Elva Yañez

Community leader and environmentalist, Elva Yañez, joined the Audobon Center at Debs Park as director. In her new role, she will expand the center’s nature education programs to reach more children and their families, and advocate for sound environmental policies and measures affecting the Los Angeles community. Elva will also lead communications and outreach strategies to strengthen the Center’s relationships with the community.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help make the Audobon Center at Debs Park an even more vital community resource for environmental education and conservation,” says Yañez.
Previously, Elva served as director of the Center for Parks and Health for the Trust for Public Land where she created the Health Parks, Healthy Communities Program.
 

“Elva brings a strong mix of experience, community involvement and strategic thinking to the Center,” says Glenn Olson, executive director of Audobon, “Her commitment to Los Angeles, its residents, and local communities makes her the ideal director to raise the profile of the Center in surrounding communities, build support for environmental protection and establish partnerships among residents, environmentalists, political leaders and others.”

Monica L. Martinez

Monica L. Martinez was appointed vice president of Hispanic Business Affairs for Comerica. A Detroit native, Martinez directs Comerica’s Hispanic business and community outreach. She is responsible in building relationships and outreach initiatives with an emphasis on the bank’s expanding markets nationwide.

Prior to this, Martinez was the grassroots and political communications manager at Ford Motor Company. “The addition of Monica signifies Comerica’s ongoing commitment to building strong relationships with Hispanic business owners, entrepreneurs, and the communities where they do business,” says Linda Forte, senior vice president of Business Affairs. “Her vast expertise and demonstrated track record in diversity management, community relations and government relations will be an important asset.”
 

Brigadier General Angela Salinas

On August 2, 2006, former Colonel Angela Salinas became the first Latina ever to become Brigadier General in the U.S. Two days later, she became the first Hispanic woman ever to command a Marine base. She assumed command of the 8th, 9th and 12th Marine Corps Districts, as well as the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, California, and the Western Recruiting Region. That means each of the 24 recruiting stations and 3 districts west of the Mississippi now fall under her authority.

Every year, some 20,000 young men gather at San Diego’s Marine Corps Recruit Depot, and Salinas, in her capacity as Brigadier General, is responsible for their transformation from a young civilian into a United States Marine. “To watch those young people voluntarily come down here and put their feet down on the yellow footprints, and endure twelve weeks of the most difficult training in any branch of the service, to earn title of U.S. Marine is the most exciting piece of what I get to do,” she says. “When their moms and dads see them twelve weeks later, they stand taller, they’re imbued with this love of country, of their corps, of a higher being, they truly are selfless. That is just tremendous to me and such a responsibility.” That decision alone keeps her in constant motion. In addition to her numerous duties Salinas attends military functions across the country. She visits as many of her recruiting stations as possible each month “I like to be around my Marines, thanking them for the sacrifices they’re making, thanking their families,” she says. Salinas is one of several Marines who serves as a promotion board member, her roles is to ensure selected qualified Marines for promotion.