I’ve known him,” son Armando Castellano told San José Spotlight.

The foundation spread nearly $10 million across key Silicon Valley nonprofits that uplifted everything from the arts to community organizing in San Jose’s Latino communities. Through the years, the foundation awarded millions of dollars in grants and scholarships to advance Latino education, culture, leadership and diversity. Together, the Castellano Family Foundation and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation created the LatinXCEL Fund, a $10 million effort to support Latino leaders and groups in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. The family foundation ceased operations in 2023. Al is survived by two sons and a daughter, as well as grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Carmen, the inspiration behind the foundation, died in 2020 at age 81.

The couple are remembered as dedicated community advocates and volunteers who helped civic institutions long before winning the lottery, including MACLA and The School of Arts and Culture.

In other words, the jackpot didn’t change Al. He and Carmen continued their advocacy, but the checks just got bigger. Carmen used the windfall to scale-up their giving — and their community’s future.

“The lottery just expanded what they were already doing,” Armando Castellano said.

Al served in the U.S. Army in the 1950s and was actively involved in the San Jose GI Forum, where he would organize events such as Cinco de Mayo festivals.

“Look at my mom’s grave where he’s going to be buried — Mexicanos Americanos,” Armando Castellano said. “His parents were from Mexico, but he still strongly identified with the culture. Mexicans often do that. He definitely passed that onto me.”

The Castellanos were avid art collectors and had a love for music. Carmen, who played piano, grew up in a home filled with opera, classical and Mexican music. Alcario played the trumpet in high school and was in a dance band.
Armando Castellano knows the family’s stories. But Al’s passing helped his son realize what kind of footprint he truly left.

“There were so many people who came to the house in the past few days, even after he had passed,” he said. “There were 20-plus people watching his body go off to the van.”

Contact Brandon Pho at brandon@sanjosespotlight.com or @brandonphooo on X.

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Latinas had a median annual per capita income of $34,400 in 2022, compared to white males who made a median income of $102,000, according to a recent report by Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE). For every dollar a white male earned in San Jose, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara — defined as part of the Silicon Valley metropolitan area — a Latina earned 33 cents. In San Diego, Latinas earned 47 cents to every dollar a white male earned, making nearly $30,300 compared to $63,500 for a white male. In Riverside, Latinas earned 52 cents to every dollar a white person earned, or $25,300 compared to $48,600 respectively.

“In Silicon Valley, (income inequality) is very acute. With the prevailing industries of tech, it exacerbates the wealth gap,” Gabby Chavez-Lopez, executive director of Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley, told San José Spotlight.

Several factors are detailed in the report that contribute to the wage gap. Most Latinas throughout California tend to be concentrated in care industries and other occupations that pay less. They are also younger than the average worker and have attained less education, making it harder to reach a senior position. Nationwide, only 30% of Latinas are in management positions compared to 48% of white women.

Discrimination also plays a factor in the wage gap. On average, women are paid less than men in the same occupation, and the pay gap is the greatest for women of color. In California, a woman earns 81 cents to every dollar a man makes, according to the state’s Civil Rights Department.

Two female employees at Apple sued the company in June for allegedly paying them less than their male counterparts for doing similar work. One of the plaintiffs said she saw a W-2 left by a male colleague in the office printer — he was getting paid nearly $10,000 more.

“Discrimination is a big reason why the wage gap exists. Since women entered the workforce, their labor has been undervalued and that has shown through the data,” Chavez-Lopez said. “The most disparate gender wage gap is Hispanic women, and they are also the fastest growing workforce.”

In an annual survey conducted by the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, 45% of Latino survey respondents said they felt their race impacted their ability to obtain a job in Santa Clara County.

The local wage gap equates to Latinas losing about $46,000 every year. Over the course of a 40-year period, that scales up to $1.8 million.

“The silver lining in all of this is there has been a surge of entrepreneurship of women and women of color because they need to find opportunities for themselves,” Chavez-Lopez told San José Spotlight. “They are writing their own rules, building their own companies … so women can exist here in Silicon Valley. If we don’t, we will cease to exist.”

The number of Latina-owned businesses in California grew 26% from 2018 to 2021, according to the HOPE report. Overall, Hispanic-owned businesses accounted for 11% of businesses in the state.

To address the disparities in income, Chavez-Lopez said boards of organizations and upper management need to be diversified so leadership reflects the workforce. Her coalition is focused on getting more Latinas in positions of influence. Chavez-Lopez said organizations in both the private and public sector should do audits of the wages to get a clear picture of what employees are getting paid. From there, changes need to made to address the inequities.

After learning about the significant wage gaps that exist for Latina workers, San Jose Councilmember Peter Ortiz said he would pursue a request to audit city payrolls. He wants the audit to have an emphasis on looking at the pay for women and people of color within middle and senior management.

“We’re hoping it will create a ripple effect,” Ortiz told San José Spotlight. “If we’re calling on Apple and Google (to change), we got to make sure we are doing it ourselves.”

Contact Joyce Chu at joyce@sanjosespotlight.com or @joyce_speaks on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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Esparza, 57, died unexpectedly over the weekend. His cause of death is unknown. He was the community development director for the School of Arts and Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza. The people who knew Esparza best said they have no doubt his legacy will be kept alive by those who came up under his wing.

