CRCC Murray Center

The Murray Center recruited and trained 26 leaders through the Faith Leaders Institute, a capacity building and leadership transformation program, which has received grant support from the California Endowment. Training included seminars in leadership, community and organizational assessment, developing a vision for changing communities, community development, civic engagement, governance, stemming youth violence, fundraising, and financial literacy. The program included fellows from Boyle Heights, Long Beach, Santa Ana and South Los Angeles.

	Abraham Bejarano is the pastor of Emmanuel Covenant Church of Northridge, CA, a multicultural church. He serves on the boards of PMI-USA (Latinos for the Muslim World) and the Hispanic Center for Theological Studies. He is on a steering committee of the Black and Brown Clergy Coalition.
	Verda Bradley, Ph.D., LCSW, M.Ed. is a clinical consultant for the County of Los Angeles Department of Mental Health (DMH) and Department of Public Health Substance Abuse Prevention and Control. She is a pioneer in the area of Co-Occurring Disorders (COD) of mental illness and substance use programs in California.
	Deborah Davis was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi before her family moved to Los Angeles, CA. She organizes and hosts chamber of commerce mixers for small businesses and provides utility and energy efficient repairs through the PACE program for low income families.
	Ariel Meza has been passionately working to empower families for over 20 years. After graduating from Western Apostolic Bible College, Ariel served as Youth Pastor at Christian Tabernacle of Santa Ana, CA, where he was presented with opportunities to utilize his bilingual and bicultural skills to work closer with parents, students and families.
	Xochitl Hernandez has over 13 years of experience in the for-profit and nonprofit industries, managing operational budgets of up $12 million. She has worked in various organizations such as, the Latin Business Association, University of San Diego, and Dermalogica, Inc. She is currently the development director for Prevencion y Rescate where she heads a $920,000 funding campaign.
	Frederick E. Howard was ordained and licensed work in the authority of a minister in Los Angeles, CA in 1985. Among many other accomplishments, he is a certified realtor and makes concerted efforts to educate our community on the advantages of home ownership and financial security.
	Deborah Ingram is the president of James Gang Productions Inc., Intering Records Inc. and is one of the executive heads of Frontline Entertainment, Inc. Deborah is currently working on projects for children and under-privileged communities to help strengthen their education and provide opportunities for creative outlets.
	David Matthews is a certified Christian alcohol and drug counselor. He serves as the treasurer on the board of directors at the Association of Christian Alcohol and Drug Counselors. He also holds the position of director of operations at Next Dimension Bible College as well as serving as a professor at the college teaching their biblically-based drug and alcohol courses.
	C.R Cochrane-McClurkin is a graduate of Howard University and holds an M.S in psychology. She worked for over 15 years as a social worker for Los Angeles County Department of Social Services. During her tenure there she aided in the development of county resources as she appeared at numerous county sponsored job and health fairs.
	Ricardo Moreno is an elder on session at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles and currently leads the Hispanic ministry in this multicultural church. He was the former Moderator of the National Hispanic Latino Caucus and the National Racial Ethnic Cross Caucus of the Presbyterian Church USA.
	Jeanette C. Polk is an associate minister of Antioch Church of Long Beach, where she instructs and facilitates the New Members Foundation studies each Sunday. Polk has ministered across the world, including Mexico, Canada and New Zealand.
	Jennell Ross graduated from the Bethel Mission Baptist Church School of Evangelism and is recognized as a Certified Evangelist. She has worked for more than twenty years in the community in various capacities, providing education and services to at-risk populations.
	Juan J. Sarmiento serves as one of the ministry leaders at the Los Angeles Mission. Originally from Venezuela, he began his community work while attending college in São Paulo, Brazil, where he worked for an evangelical nonprofit organization that focused on HIV prevention, support and advocacy.
	Fernando Tamara is the lead pastor of Primera Asamblea del Condado de Orange (PACO), and director and research assistant of The Jesse Miranda Center for Hispanic Leadership at Vanguard University of Southern California.