The Dreamers The Doers The Risk Takers

Small businesses are anything but small. They are the bread and butter of the national economy, employing nearly 60 million people and generating 44 percent of the gross domestic product. According to the Small Business Administration,

there are 30.7 million small businesses in American today. In fact, big businesses, those employing more than 500 workers, account for only .01% of the business landscape. In rural communities, like the Yakima Valley, they are virtually nonexistent, making small businesses that much more critical for the vitality of the community.

Behind every one of these small giants is the story of entrepreneurs who had an idea and took a leap of faith, confident that they could turn that idea into a profitable venture. It is not a move for the timid. Starting, running and growing a business takes faith, grit and a whole lot of hard work. Still, for these Heritage University alums, the entrepreneurial call was too strong to ignore. Meet Javier Morin, Yerenia Espindola-Mendoza and Allie Haro.

CASHING IN ON CLEAN

Javier Morin’s entrepreneurial spirit was evident long before he graduated from Heritage in 2016. He came to Heritage as one of the first Act Six Initiative Scholars—a leadership program that provides full-ride scholarships to students in rural communities. True to the intent of the program, Morin’s presence was felt throughout the campus. Among his many involvements, he served on the Student Government Association, twice as the public relations officer and as the president; was a member of the university’s fraternity; a member of the nationally-ranked Enactus team; and a student staff member of the Heritage marketing department.

The king of clean, Javier Morin (center) and fellow alum Marcus Morales (not pictured), built The Cleaning Brothers from an idea to a thriving business with 20 employees and contracts in three states in just three years.

“If there was some new and exciting, student- driven project going on, Javier was usually right there in the middle of it,” said David Wise, vice president for Marketing, Communications and Advancement. “His drive and enthusiasm was contagious.”

After graduating, Morin’s career path went down a typical route; he took a management trainee position with Enterprise Rent-a-Car. However, for Morin, it was less of a job and more like an extended internship with benefits.

“I did everything I could to learn all I could while I was at Enterprise,” said Morin. “It taught me a lot about the day to day operations of businesses and customer service.”

A little over a year after graduation, Morin partnered with fellow Heritage Eagle and Act Six Scholar, Marcus Morales to open a commercial cleaning business, The Cleaning Brothers. The idea to launch the business came after several conversations with Morin’s father, who works in facilities management for a healthcare company in Yakima. He was frustrated at the lack of quality commercial cleaning companies in the area.

“I saw there was a need, and I knew I could bring a level of professionalism to the industry that prospective clients would respond to,” he said. “Pretty quickly, I fell in love with the struggle and challenges of building a business. Nothing grows overnight, it took six months for us to get our first client, but success is all about being resilient and not quitting.”

It took time, but growth did come. One client grew to two, three, four, and more. Morin and Morales hustled. In just three short years, they’ve built a company with 20 employees and clients in three states. They even brought in another Heritage Eagle into their fold, partnering with Zia Lohrasbi as they expanded into the St. Louis, Missouri market.

“Our goal is to grow at a steady rate, to take on what we can handle so we can provide our clients with the best possible service,” he said.

For many, this would be the end of the story: a successful business with all signs pointing to a strong future ahead. However, Morin likes to explore different business ventures. A little over a year ago, he partnered with two filmmakers and started 3Mil Media, a commercial video production company that is just starting to get off the ground. And, even his side hustle has a side hustle. He’s in talks with another group of entrepreneurs to launch a third company.

“It’s all about being a risk-taker,” he said. “Being an entrepreneur comes with a lot of challenges. It’s lots of phone calls and responding to things that come up. Building strong partners, being persistent, having a plan and staying focused on our goals, that is the secret of success.”

SUCCEEDING IN BUILDING SUCCESS

When Yerenia Espindola-Mendoza enrolled at Heritage University, she never imagined that she would be a successful businesswoman helping individuals and business owners build long-term financial plans. Her desire was going into teaching. However, a conversation with her mentor led her to explore the world of business.

“I’ve always wanted to teach and help people to make a difference in their life. I thought that teaching was the way to do that,” she said. “But when I was talking to one of my mentors at the university, she said, ‘you should go into business.’ Her words changed my thinking, and I declared my business major.”

Yerenia Espindola-Mendoza leveraged her college internships into a career helping others plan for their futures.

Espindola-Mendoza, a non-traditional student several years older than the others in her cohort, knew she had found the right fit in her major but wasn’t sure what she would do with it once she graduated. That is until a guest speaker showed up to one of her business classes. He was a partner from New York Life, who was there to talk about their internship program. She was the only one who raised her hand when he asked the class who was interested in learning more.

“It was like God spoke to me and said, ‘Take the internship; this is your future career! It’s your path; you will be helping people.'”

That summer, she started her journey with the company, primarily selling life insurance. The company had a national internship contest, and she was named the national winner! The following year, she participated in the
internship competition, again receiving the same honor. As a result, for two years in a row, Espindola-Mendoza was taken to the headquarters in Manhattan, New York City, which was a fantastic experience. After two years of the internship, she decided to turn her experiences into a full-time position as an agent for New York Life.

“Everything started with that internship,” she said. “I saw the need in my community and the lack of education surrounding retirement and financial planning. The lack of information about risk management, life insurance, building a retirement plan, pretty much a lack of understanding about the concept of personal, business, and estate planning. I knew I could help people with this and that by impacting the financial wellbeing of one family or one business, I could impact the entire community.”

After three years in the industry, she became a broker to offer more services. Espindola-Mendoza expanded her service options menu at the three- year mark. She understood that it was essential to have a broad, holistic financial plan to help clients achieve their financial goals. Now she offers life insurance, retirement planning, and long-term care insurance. She sought out training on social security and Medicare supplement plans.

“Every individual’s situation is different,” she said. “I have to be knowledgeable in a wide array of services and products to help my clients find what best suits their needs.”

While her business began focusing on individuals, it has grown to serve the needs of business owners.

“Business owners have a whole host of needs that differ from the individual,” she said. “They need help with personal planning, business planning, and estate planning. Helping them in today’s business world. Her goal is to help implement different strategies based on business owners’ needs. Most common needs are to attract, retain, reward and significantly retain upper-level management employees. Personal and employee retirement plans, provide asset protection, and transfer of wealth in the most tax-efficient ways during succession planning.”

