460 Atlantic Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11217

Tel.        718-643-0232
Fax.       718-596-6655
Email     Admin@Raices.US
Web.     www.Raices.US
Donate  www.Donate.Raices.US

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Nancy Talavera, MD
Chairperson

Concha Mendoza, MD, F.A.C.P.
Vice Chairperson

Rose Gaynus
Ramon Raimundi
José Labrador
Edwin Salas

MANAGEMENT TEAM

José R. Ortiz Ortiz, LCSW
Executive Director

Yvonne Cotto-Calhoun
Associate Director

Antonio J. Barrios
Director of Development

Suyapa O. Blanco, MSW
Deputy Director

Lisette Sosa-Dickson, LCSW
Clinical Director

PROGRAM DIRECTORS

Olga Oukacine
Raíces Astoria Senior Center
Raíces Corona Senior Center

Rosemary L. Bland, MSW
Raíces Times Plaza Senior Center

Alexandra Rodriguez-Canizare
Red Hook Senior Center

Blanca Morocho-Ramirez
Wyckoff Gardens Senior Center

_________________________

HOMERO ROSADO, OUR FOUNDER

Homero Rosado (1913-1992) was the founder and past president of the Spanish Speaking Elderly Council.  His legacy and spirit lives on in the organization which he fashioned and inspired for fourteen years.  Mr. Rosado migrated to New York City from Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1932.  He served in the U.S. military during World War II and received the Bronze Star for Valor.  Homero led many organizations and was involved in numerous activities on behalf of the community.

Homero and his compañera of over fifty years, Doña Juanita Rosado, were leading activists on issues of social justice and empowerment for the Puerto Rican and Latino community.  They are prominently mentioned in the Memoirs of Bernardo Vega, a book which chronicles the early activism of Puerto Ricans in the United States.  The Spanish Speaking Elderly Council was honored to have this legacy continued by the participation of Doña Juanita Rosado on the corporation's board of directors until her death in 1998.  The Homero Rosado Leadership Award was dedicated to his memory as a means to recognize individuals who exemplify the commitment and dedication which Homero brought to public service.

HOMERO ROSADO LEADERSHIP AWARD

   Past Honorees  

2011

• Hon. Kirsten E. Gillibrand
  United States Senator for New York
  
• Hon. Martin Malavé Dilan
  New York State Senate
  
• Mr. Miguel A. Fuentes, Jr.
  President & CEO
  Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center Health Care System

2010

• Mrs. Vivian Torres-Suarez, RN, BSN, MBA
  Senior Vice-President, Community Based Programs
  Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center
  
• Mr. Edwin Salas, President
  Salcare Home Health Services, Inc.

2009

• Mr. Tony Yang-Lewis, MS, LNHA
  Administrator, Cobble Hill Health Center
  
• Ms. Violeta Maya
  Board of Trustees, Sunset Park Health Council - Lutheran Family Health Centers

• Dr. William A. Lois, M.D.
  Director of Surgery, Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center
  
• Dr. Evelyn Reyes Laureano, PhD, LMSW
  Executive Director, SHOPP
  
• Hon. Felix Ortiz
  NYS Assembly Member

• Ms. Marilyn Gelber
  Executive Director, Independence Community Foundation
• Hon. Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez
  NYS Secretary of State
• Dr. F. Russell Kellogg, M.D.
  Chairman, Dept. of Community Medicine
  St. Vincent’s Hospital-Manhattan