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    • Coalición Fortaleza

      We are a Latino/a/x (hispanic/latino)-led, inter-generational coalition of community members, leaders, volunteers and organizations in the Rogue Valley, formed in the aftermath of the Almeda Fires.

       

      Our coalition seeks to weave a tapestry of many colors from many directions that will lift our peoples’ hearts up in this recovery, that will center healing, seed hope for our youth, and will give us the strength we need to prepare collectively for the climate challenges that are ahead of us.

       

      Read our latest newsletter:

      "Housing is a Universal Right,
      not a privilege"
      - English & Español

       

    • 🌿 Climate Survival Youth Fellowship 🌿

      We are excited to be launching the first-ever Climate Survival Youth Fellowship, running 5/7/2022 - 6/11/2022, in partnership with People's Hub!

       

      This program is designed to strengthen our powerful young people in the Rogue Valley between the ages of 16-22 to grow their climate leadership! Accepted participants will receive a $1,000 stipend for successful completion of the program!

       

      INFO: bit.ly/PHcsyf22

       

      🌿 Climate Survival Youth Fellowship 🌿

      ABOUT THE PROGRAM

      For young climate survivors of the #AlmedaFire,

      ages 16-22, who want:

       

      • Emergency and emotional preparedness skills

      • Knowledge and materials to build an emergency prep kit

      • Opportunities to engage in the local Solidarity Economy

      rebuilding efforts

      • Collective strategies to increase neighborhood resilience

      • Community Advocacy and public speaking skills

      • $1,000 dollar stipend, certificate of completion

      • And more!

    • The Vision

      To see our Latino/a/x community of the Rogue Valley prosper. We work to create a future where every Latino/a/x voice can be heard and where Latino/a/x people can thrive with dignity, peace and justice. No solutions about us without us.

    • The Purpose

      We believe that by fostering long term disaster resiliency and financial autonomy we can create a path for strengthening Latino/a/x families’ well-being in the face of climate change. Therefore, we are seeking to restore the Latino/a/x and indigenous communities and neighborhoods in the form of resident-owned communities (ROC’s), cooperative housing models or other permanent housing solutions to grow our autonomy, restore our social capital, and ensure a long-term solution to the housing and climate crisis that disproportionately threatens our BIPOC communities.

    • The People

      We are a Latino/a/x (hispanic/latino)-led, inter-generational coalition of community members, leaders, volunteers, and organizations in the Rogue Valley. We represent a mixed-status, working-class community with deep roots here. We are of many ages, abilities, faiths, and cultural backgrounds. We have decades of experience responding to exploitation, discrimination, environmental injustice, racism, poverty, and housing inequality. We are experts in our fields of supporting the economic liberation of Latino/a/x communities.

    • Keys to Recovery

      1. Authentic community leadership & representation.

      2. Cultures of resilience & sustainability.

      3. Social and economic solidarity.

      4. Preservation of the local economy.

    • What We Do

      Coalición Fortaleza has been serving and will continue to serve the Latinx families who
      were impacted by the Almeda Fire in the areas of Talent, Phoenix, and unincorporated areas of
      Jackson County. We know our families are a diverse community of farmworkers, seasonal
      workers, low-income, mix-status, undocumented, disabled and now climate migrants. We are
      working at a hyper-local level to advocate, serve and mobilize the Latinx community that lived
      in manufactured home parks and federally-funded apartment complexes.

      We are all one disaster away from becoming climate refugees, but when the time comes
      for recovery, social injustices exacerbated by climate disaster leave Black, Indigenous and
      People of Color (BIPOC) communities out of decision-making processes that will impact us
      first and foremost. From our involvement in fire relief and rebuilding work in Jackson County
      over these past 8 months, we have learned the gaps that exist in the recovery efforts and the
      importance of having authentic leadership that is from the impacted community to advocate
      and stay in relation with all fire impacted folks.