Knowing that her business clients’ needs were much more complex, requiring more specialized services than she could offer, Espindola-Mendoza built a partnership with accountants and attorneys in the area. She also partners with Hall Financial, which has helped businesses for more than 40 years in the area. ” The consortium of business professionals can provide wrap-around of complex business planning and estate planning services.

“My goal is to be the first person people think about when they are looking for financial services. I want them to look at me because of my knowledge, level of care, and exceptional customer service and superior company advanced planning services (attorneys, CPA’s and CFP’s) that assist in planning.

Always putting my client’s needs first. That’s my dream.” She said. “I’m going to continue to keep expanding my services, which means more training and getting more licenses so that I can be of greater service to my clients.”

EAT YOUR VEGGIES-THEY’RE AMAZING!

Allie Haro wasn’t thinking about her future business when she choose the food industry to research for her business ethics course her junior year. A self-described “foodie,” she was simply looking at a subject area she enjoyed.

“I’ve always loved eating,” she laughed.

A love of good, healthy food and an idea sparked while doing research during her junior year at Heritage led Allie Haro to open Local Beet.

The more she dug into the industry, learning about where foods came from, how they are processed, and not only how peoples’ health are impacted by their food, but how the environment is impacted by their choices as well, the more disenchanted she became.

“I dove in head first and became a vegan,” she said. “While I wasn’t yet thinking about starting a food service company at the time, I think of this as the moment when the spark of an idea was born.”

That idea grew into Local Beet, a plant-based food preparation business providing delicious and nutritious meals to customers in the Yakima Valley. Operating somewhere between a restaurant and a meal subscription service, Local Beet customers order their favorites from a weekly menu. Haro prepares and packages their order into reusable containers, which they pick up from their storefront and take home to reheat and enjoy. Haro opened

her business in July 2019, the culmination of years of saving enough capital to launch her dream, of finding associates whose businesses could work well in collaboration with hers, and searching for the perfect building to house everything she and her colleagues needed.

“I feel like the relationship that I have with business associates are critical to making Local Beet work,” said Haro. “I started my businesses without taking out any loans. Everything came from my savings. Collaborating with Elaina Moon, owner of Healthy Eats Nutrition Service, allowed us to split expenses so we could get the facility and the equipment we needed. And we are able to do cross-promotions that support each other.”

She points to an effort the two undertook shortly after the pandemic shutdown.

“I was really worried about our customers,” said Haro. “I was worried about their health. In times of high stress we often turn to unhealthy habits, like eating too much of the wrong kinds of foods, to cope. Elaina and I, and our friend who is a yoga instructor, started Fitt Challenge. We provided health coaching, virtual workouts and yoga and I was the guru of meal preparation. For my part, our challenge members would get five plant-based, pre-prepared meal kits a week as part of their plan. It was so popular that I started offering the weekly meal subscription to my regular customers.”

Haro wants people to know that healthy doesn’t mean boring. Her plant-based meals bring eye-popping color and full flavors to the table.

The challenge of starting a food service business in the first place, then building it into a strong, profitable venture during a global pandemic, isn’t lost on Haro. However, she is undaunted by the risk.

“I’m not afraid of failure,” she said. “The way I see it, failure is nothing more than redirecting you to something else. I feel like I am where I need to be right now and I am giving it my all to make this a success. I have my short and long-term goals and a plan to get there. Where there are challenges that come up, whether from COVID or something else, I look for opportunities in these challenges to move me and Local Beet forward.”

Heritage Grads Here to Serve

Social work is one of Heritage’s most popular majors, with 146 students currently enrolled in the program. The bulk of these students remain in their hometowns after graduation, where they tackle some of their communities’ most pressing issues: homelessness, healthcare, children and family services, mental health and criminal justice, to name a few. Heritage social workers are found in virtually every specialization and in a wide array of agencies throughout Washington state. Here are a few of their stories.

OLGA ZUNIGA – “ONE STUDENT AT A TIME”

Olga Zuniga’s social work career led her back to the elementary school where she was once a student.

Olga Zuniga took on the role of caregiver when she was still a child. Her parents were migrant farm workers and they needed her to care for her siblings.

As an adult, after her youngest son’s premature birth, it was she who needed help. His medically fragile condition necessitated she live near the hospital for three months.

There, she met a woman who would be her lifeline: Anna, a hospital social worker who helped her with temporary housing, meals, and child care for her other children.

Three years later, her son was thriving, and she was ready to return to work.

“That’s when I thought about my experience and what a difference a social worker made for me,” she said. “I realized that was my calling.”

Many who decide to go into social work do so out of a strong desire to give back, said Corey Hodge, chair of the Social Work Program at Heritage.

“Everyone who chooses to pursue a degree in social work is there for a reason,” said Hodge. “Many have had someone in their lives who believed in them and helped them, and they want to give back.”

Heritage’s social work program has graduated more than 500, and Hodge said almost all have remained in the Yakima Valley. They work for the state and for non-profit organizations. They work in rehab centers and health care, for victims of domestic violence and substance abuse.

The work done by these Heritage University alumni and hundreds of others has effects throughout the region.

For Zuniga, that calling she felt brought her back to her roots. She’s a school social worker, and the building she works out of used to be her elementary school. She is seeing a lot of insecurity around food and housing among her students.

“We have students who may not have breakfast or dinner and students whose families are homeless.”

Sometimes traumatic experiences are deeply embedded in children’s lives. That’s when a social worker taps more comprehensive service providers.

She works regularly with food banks, financial assistance programs, housing assistance programs, mental health providers, medical providers and crisis intervention programs. She calls them “lifelines” for the students she serves.

“Our job is never done. But we make progress, one student and one family at a time.”

SALOMON CARRASCO – “YOU LISTEN”

Salomon Carrasco has counseled a lot of people in distress. Sometimes it’s the result of mental illness, sometimes drug use or alcohol abuse. He’s worked at treatment centers and at the Pasco County Jail.

