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Rene Quinonez, Executive Director
Jose Luis Pavon, Program Director
Alejandra Mojica, Kalpulli Youth Coordinator
Ana Maria Murillo, Development Director, AnaMaria [at] HomeySF [dot] org
Rene Quiñonez has led HOMEY for the last five years and is a former gang
member, former drug dealer, and a formerly incarcerated person. Rene has led
HOMEY brilliantly since 2003 when he came as a volunteer parolee working off
his mandatory community service hours. Since then, Rene has risen to
challenge of creating a better reality for Latino/Indigenous youth and for
his community. Rene was born and raised in San Franciscos Mission District,
raised in both in the foster care system and in an immigrant household led
by a single-mother. He is uniquely positioned to do this work as he
understands the firsthand cruel reality of the youth and families served by
HOMEY. Rene has experienced many of the same struggles and challenges the
young people HOMEY works with have poverty, ignorance, lack of resources and
low morale and little emotional and academic support. Today, he is an
eloquent speaker, a strong manager, a visionary leader and a brave and vocal
organizer who works hard to bring attention and much-needed resources to San
Franciscos youth and young adults.
info [at] homeysf [dot] org
Jose Luis Pavón Villaseñor is a Xicano community organizer. Jose Luis was
born in Mexico and raised in the Mission District of San Francisco by an
activist, single mother. He has worked in non-profit organizations since the
age of 12 and began doing political organizing at the age of 15 during his
freshman year at Mission High School. Since then, Jose Luis has worked on
issues around youth leadership development, violence prevention, immigrant
rights, juvenile justice reform, police accountability, youth policy,
education reform/ethnic studies demands and labor rights organizing. By
working with different age groups and ethnic backgrounds through direct
service or political organizing, Jose Luis has become skilled in the process
of developing youth leadership. Most significantly, Jose Luis worked at
Coleman Advocates for Children’s [Youth Making A Change (YMAC)] Program for
four years, supporting youth organizers in their campaigns to give youth of
San Francisco a voice – working as an advisor and trainer doing leadership
development, political education workshops and policy analysis. Jose Luis
lives in San Francisco and is proud father of one son.
pavon [at] homeysf [dot] org
Alejandra Xochiquetzal Mojica is twenty-four years alive. A community educator, mother and poet dedicated to the education and the empowerment of youth. Her life goals are to build an alternative school system (Pre-K through College) that incorporates culture, leadership, self-sufficiency, social justice and love. Alejandra grew up in the Mission District of San Francisco and even at a young age she engaged in protests, cultural/community events and indigenous ceremonies surrounded by leaders from UFW, MECHA and RAP High School, to name a few. At age 12 she began doing environmental justice work at the San Francisco Conservation Corp’s (SFCC) "Youth In Action" where she trained in — and produced – six documentary films around issues facing her community. In her four years at SFCC she was developed to facilitate meetings, create lesson plans, run workshops, apply for grants. By the age of 16, she was leading middle school students to plan and implement environmental justice service projects in San Francisco. For the past eight years, Alejandra has worked doing after school programming developing her own workshops, programs and curriculum focusing on creative expression, social justice, political education, cultural identity, youth empowerment and positive change. Creator of "Ladies Outspoken" Girls Crew, she has inspired young women to find their creative voice and use it to promote social justice. Alejandra has worked at many community based organizations including the SFCC, Excelsior Boys and Girls Club, Mission Neighborhood Center, Garfield Rec. Center, Excelsior Teen Center and Glide’s Family, Youth and Childcare Center. She currently organizes youth at HOMEY where she continues to provide necessary education to young people, developing them to be conscious and critical thinkers, leaders and advocates of justice and peace. Alejandra is also a long-time creative arts performer encompassing spoken word, theater and dance and is working on her own spoken word CD. Alejandra is a powerful voice of truth, unity, cultura and peace.
Xochicana [at] yahoo [dot] com
Ana Maria Murillo is proud to be HOMEYs first Development Director. Ana has over eight years of professional fundraising experience. She is of Indigenous Colombian ancestry and has worked for twelve years with Native communities in the U.S. and Latin America, primarily in Indigenous-led community development, cultural survival and womens rights. Ana broke into the world of grassroots fundraising in 2001 as a fundraising intern through Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training (GIFT), serving at La Pena Cultural Center, then later served on the Board for four years. Most recently, in 2007 and 2008, Ana was the Manager of Individual Giving at the Hesperian Foundation. From 2001 to 2006, Ana was the Executive Director of the Uwa Defense Project, a US-based, grassroots NGO. It provides community development, legal, research and advocacy support to the Indigenous Uwa people in Colombia. The Uwa people continue to defend their life, land and cultural autonomy from oil extraction and the militarization that accompanies it with the support of Amazon Watch. Ana was born in Colombia, raised in the Mission District of San Francisco, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from UC Santa Cruz in Latin American Studies. She currently sits on the Board of Amazon Watch, Teocalli Tlanezi Mexica, the Mujer Uwa Initiative and the Program Committee of Uwa Defense Project at Amazon Watch.
