RURAL & MIGRANT MINISTRY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Catskills Regional Coordinator
Adrienne is our Catskills Regional Coordinator and co-runs our Youth Economic Group. She has decades of experience in the human services field, community work, managing operations, board work and volunteering. She is well-respected, deeply engaged, and committed to the community.
Adrienne is involved in numerous community-enriching endeavors, currently serving as the Executive Director for Evergreen Meadow Academy (providing girls' empowerment groups, prevention and interventional programs for middle-school-aged girls at risk of self-harm or suicide due to trauma). She has served as Executive Director of Human Rights for Sullivan County, and has been deeply involved in the development of the Sullivan County Housing Coalition, DEI Board of the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan, the Board of Farm Arts Collective and Planning Board of the Town of Mamakating ... the list goes on.
In another life, Adrienne was a professional dancer and Japanese Taiko drummer.
She looks forward to using her skills to develop the new SPARK building in South Fallsburg and the vital programming that will ensue.
Job Titles:
- Board
- Co - Chair of the Business and Labor Coalition of New York
Lubin serves as co-chair of the Business and Labor Coalition of New York (BALCONY), a unique broad based consensus building organization seeking common ground between business and labor. He currently serves on the Medicare Rights Center Board as treasurer and the Rural Migrant Ministry. He also serves on the state of New York's Comptroller's Audit Committee and on the Board of Directors of the Empire State Pride Agenda Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Coordinator of the College Prep Program & Western NY Associate Coordinator
Ana Mendez-Vasquez was born in Guatemala and migrated to the United States, accompanying her parents when she was five. Her family settled in New York, and along with her parents, she worked in agriculture for all her adolescent years. In 2022, she earned a BS in Biochemistry from Wells College and is the first in her family to graduate. She was a chemistry tutor throughout college and is now a tutor for Migrant Education. As a result of her Fellowship role with RMM in July 2022, she grew interested in becoming a part of the RMM team.
Job Titles:
- Artist
- Youth Empowerment & YAG Coordinator
Andrés Chamorro, artist/educator/ activist, has led the Youth Arts Group of Rural & Migrant Ministry since 2004, guiding young people in using the arts to create social justice. Prior to joining RMM, he spent eight years at the Village of Arts and Humanities in Philadelphia, providing arts education to inner-city youth, teachers and adults. Chamorro also formed Art for Change, a coalition of artists who brought arts workshops to the community and to educators in the U.S. and his native Ecuador. His mission as an artist is to empower others with the transformative nature of art.
Job Titles:
- Communications Co - Chair
Annette Jiménez Gleason joined the staff of the Rochester Area Community Foundation in November 2018. As program officer for vitality, Annette oversees grantmaking and leadership in the areas of arts and culture, historical preservation, and successful aging. Previously, she worked as a reporter for El Mensejaro Católico, a publication of the Catholic Courier, for 13 years.
Barbara Deming, noted activist, author and prominent member of the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester, was instrumental in bringing RMM to Western New York more than 10 years ago. Barbara has also served as Board President of RMM, guiding the organization with a thoughtful and constant presence.
Beth Ares has been an RMM ally and volunteer for more than five years and has been a lifelong women's rights and labor activist. Beth was on the staff of Local 1199 SEIU-Rochester Health Care Hospital and Employees Union for 17 years. She retired as a supervising investigator for the New York State Department of Labor after 21 years.
Beth lives in Sodus with her husband and many pets, and is active in community organizations and her church. She is passionate about the wellbeing of people, animals and the environment.
Job Titles:
- Associate Counsel for the New York State Teachers Union
- Hudson River Chair
Clayton Eichelberger serves as Associate Counsel for the New York State Teachers Union and is also a Professor at SUNY University at Albany, in African-American Studies. He has served as Associate Counsel in the New York State Senate and was the Legal and Administrative Counsel for the NYS Catholic Conference. Clayton received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at Hampton University (M.C.L.) and his Juris Doctorate from Mercer University.