It’s helped make him effective in his current role. Carrasco spends each workday riding with Pasco police officers as a Designated Crisis Responder, in a cooperative effort between his employer – Lourdes Crisis Services – and the Pasco Police Department.

The program’s goal is to identify repeat offenders, de-escalate crises, get people off the streets, and get them help.

Washington’s Tri-Cities area has three DCRs in total – one in each of its three cities of Pasco, Richland, and Kennewick. This “Mobile Outreach Team” works with all nine law enforcement agencies in Benton and Franklin counties.

Every weekday following the daily shift briefing, Carrasco hops in a patrol car with whichever officer he’s assigned to shadow. Whenever a mental health or behavioral health-related call comes in, the officer turns the vehicle toward the problem.

Once on the scene, Carrasco talks with family members and assesses the client. His goals are to establish safety, offer resources, and run through a plan should concerns arise.

If the client needs treatment, Carrasco calls ahead to Lourdes. Once there, the client receives care immediately, which wasn’t previously the case.

Sometimes situations are more acute – and possibly threatening. Then, police officers, who are trained to make initial contact, secure the area around the client, and engage Carrasco’s expertise.

“I look up their history, and I evaluate the individual: Are they of potential harm to themselves or others? Are they making threats? Do they understand what they’re doing? I can counsel them and de-escalate the situation.”

The client can talk to the police officer or to him, Carrasco said. “Some people are afraid I’m going to put them in a psych ward. But some see me as a counselor, and I am.”

Back at precinct headquarters, another critical part of Carrasco’s work is participating in training law enforcement on the psychology and process of de- escalation.

Salomon Carrasco goes out on calls with the Pasco Police Department to provide mental or behavioral health assessments.

“We talk about introducing yourself and tell them you’re there to help them. You listen, keep good eye contact, stay calm, express empathy, acknowledge their concerns, and just allow the person to vent without interrupting.”

The joint effort has helped Pasco meet its goal of decreasing incarceration at a time when mental health issues have increased. Pasco police refer an average of 50 clients to the Mobile Outreach Team every month.

“It’s working,” said Carrasco. “We’re seeing people who need help getting connected with resources having fewer interactions with police, and sometimes eliminating those interactions entirely.”

Lourdes has funding to continue to provide the service through 2020. Carrasco said Pasco city commissioners are talking about how to get funding if Lourdes doesn’t get re-funded in 2021.

“Because it’s making a difference,” said Carrasco.

CYNTHIA JONES – “HEALED PEOPLE, HEAL PEOPLE”

In her youth, Cynthia Jones made what she calls a series of poor choices, including dropping out of high school and abusing alcohol.

But at age 17, while living in Seattle, Jones saw an ad for a community college. She took the bus there, met with an advisor, and told her she wanted to enroll though she had no income.

Cynthia Jones helps Yakama women, teens and children break the cycle of the adverse effects of generational trauma.

The advisor gave her a business card. On it was the name and phone number of a social worker who had funding for Jones for everything from bus tickets to tuition and childcare.

“She was my salvation,” said Jones. “I knew right there I wanted to do something like what she did.”

For those who decide to go into social work, it’s often about giving back in appreciation of what others did for you.

Jones credits many with helping keep her on her path, including fellow students and faculty at Heritage where, in addition to her full-time job, she now teaches as an adjunct professor.

“When my youngest was born prematurely, my classmates took notes for me and would check on me, and my instructors would always say, ‘Don’t let not having childcare keep you from coming to class.'”

Heritage instructor Gregorio Ochoa was one of those people Jones met who made it his business to help other people. She calls him an “old-school” social worker.

“He’s the male version of Mother Theresa,” said Jones. “He went to the people, and he spent time with them. I wanted to be like him.”

After graduating from Heritage, Jones went to work as a vocational rehabilitation counselor with the Yakama Nation. She did job skills training and helped her clients find jobs, at the same time she also pursued a master’s degree.

In 2017, she was offered a position with Yakama Nation Behavioral Health as a behavioral health therapist. She provides one-on-one mental health counseling to women, teens and children experiencing trauma, depression and anxiety.

She said an essential part of her work is helping clients understand that the losses their people have endured affect their lives today.

“Children were taken away, women were sterilized, we couldn’t speak our language, and we continue
to bear the legacy of this. We’re in a time of healing now, but we can’t help ourselves until we understand this societal trauma.

“After that, we start to work on the personal trauma,” said Jones. “You need to be with the person and their story. You need to hear it, really hear it – and you also have to help them see the good they have been able to do. I ask people, ‘What are your strengths? How is that you’re still here?’ And I tell them the blood flowing through our veins is that of the resiliency of our ancestors, and that we honor them by doing good. I work to communicate a sense of strength and pride that can build hope.”

Jones often incorporates Native spiritual practices into therapy. “We start with prayer, with a moment of silence, lighting sweetgrass or sage or a candle.”

She said it’s important for people in social work professions to make sure they’re OK, too. She releases her day by spending time in her garden – what she calls her “place of healing.”

“Before we can help others, we have to heal, and that can be a long process.”

Jones recalls visiting a homeless encampment on the Yakama reservation years ago. She saw someone she ran away with when they were teens.

“I remember thinking, ‘That could have been me.'”

Other people from the past show up from time to time, too — people whose lives she helped make better. To this day, she said, people stop into her office at Vocational Rehabilitation looking for her. They want to tell her how they’re doing, that they’re still at the job she helped them get or they’re still drug-free. They want to thank her.

“I think about how it’s one thing after another that leads to where you end up. The difference for me was that I was I’ve had people who care.

“I’ve been able to heal. And healed people heal people.”

LEO LÓPEZ – “I’M HERE TO SERVE.”

Leo López loves remembering the way his dad met people.

“He’d always say, ‘Mucho gusto. Lionel López – aquí para servirte.’ It meant, ‘Happy to meet you. I’m here to serve,’ “It’s how he lived his entire life,” said López.

López learned early on the impact one caring person could have on many people.

Growing up in a close-knit family, López started working in the fields and orchards at age four. Migrant students’ education included “migrant school” – several hours every day after the other students went home – to make up for the time they had been out working.

It was extra time and attention that ensured he had a quality education.

