Unidos Against COVID Launched in North Carolina at Critical Time to Guide an Immediate and Equitable Pandemic Response and Recovery
Super excited to be partnering with the Smithsonian award-winning Latino Community Credit Union!!
With the generous support from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the Latino Community Development Center, El Futuro, El Vinculo Hispano, LATIN-19, and La Semilla have launched the Latino Pandemic Response Collaborative. Unidos Against COVID launches as the Delta variant fuels a growing surge in COVID-19 cases and the need for equitable access to vaccines and other health and economic resources amplifies.
“At this critical time, we are thrilled to be joining forces with these talented partners. Together we are in a much better position to extend our reach and deepen our impact. The goal of Unidos Against COVID is to make sure everyone in the Latino community, many of whom are the ongoing heroes of this pandemic, have access to the resources and support they need to weather the current storm and move from recovery to prosperity,” said Luis Pastor, LCDC Executive Director.
The Unidos Against COVID partners have deep roots and are well trusted in the immigrant and Latino community. Partners will coordinate a multifaceted effort that builds on the assets within the Latino community to support an equitable pandemic response and recovery. Unidos Against COVID will organize vaccination drives that account for the logistic and cultural barriers that keep Latino vaccination rates low as well as provide linguistically accessible COVID prevention, awareness, and education efforts. Additionally, Unidos Against COVID will build the capacity of local organizations and leaders to increase access to the emergency resources, mental health services, and financial education in Latino communities across the state.
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