Thank you for joining the party to celebrate the Latino culture in Durham this month. Our Plaza Futuro was full of mothers with their families, full of smiles and culture. We are happy to have the opportunity to connect with our community and provide mental health beyond the clinic walls. Why do we do this? We asked Mary Jones, our Manager of Client Care and Engagement at El Futuro. See what she said.
“La Kermes means a celebration of Latin American culture and color! It is a time to come together in solidarity and community to celebrate who we are and be proud of it! The Kermes raises our sense of belonging and the value that as immigrants, we bring to this country, without ceasing to have our hearts in our country of origin. It is an event that displays the leadership of our community, and the support that El Futuro gives with open arms, to continue dreaming and strengthening families! Long live The Kermes and our Comunidad!”
Also, we want to highlight the amazing work from all our volunteers, vendors with their delicious food that transport us to our roots, dancers from all over Latino America, Dj Baez playing the best latino music, Oscar Cervantez with an amazing Zumba class and all our supportes.
“I am proud of my Hispanic/Latino roots and I would like for other people to get to know us through our music, dance, food and arts and I also love to learn about other Latin American countries too. I love supporting this event because it spreads the awareness of our cultures and people who don’t know us, can see more than just a taco or a 5 de mayo .” – Susana Diaz, volunteer
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