After high school, López knew he wanted a job working with children. He enrolled at Heritage, deciding to pursue a degree in social work. Washington state didn’t have school social workers in 1990, so López went into juvenile rehabilitation, working with adjudicated youth ages 12 to 21.

Leo López’s career helping children took him from Washington state to Washington, DC and back again.

It was an eye-opener, more a criminal system than rehabilitation, he said. He learned that systems sometimes don’t serve the people in them very well.

He got his master’s degree and, in 1999, got a job with Head Start’s Migrant/ Seasonal program in their Washington D.C. headquarters. Head Start is a national organization that promotes the school readiness of preschool-aged children from low-income families.

It was in this role that López began to be able to impact more far-reaching improvements in systems affecting children.

“It was all about engaging families and encouraging them to work at what they want for their children – specifically a good educational foundation and keeping them in school,” said López. “This program made sure that wherever a family migrated to, children wouldn’t lose the credits they’d earned toward the grade placement they were at.”

Working with an organization he knew made a difference in children’s lives – children with a background just like his – López felt life had come full circle.

López wasn’t looking to leave Head Start in 2007 when he got a call from friends about a job that seemed tailor-made for him. It was in Yakima – a short commute from his home base of Sunnyside – and, once again, he’d be doing meaningful child- centric work.

Today, López is director of Casey Family Programs’ Yakima office, a national organization whose focus is to reduce the number of children in foster care in the U.S.

Working closely with Washington’s Department of Children, Youth and Family, López and his staff of 17 – mostly master’s-level social workers – are responsible for Casey’s work throughout the state of Washington.

He said some of his most rewarding work is with the Yakama Nation’s Nak-Nu-We-Sha foster program. He admires the way it weaves Yakama culture into its practice with the individual children and families it serves. Understanding a community is something he said is key to any social service program’s success.

There’s high-level interaction in the job as well. López works closely with consultants and lawmakers in New York, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. He guides partnerships with multiple states and jurisdictions on research that affects public policy.

He’s even developed training for the Mexican Consulate and the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) that helps reunify children with their families in Mexico and parts of the United States.

López said he sees every day the ways positive change can happen on the micro and macro levels.

“I do think it begins with that one person who believes they can make a difference. For me, it started with what I saw every day at home – though I don’t feel I’m even close to what my dad did every single day. But I keep trying.”

Heritage University and Behavior & Law Corp. sign collaboration agreement to deliver behavioral sciences training courses in the United States

Heritage University and Behavior & Law Corp. sign collaboration agreement to deliver behavioral sciences training courses in the United States

Heritage University and Behavior & Law Corp., one of the leading online training companies in Europe and Latin America, have signed a collaboration agreement to expand Behavior & Law training courses in the United States.

Heritage, an accredited, private, nonprofit university, located in Toppenish, Washington, was founded in 1982 to improve societal progress through education; empowering a multi-cultural and inclusive student body to overcome the social, cultural, economic, and geographic barriers that limit access to higher education. Located on the homelands of Yakama Nation, the University embraces transformational student-centered education that cultivates leadership and a commitment to the promotion of a more just society. Heritage offers more than 40 undergraduate and graduate degree programs and boasts more than 10,000 alumni.

Behavior & Law was created in 2010 as an entity specializing in the training, scientific research, and dissemination of Behavioral and Forensic Sciences. Behavior & Law utilizes participative and innovative teaching methodology to ensure student learning in a virtual setting.

With headquarters in Florida (USA) and Madrid (Spain), Behavior & Law collaborates with various public and private entities around the world, including universities and different state security forces to develop the most up-to-date curricula and effective teaching methods. They are experts in Behavioral Science Training (Profiling and Forensic Science, Negotiation, Non-Verbal Communication, and Behavioral Economics) and its application. Their goal is to train qualified professionals that lead to improved working conditions and overall job satisfaction in their professional environments.

Behavior & Law, like Heritage, has a marked social justice mission, dedicated to a more just and safe society. Their work is guided by three main pillars: scientific research, training, and dissemination of behavioral sciences.

Heritage and Behavior & Law are beginning their collaboration to provide continuing education in behavioral sciences. They are currently working on the implementation of online training programs that will be offered in both Spanish and English in the United States through the Heritage Workforce Development unit.

For more information, please contact David Wise at (414) 788-0686 or wise_d@heritage.edu or Silvestre Cabezas, Marketing and Communication Manager at (786) 533-3069 or cabezas@behaviorandlaw.com

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Honoring Our Elders

Each November, Heritage University celebrates Native American Heritage Month by recognizing four Yakama tribal elders for their lifetime contributions to their community.

Please click here to visit our page honoring this year’s tribal elders.

Washington State Women’s Commission director to lead Empowher, Heritage University celebration of the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington State Women’s Commission director to lead Empowher, Heritage University celebration of the 100^th anniversary of women’s suffrage

Toppenish, Wash. – A dynamic panel of women leaders are being featured as part of Empowher, Heritage University’s celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the 19^th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. Empowher will be held virtually on Wednesday, October 14, 2020, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Dana Eliason, senior director of Donor Development at Heritage, and Empowher organizer, says recognizing this milestone for women is a natural choice for the institution. “Heritage University is an institution founded by women and where women make up 70% of the student body,” said Eliason. “At Heritage, we are all about empowering women to make an impact in the world.”

Headlining the event is Regina Malveaux, newly appointed director of the Washington State Women’s Commission, who will share how the Commission works to ensure women’s voices are heard in Olympia. Ms. Malveaux will be interviewed by Reesha Cosby, YWCA of Yakima Board of Directors president. Following her remarks Ms. Malveaux will moderate a panel discussion. The panel is comprised of women in leadership positions across government, business, education and social service agencies. The panel consists of Washington State Representatives Debra Lekanoff (D-Burlington) and Gina Mosbrucker (R-Goldendale); Quinn Dalan, Yakima Volunteer Attorney Services executive director; Magaly Solis, La Casa Hogar citizenship program manager; Cady Padilla, Nuestra Casa executive director; and Virginia Hislop, community activist and volunteer.

People interested in attending Empowher can register at heritage.edu/empowher. For more information, contact Dana Eliason at (509) 865-0441 or eliason_d@heritage.edu.

