El Concilio Family Services honored six outstanding Latino leaders and one organization for their exceptional contributions to the Ventura County community at its 34th Annual Latino Leadership Awards Celebration held on Wednesday, September 25th, 2024, at the Museum of Ventura County.
“These honorees, each in their own unique way, have gone above and beyond to make life better for Latinos and for all residents in the county,” said Yvonne R. Gutierrez, Executive Director of El Concilio. “El Concilio is proud to recognize their exemplary work and bring it to the attention of the community.”
The 2024 Honorees:
• Joe I. Mendoza (Sponsor: The Players Casino) – A lifelong advocate for Latino education, Mendoza dedicated his career to ensuring equal opportunities for Latino students. He served in various educational roles for over six decades and received numerous awards for his work, including the prestigious OHTLI Award from the President of Mexico.
• Diego Magaña (Sponsor: Ventura Community College District) – A CalArts graduate, Magaña established the MiniNature Reserve project, restoring native plant habitats in the Oxnard plain with the help of volunteers. He bridges environmentalism and cultural identity, involving the Latino and Chumash communities in his efforts.
• John C. Zaragoza (Sponsor: Southern California Edison) – The first Latino elected to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors in 100 years, Zaragoza has dedicated six decades to public service. He championed sustainability initiatives, established the Nyeland Acres Center, and worked on infrastructure improvements as Mayor of Oxnard.
• Rick Castaniero (Sponsor: The Port of Hueneme) – A teacher and community leader, Castaniero co-founded Feeding the Frontline: Feeding Our Farmworkers and Food Is Medicine, organizations addressing food insecurity and health issues in the farmworker community. He also works to increase mental health services in Ventura County.
• Dr. Monica Robles (Sponsor: SoCalGas Company) – Assistant Principal at Frontier High School, Dr. Robles established the Student Wellness Center, providing resources and mental health counseling to students. Her dedication to restorative discipline has helped Frontier High School become a Model Continuation School.
• Radio Indigena 94.1 FM (Sponsor: The Players Casino) – Founded by over 200 Indigenous migrants, Radio Indigena broadcasts critical information in Mixteco, Zapoteco, and Purepecha languages to connect families with essential services. The station offers programming on community organizing, healthcare, mental health, and indigenous music. It also launched a journalism arm to keep the community informed.
El Concilio is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the underserved Latino community in Ventura County. The organization provides a variety of services, including citizenship and immigration assistance, education and outreach programs, and youth leadership development.
For more information on El Concilio’s programs and services, visit http://www.elconciliofs.org.
Detailed Honorees Information
Joe I. Mendoza
Joe Mendoza, a lifelong advocate for Latino education, was born in La Colonia, Oxnard, in 1932. Growing up, he experienced firsthand the hardships faced by Mexican farmworkers. His family’s labor in the nearby lemon packing house and sugar beet factory instilled in him a deep appreciation for the working class.
Mendoza was among the first students to attend Ramona School, where he encountered discriminatory practices that limited Spanish-speaking students. Despite these challenges, he developed a voracious love of reading. After graduating from high school, he knew he wanted to become a teacher.
Mendoza’s journey led him to Ventura Junior College, where he made history as the first Mexican student elected student body president. This achievement was a testament to his leadership and determination.
The experience of segregation left a lasting impression on Mendoza. He dedicated his life to ensuring that Latino students had equal opportunities and were treated with respect. He emphasized the importance of education, parental involvement, and career exploration.
Mendoza’s career in education spanned over six decades. He taught at various levels, from elementary to university, and held administrative positions including principal, superintendent, and director of the Migrant Education Program. His contributions were recognized with numerous awards from school districts, parent groups, and government entities.
In 2006, Mendoza was honored with the OHTLI Award by the President of Mexico, Vicente Fox. This prestigious award acknowledged his exceptional service to the children of Mexican farmworkers. Additionally, he received an honorary doctorate from California State University, Channel Islands, for his lifelong commitment to Latino education.
Joe Mendoza’s legacy is a testament to his unwavering dedication to social justice and educational equity. His work has inspired countless individuals and paved the way for future generations of Latino leaders.