To make a donation or to learn more about HOMEY's programs, please contact
AnaMaria [at] HomeySF [dot] org.
Florencia "Tragik" Garcia, In-House Designer (Native Graphix) / Case Manager
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Florencia came to the United States with her parents seeking an american dream, but through her community involvement, socialist upbringing, experience with the juvenile/prison & american educational system she came to realize that whatever affect she leaves on the world, she wants it to be a positive one.
Aside from her involvement with HOMEY & Native Graphix, Florencia is a professional Photographer, Musician, Graphic/Clothing Designer & an Activist. To check out more work please visit www.Myspace.com/LadyTragik or www.LadyTragik.com.
Maria "Lupe" Salcedo, Case Manager
Maria [Lupe] Salcedo is a proud mother, a danzante (ceremonial Aztec dancer)
and a community activist at a variety of community events and cultural
activities in the Mission District of San Francisco. Her passion is working
with Latino youth to guide them away from gang violence. Lupe enjoys seeing
how youth have such deep trust in her and how -- without judging them-- she
encourages them to talk openly about their problems. Lupe is a Mexican
immigrant and works with HOMEYs predominantly Spanish-speaking youth. Lupe
is uniquely positioned to work with our highest-risk youth, as she is a
former gang member who has turned her life around and now uses that
firsthand experience to talk about the consequences of violence, gangs,
incarceration and teen pregnancy. Lupe resides in San Francisco with her
four children. HOMEY is proud to have Lupes expertise as part of our staff.
She is a former [victim] turned changemaker and is an asset to our Mission
District community.
lupe [at] homeysf [dot] org
Gustavo Lopez, Education Coordinator
Gustavo Lopez is the Education Coordinator for HOMEY and is currently pursuing a BA at San Francisco State University in Political Science and Raza Studies. He has been a community organizer and activist in the Bay Area youth movement since the age of 12, where he helped to organize rallies and protests in middle school. Gustavo has been a long time participant and volunteer with HOMEY before joining the staff. Gustavo was born in San Francisco and raised in South San Francisco in a low-income household by his single mother. He has seen many of his close friends fall victim to gang violence, incarceration and substance abuse. Because of this firsthand experience, Gustavo has a distinct passion work with youth and education in order to address poverty and violence. As HOMEYs Education Coordinator, Gustavo has increased the number of youth served at the local high schools where he runs the Homies Skoolin Homies Program, working in John O Connell, Mission, and Downtown High Schools. Gustavo also conducts political education workshops to youth and other organizations and is one of the leaders of HOMEYs different campaigns to address the root causes of violence.
Gustavo [at] homeysf [dot] org
David Sanchez, Master Screen Printer, Native Graphix
David Sanchez is a classically trained printmaker who brings his 10 years of experience screen-printing to HOMEY. Davids interest in screen-printing first began in his hometown state of Guanajuato, Mexico. It further developed when he met Rene Castro at the Mission Cultural Center back in 1987. He also worked for Walden Graphics assisting maestro Chuy Campusano (RIP) on printing anti-alcohol and drug abuse posters and t-shirts. David has a BA in Print Making, and Cultural Anthropology from SFSU, where he studies several traditional and multi-media techniques. He has been in the screen-printing industry since 1992, working at various Bay Area shops. David devoted much of his free time training HOMEY staff and volunteers to screen-print, as well as doing production for HOMEY. He is now Lead Printer at Native Graphix, although he still finds time to pursue his art in his spare time. He has a large portfolio of prints---etchings, woodcuts, linocuts, and lithographs---which will be available to view and purchase through HOMEY in the future.
Mauricio Quijada, Screen Printer, Native Graphix
Mauricio Quijada was born in El Salvador, but raised in the SF Mission District. He began volunteering with HOMEY on and off since its beginnings as part of RAP High in1998. In 2003 Mauricio decided to get more involved at HOMEY and their printing endeavors. Using the professional equipment HOMEY had recently acquired, he began to learn to screen-print with the help of other volunteers. He spent the last two years at HOMEY supporting youth development and training youth to screen-print. He now is focusing his work at HOMEY on Native Graphix, printing client orders and HOMEYsown line of socially conscious tees.
mauricio [at] homeysf [dot] org