Constance Valk is an active retiree who volunteers with her Unitarian Universalist (UU) church, the local YMCA and the Rochester Early Childhood Development Initiative. She also co-facilitates the Rochester Children's Film Festival.
Job Titles:
- Board
- Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc
Cordelia Anthony is a Living Environment Teacher at Farmingdale High School. She is the current President of the Farmingdale Federation of Teachers (FFT) and a member of the NYSUT Board of Directors Executive Committee.
Cordelia is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Suffolk County Alumnae Chapter and the Coalition of Black Trade Unionist, LI Chapter.
Curlene Coulter-Crawford brings more than 15 years of experience with nonprofit and corporate industries to RMM. Curlene has spent much of her time teaching, advocating for others - especially children and giving back to the community utilizing her skills in accounting.
She has served on the New York City Policy Council for NYC Public Schools as Treasurer, and has worked with the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) Program as a graduate of Saints Philip and James School and Parish. She is currently a member of the Valley Central Middle School PTA, serving as Board Treasurer.
Curlene has an M.S. in Public Accounting from Mercy College, a B.S. in Accounting from Lehman College and an A.A.S. in Accounting from Bronx Community College. She is a daughter, a wife and a proud mother of three.
Daniela Mendez is 17 years old and is a Jim Schmidt Fellow. Daniela is Guatemalan, and lives in Oswego County. She is a proud member of the Justice Organization of Youth.
A student at G. Ray Bodley High School, Daniela participates in a program called New Vision Specialized Careers, which allows her to take college-level courses. Daniela plans to pursue higher education, with an interest in the business field. She has job-shadowed at Oswego Business and Community Relations and the Oswego Health Department in pursuit of learning about her career interest.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Equity & Inclusion
Dr. Khuram Hussain is Vice President of Equity & Inclusion; Associate Professor of Education Studies at Middlebury College. His research and teaching explores grass-roots visions for collective social action. His highest aspiration is to re-inscribe public education as a site for culturally responsive and community-oriented democratic learning.
For two decades, he has served as an educator and facilitator for schools, universities, city governments, civil rights and community organizations - advocating for transformative community building.
Dr. Hussain's work has been recognized by the NAACP, the U.S. Army Reserve, the New York State Commission on Human Rights and student organizations nationwide.
Job Titles:
- Board
- Senior Director of Operations With Northwell Health
Edgar Cerna is currently a Senior Director of Operations with Northwell Health, where he works to establish partnerships and programs that promote health equity and combat social determinants of health in the communities they serve.
With close to 10 years of experience in the healthcare industry and operations, Edgar has a deep commitment to providing equal access to quality healthcare in underserved communities. In his role, he has achieved positive outcomes through his ability to bring together diverse teams and cultivate meaningful partnerships. Edgar is passionate about his work, and his goal is to make a major impact on the health and wellbeing of his community.
In his free time Edgar loves to enjoy his family and his new home. He enjoys reading, hiking and volunteering.
Job Titles:
- Co - Coordinator of the Youth Economic Group & Coordinator of Bags for Justice
Estuardo Bonilla is the co-Coordinator of the Youth Economic Group and Coordinator of Bags For Justice. He started his time with RMM as an artist-teacher at Summer Overnight Leadership Camp in 2011 (something he proudly continues to do).
Estuardo is currently an MFA candidate at SUNY at New Paltz, where he also earned his Bachelor's degree in Visual Education. He is a graduate of Mountain Laurel Waldorf School and The Alkion Waldorf Training Center in Hawthorne Valley.
Estuardo is a New York State certified art teacher and is a member of NYSUT, with more than eight years of teaching experience in the Newburgh Enlarged City School District. He has also worked with The Mill Street Loft Art Institute, The Boys And Girls Club and several Waldorf schools across the country.
