Our Organization

"Organización en California de Líderes Campesinas, Inc." represents a culmination of decades of work by farm working women (Campesinas). Farmworker women have been the leaders of many grassroots and mobilizing efforts to improve the lives of farmworker communities. Líderes Campesinas provides these long-time leaders and activists with the opportunity to coordinate their work statewide and has built collectives so that campesinas may become agents of change and be a more effective unified voice.

Mission Learn More About Our Overall Mission

Our Objective

The mission of Líderes Campesinas is to develop leadership among campesinas so that they serve as agents of political, social and economic change in the farmworker community. This leadership has created an organization by and for campesinas. The approach emphasizes capacity building, democratic decision-making, advocacy, peer training and leadership development as well as a mixture of traditional and innovative education, outreach and mobilizing methods such as house meetings, arts, and theatrical presentations at community venues.

Campesinas Learn More About Who We Are

Our Identity

Campesinas themselves take the lead in developing the structure and the culture of the organization. The structure of the organization includes a Board of Directors, which is composed of an elected representative and an alternate from each of the nine local campesina committees; a representative of the Statewide Youth Advisory Committee and professionals acquainted or former farmworkers; the chapters are located in various regional rural areas, including Coachella, Imperial and Salinas Valleys and Ventura, Madera, Merced, Santa Cruz and Fresno Counties.

Board of Directors Learn More About Our Organization's Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors

Central Office
Phone: (805) 486-7776

Laura P. Gil
Title: Interim President, Ventura County Representative
Phone: (805) 240-6771

Sabina Rafaela
Title: Tresurer, Sonoma County Representative
Phone: (805) 486-7776

Sonia Gonzalez
Title: Secretary, Adolescent Statewide Committee Representative
Phone: (805) 486-7776

Herminia Arenas
Title: Madera County Representative
Phone: (805) 486-7776

Esperanza Guzmán
Title: Coachella Valley Representative

Tomasa Luna
Title: Salinas Valley Representative

Elizabeth Hernández
Title: Huron Representative

Yaneth Jimenez
Title: King City Representative
Phone: (805) 486-7776

Elizabeth Cordero
Title: Representative, Fundraising
Phone: (805) 486-7776

Jennifer Hernández
Title: Representative, Public Policy
Phone: (805) 486-7776

Rosa Fregoso
Title: Representative, Finances
Phone: (805) 486-7776

Goals & Strategies Learn More About Our Road To Success

Our Short & Long-Term Goals

The organizations principal goal is to form a network of communication throughout the state of California to promote the development of a united effort between campesinas and other groups who advocate the rights of the campesina community. Líderes Campesinas attempts to secure the progression of programs that help other campesinas discover their own capacity to be a leader and to know their rights as a member of a family, local community, state, nation, and global community.

Líderes Campesinas continues to reach our goals by abiding by the following strategies: helping and coordinating existing groups of campesinas and those that are about to form; promoting and supporting the development of these groups? leadership skills forming a network of farm-working women.

Philosophy Learn More About Our Way of Thinking

Our Guidelines to Success

The philosophy of Líderes Campesinas involves the recognition of campesinas as community assets and resources. Using our own expertise and community knowledge, we continually reflect on the mission, creating and developing programs that tie into the external environment, the overall vision of the organization and real community needs.

The product of our continuous evaluation and planning is a thoughtful synthesis of ideas, dialogue and action that results in progressively more effective means to disseminate critical information, empower, transform the community, and achieve positive social change. We continually provide train-the-trainer type educational workshops to our staff and members, as well as access to external learning opportunities at conferences and meetings.

Líderes Campesinas has worked with service providers and regulatory/enforcement agencies to ensure that their programs and services are within the cultural context to effectively reach the farmworker community.

Awards Learn More of Our Awards

Our Awards & Certifications

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, "Twenty Years of Supporting Farmworker Women in the Struggles for Equal Rights", 2008.
Awarded on the "The 65th Annual Professional Agriculture Workers Conference" by the University Tuskegee, December 4, 2007.
Awarded the "I Care" by the Ventura County Partnership for Safe Families & Communities, 2006.
"Ellie Liston Crime Victim's Assistance Award" by the Ventura County District Attorney, April 14, 2005.
Awarded the 2001 as Central Valley Honored by California Latino Civil Rights Network, 2001.
"2001 Outreach Award," by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2001.
Catholic Human Campaign Award, "Commitment to Help People to Help Themselves", 2001.
Awarded the 1998 Crime Victim Service Award by Office for Victims of Crimes in the U.S. Dept. of Justice
Award Honor Roll, by the California Women?s Bureau, Department of Labor, September 1996
Award by the California Women?s Bureau, Department of Labor, September 1996.
Awarded by the Bureau of Primary Health Care?s Migrant Health Program in recognition of the Project?s exemplary achievements and longstanding contributions to migrant health, 1995.
Awarded the Marshall Domestic Peace Prize, by Family Prevention Fund and Marshalls? Stores, October 1995.