Born in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Marco migrated to the US at a young age. He graduated with a BS in Park, Recreation, and Tourism Sciences from Texas A&M. In college, he organized protests against the Iraq War and for in-state tuition for Undocumented Aggies. Post college, he assisted with several labor campaigns that included harassment, wage theft, and pickets as a delegate for the IWW. At LUPE, he uses his talents to better our local communities.

Kayla Montaño was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley. Graduated from UT Pan American with a bachelor’s degree. Kayla has been part of the team at La Union del Pueblo Entero for about 3 years. She started as a teacher helping the community learn English and prepare to become U.S. citizens and now works as a Community Outreach Specialist. Kayla enjoys what she is currently doing because she is able to help families obtain access to health services and learn how to live a healthier lifestyle through the Health on Wheels program.

Lupita Negrete is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas, office.

Laura was born in Pharr, Texas. She has been involved with LUPE since she was 15 years old. She has been actively involved with the organization by participating in different campaigns. As of today, Laura works for LUPE as a social provider and she is passionate in helping our people of the community.

Dani Marrero Hi is the director of advocacy and communications at LUPE.

From Mission, Texas, John-Michael attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he got involved with the Student/Farmworker Alliance. After graduating, he returned home and joined local organizing efforts for farmworker rights and against corporate-led globalization. He now works as LUPE’s Communications Coordinator and is happy to add his granito de arena to the struggle for justice in RGV colonias.

Yadira is a proud LUPE staff member.

Jacqueline Hurtado is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Benito, Texas, office.

Jesus Montalvo was born in San Benito, TX. Graduated with an Associates Degree in Business Administration Management. He is a proud father or 5 children. Jesus joined the LUPE team in March of 2018 and he has been taking mobile clinics and healthcare outreach to low-income families. Besides fishing spending time with family. Jesus loves working at LUPE and making an impact in the community serving Latinos.

Juanita grew up in a migrant family and experienced the challenges faced by farm workers. Since 1981 she has devoted her energies to the struggles of farm workers and immigrants, first with UFW, and since 2003 with LUPE. Her determination to see low-income families win the respect they deserve drives her to keep pushing for resolution to the issues that afflict their lives.

Evon Bueno is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero in our San Juan, Texas, office.

Tania Chavez is an Immigration and Civil Rights advocate in the Rio Grande Valley.
Born in Veracruz, Mexico, Tania Chavez at the age of eight moved to Reynosa, Tamaulipas where her parents started a business that has been the source of income for her family. Tania arrived at McAllen, Texas at age 14 as an undocumented immigrant. Chavez graduated as a member of the National Honor Society from McAllen High School. As an undocumented student and beneficiary of the Texas DREAM Act, Tania obtained a bachelor’s degree in finance, a master’s in business administration and a master’s in communication studies from the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA).

Tania’s story was first published in 2010 when she lived in the shadows as Camila in the scholarly article Understanding and Supporting Undocumented Students. Since committing to storytelling as a way of changing the hearts of the public about immigration policy, Chavez’s story has been published in the book Dreamers: An Immigrant Generation's Fight for Their American Dream, the documentary America Divided: Out of Reach, and other news articles including Trapped in Texas: Tens of thousands of immigrants are stuck in the borderlands. As the first DREMer in the RGV to share her story on national outlets like CNN, MSNBC, Politico and others, Chavez’s story and work have helped paved the way for undocumented DREAMers to become advocates of the immigrant movement in their community.

Tania arrived at La Union del Pueblo Entero (LUPE) in 2012 as a Youth Organizer & Service Provider, with the hope of harnessing the talents, abilities, and determination of RGV youth. She continues to consult for LUPE as a strategist by finding funding sources and implementing plans of action for the long-term sustainability of the organization. Tania is determined to continue the fight for immigration relief of 11 million undocumented immigrants. She currently consults as a strategist for LUPE where she works on finding funding sources and supports long term sustainability strategy efforts.

