Our team

My Experience with Sexual Assault Training

By Makeda Toure, Project Specialist Esperanza United (formerly Casa de Esperanza) In March, I took part in a 40-hour Sexual Assault Training hosted by the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MNCASA). Everything I have been thinking about since taking this training can be summed up into a 10-letter word: prevention. Itā€™s […]

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Reflections from 2020

Join us for a conversation reflecting on the one-year anniversary since the COVID-19 quarantine began in the U.S. Esperanza United (formerly Casa de Esperanza) staff discuss how our work has shifted during the pandemic and how weā€™re adapting to meet the needs of our community.Ā 

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Meet the Team: Cristina Escobar

Meet Cristina Escobar, Director of Communications and Marketing Where are you from? My parents are academics so we moved around a bunch but Iā€™d say Iā€™m from Arizona. I went to middle and high school there. My claim to fame, though, is that Iā€™ve lived in all four US-Mexico border states. […]

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Meet the team: Lillie Macias

Meet Lillie Macias, PhD, Director of Research and Evaluation Where are you from? My family moved around growing up. I was born in California, and I also lived in Utah, Texas, and New Jersey.  Where do you feel most at home? I feel at home whenever Iā€™m with my family and […]

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Meet the team: Annika Gifford

Meet Annika Gifford, Program Strategy and Fund Development Advisor Where are you from? I was born in South Korea and grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Where do you feel most at home? Nature. What inspires you, professionally and personally? Many things inspire me – right now given current conditions, Iā€™m most […]

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Meet the team: Olivia GarcĆ­a

My main responsibilities are to: Help advance the development and implementation of a national Latin@ public policy agenda to prevent and eliminate domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence and support healthy families and communities. Work in conjunction with the Policy, Training and Research divisions to develop resources and enhance […]

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Meet the team: Makeda TourƩ

Meet Makeda TourĆ©, Project Specialist My name is Makeda TourĆ© and, I am a 25-year-old South Minneapolis resident who gives the sparkling water industry a significant part of my income. I am really into popular culture, comedy and The Sims. At Casa de Esperanza, my main responsibility is to provide administrative […]

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Meet the team: Nancy Nava

Ā  In today’s edition of Meet the Team, we will introduce Nancy Nava, our Research and Evaluation Manager. Meet the Team is an opportunity for readers to get to know a little bit more about the amazing and inspiring people who work with Esperanza United. Below are facts about Nancy Nava, […]

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Meet the team: Paula Gomez Stordy

Where are you from? I am from more than one place. I was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Chilean parents and have lived in various cities and towns in Massachusetts and Chile throughout my life. I feel fortunate to have discovered different places and connected with diverse people. Where do you […]

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Meet the team: Marissa Kurtz

Title: Grants & Evaluation Project Coordinator Main Responsibilities: Provide support with communications work, national events, grant reporting and technology platforms. Where are you from? I was born in Guatemala and raised in Arlington, VA. Where do you feel most at home? This is not always a location. I can feel like […]

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