Astrid M. Gámez, MA is the founder and Executive Director of Family Services Network. For the past 24 years, Ms. Gámez has been serving local communities in the Northern Virginia and Washington DC area. Ms. Gámez developed the “Whom Should I Tell?” curriculum program a comprehensive child sexual abuse prevention program that teaches parents and caregivers the practical tools and techniques to prevent, recognize and report any type of sexual child abuse. As an ACT –RSK Master Trainer, Ms. Gámez has trained facilitators in Northern Virginia, Washington, DC, the Melissa Institute in Miami, FL., and the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Cali, Colombia and Quito, Ecuador. In addition, she has conducted training programs at the Instituto de Capacitación Los Alamos in Itagui, Colombia and the Universidad La Sabana, in Chia, Colombia. In 2021, Ms. Gámez published Whom Should I Tell? An educational coloring and activities book for 4 to 12 years old children. Ms. Gámez holds an M.A in Prevention and Treatment of Family Violence: Children, Couples and the Elderly from the Univesitat de Barcelona, Spain and a B.A. in psychology with a certification in child welfare from George Mason University. Ms. Gámez was born and raise in Caracas, Venezuela. In 1994, she adopted Virginia as her “home state” where she raised her two children.

Jonathan AG is the first ever youngest latino to be an Ordained Minister with IPHC and Redemption Ministry Network and faithfully serves as the Executive Director of Instituto Bíblico MDC and youngest Associate Pastor at Iglesia Mana Del Cielo located in Northern Virginia. He has ministered all across North and Central America and have met with government officials from local, state, and federal levels. His dedication for advocacy for biblical principles and support for the Latino community led him to work with many organizations involved in public policies across the nation. Presently, Jonathan work in overseeing the National Hispanic Pastors Alliance as Executive Director. He has a huge passion for education and have shown that working formally in the public schools supporting Special Education for seven years. He had the honor of giving ceremonial advocations and benedictions to Dr. Ben Carson, Former Vice-President Mike Pence, and to Governor Glenn Youngkin at the Virginia Gubernatorial Inauguration in 2022; First Latino Minister ever in Virginia history. He also had the honor to give the invocation for the new Virginia General Assembly of 2022.

Eduardo Gil of Falls Church, Director, Capdesvilas Advisors 

Lyons Sanchezconcha is an educator for Richmond Public Schools with expertise in student retention, dropout prevention, and student support services. He is a data-driven problem solver who leads with trust-building and establishing meaningful relationships. Having previously served in roles in college access, academic advising, implementing restorative practices, and as a classroom teacher, Lyons is passionate about the equitable expansion of opportunities to students and their families in Richmond and all across the Commonwealth.

His passion for service extends beyond his work in the schools and into representation on various boards for state and local nonprofits and government initiatives. Having served on large scale task forces for the City of Richmond and on commissions for the Secretary of Education and Virginia Department of Education, Lyons prides himself in bringing the Latino and immigrant perspective to the decision making table. He is fortunate to have been recently elected President of the Virginia College Access Network and to serve as Chair of the Virginia Latino Advisory Board, a state board that advises the Governor and his administration.

Lyons was born in Lima, Peru, raised in Northern Virginia, and has lived in Richmond since 2016. After getting his associates degree at Northern Virginia Community College, he graduated from the University of Virginia, and in 2023, he will complete his Masters in Education on Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Richmond. Lyons is incredibly proud and humbled to be a trusted community leader and advocate. He gets his inspiration and his passion to serve from his loving and hard-working family.

Dr. Joshua DeSilva is a licensed clinical psychologist in Virginia. Dr. DeSilva's private practice work focuses on antiracist and identity-affirming practice with LGBTQ+ clients, male-identified clients, clients who identify as BIPOC, and communities affected by chronic health conditions. Dr. DeSilva completed his pre-doctoral internship in psychology at Howard University Counseling Services in Washington, D.C. and has completed the 2-year training program in group psychotherapy at the Washington School of Psychiatry. He is currently a Consultant Candidate with the A. K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems. His group and consulting work focuses on inclusion of historically marginalized voices and leadership development for leaders of color. Dr. DeSilva holds a Doctor of Psychology degree from George Washington University, is a Registrant in the National Register of Health Service Psychologists, and is a Certified Group Psychotherapist. He is passionate about intersectionality and life-long learning about identities. Dr. DeSilva is a member of the Health and Community Engagement committees of the Board.

