Meet Our Team

Angelica was born and raised in Colombia, holds a B. A. degree in Business Administration from EAFIT University in Medellin and a Master’s degree in Personal Development and Leadership from the University of Barcelona, and completed a one-semester internship in London. At Casa Latinos Unidos, Angelica coordinates the organization’s outreach and social media activities, and manages the volunteering and fundraising programs. Before that, she spent a year and a half with the Corvallis Multicultural Literacy Center as the Marketing and Social Media Coordinator. In her free time she enjoys spending quality time with her family, going to the beautiful parks and the Oregon coast as well as studying about healthy habits and self-care.

Alejandra Sanchez joins Casa Latino Unidos with a passion of helping underserved communities. She brings her experience as a Bilingual/Bicultural Clinic Health Navigator, where she worked directly with providers to ensure access to medical, mental, and dental treatments for the uninsured and underinsured population. Her focus is to engage patients in their care plan and help patients navigate the healthcare system. Alejandra hopes to help eliminate health care disparities and build healthier communities.

Lidia was born in Oaxaca, Mexico and was raised in Albany, OR from the age of 6 years old. Growing up, she joined sports like rugby, soccer, and track and field. Lidia worked as an agricultural worker for over six years before deciding to go back to college to get an accounting clerk certificate. While in school, she volunteered for the Greater Albany School district for about two years. After finishing her certificate, she worked at the Oregon Department of Revenue as a civil servant to Oregonians. After that, she wanted to help the Latinx community which led her to find Casa Latinos Unidos. Lidia is passionate about being a community health worker because she went through similar experiences some of CLU clients go through. She is grateful to get the opportunity to advocate for them. Lidia is a dog lover, and in her free time loves to read self-improvement books and enjoys hiking the beautiful trails Oregon has to offer.

Misael (el/elle) identifies as a first-generation Latinx individual. He was born and raised in Long Beach, California. His parents and family come from Mexico and parts of Central America. Growing up, Misael has always been a fan of photography and enjoyed taking pictures of family and friends with a cheap digital camera he purchased from the store. Although a hobby, photography is something that Misael hopes to continue to discover and learn more about in the future. Misael graduated from Cal State University, Long Beach with a double bachelor’s in Marketing and Sociology. While in school, he took on a Marketing and Public Relations internship at the Historic Rancho Los Cerritos site where he worked with social media, video editing, and bilingual programming. Once he graduated, Misael worked as a Marketing Representative for a social service nonprofit in Long Beach. There, he worked with the Latino/x and Spanish-speaking community and found his passion for advocating para la comunidad. Last year, he made the impulsive decision to move to Oregon and so far he’s enjoyed the beautiful sceneries and landscapes that this state offers. Misael is excited to continue learning and growing with the Casa Latinos Unidos team.

Brenda Watts is originally from Montana but loves Oregon!

She first came here to study Romance Languages (Spanish, French, Italian) at the University of Oregon, where she completed her PhD in 2000. Her dissertation,

Historical Transgressions: The Creation of a Transnational Female Political Subject in Works by Chicana Writers, focuses on many wonderful works by Chicana writers, including Paletitas de guayaba by our founder, Dr. Erlinda Gonzalez-Berry.

Brenda moved to Lebanon in 2006 and worked in higher education before joining Casa Latinos Unidos. Most recently she worked at Western Oregon University from 2009-2023, teaching Spanish and serving as the faculty advisor of Mecha de WOU, an organization which focuses on political advocacy for Latinx/Chicanx individuals through movements, events, and education.

Brenda is very excited to work at Casa Latinos Unidos to help provide access to health care and services to Latinx community members in Linn and Benton counties.

In her spare time Brenda loves to read, walk and discover beautiful parks and trails, play board games and enjoy delicious meals with family and friends.