| 2001 Recipients (cureent as of 2010) | |
 |
|
| · Aishah Bashir | · Melissa Freeman |
| · Armando Lara | · Cristina Mora |
| · Andrea Vargas-Mendoza | |
AISHAH BASHIR, 35, graduated from U. C., Berkeley with an interdisciplinary degree in Anthropology, African American Studies and Public Health. Despite being a single mother of two children until she remarried, she has been actively engaged in projects concerning women's health. As a fellow with the Family Independence Initiative in Oakland, she developed her idea for a women's health center based on the healing traditions of the African Diaspora. In 2004, she helped to coordinate the "Black Women's Health and Healing Conference" which brought together over 200 health practitioners. Her long-standing dream of purchasing a home that would house the first phase of the women's health center has been realized and the Center has received start-up funding for the planning phase.
(Back to top)
MELISSA FREEMAN, 39, studied for her BA at U. C. Berkeley with a major in Rhetoric. She spent a semester in Washington, D.C. interning at the World Bank on a project to develop Internet access in rural areas of developing countries. She worked for several years at a law firm in Oakland, gaining practical experience while studying for the LSAT. Her goal is to provide legal support to low income women, (one of her passions), after obtaining a law degree.
(Back to top)
ARMANDO LARA, See 2006 entry (awarded a second New Leader Scholarship)
(Back to top)
CRISTINA MORA, 29, graduated from U. C., Berkeley with a major in Sociology and a minor in Public Policy. In 2009 she completed her doctorate at Princeton and was awarded a one year Provost Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Sociology at the University of Chicago. She has conducted research on sexual abuse of women in Latino communities. While at Princeton, Cristina was awarded scholarships for her entire period of study. Eight years ago, she was chosen as a National Science Foundation Pre-Dissertation Fellow, one of four students chosen nationally in Sociology. Her primary research interest centers on understanding the changing dynamics of immigrant communities and assessing the role of culture in immigrant adaptation. This led to conducting fieldwork on the US Latino news media for her dissertation. Cristina's goal of being an "activist" professor is in the process of being realized as she applies for professorships this fall.
(Back to top)
ANDREA VARGAS-MENDOZA, 29, graduated from U. C. Berkeley with a major in Rhetoric. Starting in high school, she developed and participated in Student Success Workshops in Castro Valley, guided by her parents' strong activism in the Latino community. After graduating from Berkeley, she enrolled at Santa Monica Community College to explore her other compelling interest in art. She moved to Providence Rhode Island for one year and continued her studies in art, taking courses at the Rhode Island School of Design. At the present time, Andrea lives and teaches in Southern California, continuing her art in the form of film making projects, painting and other artistic endeavors, all from a Latino activist perspective.
(Back to top)