      As experts of our own lived experiences, we have the imaginations, local knowledge
      and largest stake in ensuring that the rebuilding solutions don’t recreate the systems and
      conditions that have kept us in poverty and without access to life-saving information and
      resources. We will focus on community-led solutions that will serve our most impacted
      members. Coalición Fortaleza is partnering with CASA of Oregon, who is deeply rooted in
      service to farmworkers, and strives to improve the livelihoods of underserved communities by
      building and renovating affordable housing and neighborhood facilities and providing
      programs and resources that increase families’ financial well-being.

    • The Team

      Celines Garcia

      Cultural Community Organizer

      Celines Garcia is a first-generation Xicana whose parents have contributed to maintaining the largest local economic industries in the Rogue Valley such as agriculture and forestry. She is bilingual and bicultural and graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in General Social Science with a focus in crime, law and society and two minors in legal studies and business administration. She comes to Coalición Fortaleza with a fierce passion to lead the recovery and advocacy efforts as well as is equipped to advocate for her community and push forward our communities needs, priorities and demands. Prior to doing community organizing, Celines served as a Social Worker for the State of Oregon and understands the intricacies of policies at the state, we know will fortify her efforts to advance our mission. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with loved ones, exploring the outdoors, and taking care of her houseplants.

      Dani Leonardo

      Communications Consultant

      Dani Leonardo [they/she] is a kin-centric facilitator, organizer and consultant, born and raised in Southern Oregon in a mixed family, her mother a daughter of Filipino immigrants. Dani brings a background in permaculture design and a grounding in anti-oppressive practice, currently working as Director of Equity at the Post Growth Institute and communications consultant at Coalición Fortaleza. Dani has been working in movement spaces in a wide variety of roles including volunteer coordinator, youth mentor, community facilitator, administrative assistant, and social media support for the past seven years, working with a myriad of organizations and community projects. Dani’s work centers around collaboration, co-liberation and justice, employing tools such as sociocracy (dynamic governance), lean methodology, and asset-based approaches. 
      Dani is a musician, a lover of the color purple, and a nerd for plants, polyrhythms and Hayao Miyazaki movies. Dani lives and works on Shasta and Takelma land in the Rogue Valley, and in her free time you can find her at the piano or in the garden. 

      Diana Ramos Alonzo

      Administrative Coordinator

      Diana Ramos Alonzo serves as the Administrative Coordinator for Coalición Fortaleza. In 2010, Diana emigrated from México along with her family and currently resides in Southern Oregon. She is a proud immigrant, mexicana woman, and first-generation college graduate. 
      She has served in different leadership roles such as Interim President for the Latino Student Union at SOU, the 20-21 Multicultural Affairs Senator for ASSOU, as well as Social Media Coordinator for Project de la Raíz. Her work is dedicated to the empowerment of the Latinx community, centering advocacy for women and youth. 
      Diana is also a multi-medium artist, her work ranges from sculpture to painting. Her artistry is often inspired by social issues and each piece aims to uplift the voice of the community she represents. She believes that art can be a powerful tool to fight for justice and positive change in her community and in the world.  Diana received her Bachelor's degree in Spanish with a minor in Art from Southern Oregon University.

      Erica Alexia Ledesma

      Executive Director

      Erica Alexia Ledesma [she/they] is a first-generation xicana born and raised in Southern Oregon with ancestral roots in Nayarit and Zacatecas, Mexico. Erica is a visual artist, story keeper, youth mentor, and community organizer currently based in Takelma Land (Medford, Oregon). Her work centers visual art and story sharing to build community and address her cultural identity.  In 2018, Erica co-founded a project called Noche de cuentos (Night of Stories), which creates a Latinx space for the community to come together and practice remembering and telling their stories. In 2019 Erica partnered up with The Hearth– becoming the director of the Latinx Story Project creating a project called De La Raíz (From The Roots) that focuses on centering and uplifting the stories of her Latinx communities. She believes in the power of telling and reclaiming our stories as a means of remembering and spiritual healing. Erica received Bachelors degrees in Ethnic Studies, Cultural Anthropology and Spanish from the University of Oregon. But she would say that a lot of her experience comes from being chismosa and curious. She is currently the Executive Director of Coalicion Fortaleza, a community-based organization focused on rebuilding the BIPOC solidarity economy and resident-owned communities in southern Oregon from the ashes of wildfires.
    • Board of Directors