Diego Magaña
Diego Magana, a native of Oxnard, graduated from CalArts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Performance and Composition right in the thick of the pandemic. When it became clear his original career path was on hold, he found a different way to serve his community, establishing the MiniNature Reserve. In three short years, Mr. Magana, with the help of 200 volunteer guerrilla gardeners, has restored 20,000 square feet of land with 1,700+ native plants in 16 MiniNature Reserves across the Oxnard plain. The native plants are propagated in a volunteer-run community nursery using seeds collected and saved from the previous growing cycle. Mr. Magana recognizes the importance of restoring native plant species to urban areas as a powerful climate justice action. He is committed to involving the local Latino and Chumash communities in these efforts through workshops and cultural food cooking classes with Indigenous leaders. Mr. Magana’s extraordinary dedication, commitment, and vision bridge the gap between environmentalism and cultural identity in the occupied Chumash Land for the Latino-majority communities in Ventura County.
John C. Zaragoza
John Zaragoza’s unwavering commitment to improving the Oxnard Plain spans six decades. Mr. Zaragoza was the first Latino elected to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors in 100 years. But, his affable style and dedication to the well-being of his fellow community members began long before. As a young man of 21, he drove the Colonia-Southside bus route, transporting residents for 1,000,000 miles without an accident. Mr. Zaragoza steered the Oxnard Refuse Department on the right path, ushering in sustainability initiatives as Superintendent. As County Supervisor, his advocacy was essential in establishing the Nyeland Acres Center, a hub for after-school programs and family services. Community members later named the center the John C. Zaragoza Community Park to honor his steadfast support. Mr. Zaragoza, as Mayor of Oxnard, worked with his colleagues to implement the City Council’s 5-year priorities, resulting in significant investments in infrastructure, maintenance, and beautification. When Mr. Zaragoza ends his tenure in public service later this year, he will have paved a road that stretches well beyond a million miles for others to travel.
Rick Castaniero
Rick Castaniero’s parents taught their six children respect, compassion, perseverance, and the pursuit of excellence, all skills that inform and deepen his community work. After returning to Oxnard from UC Berkeley, he accepted a teaching position in the Santa Paula Public School District. During working hours, he works tirelessly to bolster the academic achievement of his students. His extensive volunteer community work begins when he steps outside the school campus. Responding to the food insecurity of the local farmworkers community during the COVID pandemic, he co-founded Feeding the Frontline: Feeding Our Farmworkers, an organization committed to delivering food and access to medical care to over 1,000 essential workers across Ventura County. This work led to co-founding Food Is Medicine, a pilot project implemented by Fuerza Latina Health and League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), where he serves as volunteer director. Food as Medicine focuses on combating diabetes, hypertension, and obesity in farmworker families by providing organic food, cooking classes, exercise classes, and access to healthcare treatment. Mr. Castaniero manages Reshaping Identity 805 to increase mental health enrollment and access to services in Ventura County. Mr. Castaniero will never cease to work towards improving the overall well-being of his students, their families, and the greater Ventura County community on and off campus.
Dr. Monica Robles
Dr. Monica Robles transfers the values of hard work and diligence she learned from her parents, who worked in the agricultural fields for five decades, to her role as an educator. Dr. Robles is homegrown, attending her entire academic career at Ventura County schools and universities. She now works tirelessly to improve and uplift young people in her role as Assistant Principal at Frontier High School. Frontier High School predominantly serves Latino students from low socioeconomic status households with higher academic, social, emotional, and behavioral needs. During her tenure at Frontier, she established the Student Wellness Center. This award-winning center is a hub for student resources and their families and provides direct mental health counseling to students. Dr. Robles sees the potential in all people and aims to eliminate the school-to-prison pipeline endemic of other continuation schools. Her tireless dedication to restorative discipline has contributed to the recognition of Frontier High School by the California Department of Education as a Model Continuation School. Dr. Robles’ fierce dedication and commitment to students are creating pathways to success through education.
Radio Indigena 94.1 FM
Over 200 Indigenous migrants, primarily strawberry farmworkers, were pivotal in establishing the Radio Indígena 94.1 FM radio station. The vision of the radio station was and remains to amplify the collective indigenous voice in their native languages. Everyday critical information flows through the airwaves daily in at least seven variants of the Mixteco, Zapoteco, and Purepecha languages to connect families with services and programming that can be life-changing. Since Radio Indígena first aired in 2015, the station’s reach has grown to host 22 hours of weekly programming and 14 live radio shows. Program topics range from community organizing, healthcare access, mental health, and native indigenous musical programs. Radio Indígena recently launched a journalism arm to inform indigenous communities of local, state, and national news. Radio Indígena was vital in informing community members on air quality issues during the 2017 Thomas Fire, distributing factual information on the 2020 Census, and offering life-saving information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the sound waves emanating from Radio Indígena are invisible to the eye, they are made visible in the lives of its listeners, who are recognized, understood, and heard.