ATLANTA, GA – GALEO celebrated twenty-eight Latinx leaders as they graduated from the GALEO Institute of Leadership on November 13th, 2021. Graduates of the cohort met once a month to discuss leadership and civic engagement, created research projects with action plans around issues that affect the Latinx-Hispanic communities in Georgia, learned from facilitators, and canvassed in our community to encourage voting registration. GALEO Institute for Leadership alumni count stands proudly at 715 graduates.

Misty Fernandez, Area Manager for Georgia Power, served as a keynote speaker. Fernandez encouraged the graduates to take it upon themselves to courageously follow their dreams while demanding respect for their cultural backgrounds and ethnicity.

The graduates from the GIL Statewide Cohort 2021 were: 

Adalina Merello from Atlanta, GA

Andres Parra from Lawrenceville, GA

Brenda Gutierrez from Forest Park, GA

Carlos Jasso from Marietta, GA

Carmen Garcia from Flowery Branch, GA

Catherine Huff  from Atlanta, GA

Daniel Almaguer-Gaspar from Marietta, GA

Diana Chico Marquez from Newnan, GA

Diana Howell from Auburn, GA

Elvira Salgado from Lawrenceville, GA

Eric Rangel from Dalton, GA

Indira Islas from Gainesville, GA

Ivan Serrano from Rome, GA

Jairo Blanco from Atlanta, GA

Janet Sevilla from Atlanta, GA

Jazmin Mejia from Gainesville, GA

Jennifer Manzano from Rex, GA

Jesus Rubio from Kennesaw, GA

Joel Contreras from Gainesville, GA

Maria Vizcaino Garcia from Ellenwood, GA

Mariana Ortiz from Marietta, GA

Maricarmen Rodriguez from Smyrna, GA 

Marietta Murton from Douglasville, GA

Moises Cortez Guerra from Hampton, GA

Octavio Aguado from Auburn, GA

Oscar Lanza Menjivar from Morrow, GA

Patrick Rodriguez from Kennesaw, GA

Sergio Contreras from Willacoochee, GA

Elizabeth Silva, Program Coordinator for Leadership Development at GALEO, stated that “Programs, like GIL, are vital to our Latinx-Hispanic communities in Georgia to empower and uplift our people. Latinxs and Hispanics have been on the sidelines for far too long, and we are proud to be the solution to combat the marginalization of our communities by providing Latinxs and Hispanic leaders with the tools to thrive in any profession and field.”

For photos of the graduation ceremony, visit https://flic.kr/s/aHsmX7KfJG.

GALEO is a non-profit organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, founded in 2003. GALEO strives for a better Georgia where the Latinx community is engaged civically. GALEO contributions increase civic participation of the Latinx community and develop prominent Latino leaders throughout Georgia.

www.galeo.org – 888.54GALEO

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