Empowher is sponsored by Tree Top, and would not be possible without support from the following local organizations:

Washington State Women’s Commission
Junior League of Yakima
La Casa Hogar
League of Women Voters Yakima County
United Way of Central Washington
Yakima County Volunteer Attorney Services
YWCA Yakima
Nuestra Casa

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Heritage University awarded $50,000 grant from the Yakima Valley Resilience and Response Fund to help Non-Title 4 students impacted by COVID-19

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Heritage University awarded $50,000 grant from the Yakima Valley Resilience and Response Fund to help Non-Title 4 students impacted by COVID-19

Toppenish, Wash. – Heritage University is grateful to announce it is a recipient of a $50,000 grant from the Yakima Valley Resilience and Response Fund that is the result of a funding partnership with United Way of Central Washington, the Latino Community Fund, and the Yakima Valley Community Foundation. The grant will provide emergency funding for non-Title 4 eligible students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Non-Title 4 students, primarily DACA students, are not eligible to receive Federal CARES Act Funding for hardships resultant from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The grant from the Yakima Valley Resilience and Response Fund supports charitable organizations and agencies working to address COVID-19’s impact on the Yakima Valley, focusing on its most vulnerable populations. Andrew Sund, Ph.D., president of Heritage University, expressed his gratitude to YVCF and its partners for awarding the grant to Heritage. “While the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act has been instrumental in assisting many of our students, our non-Title 4 students are often the students most in need of emergency relief funding,” said Dr. Sund. “This grant will help ensure that all of our students facing COVID-19 related crises will be able to afford necessities such as food and housing until the economy begins to find its footing.”

Sharon Miracle, YVCF President and CEO said she is pleased to award the $50,000 grant to Heritage University. “We appreciate Heritage’s commitment to all of the amazing students that are such an important part of the Yakima Valley community,” said Miracle. “The educational opportunities Heritage provides is critical to our Valley, and we are honored to support them during this pandemic.”

For more information, contact Davidson Mance at (509) 969-6084 or mance_d@heritage.edu.

The Latino Community Fund cultivates new leaders, supports cultural and community based non-profit organizations, and improves the quality of life for all Washingtonians. Contact Info: info@latinocommunityfund.org, (509) 901-2798

United Way of Central Washington gathers together people, ideas and resources to strengthen communities and improve lives. United Way of Central Washington is a local non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization, serving Yakima and Kittitas counties. Contact Info: info@uwcw.org, (509) 248-1557

Yakima Valley Community Foundation has awarded grants in the Yakima Valley since 2004. The Yakima Valley Community Foundation’s mission is to connect people, resources and ideas so people and communities thrive. Contact Info: grants@yakimavalleycf.org, (509) 457-7616

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La Casa Hogar executive named Heritage University’s Violet Lumley Rau Alumna of the Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

La Casa Hogar executive named Heritage University’s Violet Lumley Rau Alumna of the Year

Toppenish, Wash. – Heritage University alumna Magaly Solis, currently the citizenship program manager at La Casa Hogar in Yakima, Wash., is this year’s recipient of the Violet Lumley Rau Alumna of the Year award. Heritage president Andrew Sund, Ph.D., presented the award to Solis during a ceremony held virtually due to Covid-19 safety protocols, with Solis receiving a trophy and certificate at the La Casa Hogar office on August 27, 2020.

La Casa Hogar is a non-profit organization that partners with Yakima Valley immigrant families which offers culturally and linguistically responsive early learning, adult education, civic engagement, and citizenship services. In her role as citizenship program manager, Solis connects people to their dreams of U.S. citizenship and all the opportunities it brings to them. “Magaly exemplifies the ideals and values of Heritage University—excellence, inclusion, perseverance, leadership and service,” said David Wise, vice president of Advancement. “She demonstrates her commitment to helping others and building communities every day in her personal and professional life. We are so proud of her and proud to call her an Eagle.”

“Heritage University offered me a pathway to achieve my educational goals. Dedicated instructors offered support and encouragement throughout my journey. The education I received at Heritage has allowed me to positively impact many lives in our community,” said Solis. “I am honored to receive the Violet Lumley Rau 2020 Alumna of the Year. This award is a celebration to many years of dedication and service to immigrant families in the Yakima Valley. I am proud to partner with students, volunteers, allies and La Casa Hogar’s resilient and powerful team to transform lives and our Yakima Valley.”

Magaly Solis graduated from Heritage in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in Education. Ms. Solis is the first in her family to obtain a college degree. As a teenager she immigrated from the state of Guerrero, Mexico to Mabton. After earning her diploma, she worked as a substitute teacher for the Toppenish School District, and worked as a medical interpreter helping injured farmworkers, communicate with their medical providers. This work led her to La Casa Hogar, where she volunteered teaching citizenship classes. Solis says the experience was so rewarding that she joined the team as a part-time employee and later took on the program’s full-time coordinator position.

In her role, Ms. Solis earned a legal credential through the Department of Justice to successfully support immigrants to complete the long and arduous process of becoming United States citizens, which takes months or even years from start to finish. To apply for citizenship an applicant must first be a lawful permanent resident (a status that, by law, many immigrants cannot access) for a minimum of five years, and be in compliance with numerous requirements. During the interview, individuals must also pass English, U.S. history and civics tests.

“Immigration law is very complex and intimidating. Our goal is to build our students’ confidence to navigate the naturalization process and achieve their goal of becoming U.S. citizens. We teach the rights, responsibilities, and the importance of civic engagement as citizens. We work with each person, meet them where they are, and support them from the initial eligibility screening through their oath ceremonies,” said Solis.

Under Ms. Solis’s leadership, the program has grown from her one originally part-time position to an office of four full-time staff members and 50 volunteers. She used her Heritage education to write the program’s first comprehensive citizenship curriculum in 2016, complete with clear learning objectives, evaluation processes and methods to share students’ progress. Moreover, the number of people who completed the program and are now citizens rose from a few hundred to now over 1,200– single-handedly representing 10% of the entire eligible population in Yakima County.