      Niria Alicia

      Niria Alicia is a Xicana climate justice organizer, educator and storyteller dedicated to protecting the sacredness of Mother Earth and the dignity of historically oppressed peoples. Born in a migrant farmworker community, her struggle for liberation and justice exists at the intersections of migrant justice, climate justice and indigenous rights. She works to bring spirit and culture into everything she does. Niria has worked nationally and internationally designing and implementing holistic curriculum and programs with an environmental justice and spiritual foundation which works to bring about social transformation by centering healing and care. Niria has worked with an array of groups and organizations designing stories and campaigns that encourage everyday people to actualize their potential and power. Her heart has guided her to be in service on the Run4Salmon journey; to the US-Mexico border providing humanitarian aid; to Standing Rock and Mauna Kea; and to the halls of the United Nations where she has been a speaker, has led healing circles, indigenous youth delegations, and has been a part of organizing historical direct actions. In 2019 she received the national ‘Emerging Leader Award’ from GreenLatinos’ and the internationally recognized ‘EE 30 under 30’ award from the North American Association for Environmental Education.

      Teresa Cisneros

      Teresa is an Indian Education Facilitator with Southern Oregon Education Service District, working to bridge the institutional gap for Indigenous students and families in the education system. With a rich history of participation in social justice initiatives, and herself being Esto’kna (Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas tribal member), Teresa is committed to supporting a decolonized approach for housing and income, and contributing to the healing of the original people of this land.

      Rose Ojeda

      A belief in housing as a human right drives Rose’s commitment to creating healthy homes in thriving communities.  A stint with the US Department of HUD and immersion in federal housing policy reinforced that commitment.  Rose brings more than 27 years in the real estate industry as broker, developer, and asset manager.  She holds a BA from Linfield College and maintains an active real estate license in Oregon.  She has served as a volunteer board member on numerous non-profit boards and advisory committees. Rose has worked with CASA of Oregon to help expand an innovative affordable housing program in predominantly rural communities, the Manufactured Housing and Cooperative Development Center, an affiliate program of the national ROC USA® model.  She helped develop CASA’s initial five manufactured housing cooperative developments, preserving almost 400 manufactured housing spaces. She also preserved existing Farm Labor and other rural affordable housing throughout Oregon. 
      In 2017 she served as the Director of Real Estate Development for Hacienda CDC, and led the redevelopment of the Phase 1 Las Adelitas project, a 145 unit, new construction, affordable housing mixed-use development with over 9000 square feet of community center space.  Rose also led other development activities including the mixed-use redevelopment of the Villa de Clara Vista, Hacienda’s oldest housing project, acquisition of the Arbor Mobile Home Park with Saint Vincent DePaul Center, the innovative Equity First Affordable Small Home’s project, and initiated the Phase II Las Adelitas commercial project with plans to include a child care center and affordable commercial spaces for local non-profits or social enterprises.

      Judith Corona​

      Judith Corona is a woman entrepreneur and NLP life coach, preschool assistant, event organizer and decorator at Melody's Party Events. Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, and  now calls Southern Oregon her home. Mother of three children and the youngest was diagnosed with autism, which has led her to be more aware, empathetic and advocate with other mothers whose children are diagnosed with disabilities and chronic diseases. Judith is a woman of faith and hope for a better world and has used her voice as a volunteer broadcaster for community station KSKQ in Ashland, OR where she focused on sharing useful information for the people. Judith is a survivor of the Almeda fire and has been active in recovery efforts, including being a part of the NSWA meetings where the vision for the cooperative housing project that pave the way for Coalición Fortaleza.