He expresses his community commitment through volunteer activities, including with the Newburgh Ministry homeless shelter and food pantry, Liberty View Farm and the New Paltz Reuse Center. Estuardo is also an exhibiting visual artist. When he is not teaching and making art, he can be found playing on a nearby basketball court.
Job Titles:
- Communications Coordinator
Gittel Evangelist has more than 25 years of experience as a journalist, serving as a reporter, opinion writer, editor, photo coordinator, and page designer for newspapers and magazines. She also has extensive experience as a public relations/media professional in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Gittel has advocated for underserved communities throughout her professional career, specifically among people experiencing hunger, homelessness, mental health issues and developmental disabilities. She also has served as a mentor and career coach for at-risk youth. Her long career in journalism has instilled in her a profound need to "afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted."
Gittel is the mother of a grown daughter and has a school-age grandson. A native of Los Angeles, she has lived in New York's Hudson Valley for more than 30 years. She is deeply honored to serve as RMM's Communications Coordinator.
Harriet Sandmeier served as the Chief Ecclesiastical Officer (Stated Clerk) of the Presbytery of the Hudson River, and is now commissioned to the Presbytery as Commissioned Elder for Preaching and Teaching. She is a regular preacher at churches throughout the Hudson Valley, and has served as consultant/teacher throughout the PCUSA denomination, including serving one term as the President of the National Association of Stated Clerks.
In her "other life," Harriet served as CEO of two not-for-profit health and mental health agencies, and as a senior administrator in two educational settings. She is a graduate of Barnard College, Ohio University and the University of Michigan. She also holds a Certificate in Theology and Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary.
Married to (retired Swiss chef) Max Sandmeier, the couple have three children and five grandchildren. They reside in Cornwall-on-Hudson.
Irene (Rene) Thiel was on the Board of RMM for more than 20 years, serving on the Resource Development Committee for many of those years. She first became informed about RMM as a member of Hitchcock Presbyterian Church, which has supported RMM almost since the beginning.
After going on a delegation to see some of the farms and talking to farmworkers, she became more interested and more involved.
"To see with one's own eyes the condition under which farmworkers live and work was enough to make me want to get involved to better this situation," she says.
Irma Solis is the Suffolk Chapter Director for the New York Civil Liberties Union, where she organizes legal, educational and community outreach in Suffolk County on issues ranging from police accountability to education reform.
J. Philippe Abraham is Secretary-Teasurer of New York State United Teachers, overseeing NYSUT's social justice efforts.
Elected to NYSUT's leadership ranks as first Vice-President in April 2017, Abraham is NYSUT's first higher education member to serve as a statewide officer. He came to NYSUT after serving as the elected statewide V.P. for professionals of United University Professions, NYSUT's largest higher education affiliate representing faculty and staff at the State University of New York.
He's served as an at-large representative for higher education on the National Education Association's Board of Directors, and as V.P. of the American Federation of Teachers.
He's been on UUP's Executive Board, chaired several statewide UUP committees, including Legal Defense, Affirmative Action and the Committee on Latino Affairs, and served as a member of the UUP Negotiations Team and chief negotiator.
On the UUP chapter level, Abraham represented UAlbany on SUNY's Faculty Senate, and was the chapter vice president for professionals. He is President of the Albany/Capital District Chapter of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, LCLAA.
Abraham earned a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Education and a Master of Arts in Spanish American Literature, both from UAlbany. He is a graduate of the NYSUT Leadership Institute, the New York State AFL-CIO Cornell Union Leadership Institute and NEA's Emerging Leader Academy.
Born and raised in Haiti, Abraham is of Haitian and Dominican ancestry. He is fluent in French, Spanish and Creole, as well as English.
James "Jim" Bopp was Executive Director of Rockland Psychiatric Center for 15 years, and of Middletown Psychiatric Center for 17 years. Prior to his work in hospital administration, Jim was an Associate Commissioner in the mental health departments of both the City and State of New York. Before coming to New York State, he directed the Dulac Community Center in rural Louisiana.
