VALLEY IMMIGRANT - Key Persons
Aurora has provided family and community services in the Illinois Valley as a bilingual professional since 2006. At present, she is Single Parent Coordinator for Starved Rock Associates for Vocation & Technical Education (SRAVTE). In addition to serving as Latino Community Liaison for SRAVTE, she is mentor and advocate to single parents, displaced homemakers, single pregnant people and teen parents. Her work includes creating and facilitating programs designed to foster the application of academic and occupational skills to the real world.
Aurora's career has been dedicated to advocacy for youth, adults and families. She strives to remove obstacles and create circumstances that make it possible for people with varying interests, aptitudes, and abilities to make informed decisions about their educations and careers. She holds a Bachelor of Social Work from Aurora University.
Bob is an attorney in Ottawa, Illinois. Since returning to his hometown after law school, Bob has been active in community affairs, especially in the areas of environmental protection, historic preservation, and downtown and neighborhood revitalization. Bob served as mayor of the City of Ottawa for 20 years, ending in 2019. He is a founding member and current chairperson of the Starved Rock Country Community Foundation.
Dave retired from Youth Service Bureau of Illinois Valley (YSB) where he worked for 34 years, the last 32 as Executive Director. YSB is a community-based child welfare and youth service organization. In 1992 YSB created a program to serve immigrants in collaboration with the Mendota Elementary School District. It was an effort to reach out to parents of students who had been facing insurmountable barriers to participating in their children's school experience. As that program grew and expanded, Dave learned a lot about the needs and fears, as well as the hopes and dreams, of immigrants, both documented and undocumented.
In the rural area that makes up the Illinois Valley, many supportive services for immigrants are available; however, accessible, affordable legal services are not. Dave sees VIA as a means to fill that need and one way to pay back immigrant families for all they have brought to our communities.
Erica Diaz was born in a small town in Guanajuato, Mexico and lived there until the age of 14. She and her family moved to Mendota, Illinois in 1998. She attended Mendota High School and graduated in 2002. She went on to attend Illinois Valley Community College, taking general education classes. In 2010, Erica married and is now the mother of three children. As an immigrant, Erica knows the struggles newcomers face when they move to a new country and must face the language barrier and the need for education and other resources.
Erica has always had a passion to help others. Since childhood, she has served as interpreter for her family and friends. At previous jobs in LaSalle County, she served her community and learned about the need for immigration services in the area. She finds working for VIA to be very satisfying and rewarding because in addition to doing something she enjoys, she is also helping her community. She values her colleagues and appreciates their passion to help others, and she is pleased to partner with other non-profit organizations that also care about the community.
Erica continues to live in Mendota with her family. She and her husband love spending time with their children and watching them play sports, especially soccer, and going to their tournaments. She is an avid gardener and cook.
John has worked in law related jobs since the 1960s, first as a student law clerk for the Illinois Attorney General and in the Federal Defender system in U. S. District Court in Chicago, then as a public defender in Chicago after returning from a tour of duty in Viet Nam, then as an Illinois state prosecutor for many years. He has worked at all levels of the state and federal court systems. He started a specialty immigration law practice in the Illinois Valley because people in the community asked him for help with their immigration issues. He got the idea of forming VIA to serve Illinois Valley immigrants in need after volunteering at another non-profit immigration legal services office on the border in El Paso, TX, in 2019. With help and encouragement from many local supportive people, he just took the plunge and started VIA in 2020.
He volunteered in 2021 with the US Department of Homeland Security, Operation Allies Welcome legal orientation program for Afghan refugees at Ft. McCoy, WI.
John holds a J.D. from Loyola University in Chicago and a bachelor's degree from the University of Detroit.
Luke is currently the English as a Second Language/High School Equivalency Program Manager for the Adult Education Program at Illinois Valley Community College. He has over twenty years of experience as an English as a Second Language instructor. He is also a member of the Illinois Valley Hispanic Partnership Council, which helps improve access to college for Spanish-speaking people by providing scholarships and promoting cultural events in the community.
Through his professional experience, Luke has learned about the struggles and barriers faced by immigrant newcomers to the Illinois Valley. His dual roles at IVCC as teacher and program manager give him the opportunity to interact with stakeholders and to collaborate with community partners that provide supportive services to the people who need them.
Job Titles:
- Department of Justice Accredited Representative
Octavia Davis is a Department of Justice Accredited Representative. She also serves VIA as interpreter and translator. She has worked with attorney John Breslin since 2017, shortly after she moved to Ottawa, Illinois. She has volunteered with Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso, interpreting client screenings in Ciudad Juárez, México and interviewing people held in detention centers in the El Paso area.
Prior to VIA, Octavia spent over twenty years as a university professor. Her academic work includes developing and coordinating academic programs, research, teaching, advising, and course development (University of San Diego and St. John's University in Queens, NY). She grew up in New Mexico and attended New Mexico State University, later earning a doctorate in Comparative Literature from the University of California, San Diego.
As the daughter of Mexican immigrants, Sara knows the struggle of learning a new language in a foreign country. She knows the difficulties of living and working in a household with insufficient financial and educational resources. As a child, she served her family as interpreter and soon began translating and advocating for other students, families, and friends. Sara's early experiences instilled in her a passion for helping others become self-sufficient.
For over 25 years, Sara has assisted immigrant families in the Illinois Valley overcome obstacles through education and training. Currently, she is Director of Adult Education at Illinois Valley Community College and leads the Illinois Valley Hispanic Partnership Council. In 2020, the Illinois Adult and Continuing Educators Association recognized her excellence with the statewide Administrator of the Year Award. As a member of the VIA Board, Sara is committed to providing residents of the Illinois Valley access to affordable immigration services.
Steve came to the Illinois Valley in 1972 to teach Spanish at Ottawa High School. In 1987, he became Ottawa High's Assistant Principal and Athletic Director. Later, Steve served as superintendent to two elementary school districts north of Ottawa, providing services ranging from typical superintendent duties to substituting as a bus driver. Currently, he is Director of the Regional Work Study Program, an academic credit recovery program that provides an opportunity for students who have left school to earn their diploma.
A committed public servant, Steve has volunteered for numerous initiatives, including the 4H and City of Ottawa Fire and Police Commission. He is a member of the Illinois Valley Hispanic Partnership Council and on the board of directors of North Central Behavioral Health Systems. He holds a Doctorate in Education from Illinois State University and a Master of Education in Counseling from the University of Illinois.
Susan is a licensed attorney who has worked with non-profit organizations for her entire professional career (she does not provide legal services through VIA). Susan's mission in life is to make a difference for others, especially women and children. She lives in Ottawa with her spouse and has three grown children.