Miguel Martinez

But instead of going that direction, Miguel decided to get involved with issues affecting his community. Before joining LAS, he worked as a Community Organizer in Contra Costa County. There he worked to provide services to children and senior citizens. Perhaps to no surprise, Miguel is also very involved with the Spanish-speaking population. In his words, “Language problems have led to a lack of opportunities and success for members of the Hispanic community.” Miguel has always been interested in trying to make health care more accessible for everyone, so HICAP seems like the perfect fit for him!

Miguel actually came to the U.S. with the intention of becoming a priest in the Catholic Church!

We all know Miguel as perhaps the only real Salsa dancer at LAS, but did you know that he used to dance professionally as part of a Salsa Dancing Team? Well, yes, he did. But when asked about what he likes to do in his spare time, it was interesting to hear that Miguel actually prefers to spend his time quietly. An undisturbed morning at a local coffee shop with a newspaper or novel is his idea of the perfect “Once A Year Personal LAS Day Off.” Of course, for Miguel, no perfect morning would be complete without an afternoon dedicated to fixing VCRs, Computers and other electronic appliances. So if you have some problems with your VCR, you know who to talk to… Thanks Miguel for your time and for all the great work you do at HICAP!

“As a Community Organizer, I'm accomplishing my goal, I empower people from low-income communities and different ethnicity. I develop their leadership in faith-base community forums and I train them for community service organizations, giving respond to different problems that affect our society --violence, lack of housing and schools.”