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  Program Overview
  Williamsburg Center
  Bushwick Center
  MS 50
  Beacon Center

LEADERSHIP CENTERS:
Program Staff

WILLIAMSBURG PROGRAM STAFF:

  • William Orellana, Program Director
  • Nikaury Acosta, Dance Facilitator
  • Hector Arias, Video Facilitator (EPTV)
  • Jona Burton, Academic Support Facilitator 
  • Sasha Dobos-Czarnocha, Drama Facilitator
  • Francisco Negrón, Sports Facilitator
  • Andrew Rodriguez, Assistant Sport Facilitator
  • Carlos Rosello, Band Facilitator

BUSHWICK PROGRAM STAFF:

  • Asenhat Gomez, Program Director
  • Piper Anderson, Drama Facilitator
  • Crystal Bruno, Arts Facilitator
  • Michael Caban, Dance Facilitator
  • Katy Jaquez, Membership Facilitator
  • Yessica Marrero, Receptionist
  • Leslie Martinez, HIP Facilitator
  • Pedro Polanco, Technology Facilitator
  • Katiuska Cabral, Tutor
  • Fediana Camilo, Tutor
  • Johnson Nazaire, Tutor

MS 50 BEACON PROGRAM STAFF:

William Orellana, Program Director
A life long resident from the Greenpoint/Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, William Orellana is the Program Director and Young Men's Group co-facilitator for the Williamsburg Leadership Center. Before joining El Puente William worked as a Beacon Program Director, a community service coordinator in Spanish Harlem, and a Legislative assistant to Senator Effrain Gonzalez in the Bronx. Orellana also co-founded a volunteer literacy program in a Youth Detention Facility in Highland NY and has worked in several non-profit organizations in South America. William is a trained modern dancer and brings many years of dance experience with him to the Leadership Center. William doubled majored in Finance and received his B.A. from New Paltz University in Latin American Studies.

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Helen Colon, Beacon Program Director
Helen Colón joined El Puente in 1999 as a youth worker helping young children with their homework.  Then she became an AmeriCorps intern for a year and was quickly promoted over four years from youth worker to Program Aide, to Assistant Coordinator to Assistant Director and finally to Program Director of the El Puente Beacon Program at MS 50 in Williamsburg.  While working at the organization, she continued going to school and recently received her B.A. in Psychology from the New School for Social Research. 

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Cecilia Ledesma, Drama Facilitator
Cecilia Ledesma joined El Puente in 2001. She is a graduate of American Academy for Dramatic Arts where she studied acting and dance. Before joining El Puente Cecila worked for many years with Latino theater companies throughout New York City including IATI, Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, La Tea, and SEA. She is fluent in Portuguese, Caste llano and English. She is passionate about art, Acting and is in Love with Life, God and with our Planet.

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Damien Cruz, Hip Hop Facilitator
Damien Cruz joined El Puente in 2001. He is the founder of BREAKS KRUE a Hip Hop group established in 1996 by young people determined to conquered and bring a new elevation to the NYC Hip Hop scene, training young people in the art of Bboying and Graffiti and connecting it to the history and social activism of the cultural movement. He has competed throughout the nation and Canada and as far away as Martinique.

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Richard Scott, Tutor & Hip Hop Facilitator
Richard Scott is one of the dancers in New York City under the dance form known as B-Boying or Break dancing. He has won numerous competitions, and has traveled throughout the world. Along with Damien Cruz, he founded BREAKS KRUE a “new school” Hip Hop group established in 1996 by young people dedicated to the advancement of the NYC Hip Hop scene and inspiring younger talents in the movement.

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Alfred Cervantes, Arts Facilitator
Alfred Cervantes joined El Puente in the summer of 2001. He has taught several classes in design and visual communication with an emphasis on social awareness. As a socially conscious learning facilitator, Alfred’s mission is to celebrate the arts while nurturing a better understanding of the visual language used to engage young people through advertising and other media. He is a caring facilitator who enjoys working with young people to help them discover their unique voice. Alfred is a graduate of Parsons The New School for Design and is an active member of the design community.

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Rosa Piedra, Group Leader
Rosa Piedra became a member of the El Puente Leadership Center in Bushwick at the age of 15 in hopes of finding an escape from the harsh realities of life. She later began working at the Center as an intern for the summer program then as a youth organizer. The experience exposed her to not only community work but work with young children and in this, she found her new passion. She has since begun work with the El Puente Leadership Center- Beacon Program @ MS 50 (2003) as a group leader, then as a leadership specialist. She presently works there as the Membership Coordinator. She in her heart is still and will always be an El Puente member.

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Arkadius Lesniak, Hip Hop Facilitator
Arkadiusz Lesniak became a member of the El Puente staff in the summer of 2006. Being a group worker of the El Puente Leadership Center- Beacon Program @ MS 50 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn has helped him grow in his ability to successfully work with children as well as with his co-workers. Apart from his work in El Puente, he continues to develop his career as a break-dancer and enters competitions and performs citywide.

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Saiida Hodges, Group Leader
Saiida Hodges started her participation at El Puente as a member in 1999. After a few years, she became a volunteer, helping the facilitators with the children at El Puente’s Leadership Center- Beacon Program @ MS 50. She left El Puente and a year later was hired as a group leader. While working at El Puente she is attending college to become a teacher.

