El Futuro staff and supporters share a passion for nurturing the lives of individuals, families and children who are bravely facing mental health symptoms – many of which are the result of living with years of inequities, injustices, and racism. We believe in nurturing not only las familias who come to our clinic, but also the vibrant identities, voices, and lives of our Black neighbors.
The challenges in the world in this extraordinary moment are many. We know that racial and ethnic inequities are a large contributor to health disparities. The medical casualties due to COVID-19 bear witness to this fact. In North Carolina today the data show that African-Americans account for 35 percent of the COVID-19 fatalities, yet African-Americans make up just 22 percent of the state’s population. Furthermore, the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor are a tragic and all too frequent reminder of the ongoing systemic inequities and racism – making it more clear than ever that the time for change, for action, for a new and better way forward, is now.
Although we have struggled this week to find adequate words that contribute meaningfully to a healing conversation, we think it’s important to state very clearly: El Futuro values the lives of Black people. El Futuro stands in solidarity with our Black neighbors. Black lives matter.
As an organization, we are responsible for bringing meaningful action to our words. We, too, are accountable to making changes within our organization, and we also want to be part of the important work that needs to be done in our community. We vow to continue listening, to continue learning, to continue to nurture the rayos del sol (rays of sun) in each member of our community, and to work to dismantle inequities in our mental health system and beyond.
Many worthy organizations are bringing meaningful action plans forward, advocating, educating, and leading the way. We’re doing our homework to learn who these are. In the coming days, please stay tuned for us to share what we’re learning.
Thank you for being our community. Thank you for making it vibrant. Thank you for shining your rayos del sol. We see you. We hear you. We are with you.
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