Eduardo Zelaya, a native Salvadoran, began his path as a professional soccer player, studying architecture in El Salvador, before he found his future in The Commonwealth Of Virginia.

As CASA’s Virginia State Organizing Director, Eduardo has been successful in pioneering social justice campaigns for immigrant rights, community development, housing, education justice, labor, and workers rights. He has implemented popular mobilizations to the General Assembly, which led to tremendous victories like drivers licenses for all in 2019. Eduardo manages a team of three Lead Organizers within Fairfax and Prince Williams County and Richmond in addition to 13 other staff who work under the Organizing Department. He forms and trains community member-led teams to be the champions of their own priorities and advocates of their own liberation in the Eastern Shore, Hampton Roads, Richmond, Prince Williams County, Fairfax County and Winchester. He also leads CASA’s temporary protected status (TPS) efforts at the federal level.

He first joined CASA as a promoter mobilizing Virginians to the National Immigration Reform March in 2013, the same year as the birth of CASA in Virginia. A year later he was promoted to community organizer. Beyond his leadership and support for drivers licenses for all, he led and supported minimum wage increase, in-state tuition for undocumented students, and increasing the language learners funding policies in the Virginia General Assembly.

He graduated from Georgetown University of Cybersecurity Strategy and is currently studying Executive Leadership also at GU. Always a proponent of health, he is a bodybuilder competitor as the primary athlete with IFBB Pro Bodybuilder, Olympian, Mr. Universe Yohnnie Shambourger (a former member of the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness for the state of Maryland).

Eduardo immigrated to the United States in 2010, later becoming a US citizen in 2017. He studied English as a second language at the Columbia Heights Education Campus in Washington DC and played football professionally before joining CASA. Eduardo Zelaya continues to fight for a better future for immigrant families in The Commonwealth of Virginia.

Saul Hernandez of Washington County, Vice President of IT, Food City 

Jo-Ann Chase is the Chairwoman of the Republican Hispanic Assembly of Virginia. The RHAVA is a grassroots organization for conservative Hispanics which promotes the core principles and values of the Republican Party. Jo-Ann also serves on Virginia Governor Youngkin’s Council on the Aging representing the 10th Congressional District. The CCOA promotes an efficient, coordinated approach by state government to meeting the needs of older Virginians. Jo-Ann is the Broker/Owner of Exclusive Realty, Inc. located in Ashburn, Virginia; and Exclusive Homes, Inc. located in Columbia, South Carolina. In total she has more than 20 years of small business management experience.

During former President Trump’s candidacy and term in office, Jo-Ann served in various leadership roles. Jo-Ann was appointed as a Commissioner to the White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative. She was the Virginia State Director for the National Diversity Coalition for Trump and a surrogate for the White House Office of Communications. Jo-Ann participated in local, national, and international media initiatives.

Jo-Ann has been active in Virginia political efforts for decades. In 2020 she was elected as a Virginia National Delegate to the Presidential Convention having received President Trump’s endorsement for this position. Previously, Jo-Ann was elected as the 10th Congressional District representative to the State Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia (2008-2012). She served as the Vice Chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Virginia. In 2011, Jo-Ann ran for the Virginia House of Delegates for the 87th District leading an innovative grass-roots campaign in her district.

Jo-Ann spent a decade in South Carolina. During that time she ran for the local school board, served as the Chairman of the Hispanic Outreach Committee of the

South Carolina Republican Party and was appointed by Governor Mark Sanford to the Economic Development Task Force.

Jo-Ann is married to Clay Chase and has two children, three step children and twelve grandchildren.

Wendy K. Clavijo of Northern Virginia, Realtor

Juan Espinoza of Blacksburg

Juan serves as Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment and Degree Management and Director of Admissions at Virginia Tech. Since his appointment, Juan has led the team in Undergraduate Admissions to reinvent the admissions model at Virginia Tech. These innovative changes have included the introduction of two new shared application platforms (Coalition and the Common Application), self-reported academic records, a new holistic application review process, and an early action option for applicants. These changes have made the application process more accessible and easier to navigate. It has also led to a record number of underrepresented/underserved students.

