Yammilette G. Rodriguez

HOPE Leadership Institute alumna Yammilette Rodriguez’s passion is working with the community. Through her position as the Regional Director for the Latino Issues Forum in the Central Valley, she is able to live that passion every day. Previous to her position with LIF, Yammilette served as Director of Undergraduate Admission at Fresno Pacific University where she saw the results of her work each year at graduation. That day she watched students who she had recruited to campus, helped along the way, and may not have thought college was a possibility cross the stage and receive their degree. Read more...
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Norma Barajas

HOPE Leadership Institute alumna Norma Barajas is a successful businesswoman who believes that sharing her experience with others and learning from their experiences is the way to embrace and pass on our history. Norma learned her entrepreneurial spirit from her parents who worked in the restaurant business after moving to the US from Mexico. Norma has stated that she never has had a fear of socializing with people of all ethnic backgrounds. Early in her career, she envisioned a life of travel and worked towards pursuing her goal of attaining a job that would satisfy her international interest of the world. Read more...

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Cristina Gomez-Vidal

HOPE Leadership Institute alumna Cristina Gomez-Vidal believes strengthening our middle class is vital to the growth of Latino communities. “As Latinas,” she says “we need to be developing great social experiments in our own communities that can be replicated across our nation.” She also feels we need initiatives that increase access to financial and technological tools, resources and education to advance Latino families. Read more...

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