We’re fortunate to have such an extraordinary, dedicated Board on our team. They offer expertise from fields as diverse as community building, activism, history and entertainment. Please take a moment to meet them…
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Rev. Jennifer Gutierrez, Executive Director, was an integral part in saving the La Plaza United Methodist Church from being acquired by the city of Los Angles and in establishing the Museum of Social Justice.
After her B.A. in Political Science from Williams College in Massachusetts, Rev. Gutierrez went on to the Claremont School of Theology in California where she earned her Master of Divinity degree. While she was completing this degree, Rev. Gutierrez served as the Pastor of Pico Union Shalom Ministry in Los Angeles. Following her time as pastor in Pico Union, Rev. Gutierrez became the Director of Urban Ministry for the Cal-Pac Conference of the United Methodist Church. As director, Gutierrez consulted with urban churches throughout Southern California for strategic planning, problem solving, and tools to help them connect with their surrounding neighborhoods. She raised funds from private individuals and foundations to support the work of urban churches and provided training to urban church leaders on a variety of topics. She helped launch Cal-Pac Neighborhood Immigration Clinics to provide hospitality and legal service provision from churches. She is now in the midst in completing her Doctorate in Ministry from Claremont School of Theology, and lives in East Los Angeles with her husband Marx, their three children, and two dogs. |
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Amalia Castañeda, President, is the University Archivist at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), Gerth Archives and Special Collections where she manages the acquisition of historical materials and leads records management activities to document all aspects of campus life. She is passionate about fostering racial and cultural diversity in archives and special collections librarianship and in implementing antiracist outreach and advocacy practices within academic libraries. Her research chronicles the history of the Los Angeles Plaza and the relationship between Progressive Era reformers (librarians, social workers and evangelical leaders) and the working-class, immigrant communities ultimately displaced by “urban renewal” and the historic preservation movement. She holds a BA and an MLIS from UCLA, and a History MA from Cal State LA.
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Sherwin “Keith” Rice, Vice President, is a historian and archivist at the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center at California State University, Northridge. Prior to becoming a historian Keith had careers as a computer technician for General Electric and a as studio and live sound engineer for Earth Wind and Fire guitarist Al McKay. He earned a graduate degree from Cal State Northridge in U.S. History with secondary studies in Latin American history and Archival Management. He is presently enrolled in the PhD history program at Claremont Graduate University. His field of study is American History with a concentration on the African American civil rights and black power movements and museum studies.
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Betty Venegas-Huebner, Treasurer, was a founding member of the La Plaza Historical Society and is treasurer of the La Plaza church. She began cataloging and preserving the La Plaza Church archives as early as 2002 and worked tirelessly throughout the Save La Plaza Campaign that resulted in the preservation of the Museum of Social Justice as a public venue for the greater Los Angeles community. |
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Leonora Barrón, began organizing the Save La Plaza Campaign in 2010 when the pastor of La Plaza United Methodist Church was locked out the church. That campaign lead to the creation of the Museum in 2012. Leonora previously served as Executive Director of North Valley Caring Services in North Hills and El Centro de Acción Social in Pasadena. She was the Museum's founding Executive Director. After retiring from that position in 2017, she is continuing her service to the Museum as a member of the Board of Directors.
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José Luis Benavides is a professor in the Department of Journalism at California State University, Northridge. He is director of the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center, an academic center at CSUN that collects and preserves the visual history of the region with an emphasis on ethnic minority communities and photographers. He created the first interdisciplinary minor in Spanish-language journalism in the U.S. and established the Spanish-language student multimedia site El Nuevo Sol, covering topics relevant to Latino communities.
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Alma E. Catalán believes in the value of the arts in all communities. She holds a BA from California State University Long Beach's Film Production Program and a Master's in Arts in Arts Management from Claremont Graduate University and Sotheby's Institute of Art- Los Angeles. Alma's career includes community organizing, working on film sets, theater productions, working with youth, designing college access programs, and collaborating locally and internationally through the arts. In her current position as the Programs Manager for CalArts, Community Art Partnership Alma hopes to inspire and support the next generation of artists, musicians, curators, and art historians who one day will transform the world.
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Michelle Dragoo has completed a Master’s degree in Cultural Anthropology, focusing specifically on the anthropology of genocide, at California State University, Los Angeles. Concurrently, Michelle completed a second Master’s degree in International Relations and Conflict Resolution, with emphasis on peacekeeping, at American Public University, in West Virginia. Ms. Dragoo uses the anthropological lens to understand the phenomenon of genocide at the local level. Combined with research on the processes of policy making and implementing in international law, Michelle’s aim is to aid in the development of genocide prevention, intervention, and post-conflict strategies that will more effectively address the cultural and contextual needs of those communities dealing with mass atrocities. She has field work in Guatemala and Rwanda, focusing on post-genocide societies.
Michelle’s academic work in the MA Museum Studies Program at CSU, Chico has provided the opportunity to gain experience with museum collection management, curation, exhibit research and installation at institutions such as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, both in Washington, D.C. She has worked and volunteered in both archives and museums, like the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library Special Collections and Archives at Cal State, Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. |
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Aida Feria, is the Director of the Choices Corp, a program for at risk youth, located on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles, Aida is a fourth-generation family member on Olvera Street, whose grandmother lived at the historic Pico house and whose family has continued to run a “puesto” since the 1940s. |
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Greg Ramirez, archives & exhibit Committee member is an architectural designer and film maker whose professional accomplishments include working on Tom Wiscombe’s, “Light Wing” architectural/art installation at the PS1/MoMA Museum in Queens, NY. Most recently his second short film that the production managed, “Botes al Amanecer”, was invited to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Greg believes that there are many untold stories, filled with drama and humor, about this important location as the birthplace of Los Angeles. And these stories help flesh out the progressive path that people of many backgrounds took in navigating a new urban world called Los Angeles.
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Jose “Joe” T. Rodriguez was a LA County probation director for 35 years, serving on the of service Committee on Organizational Diversity. He was also a charter member and later served as president of the Mexican American Correctional Association (MACA), an advocacy group for Latino probation officers and parole agents. |
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Kate Unger is legal director at Advocates for the Environment, a nonprofit, public-interest law firm and advocacy organization in Los Angeles. She holds a law degree and an M.A. in anthropology. She has long-time interest in environmental law, Native American cultures and languages, and cooperative development, and has worked as a development associate at the New Orleans Museum of Art. |