Meet Our Team

Sacramento Valley Informador

Rene Aguilera

Rene Aguilera is a former school board member in the city of Roseville Ca for 14 years. Rene currently is the Empowering Latino Futures Program Director in Sacramento. He is the founder of the  Cesar Chavez Youth Leadership Conference and Celebration at his alma mater at the University California,Davis.

Partnership Development Coordinator 

Edward Becerra 

​Edward Becerra has been married for 50 years, has 4 daughters, 1 son and 3 grandsons. After a 26-year career with Pacific Bell, he utilized his Sociology degree from UC Riverside (1974) and worked for the County of San Diego as a CPS Social Worker. Upon retiring at the age of 60, he volunteered for the City of Oceanside Crown Heights Resource Center from 2012-2017. He founded Education Begins in the Home in 2015, providing FREE books to the families of North County San Diego, joined Empowering Latino Futures in 2016, became a Board Member in 2018, also joining the San Diego Council on Literacy that year. He has been active and instrumental in each of the 4 active programs under the Empowering Latino Futures nonprofit.

Awards Program Assistant

Amberly Estrada

Amberly was born in the U.S. but grew up in Mexico until she was a teenager. At 16 yrs old she came back to the U.S. to finish high school and learn English. After graduating high school she formed her family. She has 3 beautiful children. Amberly, continued her education until she became the Awards Assisntant at ELF. It is important to Amberly to learn everyday. She loves being part of the International Latino Book Awards, and different aspects of her life are inspired by the Latino authors. Amberly tries to better herself, and make the best she can out of this life, for herself and the people around her, especially her kids. 

Awards Program Coordinator

Galilea Flores 

Galilea​ is the coordinator for the International Society of Latino Authors and Awards at Empowering Latino Futures (ELF), where she has been working for over a year. In her role, she oversees the International Latino Book Awards and serves as the liaison for ELF’s program supporting individuals transitioning from welfare to work, helping them gain experience in an office setting. Currently, Galilea is a nominee for the Champions Awards. She was born and raised in Querétaro, Mexico, and is a proud mother of one.

ELF Office
​Coordinator

Melissa Lopez

Melissa is a North County San Diego native, and mother of 2 very young Chicanos. Melissa's passion has always been giving back to the community in which she was raised. She was a co-chair for Fallbrook A Leer and worked for the Fallbrook Union Elementary School District for 18 years prior to transitioning to ELF Office Coordinator and Partnership Development Coordinator for the North County Informador. Some of her roles at FUESD included teaching reading strategies to students who were not reading at grade level,  teaching English to students who had recently arrived from other countries including Sweden, China, and France. Melissa was also proud to have worked with the district's Migrant Education Program, and as a parent liaison at the local middle school. She was honored to be awarded Employee of the Year, California Association of Bilingual Education Paraprofessional of the Year, District Star Honor for work with English Learners, and was also selected to be Ms. Fallbrook 2nd Princess 2008. As a child Melissa spent most her time in the library and dreamed of becoming a Librarian, so being part of ELF's literary efforts, the Latino Book & Family Festivals, and the International Latino Book Awards is a dream come true. As daughter of a bracero it has always been her mission to empower the youth and the Latino community through education and creating connections to resources available in the community. 
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Sacramento Valley Informador Editor 

Irvis Orozco

Irvis is a journalist and Editor, Empowering Latinos Futures
Irvis Orozco joins Empowering Latinos Future to write and edit for The Sacramento Informador Magazine. Orozco has written and contributed to NBC News, MSNBC and Telemundo among other outlets. Orozco's journalistic portfolio encompasses in-depth reporting on diverse topics such as business, Congress, healthcare, labor, California affairs, immigration, trade, and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Additionally, he covers the energy sector and electric vehicles.
In 2011, Irvis co-founded the Sacramento “Steps To College Fair” in collaboration with the Mexican Consulate and the California Student Aid Commission. This event has guided thousands of students, Dreamers, and parents yearly on accessing higher education and filling out financial aid forms with professional counselors. All information is in English and Spanish. The fair also attracts participation from a dozen colleges and universities.
Irvis received his journalism training at Hispanic News Link in Washington D.C., where he was a fellow from 2014-2015 under the mentorship of Charlie Ericksen, covering Congress and politics. His career in national politics includes roles in communications and community organizing with the Latino Policy Coalition and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement.
In 2023-2024, Irvis serves on the University of California, Los Angeles Labor Center’s Dream Summer Alumni Council. Irvis Orozco holds degrees in International Relations and Economics from the University of California, Davis.

North County Informador Editor 

Melanie Slone

​Melanie Slone, PhD, is the editor in chief of North County Informador, a bilingual monthly print magazine and weekly online newsletter offering information on health, education, civic engagement, and financial empowerment as well as local services and events. She is also the associate editor of the peer-reviewed journal Latin American Policy and has 30 years of experience as a freelance editor, writer, journalist, and translator. She has taught several classes in language and humanities at the university level in Mexico City, where she resided for 25 years.

Social Media/Website Coordinator

Jennifer Urenda

 ELF Program Director 

Kirk Whisler ​

​Kirk Whisler has Changing Images & Creating Change as the driving forces for his career. On the nonprofit side he is President of Empowering Latino Futures whose programs include the Latino Book & Family Festivals, 74 produced since 1997; the International Latino Book Awards, one of the 10 largest book awards in the USA; the International Society of Latino Authors, the largest organization of Latino authors in the USA; Latino Books into Movies Awards; Education Begins in the Home, which has given away 250,000+ books to underserved kids; and North County Informador, the largest audited print publication in North San Diego County. On the corporate side, Kirk oversees WPR whose signature program is LatinoLYTICS which has surveyed over 70,000 Latinos and currently producing the National Latino Media Study. Over the decades Kirk has served on the boards of over a dozen key organizations including the National Association of Hispanic Publications (Founding President); National Association of Latino Independent Producers (co-chair); Los Angeles Int'l Latino Film Festival (co-founder); and National Latino Media Council (co-Founder). Also a founding member of the NAHJ, which was founded at the same time as the NAHP. Kirk lives in Fallbrook, CA, with his wife Magdalena, an educator.

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Art Director

María Fernanda Álvarez

Featured Artist

Ignacio Gomez 

Ignacio is an acclaimed Chicano artist, sculptor, and designer. He is known for his Pachuco image from Zoot Suit, and Cesar Chavez, and Cheech Marin sculptures in Riverside, Ca.  Empowering Latino Futures had been fortunate to have original Ignacio Gomez's artwork as our some of our logos including the ELF logo, Latino Book Family Festival logo, and the Education Begins in the Home logo.