About Us
The mission of Quien Es Tu Vecindario is to provide arts, news, and civic engagement to under-served communities of color in Los Angeles, including elders, immigrants, youth, LGBTQUIA+ people, and more. Quien Es Tu Vecindario became a certified nonprofit in 2020, and from 2020 – 2021, played a major role in the storytelling series known as Making Our Neighborhood: Redlining, Gentrification and Housing in East Hollywood, which won an Award of Merit from the American Planning Association chapter in Los Angeles. This summer 2023, we were awarded a Creative Recovery L.A. Grant by the L.A. County Department of Arts and Culture, which distributed American Rescue Plan funds to just 668 applicants in L.A. County. In fall 2023, we were also awarded a grant from Core Contributors Group for our work supporting independent journalism and storytelling for communities of color. Learn about our board officers and representatives below.
Wendy Gomez –
Community Representative
Wendy was born and raised in East Hollywood, in a Salvadoran immigrant household. Growing up in Los Angeles, she became passionate about investing in communities that have systemically been disinvested in but have enormous amounts of strength, beauty and resilience. Wendy has several years working on programs and policies for criminal justice reform, youth development, mental health, and housing throughout the nonprofit and public sector. She has led city wide research on youth development and stewarded millions of dollars in funding to grassroots organizations. She earned her master’s degree in Public Affairs from Princeton University and a BA from Dickinson College as a Posse Scholar.
Ninoska “Nina” Suarez –
Programs Strategist
Nina is a daughter of Colombian and Nicaraguan immigrants, born and raised in East Hollywood. She developed a passion for service while attending Spanish-American SDA church in Boyle Heights in her youth, where she volunteered in tax preparation workshops, food kitchens, and immigration rights workshops. Nina has been an administrator in the non-profit sector for the last seven years, supporting programs that focus on arts and culture, mental health, and social justice. As President of the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council, she founded the Produce Box Program, which provides hundreds of East Hollywood residents access to organic fresh produce. Nina is currently working on her master’s degree in Public Administration from California State University, Northridge (CSUN), and earned her BS in Business Administration from CSUN. She enjoys spending time with family, walking her miniature schnauzer Poe, and exploring new and familiar destinations.
Alejandro Pina –
Organizing Ambassador
Alejandro received his Masters in Counseling Psychology from Mount Saint Mary’s University. He is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist trained in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, providing online sessions to families and couples throughout California. At a young age he was inspired by his mother’s activism organizing with the national Stand for Children campaign locally in his hometown of Evanston, Illinois. He has been actively involved in Los Angeles political campaigning, beginning as a Volunteer Ambassador with the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential race, leading phone-banks and door-knocking. He continued leading phone-banks with DSA-LA for Nithya Raman’s first race for City Council and led door-knocking initiatives in Lincoln Heights in 2022 for Eunisses Hernandez’ City Council election. He has lived in Los Angeles since 2006 and in East Hollywood for over 8 years.
Anthony Abraham –
Chief Financial Officer
Anthony is passionate about serving local communities and has five years of experience working in administrative roles in local nonprofits serving marginalized communities, including in Oakland and Los Angeles. Raised in India as well as the Bay Area, Anthony has a broad and unique perspective on struggles of working class and poor communities in rural and urban environments. Anthony holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Economics from University of California, Davis and is currently enrolled in the Public Administration graduate degree program at California State University, Los Angeles. Anthony also enjoys traveling, movies and sports.
Jimmy Recinos –
Executive Director
Jimmy, also known as ‘J.T.‘, is a writer and community journalist from Los Angeles who has published dozens of articles for working-class communities in L.A. since 2014. His main areas of interest are on policy-making relating to gentrification and housing, L.A. City and County elections, and California history; in March 2021, he led and hosted the first-ever discussion series and educational program on Redlining, Gentrification and Housing in East Hollywood. He is also the host and producer of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast, where he publishes episodes every other Friday.