After more than 20 years as a Movement Volunteer, Vaughn joined the LUPE team 2002. In addition to a variety of administrative tasks, he works on researching and preparing grant applications and writing reports to funders. He feels privileged to work for LUPE members and help them build better communities for their families.

Jorge De La Fuente, a native to South Texas, serves as LUPE’s Immigration Attorney.

Jorge practices immigration law exclusively, specializing in removal defense, family-based immigration, immigration consequences of criminal offenses, and asylum. He has represented hundreds of clients before the Executive Office of Immigration Review and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Understanding the importance of keeping families together, Jorge provides an empathetic passion throughout the entire process, ensuring zealous representation for each client.

Abraham Díaz, originally from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Abraham graduated from The University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley with a BA in Mexican American Studies and History and is a die-hard Tigres UANL fan. He currently works as a Social Services Provider, specializing in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and Legal Permanent Residency renewals. He believes that it is our responsibility to give opportunities to those who don’t have the same as others and to educate, help and provide opportunities for the empowerment of colonia residents.

Maria Guadalupe Alanis is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas, office.

Rafaela Guzman is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our Mercedes, Texas, office.

Esther brings years of experience in working with youth, college students and parents from low income, migrant, and first generation college communities. At LUPE, she finds a unique opportunity to educate and empower colonia residents and minorities for social change. Esther is pursuing a PhD in Public Policy and Administration.

Xochitl Hinojosa is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas, office.

Luis has been part of the LUPE team since 2020; first as an ESL/Civics instructor and now as a receptionist in the Alton office. He is currently pursuing a Master's degree in English as a Second Language from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and he hopes to continue serving the community through LUPE in the future.

Lupita Lopez is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our Mercedes, Texas, office.

Maricela was born in Matehuala, San Luis Potosi, Mexico. She was farm worker for about 20 years in the states of Michigan and Indiana. She graduated from Hidalgo High School and  came to La Union de Campesinos in 1989 through a workforce program. She has dedicated many years of services in different capacities to LUPE.

Linda joined LUPE in September 2018. She is from Edinburg but lived outside of the Rio Grande Valley for many years while gaining her multi-faceted work experience. Linda provides administrative support to the entire team at LUPE where she is able to utilize her extensive skillset in the world of non-profit. Outside of the office, Linda is unapologetic about her love of books, singing, CrossFit, cats, and most of all, her family.

Catalina Ramirez was born in Texas and raised in the Rio Grande Valley. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from The University of Texas-Pan American in 2014. She currently works as a Community Outreach Specialist for La Union del Pueblo Entero and enjoys being able to provide information about our services to the community of the Rio Grande Valley.

Felix Rivera is originally from Nicaragua and has lived most of his life in Los Angeles, California. He has been involved with LUPE since 2009 and currently works as a social provider for our organization. He truly believes in LUPE’s mission statement.

Cristela Rocha is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas, office.

Julian Rodriguez is originally from Corpus Christi, Texas, and resides in Weslaco, Texas. He is a graduate of UTPA with a Bachelor of Business Administration and is a veteran U.S. Marine Corp. he currently works for LUPE as an office clerk. His participation helps our office run smoothly and he finds success in helping improve our community.

Nancy Rodriguez is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our Alton, Texas, office.

Maria Trujillo was born in Mexico and has lived in the United States for more than 20 years. She started as a volunteer since La Union del Pueblo was founded. She currently works as an accredited social worker for LUPE. What motivates her to do her job is the daily contribution of our organization to improve our community.

Joaquin was born in Rio Grande City, Texas. He graduated from Texas A&M International University in 2013 with a BS in Criminal Justice and minor in Political Science. During college, Joaquin was part of CAMP, a program that helped migrant college students during their first year of college. Also, he participated in a study abroad program that took him to several Latin American countries where he was able to see the need that many communities abroad had. Joaquin also joined the Peace Corps after college and lived in the Dominican Republic for 2 years where he served as a health promoter in a rural community. He is excited to work for LUPE and looks forward to making the Rio Grande Valley a better place for its residents.