Meet the Migrant Education Program Team
Rogelio Ruiz | Migrant Education Program Director
I had the honor of working and learning about the migratory community thanks to my work with the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) at ASU. The dedication, resiliency, and perseverance I witnessed from my former students provided me great insights on the needs and challenges of our migratory students and families. The Migrant Education Program is more than a program for me. With every student we identify, we learn more about the challenges they face and are always thinking of ways to serve our migratory students so that they are provided with a good quality education. The MEP also means community. As a community we are working together with our LEAs to provide assistance and guidance to meet state and federal guidelines, while at the same time keeping the needs of our students at the forefront of our mission.
Noemi Escamilla | Migrant Education Program Specialist
Joining the Migrant Education Program has brought me full circle. A migratory student who immigrated from Sinaloa, México, I also experienced the many challenges our migratory students face today. As the Program Specialist, I share the responsibility to ensure that all our migratory students have access to resources and educational services in their schools as well as in their communities. With dedication and hard work of each program area, parents, and community partners, we will ensure every migratory student reaches their full academic potential. It is an honor to be part of a team who can impact our agricultural community in such a way that our families can feel confident their students will achieve academic success.
Ivan Quintana | Grants Specialist
Growing up in Chihuahua, México I saw firsthand how the hard work, perseverance, and sacrifices of agricultural and farming communities contributed to the overall well-being of a country. As a product of generations of farmers, I saw many of my peers not finish their secondary education because of issues such as transportation, poverty, and lack of educational resources. It is a privilege to be part of the MEP (Migrant Education Program) Team and be able to work collaboratively with our partner school districts to ensure that our program participants become civically engaged citizens, contribute to the economic development of Arizona and the United States, and have the tools and skillsets necessary to pursue their academic and professional goals.
In my role, I will work with our LEAs to make sure that their grant applications are approved in a timely order so they can provide necessary services. As well as following guiding regulations and policies ensuring that we are good stewards of taxpayer-funded grants.
Bianca Fonseca Cervantes | Identification and Recruitment Coordinator
Migratory children and youth are often the most in need, but also the most difficult to find. I am honored to be part of the MEP familia because everyone understands the unique challenges that migratory families face and does their best to provide them with the resources and services they need to succeed. As the Identification and Recruitment Coordinator, my focus is to work with our recruiters to locate as many migratory families as possible wherever they may find themselves - at schools, in their communities, and out in the fields. I am committed to bringing the best practices to our state in order to identify and serve more and more migratory families across Arizona. Since starting this role, my appreciation and respect towards all agricultural workers has only grown because I have seen firsthand how hard they labor to bring food to our tables. This experience has been especially dear to my heart because I come from a family of farmworkers and fishermen in México. In speaking with them, it is more than evident that they want the best for their family. I feel very fortunate to work alongside so many caring and passionate MEP staff at the state and LEA level who all do their part to bring hope to so many deserving and hard-working migratory families.
Vacant | Family Engagement & Outreach Coordinator
Dani Donaldson | Data Specialist
“Education, education, education, mija. No one can take your education away from you.” My great-grandmother always stressed the importance of an education. She immigrated from México to the U.S. having only completed the second grade. My mother, too, was an immigrant from México. Her family, my tata, worked in the fields in Dateland, AZ. She and her siblings were migrant children. These are the stories of my family, like countless others here in Arizona, and this is what makes it a privilege to serve as the Data Specialist for the Migrant Education Program. With this team, I share the responsibility of ensuring that all migratory students have access to resources and services necessary to achieve high academic success. I maintain student databases to ensure accuracy of numbers, which helps determine annual allocations- there are over 10,000 children of migratory workers with educational needs in AZ! I support our LEAs in using those numbers to tell the stories of the students in their communities- their challenges, their needs, their successes. I believe that behind every number is a story, and every story counts.