Esparza founded his flagship business management consulting firm Giant Creative Services at the turn of the century. He told San Jose State’s Mosaic Atlas in 2022 that he had 10 to 15 clients per year before deciding to sell the company in favor of a more permanent position with the School of Arts and Culture post-pandemic. Jessica Paz-Cedillos, the school’s co-executive director, said she and her colleagues held a healing circle for the team Monday morning after learning of Esparza’s passing.

“Chris is a giant. He has a kind, kind heart and meant so much to so many people,” she told San José Spotlight. “He was a visionary. And when you think about San Jose, when you think about the creative sector, when you think about event life, this man had his hand in all of it and it’s a huge loss for the Mexican Heritage Plaza, for the Mayfair community, for East San Jose — for San Jose.”

Longtime East San Jose leader and community organizer Darlene Tenes said she and Esparza were among those who organized the city’s first major Día De Los Muertos event in downtown about 25 years ago. It was a time before the cultural holiday was widely known outside of the Mexican American community.

Esparza’s friends and business partners said he was always finding ways to advance the culture in San Jose.

He worked as bouncer at concert venues in cities such as San Francisco throughout the late 1980s before meeting a DJ from England named Chris Elliman. The two would run nightclubs together just a few years later.

“Chris always wanted his own nightclub, but he wanted to do it back in his hometown of San Jose,” Elliman told San José Spotlight. “He and I did two.”

Fil Maresca, founder of Filco Events, said he hired Esparza to work as a bouncer at his club and he helped ensure the safety of the club goers by working in collaboration with nearby venues.

In a time when San Francisco was seen as the hub of nightlife, Maresca said Esparza lit up the SoFA district and put San Jose on the map.

“He was always committed with making San Jose a better place,” Maresca told San José Spotlight. “He had a smart mind, a cool head and a good heart, all three.”

Along with running the jazz club Ajax Lounge and throwing events at Plaza de Cesar Chavez, Elliman and Esparza would go on to co-own Fuel 44 at the corner of Post Street and Almaden Boulevard in downtown.

The club closed in 2001 when Elliman said their rent rose exponentially amid the dot-com boom in Silicon Valley. That’s when the two men met their forks in the road and the longtime business partners transitioned into longtime friends.

Now living in Portland, Oregon, Elliman said he goes back to the city where it all started once a year, and coffee with Esparza became a regular custom.

“We talk about life, not about the past, but about where we’re going. It’s been a long friendship and partnership, so it’s a personally sad loss for me,” Elliman told San José Spotlight. “There’s a saying out there that if you don’t end up with a few good stories, then you missed the point of living life. I’m going to tell you that in just the time Chris and I shared — he has more than enough stories.”

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Those who work with asylum seekers fleeing violence such as San Jose nonprofit Amigos de Guadalupe said migrants can’t wait years for the asylum-by-appointment process. Many are reaching the border in a traumatic state, they said.

The country can’t pride itself on being a nation welcoming of immigrants with Biden’s latest executive order, Amigos de Guadalupe CEO Maritza Maldonado told San José Spotlight.

“I have heard and seen pictures of the worst, so for us to say to asylum seekers at the border ‘Go back to your country’ – it’s not American to me,” she said.

Maldonado compared the executive order to the COVID-19 era Title 42 expulsion policy that allowed deportation and prevention of people entering the country if they had recently been to a country where COVID-19 was present.

“What he’s telling us is, ‘I’ve adopted the previous administration’s policies,’” Maldonado said José Spotlight. “As a lifelong Democrat, I’m left now questioning my own party’s values. I have to be very blunt about that.”

The Trump administration policy continued into the Biden administration until the pandemic national emergency ended May 11, 2023.

Biden’s decision to close the border comes as he said Congress has failed to secure it from situations including the smuggling of fentanyl at ports of entry.

“Those who seek to come to the United States legally, for example, by making an appointment and coming to a port of entry, asylum will still be available,” Biden said in a statement Tuesday. “To protect Americans in the land that welcomes immigrants, we must first secure the border and secure it now.”

The San Jose City Council’s Latino Caucus released a statement Wednesday rebuking the executive order — calling on Biden to reverse it and prioritize protections for asylum seekers.

Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei signed on to the statement and told San José Spotlight the country should be looking for alternative ways to welcome asylum seekers, not creating more barriers to entry.

Her father went through the immigration process, she said, and it’s worth looking into what works and what doesn’t work.

“These people who apply for asylum, some have even been persecuted and face really egregious situations in terms of threats to their life,” Kamei told San José Spotlight. “So I think while the current process is not perfect by any means, just abruptly doing this causes more barriers than facilitating a solution.”

The city has a list of community resources and legal services for seeking immigration assistance.

Councilmember Domingo Candelas echoes Kamei’s statement and said he is disappointed with Biden’s decision. He’s calling on Congress to fix what he calls a flawed immigration process.

“Our hope is to call attention to the border crisis and reaffirm our support for our asylum seekers and folks who are looking for a better place,” Candelas told San José Spotlight. “The executive order is indicative of desperation. It should be rooted in legislation and collaboration to fix our broken immigration system.”