Outside of her work commitments, Ms. Solis was just appointed in July of 2020 as a Board member of the Yakima YWCA and a member of the City of Yakima’s Community Integration Committee. She also volunteers with the Yakima Yoga Collective and devoted 200 hours this year as a participant in the Collective’s first cohort of bilingual yoga instructors. Ms. Solis is an avid outdoors-woman and has summited several of the region’s volcanic mountains, serving as a role model among Latina women exploring the outdoors and in mountaineering. In 2019, Ms. Solis received the 39 under 39 recognition from the Yakima Herald-Republic.

To set up an interview with Magaly Solis, please contact Davidson Mance, Heritage University media relations coordinator, at (509) 969-6084 or mance_d@heritage.edu.

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The American Dream – Alumnus helps Latinx families move towards citizenship

Magaly Solis builds bridges. Not physical structures made of steel and concrete. Her bridges are metaphorical. She connects people to their dreams and a lifetime of opportunities. Solis is the citizenship program manager at La Casa Hogar, a non-profit organization that partners with Yakima Valley immigrant families and offers culturally & linguistically responsive early learning, adult education, civic engagement, and citizenship services. She is this year’s Violet Lumely Rau Alumna of the Year recipient.

“Magaly exemplifies the ideals and values of Heritage University—excellence, inclusion, perseverance, leadership and service,” said David Wise, vice president of Advancement. “She demonstrates her commitment to helping others and building communities every day in her personal and professional life. We are so proud of her and proud to call her an Eagle.”

Solis graduated from Heritage in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in education. She was a substitute teacher for the Toppenish School District and an interpreter helping injured farmworkers in the lower Yakima Valley communicate with their medical providers when she noticed the great need for adult education, particularly for this population.

“These workers were injured and had little to no way, that wasn’t physical labor, to support themselves and their families,” said Solis. “My own experience taught me that education was something that could open up opportunities for them. I started volunteering in the lower valley, teaching adult education classes in Spanish, English classes and computer literacy classes.”

Solis continued to volunteer with the program for several years before connecting with La Casa Hogar. She learned about the citizenship program and volunteered to teach some of their courses. The experience was so personally rewarding that she joined the team as a part- time employee and later took on the program’s full-time coordinator position.

“I think that coming directly from the immigrant community and having that firsthand experience, I see the needs that we have, and I want to do whatever I can to support those who have that need for education, connection and belonging,” said Solis. “That is why I get involved.”

Solis immigrated into the United States with her family when she was just 12 years old. They settled in the small town of Mabton and she enrolled in school. Her academic experience was challenging. Not only did she have to learn the required curriculum, but she also had to do it while learning a new language, an experience that many in the immigrant community share.

“I knew that education and learning English were the pathway to accessing opportunities,” said Solis. “There were lots of challenges, I had to work really hard, and I feel like I was privileged to have the opportunity to earn my college degree. That isn’t something that is easy for many to access when facing financial and language barriers.”

Today, Solis pays forward the opportunities she received by helping others do the same.

The citizenship program she oversees supports immigrants as they complete the long and arduous process of becoming a United States citizen. It can take years to complete from start to finish. An applicant must first be a lawful permanent resident for a minimum of five years, and be in compliance with other residency requirements, such as time living in the state where the application is being filed and time in country. They must have sufficient English proficiency and pass a U.S. history and civics test. Some applicants are exempt from the English test but still have to demonstrate knowledge of U.S. history and civics. And, they have to have good moral character and demonstrate their attachment to the United States and its constitution. The process requires classes, lots of paperwork, testing and a naturalization interview with an immigration officer. It can be very intimidating, confusing and frustrating, especially for those whose education level is rudimentary at best.

“Our program offers combined citizenship education, English and naturalization legal services. We have created a safe, welcoming space where learning and celebration go hand-in-hand. We want to remove barriers for people to naturalize. We work with them and meet them where they are and support them from the initial screening to their oath ceremony,” she said.

Immigration law is very complex and intimidating.

Our goal is to support our students’ confidence in navigating the naturalization process and achieve their goal of becoming proud U.S. citizens. In class, we talk about their rights and responsibilities as citizens and the importance of civic engagement.”

Under Solis’s leadership, the program has grown significantly. Staffing increased from her part-time position to an office of three staff members and a volunteer bank of 50 people. She used her Heritage training to write the program’s first comprehensive curriculum, which provides a clear plan and a process for evaluating and sharing students’ progress. Most importantly, the number of people who completed the program and are now citizens rose from a few hundred to more than 1,200.

When Solis enrolled at Heritage as a freshman, she never imagined the life that she leads today. She thought she would be teaching bright, young students in a K-12 classroom. While she didn’t end up in an elementary school, she found a calling that makes a deep and lasting impact.

“When someone becomes a U.S. citizen, you see this overwhelming emotion on their face, it is the most rewarding feeling seeing this,” she said. “So many of the people I work with want to become a citizen because the United States has been their home for many years. For some, it is about peace of mind, belonging, safety and family unity. And, by being a citizen, they can engage civically, use their voice, and uplift their community. This is what keeps me motivated.”

News Briefs – WINGS Summer 2020

HU grads selected for Latino health fellowship program

Social work major Israel Cervantes Rodriguez and nursing major Dulce Dominguez are among ten students selected statewide to participate in the University of Washington (UW) Latino Center for Health’s inaugural Student Scholars Fellowship Program. The two were in the final semester of their senior year when selected.

Israel Cervantes Rodriguez

The program seeks to advance the field of Latino health by building capacity to address current and emerging health issues facing diverse Latinx communities in Washington state.

“The overall aim of this program is to support the next generation of leaders and scholars who promote the health and well-being of Latinx communities in our state,” said Dr. Gino Aisenberg, associate professor in the UW School of Social Work and co-director of the Latino Center for Health. “Under the leadership of Mikaela Freundlich, Program Coordinator, this fellowship program provides crucial funding to students as well as programmatic activities that promote community and engagement with the faculty and staff of the Center.”

Dulce Dominguez

The students selected for the program came from both Heritage and the UW.

“The recipients of the Latino Center for Health Student Scholars Fellowship Program are the future leaders of Latino communities in our state and region,” said Dr. Leo Morales, professor and chief diversity officer of the UW School of Medicine and co-director of the Latino Center for Health. “They are the most important aspect of the Latino Center for Health’s aspirations and vision.”