Jane Konitz is a retired Christian Educator, having worked for the New Hackensack Reformed Church in Wappingers Falls for 27 years. She is a Certified Associate in Ministry for Christian Education of the Reformed Church in America, and was the RCA's representative to the formation committee of Rural & Migrant Ministry. Jane served as RMM's first secretary and has served on the Board of RMM since its inception in 1981.
Job Titles:
- Music Coordinator
- RMM 's Music Director
Jeannine Otis, RMM's Music Director, has become an important ally in our quest for farmworker justice in New York State. Jeannine has produced RMM's Voices of Hope CD and leads the music programming at Summer Overnight Leadership Camp and our Annual Rural Women's Assembly.
As a songwriter, singer, actress and recording artist, she moves from style to style. She has worked with Grover Washington, George Brown of Kool and the Gang, and Pete Seeger. Jeannine, a Warner European recording label artist, has had a Top 10 hit, appeared with the American Repertory Theater and with the Public Theater. Her recording "Magic Songs" is available on iTunes.
Job Titles:
- President
- Associate Professor of Sociology at Long Island University
Jennifer Rogers Brown is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Long Island University, Post (LIU Post). She received her PhD in Sociology at UC Santa Barbara in 2008. After completing her PhD, she was a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at UC Santa Barbara.
Jennifer's research today focuses on the relationships between food, technology, gender, and resistance in Latin America and the United States. At LIU Post, she teaches courses on Food & Society, Environmental Sociology, Globalization and Feminism. She is also on the Board of Directors for Puente a la Salud Comunitaria.
Job Titles:
- Board
- Director of Donor Development
Jim Monnier is recently retired after a 45-year career in Higher Education Administration, Corporate Training and Development, and Fundraising. He has been a VP for Training and Organization Development at major investment banks, Associate VP for Institutional Advancement at St. John's University in Queens, and most recently, a Senior Development Officer at Habitat for Humanity.
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Independent Contractor
Joseph Kovacs is an independent contractor and consultant to custom woodworking suppliers. He has been in this industry for 40 years, working with architects, designers, and cabinet and furniture manufacturers. He has traveled the world extensively for new sources for the woodworking market. Joe is also an Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor intern. As a church elder, his passion is volunteer work.
In addition to her research, Dr. Stein has been an active participant in the farmworker community, including serving on the PathStone Corporation Regional Program Action Advisory Committee, Migrant Ministry Annual Symposium Planning Committee, an invited speaker at the Annual Migrant and Women's Conference and organizer of healthy eating workshops for women in the community.
Job Titles:
- Board
- Event Manager at Cornell Tech
Kathy Mendall is the Event Manager at Cornell Tech. She has been a vestry member, choir member and co-editor of the quarterly church newsletter, Trinity Bells, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Roslyn. Kathy has also been Coordinator for the YPF group, and has served on the Rector Search Committee, Centennial Committee and Hospitality Committee.
Laura Garcia, Overnight Summer Camp and Youth Arts Group alumni is the Newburgh Enlarged City School District Family and Community Engagement Coordinator. She is the Founder of Dreamers with No Borders, a group of young adults whose Mission is to educate and empower the Latino, undocumented and migrant community in the Hudson Valley through the attainment of higher education and civic engagement. Laura also coordinates Mujeres Latinas of The Hudson Valley, a group of undocumented, migrant women from the Middletown and Newburgh areas that meet twice a month. Understanding firsthand the need for woman to feel safe prompted Laura to find an alternative way to help woman in the community. Laura understands the difficulties of being an immigrant in this country; she arrived to the United States when she was only 8 years old and saw the struggles that her mother faced with language, and information assistance. By encouraging woman to run their meetings, by leading a discussion or a workshop, she has prompted them to take a stronger leadership role in a world that views immigrant women as second class citizens. Laura is also the coordinator of the Newburgh Girl Power Program whose Mission is to provide adolescent girls, ages 9 to 12, with a dynamic youth experience through self-exploration, positive mentoring and support, personal empowerment, and leadership building skills in a culturally competent approach. The program aspires to produce confident young active community members by growing the leader within. Laura recently took a lead part in a hunger strike to support the New York Dream Act, was highlighted in a short video done by Women of the World for the New York Times and was a special guest on Univision al Despertar, one of the largest Spanish networks in the country. Laura was also the Racial Justice Program Coordinator for YWCA Orange County, New York.Laura has served on the Board of Directors of Rural & Migrant Ministry for the past 20 years.
