More than five Gilroy leaders have been named among the 100 most
influential Latinos in Silicon Valley and will be up for awards at
a black-tie affair Saturday night in San Jose.
Gilroy – More than five Gilroy leaders have been named among the 100 most influential Latinos in Silicon Valley and will be up for awards at a black-tie affair Saturday night in San Jose.
The Mexican American Community Services Agency will hand out awards at its inaugural Red Carpet Gala in 10 categories, such as education and business, to recognize contributions made by Hispanics from Silicon Valley.
Local nominees include former Gilroy Unified School District superintendent Edwin Diaz, Gilroy Councilman Peter Arellano, educator and activist Cecilia Esther Del Buono-Weymouth, and MACSA Chief Executive Officer Olivia Soza-Mendiola.
Diaz, a Gilroy-native up for an education award, was a social studies teacher and football coach at Gilroy High School for more than a decade. He served as superintendent of Gilroy schools for five years before taking up the same post with the Pasadena Unified School District in March.
Elected in November 2005 to his second four-year term as a Gilroy councilman, Arellano has a medical degree from Stanford University and regularly volunteers as a coordinator at health fairs. He is up for the technology, health and science award.
Del Buono-Weymouth was the first credentialed Santa Clara County bilingual instructor. She spent more than 40 years advocating for the rights of farm workers, Latinos, educators and women, among others. She is a nominee in the “legend” category.
Now the head of MACSA after 22 years with the agency, Soza-Mendiola has been in the nonprofit sector for more than 30 years. She is being considered for a community and philanthropy award.
Other South Valley nominees include Luis Valdez, founder of El Teatro Campesino, and Simon Salinas, former assemblyman of the 28th state assembly district and now sits on the Monterey County board of supervisors.
The event will be held at the Mexican Heritage Plaza, 1700 Alum Rock Road, San Jose, from 5pm to midnight. Tickets are $150.