Ag industry executive takes the lead of Heritage@Work

Yakima Valley agriculture industry leader John Reeves, Ph.D., joined Heritage University in June to serve as the director of Heritage@Work, the university’s workforce development program.

John Reeves, Ph.D.

Reeves is an agriculture business consultant who works with a number of companies including Pink Lady America, a company that directs the marking for the Pink Lady brand of apples; Roy Farms, which produces hops, apples, cherries and blueberries; and Fall Creek Farm and Nursery, a blueberry breeding company. He has also worked with Anheuser-Busch, Frito-Lay, and is the former vice president of research and new products at Earth Grains and Yakima Chief.

“John was an early advocate for establishing Heritage@Work while serving on the university board of directors,” said David Wise, vice president of Advancement and Marketing, who also oversees Heritage@Work. “His extensive knowledge of the agriculture industry, especially as it relates to their needs surrounding employee education, made him the ideal candidate to take leadership position filled when previous director Martín Valadez transitioned to head the university’s Tri- Cities campus at Columbia Basin College.”

Physician Assistant students awarded scholarships

Two students in the Master of Science in Physician Assistant Program received scholarships from national institutions.

Bassanio Martinez, Jr.

Bassanio Martinez Jr. received the Sgt. Craig Ivory Memorial Scholarship by the Veterans Caucus. The caucus is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the interests and contributions of veterans through service, education and fraternity, particularly as it relates to health care. The scholarship was established at the Caucus by Pat and Terri Ivory to honor the memory of their son Craig, an Army medic who passed away in Iraq.

Heather McKnight

Heather (Mayer) McKnight received the American Academy of Physician Assistants Foundation’s Rural Health Caucus Scholarship. AAPA is a national organization that represents all PAs in the United States. The scholarship McKnight received is a competitive award given to students from

rural communities who are committed to serving in rural communities once they earn their degrees and credentials.

Heritage awards record number of full-tuition scholarships

For 58 students, how to pay for college is one less thing they need to worry about this year. All are the recipients of a full-ride scholarship.

“These are among the best and brightest students in our communities,” said Gabriel Piñon, director of Admissions. “We can’t wait to see all the good they will accomplish here at our university.”

This year’s recipients are:

ACT SIX SCHOLARSHIP

Perla Bolanos, Toppenish High School
Gissel Garcia, East Valley High School
Yesenia Garcia, White Swan High School
Arely Osorio, Toppenish High School
Raehyun Park, Eisenhower High School
Vivianna Phillips, AC Davis High School
Angel Ramirez, Toppenish High School
Leonardo Rios, Granger High School
Emanuel Valdez Santacruz, Eisenhower High School
Elvia Valdovinos, Eisenhower High School

DREAMERS SCHOLARSHIP

Yamilca Coria Zaragoza, Pasco High School
Joaquin Padilla, Heritage University

EAGLES SCHOLARSHIP

Gustavo Mendez Soto, Selah High School
Colton Maybee, West Valley High School
Miguel Ayala, Sunnyside Senior High School
Andrea Mendoza, Heritage University
Maria Vaca, Heritage University
Indys Lindgren, West Valley High School
Jeffrey Brannon, Yakima Valley College
Anthony Brooks, Concordia University
Stephanie Rabanales, Heritage University
Yoana Torres, Heritage University
Yaritza Maravilla, Heritage University
Anna Diaz, West Valley High School
Cristian Cruz Sanchez, Eisenhower High School
Mayra Diaz Acevedo, AC Davis High School
Michael Gonzalez, Angeles Film School
Elizabeth Juarez, Washington State University

HU SOAR SCHOLARSHIP

Israel Bentancourt, Granger High School
Christopher Berk, Sunnyside High School
Richard Corona, Zillah High School
Gizela Gaspar, Wapato High School

Yvett Corona, Grandview High School
Liliana Hernandez, Granger High School
Gabriela Madrigal, Yakima Valley College
Norma Manzanarez, AC Davis High School
Luis Medrano Espinoza, Prosser High School
Bryana Soto-Guillen, Wapato High School

MOCCASIN LAKE FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP

Madison Candanoza, Sunnyside Christian
Rachel Guerrero, Sunnyside Senior High School
Carolina Herrera, AC Davis High School
Hunter Jacob, Yakima Valley College
Jasmine Martinez, Toppenish High School

SINEGAL FAMILY FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP

Mariela Corona, Sunnyside High School
Maira Hernandez-Gonzalez, Heritage University
Carolina Moran, Granger High School
Jessica Robles Rios, Zillah High School
Katellin Santiago, Heritage University

GOODBYE DEAR FRIENDS: Heritage family loses two of its finest

JUDGE MICHAEL MCCARTHY, CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Judge Michael McCarthy

Judge Michael McCarthy, a beloved member of the Heritage University adjunct faculty for the Criminal Justice Program, passed away on February 21, 2020, following an extended illness.

McCarthy had a long and distinguished career working in the legal field. He was a criminal prosecutor for the Yakima County Prosecutor’s Office from 1980 until 1998 when he started focusing on civil cases. He left the Prosecutor’s Office in 2001 when he joined the Yakima District Court Judicial Bench. He was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Superior Court Bench in 2008, and remained in that position until his death. McCarthy joined Heritage as an adjunct professor in 2012, teaching criminal justice and law courses.

A celebration of life was held in March, and the family requested that donations be made to Heritage University in lieu of flowers.

DR. APANAKHI BUCKLEY, EDUCATION

Dr. Apanakhi (Butterfly Woman) Buckley

Dr. Apanakhi (Butterfly Woman) Buckley passed away peacefully surrounded by family on July 4, 2020. Buckley was a teacher, colleague, and most importantly, a friend to many. She taught in the College of Education from 2000 to 2016 until her illness forced her to retire.

“Apanakhi was an exceptional teacher and mentor to many education students. She was more than a faculty member. She fixed a nutritious dinner for each class for her night students. She sang in the Heritage choir and led the multicultural dance troupe for years. She was faculty senate president and always pushed everyone to remember that staff and students were at the heart of our mission,” said friend and former colleague Pam Root. “Many of the teachers we have in the Valley today owe some of their inspiration and the compassion that they show their own students to her example.”

