♦ Concha Alborg, Ph.D — President
Concha Alborg was born in Spain and went to school in Madrid until she moved with her parents, under the auspices of the Fulbright Program, to the United States, where she stayed. She has an undergraduate degree from Georgia State University, a Masters from Emory University and a Ph. D. from Temple University, all in Spanish Literature. In addition to numerous academic publications, she has been actively writing fiction for the last twenty years and has published two collections of short stories and a novel, American in Translation. She has recently retired from Saint Joseph´s University, where she taught Spanish literature and film for twenty-eight years. She lives in Philadelphia and has two grown daughters and three grandchildren.
♦ Rodolfo Antonio Alvarez — Vice President
Tony Alvarez is a lifelong Philadelphia resident. He graduated from Edison High School in North Philadelphia and went on to pursue a Bachelor’s in Science and Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2000, he co-founded the Mariana Bracetti Academy Charter School in Kensington. In 2005, he made a switch from the Sciences to Urban Education. He currently serves as the Director of Community Relations at Mariana Bracetti Academy and works with low-income under served Latino students.
♦ Harry Perales — Treasurer
Harry Perales joined Campbell in December 2001 as a Senior Procurement Manager. He currently leads the development and management of the Supplier Diversity program in Global Procurement as well as managing a limited number of indirect commodities. Prior to joining Campbell, he was an Account Manager with both American Express and Rosenbluth International, primarily responsible for managing the Campbell corporate travel and credit card program. He also worked as an MIS manager at IU International. Harry is an active member of the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council (NMSDC) and is currently on the steering committee of the NMSDC Food & Beverage Industry Group.
Education: Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Temple University. He lives in Philadelphia, Pa. Photograph by Jon Heller.
♦ Evelyn Gutierrez — Secretary
A Philadelphia native, Evelyn Gutierrez has extensive experience in community planning, organizing, networking and youth development. She is currently a Neighborhood Development Officer II, with the Community Engagement Unit for the Mayor’s Office of Community Services. Ms. Gutierrez has many years experience working in and for organizations including, The Boys and Girls Club and Philadelphia Safe and Sound. Ms. Gutierrez comes from a family of Puerto Rican musicians and activists, and is actively involved in the local Puerto Rican music scene.
♦ Lorena E. Ahumada
Lorena E. Ahumada is an Associate in the Philadelphia law firm, Kleinbard Bell & Brecker LLP. She concentrates her practice in the areas of complex commercial litigation, employment litigation and counseling, and insurance coverage law. Lorena has been honored by Law & Politics Magazine and Philadelphia Magazine as a “Pennsylvania Rising Star Super Lawyer” in the area of business litigation. Lorena served as the 2011 President of the Hispanic Bar Association of Pennsylvania and as a Regional Deputy of the Hispanic National Bar Association. Lorena received her law degree in 2003 from The George Washington University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Hampshire. Lorena was born in Limache, Chile and moved to the United States with her family in 1979. She fondly recalls watching her parents, as part of a folkloric dance group, perform the Cueca at festivals and events in the Boston area, where her family first settled in the United States.
♦ Abigail Horn
Abigail Horn (Abby) was born and raised in Philadelphia. While studying Spanish in high school, she applied to a summer exchange program, fully expecting to go to Spain. Instead, she was sent to Panama and there began her fascination with all things Latin American. At Yale University, she was a Latin American Studies major and spent a semester in Argentina. Following college, she received a Fulbright Scholarship to study the participation of youth in politics in post-Pinochet era Chile. After earning a master’s degree from Columbia University, Abby worked for the United States Agency for International Development and travelled throughout the continent. In 2001, Abby turned her focus to local, urban issues and sadly lost her ties to Latin America. She is hoping to regain the flame through work with Raices. She is married with two daughters and works for The Pew Charitable Trusts.
♦ Sister Jeanne McGowan, SSJ
Sister Jeanne McGowan entered the Sisters of Saint Joseph in 1975. She received a Masters Degree in Elementary Education with a specialization in administration from Boston College and a Bachelors in Education from Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, PA. She is in her ninth year as President of La Salle Academy. La Salle Academy is an independent Catholic grade school that opened in September of 2003 and is owned by the Board of Trustees and endorsed by the Brothers of the Christian Schools and the Sisters of Saint Joseph. In the tradition of these communities, we are committed to education for children in grades 3 to 8 who face significant social, cultural and academic forms of deprivation, whose parents/guardians desire, but cannot afford a Catholic education for their children. Her basic belief is that education is the only tool to break the cycle of poverty.
♦ Jennifer G. Slobotkin
Jennifer joined Tierney in 2007 where she handles the McDonald’s and Ronald McDonald House Charities account. She is responsible for strategic planning, crisis communications and manages day-to-day client relations. To date, she is most proud of executing the 2nd annual Ronald McDonald House Charities “Change the Luck of a Child” Phone Bank, which raised more than $600,000 for the charity in 2011.
Prior to joining Tierney, Jennifer acted as the Marketing Coordinator at spg³ Architects here in Philadelphia. Before that, she worked for five years as the Assistant News Director and NY Bureau Reporter for People Magazine in New York City, where she lived before moving to the City of Brotherly Love.
A graduate of Boston University, Jennifer majored in journalism and served as the College of Communication’s Magazine Editor. She is fluent in Spanish and was a semi-finalist in the NBC Today Show’s “Anchor for the Day” competition! She is also a member of the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, so be sure to look out for her on the Philly stage.
♦ Veronica Castillo-Pérez
Verónica Castillo-Pérez has made a career promoting Latin American culture through the arts. From 2006-2009 she served on the Board of Directors of the Mexican Cultural Center in Philadelphia, which promotes a multitude of events promoting the arts and culture of Mexico and raises awareness of Mexican culture throughout the Delaware Valley. In September 2009 encouraged by the late Peggy Amsterdam she joined the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance board where she currently serves as an active member. In April 2010 Mayor Michael Nutter appointed her as a Commissioner to the Police Advisory Commission.
Ms. Castillo-Pérez is a native of Texas born in Lampasas, a small rural town 68 miles north of the state capital of Austin. She has always been very active in the Latino community having boycotted grapes in the late 1980s where she marched alongside Cesar Chavez, the founder of the United Farm Workers Union. She graduated from the University of Texas in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree after becoming a widow and having raised three daughters.
While single-handedly raising her daughters and working for years as an activist, Verónica Castillo-Pérez saw the declining state of arts education in American communities—and decided to do something about it. She formed a nonprofit organization, LUPE Arte (Latinas Unidas Por El Arte/Latinas United Through Art), which brings local artists and schoolchildren together for after-school and summer instruction in Austin, Texas’ underprivileged neighborhoods.
Her move to the East Coast did not diminish her quest to spread Latin American cultural awareness and appreciation. Actively involved in several local organizations, she is continuing her life’s work of promoting the arts and cultures of Latin America. As a recipient of the 2008 Most Influential Latinos in the Delaware Valley and the recipient of a Senate Proclamation sponsored by Senator Christine M. Tartaglione on April 27, 2009, she is, without a doubt, a central figure in Philadelphia’s Latino community.
Photograph by Jon Heller.
