A Vibrant Evening of Art, Dinner, and Dancing to Support Mental Health Services in North Carolina
This past November 1st at The Rickhouse, we came together as a community to celebrate our 5th Annual Art Auction & Fundraiser, “Expresiones,” honoring life through a Día de los Muertos theme. This special event was an evening filled with art, music, and festivities.
The gala was thoughtfully curated to give mental health a voice, highlight local artists, and help families in our community enjoy a world full of EXPRESIONES. Guests enjoyed a Special Supporter cocktail hour, a catered traditional Mexican meal served by Azteca Grill, and both live and silent auctions showcasing artwork from talented North Carolina–based Latino artists such as Leandro De La Torre, Antonio Alanis, Rodrigo Dorfman, and Leticia Alvarez. The evening concluded with a vibrant fusion dance party featuring DJ Rang.
“We were excited to host ‘Expresiones’ once again and felt honored to have the support of our donors,” said Luke Smith, Executive Director of El Futuro. “This event was a wonderful opportunity to bring our community together, support mental health and wellness, and uplift the incredible artists who enrich our lives with their creativity and color.”
2025 Event Highlights
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300 guests attended the largest art auction in El Futuro’s history, enjoying the cocktail hour, catered meal, and lively auction.
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$213,000+ was raised in a single night, supporting El Futuro’s mission — a 42% increase over 2024.
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27 local and national sponsors substantially boosted event revenue.
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Media promotion featuring sponsor recognition reached 19,000 radio listeners, 15,000 social media views, and 2,800 newsletter opens, expanding community awareness of El Futuro’s work.
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Artists, local vendors, and supporters donated $33,500 in in-kind contributions to the auction.
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Special guests included Mayor Leo Williams, three Durham City Council members, North Carolina state senators, and leaders from the Latino Community Credit Union, Duke University and Duke Hospital, UNC School of Medicine, UNC Health, RTI International, Lenovo, and more.
Are you interested in supporting El Futuro’s 2026 Art Auction? Learn more here or email Mary Coffman at mcoffman@elfuturo-nc.org.
A special thank you to our vendors and in-kind product donors! Cris Alvarez photography MedMedia and AdResources printing Empire Distributors beverages Azteca Grill catering The Rickhouse venue DJ Rang audio visual entertainment.
Why this is important
El Futuro is North Carolina’s leading nonprofit organization seeking to transform Latino-serving mental health care through bilingual and culturally-responsive behavioral health services including therapy, psychiatry, substance use treatment, and case management. We serve more than 2,500 Latino youth and adults every year through outpatient clinics in Durham and Siler City and we also work to build statewide capacity for mental health providers through our La Mesita Latinx Mental Health Professional Network which has 2,000+ members serving every county in North Carolina and beyond. By supporting Expresiones 2024, you will be joining a community that believes in ensuring quality, culturally-sensitive mental health services for all.
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