Buckley held a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction in Science Education from the University of Washington, where she completed her dissertation: Beginning the Medicine Path: American Indian and Alaska Native Medical Students. She was passionate about her Choctaw heritage and about building social justice through the inclusivity of multicultural education. Her extensive background in multicultural and scientific education included serving as the director of the Kutkutlama teacher education project and teaching environmental data collection for Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment before joining the Heritage faculty.

In 2018, Heritage named Petrie Hall room 1112 The Professor Apanakhi Buckley Collaborative Classroom, honoring her vision of teaching and learning as a reciprocal process. She received the 2013 Heritage University Board of Directors Faculty Teaching Award from Heritage.

Honoring her wishes, her family created the Memorial for Apanakhi Jeri Buckley Facebook group, which can be accessed via the link www.facebook.com/groups/apanakhi.

Before her passing, she wrote a message and asked that it be shared with all of those whose life was touched by her.

“Remember to recognize that you are happy when you are happy because ‘we were happy then’ doesn’t work. ‘Happy then’ is not happiness. It is regret. I am happy now, and it’s because of you. You have helped me find joy and happiness at the end of my life. I love you!” she wrote. “I wish you joy. Please continue to show the kindness to each other that you have always so generously given me.”

Buckley requested that memorial gifts be given in lieu of flowers to one of the organizations “near and dear to my heart:” American Civil Liberties Union, Defenders of Wildlife, Seattle Shakespeare Company, and the Pam Root and Apanakhi Friendship Scholarship at Heritage University.

Class Notes

You are an important part of the university family, and we want to make sure that you are fully informed of all the great opportunities that are available to you through Alumni Connections. There are lots of great ways to stay connected:

• Like us on Facebook (facebook.com/HeritageUniversityAlumni)

• Sign up to receive Heritage’s e-newsletter HUNow.

• Visit us online at heritage.edu/alumni

Of course, the best way to stay connected is to make sure your contact information is up to date. Please be sure to let us know if your address, e-mail or phone number changes. You can submit your changes online through heritage.edu/alumni, e-mail us at alumni@heritage.edu or give us a call at (509) 865-8644.

1994

Marylu (Roche) Martin (M.Ed., Guidance and Counseling) worked in the Omak School District for several years before moving to Alaska to serve as an itinerant school counselor for the Yukon Flats School District, which is about the the size of the state of Washington above the Arctic Circle. She spent five years flying in bush planes to 11 villages; carrying her food, clothing and counseling supplies; sleeping in cabins, teacher housing, and on wrestling mats on classroom floors; and had many adventures. She even helped cut up a moose head for a funeral dinner and did a 10-day river rafting trip down the Kongakut River to the very top of Alaska.

Martin then moved to Moses Lake to be near her son and taught special education for one year. During that year one of her students who had autism was evaluated by a HANDLE (Holistic Approach to Neurodevelopment and Learning Efficiency) practitioner. Martin was so impressed by the work that she studied with the HANDLE Institute to work with people with neurological challenges such as traumatic brain injuries, autism, and learning disabilities. She is now a screening intern and wishes she had this knowledge when she was teaching special education.

2007

Gerardo Rueleas (B.A., Business Administration) was promoted to IT Director – International Operations and Solution Delivery at Costco Wholesale.

2010

Nicole St. Mary-Franson (M.I.T., Elementary Education) is the executive director of the Central Washington Catholic Foundation. Prior to joining the foundation, she served as a teacher, principal and executive principal for Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Seattle.

2011

Kathryn Dozier Quinn (B.A.E.D., Elementary Education) joined Avenues: The World School in Shenzhen, China where she teaches English.

2012

Mario Uribe (M.I.T., Elmentary Education, 2019 Ed. Admin./ Principal Certification) is the interim principal at McLoughlin High School in Milton Freewater, Oregon. Prior to his appointment, he served as the school’s vice-principal.

2013

Debra Whitefoot (B.A., Business Administration) is the executive director of Nch’I Wana Housing in The Dalles, Oregon. Nch’L Wana Housing is a newly established nonprofit organization focused on housing and community development for indigenous people living on and near the Columbia River.

2014

Juan Aguliar (B.A., Business Administration) is the property management coordinator for Comprehensive Healthcare in Yakima, Washington. Prior to accepting this role, he served as a case manager for the same organization.

Meadow Rodriguez Jr. (B.S., Computer Science) earned his Security+ certification, which attests to his proficiency to protect networks and sensitive data. Additionally, he was promoted to IT Compliance Analyst 3 at Costco Wholesale. He is an IT change advocate within Costco’s IT division, which means he acts as a liaison between the company’s IT upper management and its employees during its continued transformation of the IT division.

2016

Marcus Morales (B.A., Mathematics) joined Amazon pathways operations program with Amazon operations management position internship in their fulfillment centers.

Amber Ortiz-Diaz (B.S., Biomedical Science) was named by the Yakima Herald Republic as one of the 39 under 39. Ortiz-Diaz is the Yakima Valley site director of Act Six and the Ready to Rise Program, a leadership development and college access program that brings together diverse, multicultural cadres of emerging urban leaders who want to use their college education to make a difference on campus and in their communities at home.

2017

Jacob Billy
Sr. (B.A., Environmental Studies) graduated from Oregon State University with a Master of Education.

2019

Amalia Akagi (B.A., English) joined Sealaska Corporation as the project coordinator of the company’s intern program. In her position, she travels to colleges around Washington and attends conferences like AISESto recruit for our program. “I love being a member of our intern team because the program connects students with the unique and vibrant cultures of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people.”

Brandon Berk (B.A., Mathematics) graduated from Whitworth College with a Master in Teaching. He will start teaching in the Sunnyside School District in the fall.

Submit Your Class Notes

Did you get married? Have a baby? Get your dream job, an award or even a promotion? If you have good news to share with your fellow alums, let us help.

Send us your submission for Class Notes. It’s easy. Just visit heritage.edu/alumni, complete the submission form and upload your picture. Be sure to include a valid email address so we can contact you if we have any questions.