Art Auction & Gala
El Futuro’s 5th Annual Art Auction and Fundraiser
Come be part of an evening full of beauty, art, music, and calor humano at El Futuro’s 2025 Art Auction, and help nurture stronger familias in our community live out their dreams. El Futuro invites you to join us in downtown Durham at The Rickhouse on Saturday, November 1st, for a night full of EXPRESIONES.
El Futuro’s Expresiones Art Auction has become one of the area’s premiere events – bringing together a rich tapestry of drivers in the fields of mental health, philanthropy, Latino leadership, and the arts for an unforgettable night. The multifaceted evening will include a Special Supporter VIP hour, a Silent and a Live Auction with fine art pieces and one-of-a-kind experiences, remarks from El Futuro’s Executive Director, a chef-designed dinner, cocktails, and a Latin fusion dance party. El Futuro’s 2025 Art Auction & Fundraiser is expected to reach 320 in-person guests, 4,000+ newsletter subscribers, and 800+ online bidders.
El Futuro is currently seeking donated items or experiences for our 2025 Art Auction & Fundraiser to be hosted on November 1st, at The Rickhouse in Durham. The goal of this event is to raise $175,000 to provide mental health services to the Spanish-speaking population of North Carolina.
Dress attire
Colorful cocktail is recommended. Wear whatever expresses your joy!
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