Juan also currently serves as President of VALHEN, the largest non-profit in the Commonwealth of Virginia that focuses on higher education for Latinos. With over 1000 members across various colleges, universities, and community groups, it focuses on making a college education a reality for every Hispanic student. It's flagship program, the Hispanic College Institute was recognized by the Obama Administration as a bright spot in Latino education. In 2019, VALHEN received the Governor’s Volunteerism and Community Service award as an outstanding community organization.

In 2018, Juan was elected by his peers to the Board of Directors for the Coalition. The Coalition is a group of more than 140 distinguished colleges and universities across the U.S. that joined together to focus on college access, affordability, and student success. Juan is an avid traveler and has visited over 85 different countries.

Alexander Guzmán is a nonprofit leader with over a decade of experience in community advocacy.  Raised by Puerto Rican parents in a tight-knit Latino community in rural Virginia, Alex has witnessed the amazing demographic shifts in Virginia. He believes the state must prioritize socioeconomic access and opportunity for the Commonwealth’s Latino communities. 

Alex currently serves as the Public Policy Officer for ChildSavers, a Richmond-based nonprofit providing trauma-informed youth mental health and child development services across Virginia. He creates policy solutions that increase access to mental health services for children in the state. 

Prior to ChildSavers, Alex was the Director of Fair Housing for Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, where he was proud to pioneer innovative investigations addressing systemic housing discrimination across the state. He brought over $1 million in Federal money to the Commonwealth to fund the quiet work of combatting housing discrimination—work which opened housing opportunities to tens of thousands of Virginians previously shut out of the market. 

A supporter of community and grassroots organizations, he currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Petersburg Area Art League. He has served on boards for the Governor’s School Foundation, Iron Village Preparatory Academy, and RVA Rapid Transit, among others. 

Style Weekly named Alex one of Richmond’s Top 40 under 40 in 2019. He is also the recipient of the Dean’s Diversity Award from the Virginia Tech Center for Public Administration and Policy. 

He is a proud graduate of the College of William & Mary. He has extensive experience traveling, studying, and living in Latin America. 

Alex resides in the City of Richmond.

Jennifer Fierro Kelly of Moseley, Senior Manager, Altria Client Services LLC

Yahusef Medina serves as the director of community initiatives at Virginia Humanities. In his role, Mr. Medina provides leadership and expertise in broadening and strengthening community partnerships statewide. He also works across the organization to ensure a broad range of voices in program conversations, design and development. Mr. Medina leads the Virginia HBCU Scholars fellowship, the organization-wide internship program, and various special projects and initiatives. He previously worked with youth and families in the K-12 public school system as well as the juvenile justice system as an education and re-entry program specialist in Harlem, NY. In addition to his work at Virginia Humanities, Mr. Medina serves on the board of directors for Canary Academy Online, the Afro-Latin@ Forum, and as chair of the Education and Career Training committee for the Virginia Latino Advisory Board. Mr. Medina is a second-generation Nuyorican (Puerto Rican from New York). He earned his undergraduate degree (BA) from Hartwick College in Business Administration with a minor in Spanish. During his sophomore year, he studied abroad in Latin America and had the privilege of living with host families in Mexico, Peru, and Argentina. He attributes that experience to broadening his understanding of Latinidad and the diaspora. Yahusef also holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) in Public and Non-Profit Management from Liberty University and is a 2022 graduate of Leadership Metro Richmond. He is a minister in the Messianic faith, enjoys spending time with his family, and traveling. Yahusef accepts his appointment to the Virginia Latino Advisory Board with gratitude and is honored to advocate for the Latin American community in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Ana Metzger was born in Peru and grew up in a large working middle-class family, the eighth child of ten. At an early age she learned the value of hard work and the importance of education. Her godmother and maids taught her about herbal and natural medicine and how to be resourceful and respectful of the environment and mountain lands on which her family came from.

After graduating from high school, Ana studied to become an executive secretary. She never stopped learning and added accounting and office management skills to her resume. Ana eventually began working in Peru’s banking industry for sixteen years advancing from teller to branch manager. She was promoted after six months and returned to school to earn her degree in finance.

Ana legally immigrated to the United States in 2001. Initially on a visa, Ana began working as a hotel maid, where she was misled about proper immigration laws and basic standards of living. Seeking an honest, credible path, Ana began working as a housekeeper for a retirement community where she received assistance navigating the proper immigration process. Ana has never stopped fighting to educate those being taken advantage of by illegal immigrants and greedy citizens.

