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Meet Luis AvilaYou are powerful,
more so when you are with others |
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Luis' passion is to collaborate with others to create platforms, spaces and opportunities for empowerment. Migrating in 2000 from Mexico, Luis stayed in the U.S. to attend college, where he developed projects with people involved in arts, politics and social justice.
After 9/11, Arizona and other states became proving grounds for legislation criminalizing undocumented immigrants. Luis and other young organizers from all backgrounds effectively advocated and challenged these harsh policies. In 2004 he learned about voting rights while registering voters in Jackson, Mississippi, as part of the American Freedom Summer program. Traveling the country and working closely with communities under attack, Luis learned that despite the toxicity of their political environments, communities are fierce in the fight for social change. These experiences were crucial when he collaborated with organizers and leaders to advocate for the DREAM Act, fight against SB1070 and challenge Sheriff Joe Arpaio's discriminatory practices in Arizona. |
His work with the Obama campaign in 2008 gave him insight on cornerstone aspects of electoral organizing. This knowledge, paired with technologies developed to boost volunteer engagement, are applied now in all his advocacy work.
Luis spearheaded Somos América in 2011, the largest immigrant-rights coalition in Arizona, and currently sits on the Boards of Advisors of Unidos US (formerly the National Council for La Raza), is an Aspen Global Fellow, and serves as Board Chair for The New Teacher Project, an organization working to end education inequality. In 2013 Luis joined 270 Strategies, a cutting-edge consulting firm founded by Obama’s field leadership team, where he currently serves as an Advisor. There, he has designed and executed important national advocacy campaigns, created innovative family engagement models with school systems around the country, and coached a new generation of community organizers around the world. In 2016, he served as Nevada's Democratic Coordinated Campaign Field Director, contributing to major victories in the state legislature, electing the first Latina Senator and delivering the state to Hillary Clinton |
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Meet Jacob Jones-Martinez
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Jacob is a long-time activist and organizer dedicated to empowering people and communities to create structural and societal change. As a child, his mother’s union, the Communication Workers Association, went on strike and Jacob saw first-hand how a community could support one another while also working to improve wages, hours, and working conditions. In college, Jacob became involved in electoral politics, volunteering first for a Senate campaign and later working on a Presidential campaign in Iowa. He worked as a union organizer with Nurses United/AFT Healthcare and with SEIU, Local 1, before attending law school at Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. There Jacob assisted in litigation against the CIty of Portland on behalf of activists and people experiencing homelessness and did advocacy work with the Northwest Constitutional Rights Center. Jacob also organized and trained legal observers and jail support for protests, demonstrations, and direct actions. He is a former Vice President for the National Lawyers’ Guild.
After law school Jacob worked as a public defender, a teacher in a maximum security juvenile facility, and as a teacher’s assistant with middle school students with physical and learning disabilities. He comes to Iconico from Cochise County Health & Social Services where he has been working with rural communities to address their health needs. He also works as trainer for New American Leaders, training a new generation of candidates and campaign staff.
Jacob serves on the Board of Directors for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, the Board of Trustees for Canyon Vista Medical Center in Sierra Vista, Arizona, and the Board of Directors for the Arizona Rural Health Association.
When not attending meetings Jacob can be found riding his bike or hiking the miles and miles of trails in Cochise County, Arizona with his wife and two daughters. Follow him on twitter @JakeM.
After law school Jacob worked as a public defender, a teacher in a maximum security juvenile facility, and as a teacher’s assistant with middle school students with physical and learning disabilities. He comes to Iconico from Cochise County Health & Social Services where he has been working with rural communities to address their health needs. He also works as trainer for New American Leaders, training a new generation of candidates and campaign staff.
Jacob serves on the Board of Directors for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, the Board of Trustees for Canyon Vista Medical Center in Sierra Vista, Arizona, and the Board of Directors for the Arizona Rural Health Association.
When not attending meetings Jacob can be found riding his bike or hiking the miles and miles of trails in Cochise County, Arizona with his wife and two daughters. Follow him on twitter @JakeM.
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Meet Monica NowakowskiIf you want to serve
your community, build leaders. |
Growing up in Phoenix, Arizona, Monica was inculcated with a dedication to community service, advocacy, and social justice through her family's extensive involvement in community organizations, organizing, and volunteerism.
She initiated her professional career in media in 2002 at a Spanish-language radio station owned by the Cesar Chavez Foundation, a national service and advocacy organization founded by the family of late civil rights leader, Cesar E. Chavez. With over 18 years of experience in media and marketing, Monica focused her expertise on the power of digital communication channels to elevate messaging and create deeper, more powerful relationships. Monica has previously served as a Marketing and Promotions manager for two national radio corporations - La Campesina and Entravision Communications - and managed over 20 million social media followers as CEO of Vision, LLC.
Wanting to return to her sense of duty to community, she now forms part of the Iconico Campaigns team helping coach organizations on their digital communications efforts, building tools that help facilitate organizing and outreach, and developing training on tools that help engage communities.
She initiated her professional career in media in 2002 at a Spanish-language radio station owned by the Cesar Chavez Foundation, a national service and advocacy organization founded by the family of late civil rights leader, Cesar E. Chavez. With over 18 years of experience in media and marketing, Monica focused her expertise on the power of digital communication channels to elevate messaging and create deeper, more powerful relationships. Monica has previously served as a Marketing and Promotions manager for two national radio corporations - La Campesina and Entravision Communications - and managed over 20 million social media followers as CEO of Vision, LLC.
Wanting to return to her sense of duty to community, she now forms part of the Iconico Campaigns team helping coach organizations on their digital communications efforts, building tools that help facilitate organizing and outreach, and developing training on tools that help engage communities.