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He was 86 years old according to his personal Facebook page.

Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley executive director Gabriela Chavez-Lopez said she learned of Garza’s death during a Race Equity Action Leadership Coalition meeting Thursday morning when a community leader mentioned his passing. Chavez-Lopez said she attended La Raza RoundTable meetings with her dad after the organization was founded in 1988 and considered Garza a strong force who was larger than life.

“He definitely had his style, but it was complementary to the other Latina leadership that was happening at the time of Blanca Alvarado,” she told San José Spotlight. “I studied him, I watched him growing up. Leading Latino leadership organizations today, I think a lot about his tactics. I think a lot about his way in which he advocated for things that he believes in.”

Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez said she also remembers Garza’s larger-than-life presence at community meetings throughout the 1990s.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect and tremendous amount of gratitude to him for being on the front lines of so many fights,” she told San José Spotlight. “Victor’s passing is the loss of a booming voice. Everybody knew you had to come to his meetings to know what was going on in the community.”

Garza was born in 1937 in Eagle Pass, Texas and moved to California in 1960, where he began his lifelong career in public service in 1986.

In the early 1970s, Garza and other members of the Chicano Employment Committee ensured the San Jose Police Department, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and San Jose Unified School District followed anti-discriminatory legal decrees in hiring Latinos. While working for a bus company in Los Angeles, he hired Latino janitors and taught them welding, a skill he picked up in the U.S. Navy. Then he’d hire them as welders and hire more Latino janitors.

Garza started La Raza Roundtable to give residents a voice in creating positive change and spent his life fighting for equitable employment and education for Latinos.

“He was a fighter, but he was very gentle and would help anyone,” Rose Amador-LeBeau, president and CEO of ConXión to Community and a co-founder of La Raza Roundtable, told San José Spotlight. “Victor just did a lot of leadership things because he wanted to make sure the youth would take over.”

Bob Nunez, former La Raza Roundtable co-chair, said Garza often worked with the NAACP, the Asian Law Alliance and other groups if they had issues and to get their support.

“I’ve been in Santa Clara County, in San Jose for 24 years, and I was still looked at upon as the newcomer because I wasn’t born there, but Victor took me under his wing,” Nunez told San José Spotlight.

Garza also founded a mentorship program at Evergreen Valley College to help Latino students struggling in math and English. As the first Latino elected to the board of the Berryessa School District, he was instrumental in the superintendent hiring Latino principals, vice principals, administrators and teachers.

“Today our community is mourning the loss of a visionary leader and civil rights activist,” state Sen. Dave Cortese said in a statement, noting he’d ask the Senate to adjourn in Garza’s memory. “The founder of La Raza Roundtable, Victor Garza created a coalition that has uplifted countless Latino and Mexican-American voices — advocating tirelessly for equity, social justice and the rights of students and veterans. An advocate at heart, an unwavering commitment to the fight for civil rights can be seen in everything he has done. His passion and vision for our community have left a mark on California, inspiring many, and will continue to guide us for years to come.”

San Jose Councilmember Peter Ortiz said Garza’s positive impact goes beyond the Latino community and that he affected change across Santa Clara County politics and government.

“He’s been a giant when it comes to advocating for the immigrant, Latino and working class communities in East San Jose — but really throughout the county,” Ortiz told San José Spotlight.

Ortiz said he wants to coordinate with other San Jose City Council members to honor Garza at a future meeting.

The message Garza instilled in Chavez-Lopez before his death was to get more young people involved in La Raza Roundtable and keeping them engaged in the fight for not just Latino rights, but all communities needing assistance.

“Victor welcomed everyone to the table,” she said. “I think he should be remembered as both good and obviously super effective in the community. I also think he should also be remembered as a fierce, challenging, kind of like hell-raiser of a man that he was — and the two can coexist.”

Contact Vicente Vera at vicente@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @VicenteJVera on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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After an emotional budget debate on Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved having county employees come back in June with options for how to proceed with a facility and whether there should be multiple locations. Supervisors want community input and won’t make a final decision until the Latino Health Needs Assessment collects data from residents on health access gaps countywide.

“I don’t want to predetermine a product or outcome,” Supervisor Sylvia Arenas said at the meeting. “When you go through a process with the community, you learn so much more about that community than you think you know.”

While focused on Latino health, the idea drew widespread support in nearly 100 public comments from Black, Asian and Latino residents and patient health advocates, such as Latinas Contra Cancer.

Darcie Green, executive director of Latinas Contra Cancer, said the public turnout blew her away.

“Hospitals and clinics belong to the community, so it is powerful to see this incredible display of solidarity pushing our county delivery system to better serve Spanish speakers,” Green told San José Spotlight.

Arenas has spearheaded the ongoing needs assessment, an overdue countywide effort to get feedback from Latino residents on what health services are lacking in the region.

Arenas’ stance at times ran into friction with Supervisor Cindy Chavez, who introduced the health center proposal with the intent to redevelop and expand services at the busy Valley Health Center East Valley. Chavez, who recalled the misdiagnosis of her father at the clinic and his death shortly after, said the clinic doesn’t meet the needs of the patients it serves. She argued this kind of investment would protect health services in East San Jose in light of the upcoming closure of heart attack, stroke and trauma services at Regional Medical Center.

