Sin Fronteras Board of Directors - 2006

Nolan Arreola was born in Lincoln Heights, California. As the first generation child of Mexican immigrants, Nolan encountered many of the challenges that youth like him experience growing up in an environment plagued with poverty and little hope for the future. After being a Sin Fronteras program participant at the age of 16, Nolan joined the Sin Fronteras Board of Directors as its first youth representative in 2003.

Nolan has spoken at various conferences, was featured by La Opinion in 2004 as the Youth Services Coordinator for Sin Fronteras, and organized a youth forum in 2004 which drew dozens of youth from all over Los Angeles County. He also served on the Executive Board of the Violence Prevention Coalition, and continues to advocate for the needs of youth, who like himself, find themselves in between two cultures-that of their families and mainstream culture in the United States. Nolan currently attends Pasadena City College.

Susan Cruz, B.S. From mobilizing a marginal community in El Salvador, to co-founding two non-profit organizations that work with youth (Homies Unidos and Girls & Gangs), and founding a non-profit that works with underserved/disenfranchised youth (Sin Fronteras) in the United States, Susan Cruz keeps herself at the forefront of social justice issues related to children and youth.

Susan has presented to various audiences in the United States, Honduras, El Salvador and the European media on topics related to gang-involved youth, gender and human rights issues. She has provided expert testimony to audiences that include local, state, and federal legislators, as well as foreign dignitaries, and the legal community.

Her educational background includes a B.S. in Public Health Education, completion of various certificate programs in human services, and is currently working on her Master’s in Public Health. Susan has also received recognition and awards for her community work from various individuals and organizations, such as the Diamond Bar Girls Scouts Troop 290, the Central American Studies Program at California State University at Northridge, the Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles, and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Donna De Cesare was born in New York City. After completing an M.Phil degree in English Literature at Essex University, England (1979), she began working as a photographer, writer and later as a videographer.

DeCesare is the recipient of fellowships and grants including the Dorothea Lange prize (1993), the New York State Foundation for the Arts Photography grant (1996), the Alicia Patterson fellowship (1997), the HYPERLINK "http://www.fiftycrows.org/photoessay/decesare/index.php" \t "_blank" Mother Jones International Photo Fund grant (1999), the Soros Independent Project fellowship (2001). In 2003 she was named a fellow of the Dart Society for Journalism and Trauma. In 2005 she was awarded a Fulbright fellowship to continue her documentation of children affected by armed conflict in Colombia.
 DeCesare's photo reportage of US and Latin American gang violence has won national and international awards. In 2002 she was awarded a top prize in the NPPA Best of Photojournalism contest for her photo-essay on Colombia published by Crimes of War.
DeCesare's work has appeared in news and arts publications including: The New York Times magazine, Life, Newsweek, The Atlantic, Aperture, DoubleTake, Mother Jones and others. Since 1996 her work as a videographer/producer has been broadcast on PBS, Discovery and TLC (The Learning Channel). Recognized as an expert on issues of youth identity and gang violence, DeCesare has worked as a consultant to The Pan American Health Organization, UNICEF, the National Association of Social Workers, and Save the Children.
 Donna DeCesare joined the journalism faculty at University of Texas in 2002. In 2003 she joined the Advisory Board of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. In 2004 she was a judge for POYi, the International Pictures of the Year competition. She teaches photography workshops for at risk youth, journalism students and professional photojournalists in the US and in Latin America.

Richard Hoff has spent 30 years in the public and non-profit sectors. After graduating from Stanford University, he served for two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines. He then spent seven years teaching 5th and 6th grades in the Oakland, California Public Schools, working to bring parents, teachers and the community-at-large closer together.

Richard then began a 20-year career in international development. While specializing in management and fund development, he has served in a variety of capacities ranging from Emergency Relief Program Coordinator to Director of Development/Public Affairs to Chief Operating Officer. He has worked for CARE, Operation USA, Project Concern International and Instituto Mexicano de Investigacion de Familia y Poblacion, and Save the Children. He is presently Sr. Director of Development and Planning for LA’s BEST, the largest after-school enrichment program in the US, serving 24,000 children in collaboration with the City of LA and LA Unified School System.

