Job Announcement
Americorps Latino Mental Health Communications Specialist
El Futuro is North Carolina’s leading provider of bilingual & culturally-responsive mental health services for the Latino community. Our mission is to nurture stronger familias to live out their dreams. We are based in Durham NC, a vibrant, diverse city and part of NC’s Research Triangle region. The AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteer Mental Health Communications Specialist will build the capacity of El Futuro’s Latino Adolescents and Young Adults Mental Health Program by developing and implementing a mental health communications and outreach program that engages Latino adolescents, young adults, and the broader community. Their work will change the narrative around Latino youth mental health, increasing community knowledge and awareness, reducing stigma about seeking care, increasing access to services, and supporting overall community wellness.
Specific activities include, but are not limited to:
-Conducting outreach/engagement with Latino adolescents and young adults, families, and the community.
-Conducting stakeholder surveys, research, and focus groups. -Leading social media campaigns designed to engage Latino youth ages 13-24, amplifying their voices and perspectives on mental health.
-Designing/developing targeted marketing and outreach materials that feature positive messaging and information about mental health and local resources.
-Developing community awareness and support by attending events and outreach opportunities. Qualifications:
-Strong communication skills including writing and generating content for diverse platforms required
-Bilingual in English/Spanish, written and spoken required
-Personal or professional experience with immigration preferred
-Professional experience and/or education in mental health, social work, counseling, community engagement, youth development, or related field preferred.
For more information contact Mary Jones, mjones@elfuturo-nc.org.
Member Duties : Member activities include but are not limited to: -Conduct community outreach focused on peer education and engagement.
-Conduct stakeholder surveys, research, focus groups, and more.
-Design and develop marketing and outreach materials targeted to Latino Adolescent and Young Adult (LAYA) that feature positive messaging and information about mental health and local resources.
-Liaise with the El Futuro LAYA Advisory Group and clinical staff to ensure that communications are grounded in community priorities and support clinical efforts.
-Develop language for the growing LAYA program communications that is relevant, youth-centered, strengths-based, and culturally-affirming.
-Lead social media campaigns designed to engage LAYA ages 13-24, amplifying their voices and perspectives on mental health.
-Develop community awareness and support by attending events and outreach opportunities.
-Support relationships with media and community partners to help us extend our mission.
Program Benefits :
Relocation Allowance , Living Allowance, Health Coverage*, Choice of Education Award or End of Service Stipend, Childcare assistance if eligible, Training .
This position is a full-time, year-long volunteer service opportunity with AmeriCorps VISTA.
The AmeriCorps VISTA program offers the following benefits:
• Living allowance (currently $22,882 per year)
• Choice of education award (currently $6,895) or end-of-service stipend (currently $1,800) upon successful completion of service
• Childcare assistance if eligible
• Health coverage
• Relocation allowance
• Training
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