“We cannot leave services at the East Valley Clinic in the current state they’re in — no matter what the health assessment says,” Chavez said. “It’s our second busiest clinic.”

Chavez and Arenas agreed that the need to redevelop the clinic and the community-driven vision for a health center shouldn’t be mutually exclusive. The idea of studying both concepts was incorporated into the board’s approval.

Officials may draw inspiration from facilities like the Vietnamese American Services Center, which opened its doors in fall 2021 as the county’s first fully integrated service model. The county conducted a similar needs assessment for that community to bridge health disparities. The 37,000-square-foot, three-story building at 2410 Senter Rd. in San Jose was built after eight years of community outreach. It serves as a one-stop hub for integrated and culturally informed social and health services.

Options for a Latino health center may include the renovation, lease or redevelopment of county properties or facilities.

Board President Susan Ellenberg called it a win for Latino residents.

“It was a long, thoughtful discussion, but ended on the side of the community. They deserve what they need, not what we think they need,” Ellenberg told San José Spotlight.

Latinos in Silicon Valley are facing exacerbated quality of life challenges in the wake of the pandemic, including education gaps, worsening housing conditions and health disparities, according to the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley’s 2023 Latino Report Card.

Gabriela Chavez-Lopez, executive director of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley, hailed the decision for a Latino health center and the push to hear from residents first.

“I think it’s right where the county should be focusing on. It’s a cultural approach to a system that often feels like a one size fits all model,” she told San José Spotlight. “We know that culture does play a role.”

Contact Brandon Pho at brandon@sanjosespotlight.com or @brandonphooo on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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Soriano, 29, is the first female senior producer for the 49ers and one of the first Latina cinematographers in the NFL. At 49ers Studios she creates content for its website and social media channels, filming and editing highlight reels, game action and features. A two-time Emmy award winner for Spanish content and sports program “49 Hours,” she’s also making her mark as a Latina from East San Jose in a male-dominated industry.

Soriano describes herself as a tenacious self-starter, a driven individual and team player who didn’t let challenges stop her from reaching her dream of working in sports. Among her credits is creating a Spanish radio broadcast for fans in Mexico and San Jose.

“Maybe it’s the East San Jose person in me,” she told San José Spotlight. “You gotta have a thick skin in this industry. Everyone’s gonna always say something about you and especially the way you look. If this is your passion, and this is what you want to pursue… you can’t take no for an answer. I hope women see me… and think, ‘because she’s doing it, I want to pursue it as well.'”

Although only 5’3”, Soriano was on the field for the NFC Championship game, holding a 30-plus pound camera on her shoulder as hulking players tackled each other by her feet.

“(It’s happening) so fast, you gotta keep your head on a swivel,” she said.

Gabriela Chavez-Lopez, executive director of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley, said having  East San Jose representation matters. It’s important to inspire the next generation of young women, she told San José Spotlight.

“You can’t be what you can’t see,” she said. “For our community to be able to see this woman of color, this Latina, in that position is really exciting. Sports is a nontraditional career pathway for women. When you see folks breaking through, their lens, their perspective, their voice is going to be just naturally integrated into the storytelling.”

Soriano’s career opportunity came in 2016 through the Denise DeBartolo York Fellowship, when she was about to graduate college. DeBartolo York, owner and co-chair of the San Francisco 49ers, created the fellowship to help women learn the business of  professional sports. After Soriano rotated through various departments in the program, she was captivated by the 49ers Studios. She was offered an associate producer position, which eventually evolved into a senior producer role.

“The fellowship was life changing,” she said. “I kind of felt a little shell shocked. Wow, me from East Side San Jose.”

Darlene Tenes, CEO of CasaQ, said it’s exciting to see Soriano reach the top levels of her field and never forget her East San Jose roots.

“She is an amazing example of what you can achieve with hard work and grit on and off the field,” Tenes told San José Spotlight. “It’s so great to see someone coming from the East Side and succeeding nationally.”

49ers in her blood

Soriano grew up watching games on Sunday mornings with her family. She credits her father and grandfather for her passion for 49ers football. Her father, Jer Soriano, a high school assistant principal, often shared stories with her about the players and took her to 49ers playoff games at Candlestick Park.

“Whoever thought that your daughter would work for the team you worship,” he told San José Spotlight. “My daughter with the 49ers in a high-profile position… doing what she loves to do. My wife and I are so amazed and so proud. She’s doing it, and doing it well, and putting a little Latina emphasis on it.”

Soriano loved sports and played soccer from the time she was a little girl to playing semi-professionally in college. She also loved cameras and created highlight reels of basketball games at Caldwell University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in communication and media studies.

Raised by strong women, she’s inspired by her mother and grandmothers. Her mother Patricia works in finance, a male-dominated industry, and is one of her biggest role models, she said. Her mother instilled in her the confidence that she could do anything, including forging a path in an unlikely profession, Soriano said.