Laura Lecour, Managing Director, has worked for over 25 years as an advocate on behalf of children and migrant farmworkers beginning as a Daycare Provider, then a Tutor/Advocate with Migrant Education, an Interpreter/Translator and currently as Managing Director of RMM. She has a B.S. in Marketing and Management from New York University, and is working toward her M.P.A. at Marist College. Laura is the proud mother of three children, Isabel, Aaron and Anthony and grandmother of two baby women.
Librada Paz, born in Oaxaca, Mexico, came to the United States of America at 15, to seek a better future. Librada worked on a farm when she first arrived, then migrated up and down the east coast for 3 years picking fruits and vegetables. She worked on farms for over 10 years while attending school, earning a BA in Mechanical Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Librada speaks 3 languages - her native Mixtec (indigenous language from Oaxaca,) Spanish, and English. In 2012 Librada was honored by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights and presented with The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, an Award was established in 1984 to recognize those individuals who stand up to oppression at grave personal risk in the nonviolent pursuit of human rights. Librada has been a fierce advocate for Farmworker rights and served on RMM Board of Directors.
Job Titles:
- Long Island Council Chair
Maria Christina Martinez (she/her) is a first generation Mexican-American from Newburgh, NY and currently resides in Washington, DC. She is a progressive organizer and activist with years of strategic political and organizing experience in both electoral and issue-advocacy campaigns. She was formerly the Southwest Organizing Director and Latinx Engagement Director for U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren's 2020 presidential campaign. She has been active in politics for over a decade, advising on political strategy and community organizing in the labor, immigrant rights, judicial advocacy, climate and environmental justice movements locally and nationally from government, to nonprofits, advocates, and political campaigns. She has worked for the Office of U.S. Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, the Office of the New York Attorney General, 32BJ SEIU, and the Democratic National Committee as the Latino Coalition Director. She currently serves on the National Advisory Board for Groundwork Project and the Board of Directors for Rural and Migrant Ministry.
Job Titles:
- Director for UFCW888
- Long Island Council Chair
Marshall Paris is Organizing Director for UFCW888, helping workers secure union representation at their work site by informing them about their rights, identifying and developing leadership skills among workers, explaining the union organizing process and helping the workers campaign for union recognition. Marshall earned his Bachelor of Business Administration at State University of NY, Old Westbury and his Bachelor of Arts in Labor and Industrial Relations at City University of NY, School of Professional Studies.
Job Titles:
- Associate Coordinator & Liaison With the Long Island Farmworker Cooperative
- Journalist, Editor
María del Mar Piedrabuena is an award-winning multimedia journalist, editor and publisher. She is the founder and publisher of Tu Prensa Local, a local Spanish news site on the East End of Long Island. She is also a reporter for RiverheadLOCAL and a contributor of Voices of New York. She has worked at leading news outlets including RiverheadLOCAL en Español, News12, Long Island Wins and Fortune Magazine. She has covered a wide array of topics through video, photography, online and print: from women's issues and immigration, to education, politics and national and international business stories. She was honored by the New York Press Association with a first place award for her work describing Latino sentiment on today's political climate. She has also received an Ippies Award for best social issues story for a story about DACA recipients. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor also recognized Maria's work with a letter of appreciation after she wrote a column about the importance of Latina women representation in the legal professions. Maria has over 10 years experience working as a journalist. She is passionate about local journalism and social justice, something that is reflected in her work. A native of Spain, she graduated with honors from Stony Brook University with bachelor's degrees in Journalism (broadcast and online concentrations) and Women and Gender studies. Additionally, she has an associate's degree in Liberal Arts from Suffolk County Community College, and has completed a fellowship in Health Reporting and a Herstory practicum for teaching memoir writing for peace and writing. Maria is fluent in English, Spanish, French and Catalan.
