We stand with Familias: Uncaged and United
We stand on the shoulders of many great women, grandmothers, mothers, aunts, sisters, and comadres who have lived an unabashed history of resisting and persisting. CLF is an organization with strong social justice leanings and activism. This year’s Gala theme is “We stand with Familias: Uncaged and United.” We take a stand and refuse to have our children in cages and in camps.
Friday, October 18, 2019
6:00 pm – 9:30 pm
The Westin St. Francis
335 Powell Street – San Francisco, CA
Legacy Award

María Blanco
María Blanco is Executive Director of the Immigrant Student Legal Services Center that provides immigration-related legal services for undocumented students and their families at nine University of California campuses. The Center is a project of the University of California Office of the President.
With a BA and JD from UC Berkeley of Law, Blanco has more than 20 years’ experience as a civil rights litigator and advocate. She most recently served as Vice President of Civic Engagement at the California Commun
ity Foundation. Blanco has also served as Executive Director of the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute at UC Berkeley School of Law, as Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, and as National Senior Counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. She is a member of the Public Policy Institute of California Board of Directors and the California Citizens’ Redistricting Commission.
Emerging Leader Award

Lariza Dugan-Cuadra
Executive Director of CARECEN (Central American Resource Center) in SF. Lariza Dugan Cuadra is a passionate, creative and effective immigrant rights advocate, working to achieve safe, healthy, welcoming and equitable communities. As Executive Director, Lariza continues to build on CARECEN’s 33-year commitment and mission of responding to the needs and aspirations of the Central American diaspora and greater Latino community. CARECEN’s core areas of focus include excellence in social service programs; advocacy for immigrant rights, restorative justice and Latino health; and a transnational vision for Latinos to thrive in the U.S. and in countries of origin.
Prior to joining CARECEN in 2012, Lariza worked for the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development in San Francisco, managing public service grants and community building initiatives. She worked at San Francisco’s local PBS station –KQED, developing education/media literacy and Latino outreach initiatives, and for years consulted on projects with San Francisco State University’s Marian Wright Edelman Institute, Children’s Book Press, First5 San Francisco, Latino Community Foundation, Active Voice, Sesame Workshop and other initiatives. She is a founding member and former Community Co-Chair for UCSF’s University Community Partnerships Counsel –a leading multi-stakeholder health equity initiative, She was the lead planner and founding Co-convener for the Roadmap to Peace –SF’s leading violence prevention and restorative justice collaboration for transitional aged Latino youth citywide, and she currently serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors of Alianza Americas –a national network of immigrant lead organizations.
Lariza has a Bachelor’s degree in Humanities with emphasis in Community Development, and a Minor in Ethnic Studies. She holds a certificate in Early Childhood Education & Family Development. She attended City College of San Francisco, San Francisco State University and New College of California.
Si Se Puede Award

UniteHere!
Honoring the hotel workers who fought so hard for their benefits and rights last year. UNITE HERE is an organization of working people, coming together to win dignity and higher standards in the hospitality industry and beyond. They are the hotel and restaurant workers’ union of San Francisco and San Mateo counties. Their 12,000 members are the housekeepers and dishwashers, servers and bartenders, cooks and bellmen who welcome millions of visitors every year to the Bay Area.
They organize together to raise standards for working people throughout our region – they fight for livable wages, health care, retirement funds, and a voice on the job. Their union is affiliated with UNITE HERE, an international labor union that represents 270,000 working people across the U.S. and Canada.
2019 Scholarship Awardees
Anahi Hernandez Vazquez
Psychology, Menlo College
Anai Gomez
Kiniesiology, University of San Francisco
Andrea Marisela Serrano
Nursing, University of San Francisco
Angela Rascon
Ethnic Studies, St. Mary’s College of California
Cindy Tenorio
Public Health, UC Berkeley
Dulce Galicia
Public Policy, Mills College
Erika Castaño
Sociology, UC Berkely
Esmeralda Vargas
Human Development, Sonoma State University
Evelia Zarate Fernandez
Business Management, University of San Francisco
Gabriela Cervantes
Education Leadership, Mills College
Gabriella Sergi
Juris Doctor Law, University of San Francisco
Iveth Cuellar Celallos
Psychology, University of San Francisco
Jaqueline Mata Juarez
Sociology, Chabot College
Jennifer Campuzano
Business Administration, San Francisco State
Jocelyn Lopez
Ethnic Studies, UC Berkeley
Karen Crespo Triveno
International Studies, University of San Francisco
Kimberly Ortega Ramirez
Psychology, Notre Dame De Namur University
Laura Danielle Medina
Social Work, UC Berkeley
Lesly Avendano
Political Science, UC Berkeley
Liliana Chavez
Biology, San Francisco State
Maria Alvarado
Sociology, San Francisco State
Mariajose Hinojosa Rodriguez
Criminal Studies, Sacramento City College
Maribel López Gonzalez
Political Science, Cal State East Bay
Maryam Al-Helew
Nursing, San Jose State
Rosa Estrada
Biology, San Francisco State
Rubi Bucio
Dental, Santa Rosa Junior College
Savannah Rodriguez
Business / Economics, Chabot College
Valentina Vigil
Social Welfare, UC Berkeley
Yaneth Gutierrez
Political Science, San Jose State
Zoe Carrasco
Nursing, University of San Francisco