2023 Fall Art Auction Fundraiser: Expresiones
For the third year in a row, El Futuro will host an Art Auction & Fundraiser in order to attract new supporters, raise funds for organizational sustainability, and uplift local artists and businesses.
Theme: EXPRESIONES y cultura (Expressions & Culture)
This year’s theme builds on 2022’s theme of Expresiones/Expressions, but with a closer focus on cultural pride and its reinforcing impact on optimal mental health. Culture is both something we are born into and something we create – much like mental health has synergistic and intertwined syndemic factors that can be both biological and environmental. We believe that by working in, and with, cultural knowledge and practices, we can obtain more meaningful healing for our community. As it is said: “la cultura cura.” Likewise, culture – like mental health – is not a fixed thing, but rather something in motion – as each individual and each generation incorporates the lessons of their ancestors while also exploring new paths. The national birds and flowers of Latin America (which will be thematic elements for this event) help to illustrate this as they provide national pride and sense of place to people, but they are not bound by geo-political borders. Their artistic beauty and freedom of movement are expressions of life’s deep longing for itself.
Why this is important
The target population for El Futuro services are low-resource, un- and underinsured Latino families struggling with mental health symptoms in the Triangle region, especially during the COVID19 pandemic. This is one of our region’s most marginalized communities and one that struggled with disproportionate rates of trauma exposure even before the pandemic. Approximately 85% of the clients we serve are un- or underinsured, and consistently 95% fall below 200% of poverty. Seventy percent of our clients are victims of crime, and when we last surveyed, 54% had arrived in our country as unaccompanied minors (meaning they migrated to the US without a parent or close adult relative). Typically about 40% of our clients are children, and we intentionally provide a two-generation approach to care, supporting parents who then are able to provide more nurturing environments for their children who are struggling with emotional challenges. In particular, the funds raised from the event are helping ensure continued access to services – for even more new patients and families – in the ongoing wake of increased levels of need due to these disproportionate impacts of the pandemic.
Alvely Alcántara, LCSW
Rossy C. Garcia, MEd 
Katy Sims, MD 
Everardo Aviles, LCSW, LCAS (Eve)
As a medical anthropologist and social work researcher, Dr. Gulbas’ research embodies interdisciplinarity through the integration of applied theories of health and human development with qualitative and ethnographic methodologies. Her work seeks to understand how people—children, families, and providers—navigate complex sociocultural landscapes in the pursuit of mental health. Most of her work, to date, focuses attention on developing more robust interpretations of suicide risk. With funding from the National Institutes of Mental Health, this body of research has contributed to advancements in theoretical and empirical knowledge of the broader contexts within which youth suicide risk is situated. 
R. Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez is a developmental psychologist and an assistant professor of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Dr. Barajas-Gonzalez is the principal investigator of a study that examines the impact of immigration-related threat and stress on school communities. She earned a PhD in developmental psychology from Columbia University and hold a BA in human biology from Stanford University. Dr. Barajas-Gonzalez is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and a first gen college student.
Dr. Parra-Cardona is an Associate Professor in the Steve Hicks School of Social Work (SHSSW) at the University of Texas at Austin. At the SHSSW, he serves as Coordinator for Mexico and Latin American initiatives. He also serves as Area Director for Research at the UT Austin Latino Research Institute. Dr. Parra-Cardona’s program of research is focused on the cultural adaptation of evidence-based parenting interventions for low-income Latinx populations in the US and Latin America.
Bianka Reese, PhD, MSPH is a research scientist and program evaluator specializing in adolescent and young adult sexual and reproductive health. Her previous research in the experiences of Latinx LGBTQ+ youth stems from her work as the Research and Evaluation Manager at SHIFT NC (Sexual Initiatives For Teens), where she led largescale evaluations of multilevel, community-based sexual health promotion initiatives and research projects aimed at elevating the voices of diverse youth in North Carolina. Dr. Reese is currently the Senior Research Strategist at Creative Research Solutions, LLC, an award-winning national evaluation, research, and assessment firm.
Tania Connaughton-Espino, MPH is an independent researcher focused on adolescent and young adult sexual and reproductive health. Her interest in the experiences of Latinx LGBTQ+ youth stems from her previous work with SHIFT NC (Sexual Initiatives For Teens), where she led the training and evaluation department, conducted capacity-building workshops for youth serving professionals including on the topic of how to be more affirming of LGBTQ youth, and from her extensive experience working with the Latinx population in NC.
Maru Gonzalez, EdD is an Assistant Professor and Youth Development Specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences at North Carolina State University. Her areas of inquiry include youth development with a focus on activism, social justice, and the experiences of LGBTQ+ young people across familial, school, and community contexts. 
Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, PhD
Hector Y. Adames, PsyD