Job Titles:
- Long Island Regional Coordinator
- Staff and the Worker
Noemi Sanchez joined the RMM's staff and the Worker Council of the Center of Alliance, Solidarity, and Accompaniment (CASA) in Riverhead, after years of community organizing in the area. Noemi says: "I am a survivor of domestic violence, which is the reason I am involved in advocacy for women's rights. I use my voice to help more women fight for their own rights. RMM gave me the opportunity to help on this project on Long Island with farmworkers, as well as invite more women to become involved so their voices are heard."
Job Titles:
- Board
- Executive Director of Housing
Pilar Moya-Mancera serves as Executive Director of Housing Help, Inc., a "tiny but mighty" not-for-profit HUD-Certified counseling agency in Greenlawn, NY, specializing in housing counseling, financial literacy counseling, and debt and credit education. In her role, Pilar has expanded the financial literacy education courses using her own curriculum in townships across Long Island, including those for recent New Americans and migrant workers in the East End. Working with local representatives, Pilar has advocated for increasing the amount of affordable housing available for the working poor, youth, disabled individuals, seniors and other at-risk populations.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Pilar launched various programs in partnership with local churches and community organizations to serve those in dire need, including seniors and those at risk of losing their homes. In collaboration with the Suffolk County Police Department and other local agencies, Pilar coordinated the delivery of 3,000 meals and Covid-19 precautionary supplies to local families.
Pilar has always been passionate and dedicated to helping her peers maximize their opportunities with financial literacy and debt/credit education, an approach she extends to her work in advocating for housing for all. Before her career at Housing Help, Pilar oversaw 20 volunteer debt counselors at Family Service League, a human service non-profit, in its highly successful Debt Counseling Program. She proudly serves her community as a bilingual Personal Finance Expert, a role she uses to help members of her community achieve financial and housing goals through education on budgeting, debt management skills, and housing options.
Pilar received a bachelor's degree in Business Administration - Finance from Baruch College and an associate's degree in Applied Science - Business Management from LaGuardia Community College. She volunteers with many different organizations on Long Island, including the Suffolk County Hispanic Advisory Board, as a Steering Committee member of Huntington Township Housing Coalition, a Founder of Latinos Unidos de Long Island, and an Affordable Housing Trust Fund Advisory Board member. Pilar is a graduate of the 2010 Leadership Huntington Flagship Program and a graduate of the Parent Leadership Initiative of the Child Care Council of Suffolk. Pilar and her children live in Dix Hills.
Job Titles:
- Rabbi
- Executive Director of the Greater New York Labor
Rabbi Michael Feinberg is the Executive Director of The Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition. The Coalition educates and engages the interfaith religious community on issues of worker rights and economic justice. A diverse, multi-ethnic organization with members in all five boroughs, its primary goal is build a sustainable, long-term alliance between faith community and labor movement in New York City while collaborating with local unions that are organizing low-wage and immigrant workers. The Coalition advocates for and works directly with the working poor to support their efforts to empower themselves and better their conditions.
Roger Markovics has worked as a community organizer in Albany, NY, since 1970, in a job sharing arrangement with his wife, Maria, through Albany Catholic Charities. In 1971 their joint organizing efforts brought together a group of low-income tenants that eventually became the United Tenants of Albany. While continually operating as a storefront service center, the United Tenants has functioned as a base for community organization campaigns addressing problems with slumlords, community disinvestment, abandonment, displacement and homelessness.
Job Titles:
- WNY Regional Coordinator, JOY Coordinator