Brenda Loya, Board Co-Chair
Brenda Loya has been involved with Masa in various capacities since 2011. She chairs Masa’s Fundraising Committee.
Brenda is a Senior Business Development Investment Officer with the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF). She is responsible for driving business growth and building partnerships for NFF that generate positive social impacts for communities in the eastern region. Prior to joining NFF in 2014, Brenda was a Vice President at Citi Community Capital where she originated and structured community development lending and equity solutions. Before banking, she was in the technology field, where she used her engineering background to manage client relationships and drive IT strategy projects.
Throughout her career, Brenda has been committed to the advancement of Latino communities through education. Brenda is originally from El Paso, Texas, and has an MBA from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University and a BS in Computer Science and Engineering from MIT.
Eva Medina, Board Co-Chair & Treasurer
Eva Medina is the Director of Financial Planning at the City College of New York. In this capacity, she is responsible for aligning funding with strategic objectives and provides leadership in the College’s budgetary formulation and review processes.
Eva has extensive experience recommending and implementing solutions, increasing business process, human capital, and technological productivity. Before joining City College, Eva was the Senior Advisor to the Chief Financial Officer at the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). One of Eva’s most significant achievements at NYCHA was instituting agency fiscal discipline through the design of a budget process, which incorporated best practices, and successfully implementing an enterprise-wide financial system. Eva’s commitment to financial planning and transparency won NYCHA the recognition of the Government Finance Officers Association for excellence in financial reporting and budgeting.
Eva holds a Bachelors degree from Cornell University and a Masters degree from Columbia University, where her research focused on the education of undocumented Mexican immigrants in New York City. Eva is the daughter of Mexican immigrants, who stressed education as a tool of empowerment. Her favorite quote comes from Nelson Mandela, who once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world.”
Rebeca Madrigal, Board Secretary
R
ebeca Madrigal is a first grade dual language teacher at Dos Puentes Elementary School in Washington Heights. She has taught for more than eighteen years in the NYCDOE. She has presented nationwide on multicultural and education issues. Her experience as a Mexican immigrant and educator has been the focus of several academic and news articles. In 2015, she was awarded the NYSABE (New York State Association for Bilingual Education) recognition as the Bilingual Teacher of the Year Award. She earned a Master degree in Bilingual Education at Teachers College-Columbia University.
Angelo Cabrera, Co-Founder & Board Member
Angelo is the founder of Masa. He started the organization as part of a 2001 campaign focused on attaining the right for undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition at CUNY and SUNY schools. As part of this campaign, Angelo and several others held a hunger strike to advocate for CUNY’s policy of in-state tuition for undocumented students to be made into law. After the law passed in 2002, Masa began to focus its efforts on promoting access to higher education for students of Mexican descent living in New York. This focus was prompted by data indicating an alarmingly high dropout rate among Mexican and Mexican-American students in New York City.
Having immigrated to the United States at the age of 15, Angelo has firsthand experience and understanding of the complex barriers Mexican youth in New York City face. Since he was a teen, Angelo has been committed to public service and has volunteered at several non-profit organizations. He has also worked closely with CUNY officials and the office of the Mexican Consulate to engage the Mexican community in several initiatives through targeted outreach strategies.
Angelo has served on several committees in the Mexican community and participated in panel discussions with scholars and politicians, both local and from Mexico. In addition, he is a columnist for El Diario de Mexico USA. He has also appeared in various English and Spanish media outlets, such as the New York Times, ABC Eyewitness News, People Magazine en Español, Primer Impacto, and Despierta America of Univision and Telemundo 47. People Magazine described Angelo’s life in its story “El Angel de la Educación” (the Angel of Education).
Currently, Angelo is working with the Office of International Relations at the Benémerita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP) to create special projects promoting study abroad opportunities. Angelo holds a Masters in Public Administration from Baruch’s School of Public Affairs. He earned an Associates degree from the Borough of Manhattan Community College and a Bachelors degree in Political Science from Baruch College. Angelo is an alum of CORO’s Immigrant Civic Leadership Project and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Executive Education: Leadership, Organizing and Action program.
Clemente Dadoo Lomeli, Board Member
Clemente has been involved with MASA since 2020, serving both in the Finance Committee and the Board.