Our board members include a wide range of professionals ranging from educational leaders to local youth, who bring specific strengths to the leadership of our group. The inclusion of youth on our board is a testament of the Center’s commitment to bridge the gap between youth and adults, and provide a safe space for youth voice and opportunities for development.

MIGUEL GUAJARDO, an assistant professor of educational and community leadership at Texas State University, worked with his brother Francisco in establishing Llano Grande. He continues to provide insight based on his expertise in education and nonprofit management.

CRISTINA SALINAS is a graduate student in history at the University of Texas at Austin where she is in the process of completing her doctoral degree. A 1993 graduate of Edcouch-Elsa High School, Cristina was part of the first group of students to establish the annual East Coast College Trip.

STELLA FLORES is an assistant professor of public policy and higher education at Vanderbilt University. Originally from Edinburg, she became familiar with Llano Grande while working on her master’s degree at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs in Austin. She is a former editor of the Harvard Educational Review and former researcher at The Civil Right’s Project at Harvard University.

MARIBEL SAENZ is an undergraduate student at Texas A&M University who has been a part of Llano Grande’s work since she was a sophomore at Edcouch-Elsa High School. During her time with the Center, she led many student initiatives, including the Tomorrow’s Leaders Today group, which now acts as a youth advisory committee for the City of Elsa, and led work to help begin renovation plans for Mario Leal Park in Elsa.

Edyael Casaperalta graduated from EEHS and the Llano Grande Center in 2001. After graduating from Occidental College in 2005, she returned to the Valley to work with the Center for several months before attending Ohio University, where she earned her master’s degree in Latin American Studies in 2007. She currently works as a field-based researcher for CRS.

Dr. Rudolfo Rocha has been a leader in both public and higher education for 40 years. In addition, he has been a long time community organizer. Dr. Rocha’s legacy is measured by the number of students he has mentored to achieve their potential.