CORAL Director receives SVCN Leadership Award
Congratulations to América Gomez, the Managing Director of CORAL, who was recently honored with a Nonprofit Leadership Award from the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits. She will celebrate 25 years of employment with Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County in January 2022. With a degree from San Jose State in International Business, she originally envisioned traveling around the globe as she pursued a career in the corporate world. But a volunteer position and a mentor steered América toward a career in nonprofit and she’s never looked back. In her more than 15 years managing Catholic Charities’ after-school extended learning program, she has overseen its growth and expansion, including deftly navigating her team of 123 employees at 23 school sites during the ongoing pandemic. América’s colleagues will attest to her ongoing commitment to putting the needs of the CORAL students first, while ensuring the wellbeing of her teams. This has recently included working daily to ensure safety measures are in place, and managing with compassion during the stressful times. Superintendent of the FranklinMcKinley School District, Juan Cruz, has worked closely with América for many years. He says: “América has always been an amazing supporter of our students and families. But during these difficult times, she has gone way above and beyond and made sure our students had a safe, supportive environment that supported our families.” CORAL continues to be deeply embedded in neighborhoods and many employees come from the communities served. One of América’s favorite parts of her job is when former students come back to work in the program as instructors. América herself feels a deep connection to her San Jose roots and a strong commitment to giving back to the community. She says, “I see myself and my own parents in these CORAL students and their families, and the dreams they have for their lives.” When asked about what she would want to see for the program in the future, América quickly responds: “My wish is that we could expand CORAL to every single child and family who wants to be in our program. There are still many students who need our help.”