In addition to his professional responsibilities, Richard has always held a strong belief in volunteering. He has served on a number of Boards of Directors and is currently serving with Sin Fronters in Los Angeles. He has attended and spoken at numerous conferences and is a staunch advocate of the empowerment of youth and local communities. Richard has traveled extensively throughout the developing world and has lived in Austria, the Philippines, Japan and, most recently, Mexico.

Hector Aquiles Magaña, M.A., has worked as a grassroots organizer for over twenty-five years. For the last twenty, he has been an integral part of the growth of the Central American Resource Center in Los Angeles, California. He has worked as faculty at California State University Northridge and co-founded the first Central American Studies Program in the United States, as well as the Central American Research and Policy Institute, the first think-tank dedicated to Central American issues in the nation. He is currently the chair of Sin Fronteras and is completing his Ph.D. in Urban Studies at UCLA.

Diana Marin is child of immigrant parents and has seen the effect of sub-standard education and lack of resources for disenfranchised children. While completing her undergraduate studies at California State University Northridge she joined student groups that were dedicated in serving youth community, such as MOSAIC, a program that collaborates with the Los Angeles Police Department and works with youth on Probation. Diana also co-founded the Central American Studies Alumni Society (CASAS) which is dedicated to promote higher education and provide professional support to the Central American community. Diana also serves as a mentor for Girls and Gangs, a mentoring program for girls on Probation.

Diana graduated from California State University Northridge in June 2005 and is currently pursing a Master of Arts in Political Science. Diana currently is an Escrow Assistant for Lennar Homes Inc. She has traveled extensively and is fluent in both English and Spanish.

Thomas W. Ward,Ph.D., (UCLA, 1987) has taught for nine years in the Department of Anthropology, University of Southern California. For eight years, Dr. Ward served as Research Anthropologist at the Neuropsychiatric Institute, UCLA, and served as a consultant with LTG Research Firm, the RAND Corporation and the Ford Foundation. He has conducted anthropological fieldwork for over twenty years in urban settings with different ethnic groups. 
 Former research projects on which Dr. Ward has participated include a multi-site study of risk prevention for HIV infection; clinical trials recruitment of minorities for HIV testing; health care for elderly people in East L.A.; adaptation of homeless people with chronic mental illness; patterns of homelessness in Los Angeles; community adaptation (post-deinstitutionalization) of people with mild mental retardation; and the adaptation and psychological adjustment of Salvadoran refugees. Dr. Ward has also worked with African American, Asian, Latino and Anglo youth in multicultural organizations, and served as an expert witness in court cases involving gang members. For approximately eight years, Dr. Ward conducted participant observation fieldwork with Salvadoran gang members in Los Angeles.

Billie P. Weiss, MPH, is an Associate Director of the Southern California Injury Prevention Research Center at the UCLA School of Public Health and the former director of the L.A. County Department of Health Services Injury and Violence Prevention Program and Executive Director Emeritus and founder of the Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles. She has authored numerous papers, three book chapters, and frequently makes presentations to scientific, professional and community conferences and meetings. She received a BS from Cal. State Fullerton, and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from UCLA.

Ms. Weiss’ primary emphasis is “Violence as a Public Health Issue”, including the epidemiology of gang homicides and assaults, intimate partner violence, pedestrian injuries among pre-school children, iron poisoning, drowning, evaluation of programs to reduce teen relationship and gang violence, and parenting for violence prevention. The Berkeley School of Public Health selected Ms. Weiss as Regional Public Health Hero, 2001, and the American Public Health Association, Injury Control and Emergency Health Services Section presented her a Public Service Award. She has been honored by Southern California Public Health Association, California Police Chiefs Association, Sarah Brady and the Brady Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, Black Probation Officers of Los Angeles, and has twice received the “Keep it Good in the Hood” Award. She has also received the “Dream Redeemer” award from Crenshaw High School, and the Milton Roemer Award from the California Public Health Association

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