“It’s always hard being the first in anything,” Soriano told San José Spotlight. “You feel like you need to be more. If I fail, it will look twice as bad as a white male counterpart. Maybe I don’t get the projects I really want because of this boy’s club. I’m proud I got through those trials and tribulations, but I also want to thank the men that were right there supporting me. Without them, I would not have this seat. Now that I do, I try my best to bring in people who look like me.”

Being at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and filming her home team on Super Bowl Sunday is a dream come true, she said.

“To be able to do my job on the biggest stage means the world to me because not a lot of Latinas get to be on a Super Bowl field filming and following their dreams,” she said.

Contact Lorraine Gabbert at lorrainegabbertsjspotlight@gmail.com.

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Data collected by Latinos LEAD highlights this disparity, showing that Latinos make up only 12.5% of nonprofit board members in the San Jose metro area, which includes Santa Clara and Sunnyvale. The underrepresentation is linked to limited access to professional networks for Latinos and a lack of targeted recruitment efforts by these organizations.

Gabriela Chavez-Lopez, executive director of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley, said a lack of Latinos or minorities in boardrooms can be attributed to a shortage of professionals working within various sectors of industry. But she added there hasn’t been an effort to bring minorities onto nonprofit boards.

“There hasn’t been a desire to be inclusive and think about lived experience together with a professional background, as being something that is really seen as an asset on a board, (by) having folks that represent the communities that these nonprofits are serving,” Chavez-Lopez told San José Spotlight. “Because unlike a business, a nonprofit’s main goal is societal benefit.”

The data shows an absence of Latino members on the boards of numerous health and human services nonprofits, with 11 out of 38 organizations having no Latino representation. This trend extends to the housing and homelessness sector, where six out of 11 organizations lack Latino board members.

Former San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales, president and CEO of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, warns that pledges without strategic plans and specific objectives are ineffectual.

“A pledge without specific objectives for the next six to 12 months, is not measurable,” Gonzales told San José Spotlight. “If you really feel committed to this and you really feel it’s important: put your approach and word on a piece of paper that says by 12 months from now, we’re going to have several Latinos and other representatives, the minority population, on our board of directors. Without it, it’s just an empty promise.”

According to the 2023 Silicon Valley Pain Index, an annual report by researchers at San Jose State University showing structural inequalities in the area, just 2% of Latinas are in the tech sector despite making up nearly 13% of Santa Clara County’s population. In the last few years, nonprofit organizations and school programs have worked to get more Latinas into the hiring pipeline in Silicon Valley. Yet biases and roadblocks persist.

Kyra Kazantzis, CEO of the Silicon Valley Council for Nonprofits, which helps nonprofits grow their capacity to thrive and create equitable communities, said the findings from Latinos LEAD are disappointing, but not surprising.

“Lots of times board recruitment is done on a relationship basis.” Kazantzis told San José Spotlight. “If you’re starting with a mostly white board, and they’re using their friend group or their professional group to recruit board members, it’s more likely that they’re going to recruit another white board member. So those social networks and relationships are thought to be important, but they sometimes create biases and barriers to diversity.”

Different measures have been taken across nonprofits to address this issue. After the death of George Floyd in 2020,  the Silicon Valley Council for Nonprofits created a local nonprofit racial equity pledge, signed by more than 150 organizations, to promote racial equity in decision-making. Kazantzis said the pledge focuses on nonprofits committing to advancing equity values as a first step toward transformational action.

Chavez-Lopez advocates for broader recruiting practices and leadership training services, such as those offered by the Hispanic Foundation and Latinos LEAD, to introduce diverse perspectives. Gonzales echoes the urgency for accelerated action. He said the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley has been actively training Latino professionals for nonprofit board positions, with significant success in fostering leadership by 70% in the more than 500 trained professionals.

“We believe that an organization should be representative of the community that it serves, but that’s just the start,” Gonzales said. “Hard work is in the outreach, recruitment and appointment of Latinos to nonprofit boards.”

Contact Gabriela Lopez at bygabrielalopez@gmail.com or follow @byGabiLopez on X, formerly known as Twitter

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Activists have worked for decades to give Latino residents equity, representation and access to services. The School of Arts and Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza in East San Jose is working to expand its cultural programming and bring family wellness services to the Mayfair community, where it hopes to create a cultural district. It also envisions developing affordable housing and commercial space for local businesses and social service providers.

In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, San José Spotlight is highlighting some of the most influential community leaders in Silicon Valley. While this isn’t an exhaustive list, these individuals have broken barriers, shaped history and inspired change.

We also recognized some of the most influential Black leaders for Black History Month in February, trailblazing women for Women’s History Month in March and inspiring leaders in the LGBTQ+ community in June for Pride Month.

Here they are in alphabetical order by first name.

Alcario and Carmen Castellano

Alcario Castellano and his wife Carmen rose from humble beginnings, but after winning a $141 million California Lottery jackpot in 2001, they created the Castellano Family Foundation to uplift San Jose’s Latino community.

Through the years, the foundation—which ceased operations June 30—awarded millions of dollars in grants and scholarships to Silicon Valley nonprofits to advance Latino education, arts and culture, leadership and diversity. Together, the Castellano Family Foundation and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation created the LatinXCEL Fund, a $10 million effort to support Latinx leaders and groups in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.

