2024 Puentes Fellows - Becarios PUENTES - Bolsistas PUENTES

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Alejandro Montemayor  (he/him) comes from Laredo, Texas, on the US/Mexico border. He likes to call him self an explorer at heart, having professionally navigated diverse sectors and lived in seven countries (UK, China, Australia, France, Vietnam, Mexico, US). 

His journey includes roles in diplomacy at the Embassy of Mexico in DC, teaching in rural France, contributing to the civic tech field at Change.org, and serving as an adviser for the Mexican congress. Recently he earned an MS in Social Entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California, and now works with Resilia, a Tech-for-good startup empowering nonprofits. 

As a descendant of Sephardic Jews through both of his parents, he is on a quest to strengthen his connection to his Judaism while actively enhancing his leadership skills. Alejandro has a deep passion for cultures, languages, and human connection, he is particularly drawn to Latin American and Jewish history and culture.

David Silva (they/he) is a business leader, artist and activist from the south of Colombia. He studied college in Bogotá, yeshiva in Jerusalem, tech in the Bay Area, and now resides in New York. His family introduced him to community organizing as a young child, and has used arts as means for which to engage in numerous peace building and disaster response efforts.

David currently runs Santo Cabrón (an arts collective that promotes Colombian artists), Club Calima (a business development initiative that supports Colombians abroad,) and is the CTO for a startup incubator on mission to solve healthcare interoperability.

Estéfani Schubert (she/they) is a Jewish Uruguayan-American poet, artist, and marketing specialist based in Southern California. Formerly a social worker, Estefani currently serves as a Communications and Marketing Associate at ReloShare—a hotel booking platform offering Alias-Approved hotel stays for vulnerable populations. 

Their visual art has garnered recognition in platforms like Remezcla and the Queer Spectra Arts Festival, while her poetry has been featured in Sunstroke Magazine, Sobotka Literary Magazine, and Resurrection Press, among others. 

With over 4 years of organizing poetry and open mic nights for the community, Estefani champions the power of storytelling in fostering community connections and preserving unwritten histories.

Jéssica Vaquero Goodman (she/her) is a California state licensed clinical social worker in private practice. Jessica has helped people rewrite their narratives in various roles and settings – the foster care system, schools, homes, community mental health clinics, and nonprofits.

Jessica’s interest in social justice and advocating for vulnerable populations stems from her experiences as the daughter of Salvadoran immigrants. Seeing how similar the immigrant experience can be to the experiences of the Jewish diaspora, Jessica went to Israel and took a social work graduate course on conflict, empowerment, and creative practice. 

In 2015, Jessica converted and bridged her social work and Jewish interests by advocating for affordable housing as a Bend the Arc fellow, lobbying for the same with her synagogue, and serving on the advisory board for the Introduction to Judaism program at American Jewish University.

Luis René Carrillo (he/him/his), the son of a resilient Salvadoran immigrant mother, was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. He is a Chicano Jew, Registered Nurse, and Army Veteran who strives to elevate the voices and experiences of vulnerable populations struggling with mental health. 

Luis' goal is to reframe the hurtful culture surrounding machismo and foster healing spaces to facilitate the healing of Jewish and Latino generational trauma. His nursing career began as an emergency nurse in the Emergency Department and Psychiatric Emergency Room at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center. 

Currently, he works in the Emergency Department at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center (LAMC), where he is working on improving the mental health outcomes of psychiatric patients in the emergency department; he is also a member of the Nursing Evidence-Based Practice and Research Council at Kaiser LAMC. He is a board-certified emergency nurse and public health nurse, respectively.

Melissa Fich (she/her) is a Litigation Fellow at the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), where she works on impact litigation to advance and defend the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, and other people in need of humanitarian relocation. 

Melissa's background as the daughter of Venezuelan Jewish immigrants inspires her to engage in this important advocacy work. She holds a J.D. from Yale Law School, where she was on the executive boards of the Jewish and Latinx law students associations, and a B.A. from Columbia University. Prior to law school, Melissa explored the intersection of Judaism and social justice as a participant in Avodah: the Jewish Service Corps in New York, and the Jewish Activism Summer School in Berlin, Germany. 

She organizes events for Jewish young professionals in NYC through Moishe House. In her spare time, Melissa enjoys reading, hiking, and seeing Broadway shows.

Natalia Pollock (she/her), originating from Monterrey, Mexico, has woven her cherished Mexican heritage with her chosen path as a Jewish woman, now calling Los Angeles home. 