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Joemin Issac, Group Leader
Joemin Isaac joined El Puente’s staff in the summer of 2006 as a group worker. Before joining El Puente, he was an Americorps member and worked with students, creating lesson plans and teaching. He completed 900 hours of service with Americorps, for which he received a scholarship. He now attends Kingsborough Community College, majoring in Mental Heath and Human Sciences. He loves working at El Puente; the environment is very friendly and comfortable. He aspires to help create positive change in the lives of the young people he works with and to help them be positive in everything they do.

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Cecilia Ledesma, Cultural Drama Facilitator
Cecilia Ledesma joined El Puente in 2001. She is a graduate of American Academy for Dramatic Arts where she studied acting and dance. Before joining El Puente, Cecilia worked for many years with Latino theater companies throughout New York City including IATI, Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, La Tea, and SEA. She is fluent in Portuguese, Castellaño and English. She is passionate about art, acting and is in Love with Life, God and with our Planet.

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Clara Waloff, Fine Arts Facilitator
Clara Waloff came to El Puente in 2005 as the fine arts facilitator for the El Puente Leadership Center/Beacon Program @ MS 50. In 2006 she began working as a public art facilitator for the Williamsburg Leadership Center as well. She received her BA from NYU in 2004, where she concentrated in community art and education, Latin American Studies, and Studio Art. Clara has been working with children, youth and community groups in New York City public schools, community gardens, and organizations since 2000. She has traveled to the Caribbean, Central and South America and Mexico working on projects of political solidarity, public art, and street performance.

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Jo-Anne Romero, Group Leader
Jo-Anne Romero was born and raised in the Southside of Williamsburg. She started at El Puente as a volunteer for the El Puente Leadership Center/Beacon Program @ MS 50 during the summer of 1999. That fall, she was offered a staff position as a group leader and till this day still enjoys working with El Puente. Aside from her marvelous experience with the members, she has developed great relationships with her co-workers. She knows that through it all, she is creating memories that she will cherish all of her life.

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Jahaira Rodriguez, Program Aide
Jahaira Rodriguez joined El Puente in the year 2000 as a youth worker assisting in homework help. She has professionally grown in the organization and is now a program aide. While at El Puente, she has participated in many great projects such as the recording of an original music CD with work developed from performances of members in the Beacon program. She has also led a children’s choir at the Beacon and prepared the members for performances held at the end of the program year. She attends Hunter College, where she is working towards a bachelor’s degree in Psychology.

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Yudelka Corporan, Group Worker
Yudelka Corporan joined El Puente in 1999, working for the El Puente Leadership Center @ Williamsburg as a tutor, offering homework help and also mentoring. After two years, she transferred over to work with the Leadership Center-Beacon Program @ MS 50. She became a group worker and later, a group leader and now considers herself a senior member of the Beacon staff. She loves working with kids and loves what she does. She is also attending college to become a teacher for young people and hopefully in the future will be able to teach at the El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice.

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Manuel Cuzco, Group Leader
Manuel Cuzco joined the El Puente Leadership Center/Beacon Program@ MS 50 as a group leader in the fall of 2006. His interests lie in educating young students mentally and spiritually and teaching them, among other things, to be responsible and respectful to others. He also hopes to nurture their talents so that they may use it to help their community. Presently, he is a studying at John Jay College of Criminal Justice where he is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Deviant Behavior and Social Control. He plans to later attend graduate school at Fordham University for his masters in social work. After graduate school, he plans to join the Peace Corps and travel to a third world country to work as a counselor and help children and young adults deal with social issues and help make a positive difference in someone’s life.

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Jomyra Nieves, Group Worker
Jomyra Nieves began working at El Puente in 2004. Starting as a group worker, she was promoted to a group leader position. As a testament to her love of working with children, before working at El Puente, Jomyra worked for many years at PS 17. She was born and raised in the Williamsburg and sees her work at El Puente as her way of giving back to the community. Jomyra is also a full time college student.

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Matilde Garcia, Safety Officer
Matilde Garcia joined El Puente in 1998 as a Safety Officer while maintaining a full time job as a school aide for the Department of Education. She has lived in the community for 48 years. She has six children, one who is a NYC Police Officer and another who is a paraprofessional for the Department of Education. She is also the proud grandmother of nine grandchildren and two more on the way.

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Alexandria Medina, Homework Helper
Alexandria Medina joined the El Puente Leadership Center/Beacon @ MS 50 in 2003. She began as a homework helper and in less than a year she was promoted to an assistant group leader and then again to a group leader. Her current position is as math tutor. She has lived in the Williamsburg community her entire life and takes an active role participating in her neighborhood’s affairs. She has been granted a full academic scholarship by her college and is pursuing a degree in science.

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Angela Soler, Safety Officer 
Angela “Jenny” Soler joined El Puente in 1997 to be a part of the Beacon security team. Ms. Soler has worked hard to always be an asset to the El Puente Beacon community by ensuring that the students and staff feel safe and secure in their space. She hopes that her presence and commitment speak for themselves. She plans to continue to be part of this special staff that makes a lot of difference in the community.

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Jeanette Arias, Tutor
Jennette Arias is an artist, teacher, writing tutor and entrepreneur. Her work experience includes (but is not limited to) events organizing for the intergenerational Hip Hop & youth development conference, "It's Bigger than Hip Hop", servicing over 500 NYC residents as well as launching her own internet venture, www.freshlikeme.com. She has worked in the non-profit realm for over 10 years and has been a member of the staff at El Puente Leadership Center/Beacon Program @ MS 50 since October 2006.

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