Latino Community Fund Team
Our success is directly attributed to leadership, expertise, and visionary insight of this team. Learn more about the dynamic individuals leading the way to a stronger community.
Capacity Building and Development Team
Lilliane Ballesteros (she/her)
Executive Director
Lilliane has 15 years of experience working with nonprofits and community organizations to develop and implement funding strategies, and advocate for program and policy changes. She started working with LCF in 2013 in a Development Role. since 2019, she has served in her current role as Executive Director to support and build statewide power with Latinx/e communities. Lilliane loves exploring WA State, including eating oysters in Seattle, clamming on the coast, and enjoying the Yakima River.
Yesenia Gonzalez
Development Organizer
Finance Team
Luis Fernando Ramirez Limon
Finance Director
Luis Fernando has been working for LCF since 2020, he is in charge of the Finance Department and it is one of his passions. He has been involved in the field of nonprofits for over 15 years. When he's not into the professional world, he loves spending time with his husband. His perfect vacation is at the beach.
Ivonne Vigo
Finance Support and Grant Management
Community Programs Team
Luzmila Freese
Director of Community Programs – Health and Economic Empowerment
Luzmila manages LCF’s Economic Empowerment and Healthy Latino Family Initiatives, both of which focus on creating and establishing long terms solutions to address deeply rooted problems affecting underserved Latino communities. She has been leading efforts to foster relationships between underrepresented communities and governmental institutions, increase awareness about existing socio-economic disparities, and elevating the role of promotoras in community-based interventions. With a background in international non-profit organizations and companies, she joined LCF in 2018. Luzmila holds a dual Master’s degree in Sustainable International Development and Conflict Resolution and Coexistence from the Heller School of Social Policy at Brandeis University.
Maria Martinez
Health Program Coordinator
Maria is the Program Coordinator for the Healthy Latino Families Initiative. In her role, she supports various projects that address food insecurity, unequal access to healthcare services, and food safety and pollution. She is responsible for the administrative aspects of the projects and for the organization of effective community engagement activities. María is deeply invested in education and community work; she believes that engaging in meaningful conversations and listening with purpose are critical to understand the needs and challenges of the Latino community. She joined LCF in September of 2019; the same year in which she received her Bachelor of Arts in Education, Community and Organization from the University of Washington.
Erik Michel
Latinos in Tech Organizer
Erik Michel was raised in Skagit County, Washington and obtained his electrical engineering degree at the University of Washington. He is passionate about finding ways to make processes more efficient with technology and enjoys creating tech-based learning opportunities for the community.
Erik Michel creció en el condado de Skagit, Washington y obtuvo su título en ingeniería eléctrica en la Universidad de Washington en 2022. Le apasiona encontrar formas de hacer los procesos más eficientes con la tecnología y disfruta creando oportunidades de aprendizaje basadas en tecnología para la comunidad.
Civic Engagement and Youth Leadership Team
Jake Garcia
Policy Director
Jake Garcia is the Policy Director for Latino Community Fund of Washington. He hails from Vancouver, WA where he cut his teeth organizing farmers and farmworkers while also working for various state and local political campaigns. Now, Jake spends his time lobbying for Latinx community priorities and developing public policy to reduce poverty. In his spare time, he can be found rooting for the Mariners and Kraken, hiking in the North Cascades, or fishing for rainbow trout in one of Western Washington’s many pristine lakes and rivers.
Cristine Ortega
Statewide Manager for Civic Engagement and Advocacy
Cristina has been a community activist, organizer and a grassroots movement builder based in central Washington for over 20 years, focusing on farmworkers issues, Immigrant and LGBTQ+ rights and much more. She is an experienced fundraiser, having raised over thousands of funds for community programs. Cristina remains an advocate for the most vulnerable and pulls her community up when most needed. #LaLuchaSigue
Daniel Gomez
Community Organizer - King County
Daniel is the current King County Community Organizer at LCF. He was born in Mexico and raised in Oregon where he earned a double major in Political Science and Spanish at the University of Oregon. Before working at LCF, Daniel was a tutor at an after school program, an interpreter at a volunteer-run clinic and more recently he serves as president at a Latinx non-profit in Oregon.
Armida Rivera
Community Organizer - Yakima Community
Armida was born in Colima Mexico, and was raised in Michoacan, at the age of 15 her family emigrated to the U.S. where she began working in agriculture. Armida successfully obtained her GED and is a DACA recipient. Armida has always had a passion to fight for people's rights and advocating for a fair immigration reform. Being the strong activist that she is, she decided to take part in the warehouse strikes of 2020. Armida credits this decision for the positive changes and opportunities that came after. Armida began to volunteer doing community outreach and organizing and in 2022 she started working as an organizer for LCF.
Giovanni Severino
Youth Campaign Manager
Giovanni Severino is a passionate activist and is an advocate for social justice. He was born and raised in South Los Angeles, CA. While he lived in LA, he participated in multiple marches such as The May Day March, and the Occupy LA March. His family moved to Yakima, WA when he was 17 years of age. Since then, he has engaged in community efforts to improve the livelihood of marginalized communities in the area. He attended Yakima Valley College where he earned an Associate's in Arts and served as the ASYVC Director of Student Programs 2015-2016. He is a recent graduate from Central Washington University where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Political Science. He served as the ASCWU Student Body President 2017-2018, and as a Co-Chair for MEChA de CWU. He is excited to be part of Latino Community Fund to ensure that all communities get the representation they deserve.
Aline Aguirre
Alianza Youth Leadership Program Organizer - King County
Aline is the current Youth Organizer in King County in LCF’s Alianza Youth Leadership Program. Originally from Mexico and an experienced mental health advocate with a degree in Psychology from the University of Texas at Dallas, Aline has worked with Latinx immigrant youth and families since they graduated from college in 2018. They joined Alianza as a Fellow in Spring of 2021 and today works to empower youth to raise their voice through collective work to bring change to their communities in Washington State.