The Llano Grande Center is a continual
work in progress, built on the efforts of professionals in
education and community development, community leaders and
students. On this page, a few of us would like to introduce
ourselves. For more information about us, click on the links
below.
Llano Grande Staff
FRANCISCO
GUAJARDO, PH.D.,Co-founder and Executive Director,
a former teacher who is now a professor of educational
leadership at the University of Texas-Pan American. Guajardo
began the program with a vision of motivating local students
to become educated citizens and active members of their
communities. As a former public school teacher, now a
professor of educational leadership, he applies his first-hand
experience daily through interaction with leaders in the
educational field in South Texas. In this capacity, he
researches many of the challenges and best practices that
are pertinent in today’s classroom. curriculum
vitae
ERNESTO
AYALA has worked with Llano Grande for the past two
years as its chief financial officer. Ernesto graduated
from Edcouch-Elsa High School in 1995, after which he
attended Brown University and graduated in 1999 with a
degree in business economics and international relations.
ERIC DÁVILA
graduated from Tufts University in 2002 with a mechanical
engineering degree. At the Center for Engineering Educational
Outreach at Tufts he had the opportunity to help develop
ROBOLAB, a software suite for the LEGO Corp. He recently
earned his engineering masters degree from Texas A&M
University in Kingsville, and maintains an interest for
integrating technology in education. His organizes Llano
Grande’s data management needs and directs digital
media programs. curriculum
vita
JUAN OZUNA,
Communications Director, graduated from Yale University
in 2000 with a degree in English/creative writing. He
brings experience as a journalist and a grant writer to
his position coordinating communications and development
for Llano Grande. Juan worked as a reporter with The Monitor,
the largest daily newspaper in South Texas. He later worked
with a local school district as the director of development,
helping to raise more than $1 million in over a year,
and as a journalism teacher.
DELIA PÉREZ, Program Director, was one of the
first students involved in establishing the annual East
Coast college trips at Edcouch-Elsa High School that over
the years has led to more than 50 Delta Area students
attending Ivy League schools. Delia graduated from Yale
University in 1997, returning to teach at EEHS. She later
went on to earn her master's degree in public policy at
the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the
University of Texas. curriculum vitae
YVETTE
RODRÍGUEZ worked with Llano Grande for a few
years during and after high school providing video and
photography training to students before leaving to pursue
full-time studies. She now has returned to manage the
day-to-day operations of Llano Grande.
Llano Grande Governance Board Members
OLGA CARDOSO is a program director for La Union del Pueblo Entero (LUPE),
a non-profit that helps communities organize for positive
change. A graduate of Edcouch-Elsa High School in 2001,
she returned home after graduating from Southwestern University
with the intent of working toward community change.
STELLA FLORES is a
doctoral candidate at Harvard’s Graduate School
of Education focusing on higher education policy.
Originally from Edinburg, Texas, she became familiar
with Llano Grande while working on her master’s
degree at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public
Affairs. She is currently a research assistant at
The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University and
a former editor for the Harvard Educational Review.
Curriculum vitae
MIGUEL
GUAJARDO is an assistant professor of educational
and community leadership at Texas State University who
worked with his brother Francisco to help establish Llano
Grande and continues to provide insight through his expertise
in education. Curriculum vitae
MARIBEL
SAENZ is a senior at Edcouch-Elsa High School who
has been a part of Llano Grande’s work since she
was a sophomore. During her time with the Center, she
has led many student initiatives, including the Tomorrow’s
Leaders Today group, which now acts as a youth advisory
committee for the city of Elsa.
CRISTINA
SALINAS is a graduate student in history at the University
of Texas at Austin. A 1993 graduate of Edcouch-Elsa High
School, she is writing her master’s thesis on the
political economy of the Delta Area, the community in
which Llano Grande is located.
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