      Ana Byers

      Ana Byers is the Executive Director of Rogue World Music (an Ashland, OR-based arts nonprofit), and has spent over a decade working in the nonprofit sector of the Rogue Valley and in the arts. Ana brings a wealth of experience in witnessing the power of and participating in cross-cultural connection via storytelling, music, and dance from her upbringing in a community that is rural, agricultural, predominantly migrant, mixed-status, Latinx, Native American, and Filipino, on the Yakama Reservation, in Washington State. Her education includes a B.A. in Theater Arts and a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management (Southern Oregon University). Outside of her day job, Ana serves on the governing council for the City of Talent, the board of directors for the Talent Urban Renewal Agency, and as the council liaison for the Talent Parks and Recreation Commission.
    • Updates

      Keep an eye out for updates on what we're up to here!

      Housing is a Universal Right, not a privilege - May 20, 2022

      No matter how much housing continues to be treated as a privilege and commodity, Housing is a human right.

      Climate Ready Neighborhoods - March 23rd, 2022

      Our goal? To build climate resilient neighborhoods to ensure the survival and perseverance of our future generations.

      Nourishing Our Roots in 2022 - January 26th, 2022

      We look at how during the winter season the trees return their focus to the roots to tend to their foundation. We remember the moments in 2021 where our roots were fortified and just about every one of those memories involved gathering with our community.

      “Why don’t we just buy our neighborhoods back?” - December 14th, 2021

      What would you do for the places you love? We’ve sat with this question for the past 13 months and have been moved to tears by the bravery, loyalty, love and commitment that everyone on our team has demonstrated this past year.

       

      We Are Coalición Fortaleza - Introductory Newsletter, November 3rd, 2021

      The story of Coalicion Fortaleza is simple.We do this work for the love of our land, our people and the future generations of all life.

    • About the Almeda Fire

      Articles and other media regarding the Fires that swept through our communities in September of 2020

      Articles

       

      Home after fire: A new housing model aims to give kids stability - High Country News
      October 8th, 2021
       

      Wildfire Took These Families' Homes, Here's Why They Stay - NY Times

      September 8th, 2021

       

      Interactive Almeda Fire commemorative walk begins -KTVL

      September 8th, 2021

       

      Months into Wildfire Recovery - OPB

      February 21, 2021

       

      When Oregon’s Wildfires Swept Through My County, Mutual Aid Brought Us Together - Vogue

      December 22, 2020

       

      Urban wildfire: When homes are the fuel for a runaway blaze, how do you rebuild a safer community? - Seattle Times

      October 4, 2020

       

      How Southern Oregon Communities are Working to Build Back Better After the Almeda Fire - Medium

      September 16th, 2020

      Television & Other Media

      Brief But Spectacular take on surviving a wildfire - PBS NewsHour

      Jocksana is interviewed about her and her family's experience

      November 12th, 2021

       

      Remembering the Big Fires One Year Later - iJPR

      Erica, Niria, Teresa interviewed with other community members

      September 8th, 2021

       

      The Almeda Fire One Year Later - SOPBS Local Focus

      Niria is interviewed with other community members

      September 7th, 2021

    • Support Our Work

      We appreciate your support! Use the button below to donate via PayPal, or you can send your donation in care of:

      Coalición Fortaleza, 1515 S. Oakdale Avenue, Medford OR 97501

       

       
      Coalición Fortaleza is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and donations are tax deductible.
      Our EIN is: 86-1300961

    • Our gratitude goes to the Oregon Community Foundation, Redtail Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation, Seeding Justice, PacifCorp, The Ford Family Foundation and the Rogue Valley Relief Fund for believing in us and enabling us to grow the organizational capacity of Coalición Fortaleza.

    • Contact Us

      Please reach out here with any questions or comments, and you can also sign up for our mailing list just below this form!

      1515 S Oakdale Ave
      Medford, Oregon 97501
      541-236-5605
      541-236-5605
      admin@coalicionfortaleza.org
      Submit/Entregar
    • Mailing List

      If you'd like to stay updated on the work that we're doing, sign up here to receive our newsletters! You can expect no more than one or two emails per month, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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    Contact

    541-236-5605

    admin@coalicionfortaleza.org

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