LUPE staff
LUPE Staff
alton Office
Marco Lopez, Community Organizer
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.
Elizabeth Rodriguez Marquez, Community Organizer
Elizabeth Rodriguez Marquez is an RGV native, born in the rural neighborhoods outside the city limits. Raised by a family of dedicated farmworkers. Influenced by her own experience, Elizabeth now dedicates her time to improve the lives of the families living in her community, and to give access to resources the rural families need the most. Elizabeth graduated from UTRGV with a Bachelors in Social Work and she invites you to come and learn more about LUPE and how we can help you.
Kayla Montaño, community organizer
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. 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.
Lupita Negrete, Receptionist
Lupita Negrete is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our Alton, Texas office.
Hilda Patiño, Office Manager & Social Services Provider
Hilda Patiño is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our Alton, Texas office.
Francisca Quintanilla, Community Organizer
Francisca Quintanilla is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our Alton, Texas office.
Felix Rivera, Social services provider
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.
Natali Rocha, Data Entry Clerk
Natali Rocha is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our Alton, Texas office.
Mercedes Office
Yadira Gonzalez, Community Organizer
Yadira Gonzalez is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our Mercedes, Texas office.
Sergio treviño, digital organizer
Sergio Treviño was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley, and grew up as a migrant worker. He is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our Mercedes, Texas office.
Pharr Office
Virginia Lopez, Custodian
Virginia Lopez is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our Pharr, Texas office.
Humberto Padilla, Videographer
Humberto was born in Matamoros, Tamaulipas and grew up in Brownsville, Texas. Humberto attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he majored in Radio-Television-Film & minored in Spanish Language and Culture. During college, Humberto was part of different non-profits and organizations focused on providing education to minorities in Austin. After graduation, he returned to the Rio Grande Valley to enter the workforce and continue helping those in need. He now works at LUPE as a Videographer & Video Producer and is happy to capture LUPE's efforts and victories on video.
Dani Marrero Hi, Director of Advocacy and Communications
Dani Marrero Hi is the director of advocacy and communications at LUPE.
John-Michael Torres, Communications Coordinator
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.
Rio Grande City Office
Edgar Navejar, M.A., Office Manager & Social Services Provider
Edgar Navejar was born in Mission, Texas and a proud Valley born and bred. He graduated from the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley with a B.A. in Political Science and Psychology in 2017 and earned an M.A. in Political Science in 2020. Edgar currently works as a Social Services Provider in Rio Grande City and always strives to assist underserved communities in his capacity and is ecstatic to achieve this goal by working at LUPE.
san benito Office
Katia Garza Quijano, Community Organizer
Katia Garza Quijano is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Benito, Texas office.
Juana Medina, Custodian
Juana Medina is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Benito, Texas office.
Esperanza Vidal, Office Manager & Social Services Provider
Hope Vidal is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Benito, Texas office.
San Juan Office
Blanca Alcaraz, Community Organizer
Blanca Alcaraz is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas office.
Marcela Alejandre, Community Organizer
Marcela Alejandre is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas office. Her mission statement is to better the quality of life for the colonias in the RGV.
David Ayala, Attorney
David Ayala is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas office.
Evon Bueno, Data Entry Clerk
Evon Bueno is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas office.
Maria Campos Sanchez, Maintenance
Maria Campos Sanchez is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas office.
Luis Castillo, Education and Youth Organizer
Luis has been part of the LUPE team since 2020; first as an ESL/Civics instructor and now as an Education and Youth Organizer. Currently Luis 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.
San Juanita Castillo, Membership Clerk
San Juanita Castillo is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas office.
Tania Chavez, m.B.A, M.A., Director of Management Analysis
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. Tania has served in multiple roles at LUPE, Youth Organizer, Special Project Coordinator, Outreach Coordinator, Strategist, and most recently Director of Management Analysis where she works on finding funding sources and supports long-term sustainability strategy efforts for LUPE and all affiliate organizations.
Ingrid Colbath, Curriculum Development Specialist & Teacher
Ingrid Colbath is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas office.
Melissa Compean, Social Services Provider
Melissa Compean is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas office.
Vaughn Cox, Financial Manager
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.
Abraham Diaz, Social Services Provider
Abraham Díaz is originally from Monterrey, Mexico and a native to the Rio Grande Valley. Graduated from The University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley, he currently specializes in immigration services at La Union del Pueblo Entero. Abraham is responsible for providing clients with on how best to obtain the required documentation to migrate internationally, adjust their immigration status while in the country, naturalize to U.S. citizens and how to complete this process smoothly.
Joaquin Garcia, Community Organizer
Joaquin was born in Rio Grande City, Texas. He graduated from Texas A&M International University in 2013 with a B.S. in Criminal Justice and a minor in Political Science. During college, Joaquin was part of CAMP, a program that helped migrant college students with their first year of college. Also, he participated in a study abroad program that took him to several Latin American countries where he observed the needs their communities had. Joaquin 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.
Sareth Garcia, Community Organizer
Sareth Garcia is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas office.
Veronica Garcia, Office Manager & Social Services Provider
Veronica Garcia is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas office.
Cristela Rocha, Community organizer
Cristela Rocha is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas office.
Karina Hernandez, Receptionist
Karina Hernandez is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas office.
Maricela Martinez, Social Services Coordinator
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 Y. mercado, administrative assistant - Accounting
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.
Jesus Montalvo, Data Management
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.
Rafaela Quirino, Social services provider
Rafaela Quirino is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas office.
nancy rodriguez, social services provider
Nancy Rodriguez is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas office.
Letty Sanchez, Facilities/Grounds Maintenance
Letty Sanchez is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas office.
Luisa Silguero, Custodian
Luisa Silguero is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas office.
maria trujillo, social services provider
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.
Juanita Valdez-Cox, Executive Director
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.
Ruben Valencia, IT Technician
Ruben Valencia is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas office.
Michelle Virgen, Legal Assistant
Michelle Virgen is a proud staff member at La Union del Pueblo Entero based out of our San Juan, Texas office.