In 2002 Ana opened her own cleaning business and worked nights and weekends until she was able to leave her retirement community job to manage her business full time. Her business quickly expanded through referrals as she diversified with clientele from different economic classes and neighborhoods. To this day she continues to work with many of the clients who supported her business in its early days. Many are like family and have helped her along as she realized her American dream.

Ana enjoys decorating houses and volunteering with ASPCA and RAL. She began protecting animals as a child, saving a litter of homeless puppies in second grade. Now she volunteers to save horses in Texas and Arizona. She rescued her beloved horse Ranger four years ago, relocating him from Texas to Chesterfield. She also enlisted in the first military course in parachuting for women in Peru.

Ana wants the Hispanic community to succeed through education, hard work and entrepreneurship, as she did. She believes in strong families, discipline, independence and building strong communities. Becoming an American citizen has strengthened her Latino roots from the blending of two cultures. She is serving on this board to help people realize their dreams.

Ana is married and lives in Midlothian. She is fluent in English, Spanish and Quechua.

Diana Patterson is a native of El Salvador that naturalized as a US citizen in 2018. Growing up in an immigrant household and having the privilege to be a US citizen became compelling reasons to become involved in advocacy for the Hispanic community. She is the owner of DSP Marketing & Consulting, a commercial real estate agent, and a business advisor with the Virginia Small Business Development Center. She serves on various nonprofit and private boards and has a big focus supporting the Hispanic business community and the economy of Virginia. Her advocacy efforts include bridging the cultural and language gaps by incentivizing bilingualism and biculturalism. She has lived in Winchester since 2017 and is passionate about educating the immigrant population on successfully integrating into the US and mentoring immigrant youth on surpassing existing challenges in order to serve their community in the future.

Emilio J. Revilla of Glen Allen, Managing Vice President and Chief Counsel, Consumer & Financial Integrity Regulatory, Capital One

Originally from Guatemala, Sergio migrated to United States in 1985 during the civil war unrest in the Central American Country. He graduated from Medical School at the University of San Carlos in Guatemala and completed a residency program in Obstetrics and Gynecology before migrating to the United States. Once in the US he learned English and passed the requirements for foreign medical graduates, enrolled and finished a residency program in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Sisters and Charity Hospital affiliated with SUNY at Buffalo. Board certified member of the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology since 1993. Practiced Ob/Gyn in Oswego NY before moving to Northern Virginia in 1997 where he has been practicing Ob/Gyn. Closed his private practice in 2020. Currently works part-time position with Inova Health System at Inova Cares Clinic for Women serving mostly underserved and uninsured patients. Faculty appointments at GWU as Clinical Instructor at the department of Medicine and UVA Northern Virginia Campus Ob/Gyn department. Preceptor and mentor for medical students, residents and nurse practitioners.

He serves in the National Hispanic Medical Association as DC-Metro Region Chairperson; the NHMA mission is to empower Hispanic physicians to lead efforts to improve the health of Hispanics in collaboration with Hispanic state medical societies, residents, and medical students, and other public and private sector partners.

Served in Fairfax County Human Services Council representing the Dranesville district in 2015-2016. Virginia Latino Advisory Board Member since 2015 to present. Member of the Multicultural Advisory Council Fairfax County Health Department. Advisory Board member of NVAHEC (Northern Virginia Area Health Care Centers) Vice President of Task Tarea, a nonprofit organization dedicated to break the circle of poverty through the power of literacy and education providing scholarship to indigenous girls in the highlands of Guatemala. Board of ECNV (Endependence Center of Northern Virginia ) since 2021. Board member of VALHEN (Virginia Latino Higher Education Network). Dr. Rimola’s interests are Women’s Health environmental health and advocacy for the Latino community. His hobbies are Traveling and Photography.

He is married to Olga Rimola, and has three daughters and eight grandchildren.

Leslie Sanchez of Alexandria, Founder and CEO, Impacto Group Media 

Marcia Donovan of Fairfax, Parent Liaison and Interpreter, Fairfax County Public Schools

Roberto Jose Coquis of Falls Church, Deputy Director, Human Resources, Barbaricum