Carmen, the inspiration behind the foundation, died in 2020 at age 81.

She and Al were dedicated community advocates and volunteers who made modest contributions to civic organizations like the San Jose GI Forum and to arts and culture organizations like MACLA and The School of Arts and Culture long before winning the lottery. As several grantees have observed, not much changed after they won. They continued their advocacy and support for these and many more nonprofit organizations, but “the checks just got bigger.” Carmen used their newfound wealth to scale-up their philanthropy and invest in the long-term future of their community.

Daughter Carmela Castellano-Garcia recalls her father being passionate about promoting diversity and inclusion and her parents advocating at the local elementary school for diversity among teachers.

The Castellanos were avid art collectors and had a love for music. Carmen, who played piano, grew up in a home filled with opera, classical and Mexican music. Alcario played the trumpet in high school and was in a dance band.

Bernardo Roberto Cruz and David Lopez

Bernardo Roberto Cruz was a leader in education for 39 years and a pioneer of bilingual education.

Motivated to remove educational barriers for Latino students, Cruz established Bay Area Bilingual Education in 1971, becoming its executive director. In 1981, it became The National Hispanic University. Through a multicultural educational experience, NHU enabled Hispanics to earn undergraduate degrees or certificates to pursue careers in business, education and technology.

Cruz lobbied in Washington, D.C. for increased funding for bilingual education nationwide. NHU partnered with other institutions including San Jose State University and San Jose/Evergreen Community College District, which enabled students to cross-enroll. NHU also partnered with the East Side Union High School District to boost Latino high school graduation and college placement rates.

After his death in 2002, East Side Union High School District named a charter school after him, the Roberto Cruz Leadership Academy. The Dr. Roberto Cruz Alum Rock Branch Library also carries his name.

David Lopez worked to expand access to affordable, quality education for Latinos and other underserved students while serving as president (2003-2013) and chancellor (2013-2014) of The National Hispanic University in East San Jose. Under his guidance, the university transformed into an academically comprehensive, accredited four-year institution. It served more than 850 undergraduate and graduate students in 2013 and closed its doors two years later. 

Lopez’s teaching career started at the College of Education at New Mexico State University. He earned tenure at California State University, Fresno in the School of Education and Human Development.

After NHU closed, Lopez worked as executive director of the Maestros Accelerator Program, which guides high school and community college students into teaching careers. He later worked as an administrator for the Milpitas extension of San Jose City College, providing low-income at-risk high school students with college courses and professional work experience.

Lopez is a board member of Pivotal, which invests in programs to improve the lives of Silicon Valley foster youth.

Blanca Alvarado

Although she retired from public office in 2009, at age 92 Blanca Alvarado is still involved in politics and advocates for the Latino community. She is considered La Madrina—the godmother—of East San Jose.

After being the first Latina elected to the San Jose City Council in 1980, Alvarado became the city’s first Latina vice mayor and was elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors in 1994. During her tenure in office, she led the effort to create the first children’s health insurance program and fought for Latinos disproportionally incarcerated in Silicon Valley. She continues her advocacy today, fighting to close the Reid-Hillview Airport in East San Jose amid fears that leaded fuel from airplanes is harming residents.

Blanca Alvarado and José Hernández Middle School was named in honor of her advocacy.

Getting people to vote and engage in politics is her passion. She said if Latinos don’t vote, Latinos won’t hold office and their needs will go unaddressed.

“We’re living through historic times right now where democracy is being threatened,” Alvarado told San José Spotlight. “There are so many forces at play that seek to undermine the accomplishments and the achievements of minorities. The forces that are out to undermine the achievements of Latinos in particular … are so strong today that the absolute necessity of encouraging people to get out to vote and exercise our beliefs and our perspective is lifesaving.”

Cindy Chavez

Equality is the North Star for Cindy Chavez, a Santa Clara County supervisor and former San Jose councilmember. She envisions a future where birthplace and gender aren’t limitations. With deep ties to organized labor and working families, the veteran politician has served as head of Working Partnerships USA and the South Bay Labor Council. Despite unsuccessfully running for San Jose mayor twice, losing in 2006 to Chuck Reed and in 2022 to Matt Mahan, Chavez is committed to public service.

Chavez championed a $950 million affordable housing bond in 2016 to expand housing for vulnerable and low-income residents. She also advocated for the Children’s Health Initiative, guaranteeing every child in San Jose access to health insurance.

At her urging, supervisors in 2021 prohibited the sale or use of leaded fuel at Reid-Hillview Airport, following concerns that the fuel was poisoning residents. Chavez took the issue to Congress, testifying before the Oversight Environmental Subcommittee, which was considering a total ban on leaded aviation fuel.

“You think about all the things that wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t chosen to run,” she told San José Spotlight. “I look around at what we’ve been able to accomplish, and I just dig in.”

Dolores Alvarado

Fueled by a passion for service and health care rights, Dolores Alvarado pursued a career in health care spanning 46 years—finding work in a neighborhood clinic, family planning center, county hospital emergency room and university-affiliated adolescent clinic. Following her work with the Santa Clara County Public Health Department, she became CEO of Community Health Partnership in 2011, a consortium of 10 organizations with 40 sites from San Mateo to Gilroy.

