Mil Gracias

I wanted to take a moment to thank all of those who made the first annual Statewide Latino Advocacy Day possible.

First, I want to extend my thanks to all of the participants who came from across the state of Pennsylvania to join us in educating our legislators about how immigration and education issues impact the Latino communities – some of whom traveled a great distance to join us. I especially would like to acknowledge the youth leaders who brought their own experiences regarding education and immigration to the attention of the legislators.

I also want to extend a thank you to Senator Tartaglione and her staff, specifically Don Kockler and J.P. Kurish (for his fabulous technical assistance) for their support for Statewide Latino Advocacy Day. We are also grateful for the participation of Deputy Secretary for Regulatory Programs, Sara Manzano-Diaz, who so gracefully addressed the crowd. Her words were inspirational.

Thanks to steering committee members who stuck with the idea that we could mobilize people from across the state with a unified message and voice: Nick Torres (Congreso), Margaret Barajas (PALO), and Izzy Colon (recently departed from ENPYS to join Philadelphia’s Michael Nutter as the Director of Multicultural Affairs) for their tenacious leadership of the process and vision for the day.

Also, thanks to Andrea Morato-Lara the Vice President of PALO and to Sarah Cortes, the Civic Engagement Coordinator here at Congreso. From the moment I first heard Andrea quote Paulo Freire early on in the planning process, I knew that we were blessed to have her guidance and expertise in community organizing. She has been the conscience of this process ensuring that it was carried out with the highest level of integrity.

As for Sarah, I will remember her boldly stating in Representative Dwight Evans’s office: “It’s not just about showing up, it’s about following up”. There were a lot of details required to make this day possible that Sarah tended to at every step of the way. If you are wondering how it is that there were few or no glitches in the day you need only look to Sarah who was on top of every detail.

We had three others who were knee deep and traveled to Bethlehem, Allentown, Philadelphia, and Harrisburg for briefings on immigration and education. Our dear friend and resident immigration expert Ricardo Diaz and our friends at the Education Law Center, Josh Varon, and Alison Murawski at Good Schools PA. Their content knowledge and passion about the issues brought us tremendous credibility and helped us make our case to legislators.

Here at Congreso, Christy Bare, our marketing manager is responsible for bringing her know-how and initiative to the set-up and maintenance of this blog and for press coverage we received regarding this event. Carlos Martinez, our part-time associate also helped with countless little details.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention the tremendous volunteer support of staff (all of whom are local constituents) who make up Congreso’s civic engagement committee: Melissa Aguirre, Alayna Sands, Ben Morris, Edward Garcia, Paul Shoe, Lisa Varon, Michelle Martinez, and Alida Padilla, who were all folding t-shirts and stuffing information packets until 1 in the morning the night before. As is always the case when I am in the presence of this powerhouse group, I am humbled.

I am lucky to have several great Congreso experiences from my ten year relationship with the organization - this made my top three list.

Looking forward to March in D.C for NCLR’s national advocacy day and next year for SLAD 2009.

Warm wishes and mil gracias compañeros,

Lisa Cordeiro Kricun