We all recognize an entrepreneur from day one. Ivan Almonte is one of them; the difference is that he is not an entrepreneur of a local business but a cultural entrepreneur and mental health ambassador for the Latino community.
Ivan is one of our new Latino Community Mental Health Workers dedicated to bringing emotional well-being outside of the offices, connecting with the community, and helping to find solutions that bring healing and hope to everyone. When El Futuro contacted Iván, he saw the opportunity to work on what he is most passionate about, “For me, it is an opportunity to make a difference, work together and impact the community.”
Ivan was born in a small rural town in Michoacán, Mexico. From a very young age, he became passionate about helping his community and preserving Latino culture through traditions. He started his first youth group at the age of 15 and today is respected in the community for being an example of perseverance and constant support for all who know him. He says, “I don’t want to think about what I want and need but about what others want and need. I like to listen to people, learn about their challenges, and help them.”
After many years in his new home here in the US, he remembers very well that feeling of distance and coldness when he first moved to this country. Here, he could find new opportunities but also a different environment that made him feel like he “didn’t belong.” Today, we know that many of the Latino families we serve feel the same, perhaps in difficult economic situations, children having difficulties in school, causing feelings of depression and anxiety. That feeling led Ivan to do something productive for his people, listen, and help with his resources without any economic interest.
“After 10 years, I saw a woman and her family here in El Futuro. I had the opportunity to help them adapt better when they first arrived and look for resources to nurture the Latino culture and feel that sense of belonging they had lost. I was happy very much to see her again, well, happy and with new opportunities.”
We are grateful that Iván is one of the mental health ambassador members in El Futuro and like him, we have 60 more people committed to continuing to work for the well-being of Latinos.
Are you inspired to be an Ivan for your community?
“If we were all aware that we have a different history, we could have an ideal world where we all help each other”
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