Community health centers—which offer medical, dental, nutritional and mental health care—serve some of the poorest neighborhoods and are entryways into health care for those who lack access, money or are undocumented. More than half of the families are covered by Medi-Cal and 33% of patients are undocumented immigrants, according to Alvarado.

“We are a safe, trusted entry point,” Alvarado told San José Spotlight in 2020. “We don’t ask you if you have documents, so there’s that sense of security.”

Esther Medina

Esther Medina was a tireless activist and community leader who fought for social justice and advocated for Latinos, women and the underserved. She died at age 76 in October 2012.

As executive director of the Mexican American Community Services Agency, Medina brought it from the brink of financial ruin to a solvent community resource with a $7 million operating budget, according to the Mercury News. She worked to create affordable housing for seniors, a senior health center and youth center in the Mayfair neighborhood of East San Jose. 

“Esther Medina was a fierce leader, fueled by the combination of love for her culture and the intense pain of growing up in poverty and experiencing firsthand the inequities that existed,” San Jose Deputy City Manager Angel Rios, Jr. told San José Spotlight. “The focus of her life was leveling the playing field and championing the cause of the disenfranchised.”

In her obituary, her niece Elisa Medina recalled being wowed as a child by Medina’s glamour, style and powerful presence. Sparky Harlan, former CEO of the Bill Wilson Center, said Medina was not only a star for the Latino community but also a hero for the nonprofit community and taught her to never accept “no” for an answer.

Joe Coto

Joe Coto pursued a career in education before jumping into the political ring. After teaching in Oakland and becoming superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District, he served as superintendent of East Side Union High School District in San Jose. While helming the district, Coto supported Senate Bill 1051, which provided $80 million for promoting diversity in San Jose schools. Coto is also responsible for bringing almost half a billion dollars in grant funding and improvement bonds to the district.

As a state assemblymember from 2004 to 2010, Coto sponsored bills providing support to underachieving schools, standards for math instruction for blind students and $30 million to support English learners. He ran for the state Senate in 2012, but lost his bid to Jim Beall. His platform included balancing the budget and improving education and income inequality. Prior to holding state office, Coto served on the Oakland City Council.

His father, who worked in copper mines for 30 years, pushed him to attend college. Coto took that to heart, earning a bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University, an administrative credential from California State University, East Bay and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix. He also studied at Columbia University.

Lennies Gutierrez

For Lennies Gutierrez, honoring her Mexican heritage is essential.

Her father, who didn’t own a pair of shoes until he was seven years old, taught her to stand up for herself and remember where she came from. Being authentic to who she is helps Gutierrez stay centered as a director of government affairs for Comcast. Working in the private sector for a Fortune 500 company is not something Gutierrez takes for granted.

“It’s a daily opportunity for me to be a representative in a space that you don’t see a lot of women of color in,” Gutierrez told San José Spotlight. “We live in such interesting times right now and being an ally or a voice is really important to me.”

Gutierrez said early in her career, she learned the value of meeting people, having conversations and building relationships, as well as being open to other perspectives. This openness led to her being invited as the first Latina to serve on the board of the African American Community Service Agency. She is also a board member of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality and board chair of Chamber San Mateo County. She chaired the San Jose Chamber of Commerce in 2017. Gutierrez also enjoys teaching at Latino Leadership Alliance and is interested in working in leadership development there as well.

Nora Campos

East San Jose matters to former state Assemblymember Nora Campos, who was inspired to get involved in politics by Cesar Chavez and her parents’ work with the farmworker rights movement. As a young girl, she marched beside her parents and farmworkers as they protested for better wages and working conditions.

As a San Jose councilmember from 2001 to 2010, Campos worked to keep thousands of jobs in California and make neighborhoods safe. She saw a critical need for housing in San Jose and led an effort to construct 10,000 homes in the city. She also championed East San Jose’s Fire Station No. 2, helped transform the neglected Story and King Road shopping area and fought for parks and affordable housing. In the Assembly, Campos fought for equal pay for women, climate change policy, college for Dreamers and health care for all children.

Campos currently works as a public policy advocate and consultant. Last year, she ran to reclaim her San Jose District 5 council seat, hoping to improve East San Jose’s safety and quality of life, but lost to Peter Ortiz.

Norberto Dueñas

Norberto Dueñas started public service as an intern to then-Councilmember Jim Beall and went on to serve San Jose for 33 years in various roles including deputy executive director of the San Jose Redevelopment Agency, deputy city manager and city manager. Dueñas was integral to ending a contentious pension reform battle between the city and its police and fire unions in 2015. He also worked to provide services to marginalized communities. He was a a founding member of the 1991 Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force.

Dueñas’ career took a turn in 2017 when he joined Witt O’Brien’s, an emergency management disaster recovery firm. As associate managing director he helps disaster victims with FEMA reimbursement, continuity of essential services, crisis communication and public health. He first worked with Witt O’Brien’s following San Jose’s massive Coyote Creek flood in 2017. Dueñas aided the hurricane-torn Virgin Islands in receiving more than $1 billion from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund housing, infrastructure and economic revitalization initiatives.

