Lou Christopher Takes Over Leadership of Catholic Charities’ President’s Council

| By Will Espinoza
Categories: Feature
As 2019 draws to a close, Catholic Charities announces that Lou Christopher, vice chairman of CBRE, is the incoming chair of the agency’s President’s Council. Christopher replaces Lulu Gonella of LGW Consulting, who is completing her year-long term. As the outgoing chair, Gonella was an exemplary leader, focusing her efforts on increasing volunteerism among the …

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Journey from Immigrant Teen to Business Leader Aided by Mentors

| By Will Espinoza
Categories: Clinical Services, Education and Employment, Feature
| Tags:
The 1980s were a turbulent time in El Salvador. Consumed by a civil war, thousands of innocent civilians we terrorized by the unrest. It was no different for Omar Martinez. As a boy, Martinez and his family fled from their home in hopes of finding sanctuary in other parts of the country. But by the …

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Searching for an Opportunity and Discovering the Spanish Catholic Center

| By Will Espinoza
Categories: Education and Employment, Feature
| Tags: ,
Many who immigrate to the United States embark on the journey to search for better job opportunities, a better life. This was the case for Melida Chacon. Originally from El Salvador, she immigrated to the United States in 1990 and landed in the Washington, D.C., area. As Chacon settled into her new life in the …

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Conference to Explore Trauma-Informed Care for Immigrant Children

| By Will Espinoza
Categories: Feature
Prince George’s County received the third-largest number of unaccompanied immigrant children in the country in 2017, and many others have arrived since. Thousands of youth from Central American now call the county home. Because many immigrant and refugee youth are impacted by trauma, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, the Interfaith Coalition for Educational …

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Finding Solace at the Spanish Catholic Center

| By Will Espinoza
Categories: Feature
A simple Google search led Gustavo Perez Silverio to the medical clinic of Catholic Charities’ Spanish Catholic Center. Facing mounting stress and high blood pressure after fleeing Cuba because of oppression, Perez Silverio went to the Washington, D.C., facility unsure of what to expect. But there, he experienced a sense of security and belonging that …

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