Staff List

Lucía Gómez-Jiménez is our new Executive Director and a recent member of the 2011 class of the Coro Immigrant Civic Leadership Project.   Most recently, she was a Community Affairs representative for New York State Senator Gustavo Rivera and a Policy Fellow for the National Institute for Latino Policy (NILP) since 2009.  Earlier this year, she also served as an Advisor to the members of the New Jersey Legislative Reapportionment Commission to ensure the growing Latino communities’ participation and voice was heard during all levels of New Jersey’s redistricting process.   Prior to working for Senator Rivera, Ms. Gomez was the Assistant to the Governor for Community Affairs for Governor David Paterson of New York.    In this position she spearheaded Latino and Immigrant relations for the Governor, as well as coordinate the Executive Chamber’s efforts to promote New Yorkers full participation in the 2010 Census.  

Prior to re-joining New York State Government in 2009, Ms. Gomez was the Director of the New Jersey Regional Office of the Miami-based Cuban American National Council (CNC), where she developed and administered programs in Housing Counseling and Parent Advocacy targeting low-to-moderate income clients in Hudson County.   Ms. Gomez has extensive experience in public service.  She served as the Administrator of Elections of the Board of Canvassers for the City of Providence, Rhode Island and worked as the Civic Participation Program Director with the PRLDEF Institute for Puerto Rican Policy (now separately known as LatinoJustice PRLDEF and the NILP), overseeing programs in eight states, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands in political redistricting and mobilizing Latino communities for the 2000 Census, and also served as a Regional Coordinator for the Office of Minority Information Services with the New York State Senate  Democratic Conference. She has extensive experience in election administration, geographic information systems, and community organizing.
 
Ms Gomez has a BA from Rutgers University-New Brunswick. She also studied anthropology at the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, México. She currently resides in Union City, New Jersey.

Prior to joining La Fuente, Arjeta worked as an administrative assistant for the 4MGROUP LTD, Architecture and Design Company in London, while also volunteering with the British Albanian Kosovar Council.  Before that, she worked as a researcher at the Human Rights Center of the University of Prishtina in Kosova. Arjeta immigrated to the U.S. from Kosova in 1999.

Prior to joining La Fuente’s staff, Angeline worked on SEIU Local 32 BJ’s commercial contract campaign and as a consultant to La Fuente.  Before that, she worked in Alabama with the Immigrant Justice Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, with the Sarapiquí Conservation Learning Center in Costa Rica, and as an organizer with the Women’s Project in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Sussie Lozada was born in the Dominican Republic. She is well-known as a longtime activist in her native country and in New York City. Sussie holds two Bachelors of Science degrees: one in Political Science and one in Behavioral Science. As an organizer, Sussie has been part of many campaigns, including the multi-million dollar renovation of Fox Playground in the South Bronx; improved interpretation services at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital; and improved community access to Riverbank State Park, among others. She has been also part of citywide campaigns including the fight for access to drivers’ licenses for undocumented New Yorkers; the campaign for Muslim school holidays; and efforts to improve public education. She has also worked hard for immigrants’ rights, including pushing for comprehensive immigration reform and fighting against destructive immigration policies, including the Secure Communities program, E-Verify, and deportation. As an immigrant, feminist, single mother, and Muslim, Sussie strongly believes in social justice and the rights of women, immigrants, and workers.

Prior to joining La Fuente, Teresa was a community organizer for CENTRO HISPANO Cuzcatlan training low-income families to advocate for their rights as immigrants and tackle local environmental justice issues. She has also worked in health education, serving as an organizer under the Latino Religious Leadership Project of the Latino Commission on AIDS as well as the Jamaica Childhood Asthma Initiative. Teresa has been active within the immigrants? rights movement in New York City since she emigrated from El Salvador in 1996.

Prior to joining the staff of La Fuente, Estevan traveled throughout the country building union committees with unorganized healthcare workers for SEIU International's 'Flight Team'. Before that, he was a leader in the movements of working class young people in New York City where he founded and chaired the Uptown Youth for Peace and Justice. Estevan grew up and lives in Washington Heights and Inwood.