Beall told San José Spotlight in 2019 he was proud of Dueñas’ “strong spirit” and dedication to helping people rebuild their countries.

Robert Sapien, Jr.

Robert Sapien, Jr. became chief of the San Jose Fire Department in 2018 after serving the department for 30 years and as acting fire chief for 10 months.

He started his career with SJFD as a firefighter and later served as a fire engineer, fire captain, battalion chief, deputy chief and assistant fire chief. He also served as president of its union, SJFF Local 230, from 2011 to 2014.

Sapien’s career might have gone in a different direction as he majored in political science at San Jose State University. Instead, he leads SJFD in responding to about 95,000 service calls each year, serving the city and unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County.

“Response times are critical in the successful delivery of emergency medical services and fire suppression efforts,” Sapien said last year at the opening of a fire station at San Jose Mineta International Airport.

Ron Gonzales

Ron Gonzales is a visionary leader who broke barriers — in politics and philanthropy — in Silicon Valley.

He was the first Latino councilmember and mayor of Sunnyvale (1979-1987), Santa Clara County supervisor (1989-1996) and mayor of San Jose (1999-2006). He pushed for decades for BART to reach San Jose and Silicon Valley to such an extent that local leaders wanted to name the San Jose station after him.

“My business background, my community engagement … and experience helped overcome any hesitations they might have had in voting for someone with a last name like Gonzales,” he told San José Spotlight.

Gonzales’ father told him everyone has a responsibility to improve the quality of life of others. Gonzales took that to heart in becoming a public servant. He continues to do that for Latino families today as president and CEO of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, which he’s helmed since 2009.

“I’ve been able to focus all of my time and resources on the community that I come from, the Latino community, which has tremendous needs that continue to grow,” Gonzales said.

Salvador Alvarez

Deacon and social justice leader Salvador Alvarez received the prestigious For Church and Pope award by Pope Benedict XVI for his civil rights work. Alvarez worked alongside Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta in the farmworker rights movement and advocated on behalf of immigrants and marginalized communities. He died at age 74 in June 2015.

After attending San Jose State University, Alvarez earned a master’s degree in social work from UC Berkeley and co-founded the Graduate School of Social Work at SJSU. At 30, he became one of California’s youngest college professors. These accomplishments might have seemed impossible when he was a child born with a club foot in Santa Maria in 1940. Seeking treatment for him at Stanford Children’s Hospital led his Mexican immigrant parents to move the family to Mountain View.

Alvarez met Cesar Chavez while working with the Bishops Committee on Farm Labor at the U.S. Catholic Conference. He later became a legislative aide to Huerta. Sent by the United Farm Workers of America to Washington, D.C. to push for immigration reform, he worked with legislators on the Immigration and Reform Act of 1986 to grant a path to citizenship to undocumented immigrants. 

He served on the Santa Clara County Human Relations Commission, advising the board of supervisors on issues affecting civil rights, and founded the Institute for Nonviolence to teach conflict resolution to youth.

Tamara Alvardo

As program officer in the Local Grantmaking Program for the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Tamara Alvardo leads cultural and civic investments—including $4 million annually to advance creative, environmental and civic organizations that connect people with art, nature and community.

“Tamara’s experience as an artist, nonprofit arts executive, grantmaker, and community advocate makes her ideal for this role,” Irene Wong, director of the Local Grantmaking Program, said in a statement. “Tamara brings a lifelong commitment to the arts, equity, and building communities.”

Alvarado served as executive director of both the Leo M. Shortino Family Foundation, which focused on youth and the arts, and the School of Arts and Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza. In addition, she was the director of multicultural leadership for 1stACT Silicon Valley and executive director of MACLA, an inclusive contemporary arts space in San Jose grounded in the Chicano/Latino experience. Alvarado is a traditional Aztec dancer and member of San Jose’s Calpulli Tonalehqueh Aztec drum and dance group.

She served as program director for the Washington United Youth Center, a partnership between Catholic Charities and San Jose, and co-founded the Multicultural Arts Leadership Institute, a leadership development program for people of color working in arts, culture and entertainment.

Victor Garza

Victor Garza founded La Raza Roundtable to give residents a voice in creating positive change and has spent his life fighting for equitable employment and education for Latinos.

In the early 1970s, Garza and other members of the Chicano Employment Committee ensured the San Jose Police Department, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and San Jose Unified School District followed anti-discriminatory legal decrees in hiring Latinos. While working for a bus company in Los Angeles, he hired Latino janitors and taught them welding, a skill he picked up in the U.S. Navy. Then he’d hire them as welders and hire more Latino janitors. 

Garza founded a mentorship program at Evergreen Valley College to help Latino students struggling in math and English. As the first Latino elected to the board of the Berryessa School District, he was instrumental in the superintendent hiring Latino principals, vice principals, administrators and teachers, but racism still ran rampant. A teacher was brought to tears when parents said they didn’t want a Mexican teaching their child.

“It was hard during those years,” Garza told San José Spotlight. “You have a board room full of white people and they mock you. I would get up and go out to the parking lot and come back and sit again.”

Contact Lorraine Gabbert at lorrainegabbertsjspotlight@gmail.com.

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