For over a decade, her passion for Judaism has been both a guiding light and a profound personal commitment. With a business degree under her belt, she has carved a career for herself in the real estate sector. Beyond her corporate pursuits she is a cornerstone of the nonprofit organization, Replant The Forest Festival, where she collaborates on events that meld ecosystem restoration with the captivating allure of music and arts. 

Natalia's deep-seated love for nature is only rivaled by her fervor for live music.

Ramona Tenorio, PhD is a Jewish Latina (Jewtina) with Mexican/Indigenous and Dutch ancestry. She is the President and Founder of Broader Impact, LLC, a national research and evaluation firm, as well as the Executive Director and a Co-Founder at the Tiyuv, an evaluation group focused on Jews of Color-led, culturally responsive evaluation (CRE) of community racial justice initiatives. 

Ramona has a unique educational and professional background as a social scientist spanning the fields of medical anthropology, geography/GIS, and translational science. Ramona is a mentor for the Wisconsin Center for Evaluation Research (WCER) Clinical Program, mentoring graduate students as they engage in applied and practical evaluation field experience. She has taught at all levels of education from K-12, college/university, graduate school, medical school, medical residency programs.

Her passion for justice draws inspiration, guidance, and direction from the Jewish ethos of Tikkun Olam. Ramona is a board member of Jewtina y Co, Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Community Relations Council (JCRP), and Congregation Sinai, a Reform Congregation in Fox Point, Wisconsin.

Stacy Schlomit Almendarez Ortiz (she/her) is a first generation Nicaraguan-American Jew from Miami, FL who is passionate about increasing the presence of Latinx Jews to the mainstream as well as sharing the history of Conversos in Latin America. 

Stacy found her way back to Judaism in 2020 upon discovering her Sephardic ancestry. Since then, Stacy has used her voice to breakdown stereotypes of Jews and Latin Americans in order to bridge a cultural barrier that is not commonly discussed.

Professionally, Stacy is a data professional with a background in healthcare where she has utilized data to improve data processes and operations for State/Federal agencies. She believes in the power of data to support those who have dedicated their lives to helping underserved communities. 

As a hyphenated individual, Stacy hopes to be an example for those who do not have a role model to show that it is possible to be a diverse person in the tech space. Personally, Stacy loves making Shabbat dinner accompanied with homemade Challah and Sephardic songs.

Stephen Levin (he/him) was born in Huancayo, Peru, and later adopted by a single Jewish mother and raised in San Diego, California. Today, Stephen is on a journey to embrace his diverse identity, as a Peruvian-Jewish adoptee with indigenous roots. 

Emboldened by a near-death experience in 2017, he has always been deeply committed to fostering connections and community involvement with organizations such as IKAR, Nefesh, SIJCC, and others in his new home, Los Angeles. 

Notably, Stephen founded an AEPi Chapter at Chapman University and has played a pivotal role in shaping IKAR's High Holy Day designs for years. 

As a creative design leader, Stephen endeavors to empower the next generation of Jewish artists through a creative design business and inspired DJ venture. Alongside his dedication to inclusivity, he aspires to evolve into a catalyst for positive change, not only within the Jewish community but also in the broader creative landscape.

Teresa Elguera (she/her) is an organizer and a teacher who believes that supportive relationships, play and community are critical elements in creating a just world for everyone. Teresa began her career teaching English to migrant farmworkers in North Carolina, then organizing Latinx youth in Seattle and developing culturally competent housing for Latina survivors of domestic violence and their families. 

Teresa views play as a critical factor in human development- for everyone, not just children- and sees games that allow groups to laugh together as an essential element of any community building work. Teresa currently works as a Trainer and coach with Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility where she supports teachers and schools to effectively understand and implement practices that develop everyone's Social Emotional skills. Teresa emphasizes the use of listening partnerships as a regular practice, supporting both the development of healthy relationships, emotions and critical skills. 

Teresa holds a B.A. in Race, Class and Gender Issues through Literature, History and Law, from Hampshire College and an M.Ed. in Bilingual Education from Bank Street. Teresa lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. with her family.

Tracy Escobedo (she/her) is a Los Angeles native now based in New York City. She is the oldest of three in a family of Mexican immigrants. 

She grew up Catholic and started questioning Christianity at the age of 10 while attending Catholic school. After college, she started attending Shabbat service and dinners, eventually converting to Judaism in her mid-twenties.

Tracy works as a metadata QA manager at NBCUniversal, where she helped launch the streaming services Peacock and SkyShowtime. In her free time, she enjoys baking, improv, traveling, and hiking when possible.