Staff Goodbyes

by: Josephine Ferreiro, Program Coordinator

APADRC said goodbye to two of its members last month:  Carolina Garza De Luna and David Ayala.  Both have contributed a great deal to the organization and will be missed. 

Carolina started working for APADRC as a student at CSU Dominguez Hills.  While gaining experience at APADRC, she obtained her master's degree in Negotiation, Conflict Resolution and Peace Building (NCRP).  Carolina's work has helped increase our impact in the Latino community in L.A. One outreach project very dear to Carolina is the partnership with the CARECEN Day Labor Center; through this partnership we have been able to mediate many work-related disputes involving the plight of day laborers.  In the future, Carolina hopes to stay connected to the conflict resolution field and hopes to gain more international/governmental experience. 

David was the Youth Program Coordinator for 2 years, coordinating the Peace Makers and Mediators (PM2) program.  He wanted to be involved with students and was attracted to APADRC's mission.  David also trained our interns and volunteers as well as our peer mediators.  He liked how mediation could help people see both sides of an argument, and to hear the other person without making assumptions.  Working in several high schools and middle schools throughout the area, David lived for those "aha!" moments students had during mediation.  He believes so much in this process that he thinks conflict resolution should be taught in schools as part of the curriculum.  At this time, David is looking to achieve his goal of working in the video game industry.

The staff at APADRC thanks both Carolina and David for their hard work, and wishes them all the best in their future endeavors!