Oral Histories

Since the summer of 2020, the NALCAB research team has been conducting oral histories with various Latino community development leaders across the United States. We have found it to be important to capture the first-hand experiences of these leaders as a way to analyze the impact of the Chicano Movement geographically and temporally. You will find that the concerns and challenges of Latino CDCs are unique to the social and economic realities of their communities, and the era in which each leader founded their organization has spurred different trajectories of growth, outreach, and influence. The individuals featured in these interviews vary in age, cultural background, and experience, but nonetheless share the same goal of attaining social justice through economic empowerment.

Between the summer of 2020 and the fall of 2022, our research team conducted interviews over Zoom. We continue to conduct interviews over Zoom and, when possible, in person.


Nelson Merced (2020)

Nelson Merced is the former Executive Director of the Inquilinos Boricuas en Acciรณn in Boston, Massachusetts.

Alexander Von Hoffman (2020)

Dr. Alexander Von Hoffman is a professor at Harvard University who has dedicated his academic career researching the history of Community Development Corporations (CDCโ€™s) across the United States since the late 1960s.

Mario Compean (2020)

Mario Compean is one of the original members of the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO) and founding board member of the Mexican American Unity Council in San Antonio, Texas.

Dr. Charles Cotrell (2020)

Dr. Charles Cotrell is a former President of St. Maryโ€™s University (1999-2012).  A mentor to MAYO activists and founding board member of the Mexican American Unity Council (MAUC), Dr. Cotrell discusses his role with Chicano youth at St. Maryโ€™s University and MAYO leaders.

Beatriz Stotzer (2020 & 2021)

Beatriz Stotzer is a co-founder and the first CEO of New Economics for Women in Los Angeles, California and a founding board member of NALCAB.

Arabella Martรญnez (2020)

Arabella Martinez is the first Executive Director of the Spanish Speaking Unity Council in Oakland, California, one of the original CDC’s in the Southwest Council of La Raza (now UnidosUS).

Valdemar Pรฉrez (2020)

Valdemar Pรฉrez is an Army veteran and a University of Texas at Austin alumni who worked as a financial consultant for the Mexican American Unity Council in San Antonio, Texas, and TELACU in Los Angeles, California.

Michael A. Garcรญa (2020)

Michael A. Garcรญa is a retired architect and graduate of the University of Texas at Austin who worked with the Mexican American Unity Council throughout the 1970s.

David Ojeda Jr. (2020)

David Ojeda Jr. is the Executive Director of the Community Service Agency (CSA) of South Texas in Carrizo Springs, Texas.

Raรบl Raymundo (2021)

Raรบl Raymundo is a founder and Executive Director of the Resurrection Project in Chicago, Illinois and serves as a board member for NALCAB.

David Lizรกrraga (2022)

Dr. David C. Lizรกrraga is the former president of The East Los Angeles Community Union (TELACU) in Los Angeles California and the founder of the TELACU business model of generating a double bottom line– profitability along with generating social impact for the community.

John Echeveste (2022)

John Echeveste is a founding partner of VPE Public Relations based in South Pasadena, California, and former communications director of The East Los Angeles Community Union (TELACU).

Tommy Espinoza (2022)

Tommy Espinoza is the former president and CEO of Raza Development Fund with a history of working in nonprofit organizations, specializing in financial services, credit analysis, social impact, and business development. Tommy started as a carpenter volunteering with Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) where Ronnie Lopez hired him to assist with CPLC’s housing program.

Noel Poyo (2023)

Noel Poyo served as the Executive Director of NALCAB from 2006 to 2021, helping lead the national organization of Latino-led nonprofits that serve communities around the United States. He advocated nationally on behalf of the NALCAB membership as well as for low-income Latino and immigrant communities.

Joe Eddie Lopez and Rosie Lopez (2022)

Joe Eddie Lopez is a former member of the Arizona State Senate and the Arizona House of Representatives. He is also one of the founding members of the CDC, Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC), helping organize and serving as a spokesperson during the 1970 Phoenix High School student walkout. Rosie Lopez is a first-generation Mexican American and avid civil rights activist who grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. She was crucial to the development of CPLC and oversaw the various projects that went into housing and economic development in Phoenix.

Guacolda Reyes

Guacolda Reyes is the Chief Real Estate Development Officer at The Resurrection Project (TPR) in Chicago, IL. Growing up in Santiago, Chile, Guacolda studied social work at university before continuing to do community work and advocacy in Chile. She moved to the Pilsen area in Chicago for school, which later introduced her to a developing community organization that would later become The Resurrection Project.

Janie Barrera

Janie Barrera is the founding president and former CEO of LiftFund, formerly known as Accion Texas. Barrera was responsible for the organizationโ€™s financial management, oversight of its annual budget, and the development of methodology and loan delivery procedures.

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