About Us
About us
Mission of
FUSALMO USA
To work toward the improvement of the lives of salvadoran nationals domestically and abroad, with an emphasis of supporting youth programas that will provide a nurturing learning , training and wellbeing; and support the Salvador del Mundo foundation (FUSALMO El Salvador, herein referred to FUSALMO ES), a Salvadoran nonprofit foundation registered by the Registry of Nonprofit Associations and Foundations of th Governance Secretary of El Salvador, with registration number two, pages from fifteen to forty-seven, book nine of national foundations
Values
- Kindness
- Optimism
- Compassion
- Commitment
Meet Our Volunteer Board Members
Sandra Mendoza
President
Sandra was born in El Salvador. She currently serves on the board of the Youth Policy Institute’s charter schools, including the Monsenor Romero Charter Middle School. She is the current Board President of FUSALMO USA. Sandra served as a Public Member on the State Bar of California’s Committee of Bar Examiners. She served as a founding board member of the Pico Union Neighborhood Council. Over the years, Sandra has helped start up organizations, such as Crown Jewel Club (CJC), a non profit organization dedicated to assist at-risk girls during their middle school years to help turn the course toward seeing their transitional and academic years through and beyond. The CJC implements its program through a high tea time etiquette, social skills program.
Sandra Mendoza works for the City of Los Angeles, as a Public Information Director. During her years in public service she has implemented citywide civic engagement and voter registration outreach initiatives. She was also part of the Gender Equity Working Group for the department. Before joining the public sector, she worked in the private sector, including organized labor. She has a Master of Public Administration from University of Southern California. Currently, she is a Commissioner on L.A. County’s Women and Girls Initiative Board.
Reyna Díaz
Vice President
Reyna Diaz was born in San Salvador, El Salvador. She immigrated to Los Angeles, California in 1975 where she met and married Ruben Diaz, to whom she’s been married for 45 years. Together, they have 4 children and 10 grandchildren. Reyna was elected to the Duarte Unified School District Board of Education in 1997. She was the first elected Latina to the board and the first Salvadoran-born woman elected in Los Angeles county. After almost 24 years, Reyna continues to serve on the Duarte Unified School District, serving this term as Board President, a post which she has completed four times in the past. Her outstanding service and dedication to the community has garnered Reyna a multitude of important awards; among them, she has received the Special Congressional Recognition Award by Congress Member, Hilda Solis in 2005 and in 2008 she received the Woman of The Year Award by the Legislature of the State of California from assembly member Ed Hernandez of District 57. Reyna Diaz has been a member of Duarte Kiwanis International since 1998. She has served on the board of directors for Foothill Unity Center since 2006, where thousands of people in need turn to for assistance with food, shelter and basic living needs. In addition, Reyna delivers hot meals to the senior citizens of Duarte through the Meals on Wheels program. Reyna and Ruben own LAMASI Iron Works, a small wrought iron business in El Monte that has been in service for the past 33 years. In Duarte, she is looked up to as a strong leader of the community that people have come to depend on.
Reyna Diaz nació en San Salvador, El Salvador. Emigró a Los Ángeles, California en el 1975, en donde conoció a Ruben Diaz, con quien tiene 45 años de matrimonio. Tienen 4 hijos y 10 nietos. Reyna fue elegida al gobierno escolar del distrito de Duarte y es la actual presidenta de la mesa directiva.
Matilde Singer
Vice President
Mati was born in El Salvador and moved to Los Angeles in 2004 with her husband Eddie, and have a son, Max.
She studied Marketing and Communication Sciences with a minor in Advertising at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, in Spain. She worked as a copywriter and then editor for a publishing company in El Salvador. Afterwards, she worked as Communications Manager for the Entrepreneurial Foundation for the Educational Development (FEPADE) and simultaneously she was a TV anchor/presenter for TeleDos News. Most of her career she worked as General Manager of FUTUREKIDS, a company that promoted computer literacy for children.
Mati was involved in charitable organizations in El Salvador, like Make a Wish, FUNDEMAS, and she started a relationship with FUSALMO in El Salvador, an organization that she admires and which she still supports to date. She has supported several organizations in Los Angeles, including MEND, Susan G. Komen Foundation, American Cancer Society, Casting for Recovery, Camp Kesem, amongst other causes. She serves as Vice President of the Board of FUSALMOUSA and owns a lighting importing business in California since 2005.
Santiago Siliezar
Treasurer
Santiago is an entrepreneur, who has been part of various start up companies and nonprofits, including the Salvadoran American Business Association (SABA), which served small businesses in the greater LA area and in El Salvador which interchangeably served as liaison for businesses to seek partnerships locally and abroad. He is also known for owning his custom tailor shop for over three decades, and is President of his firm, Ari Inc.. Santiago was born in El Salvador. Before moving to Los Angeles, he completed his university studies and graduated from the Jose Damian Villacorta Institute with a focus on math and science.
Santiago has dedicated years of service to local causes and nonprofits. He served as a boardmember on the El Rescate, an organization providing legal assistance to the undocumented immigrant community. He also serves on Insami.org (Instituto Salvadoreno del Migrante), a nonprofit assisting salvadoran immigrants that have been returned back to El Salvador, by helping them acclimate back to their native land under new social environments and circumstances. Santiago is a founding member, and continues to serve on the board of FUSALMO USA.
Carlos Elías
Secretary
Barbara Vera
Boardmember
Carla Villa
Boardmember
She currently serves on the board of FUSALMO USA and has been Master of Ceremony at Fusalmo’s many fundraiser galas since 2016.
Guadalupe Orellana
Boardmember
Guadalupe Orellana is one of 11 siblings, born in the small town of El Carrizal, Chalatenago, El Salvador to entrepreneurial parents. Guadalupe immigrated to the United States in 1980 and quickly succeeded in the fashion industry. She was selected to attend Los Angeles Trade Tech, where she became a specialist in technology for the production in the apparel industry, and later becoming an expert in the manufacturing and structuring of apparel companies. Following her entrepreneurial upbringing, Guadalupe opened her own businesses in the fashion industry and transportation sector.
Throughout Guadalupe’s business success, she dedicated time and resources to help many families and schools in some of the underserved communities in El Salvador, as well as contributing to various humanitarian organizations in the USA. One of Guadalupe’s proudest achievements is organizing and funding a program that provided hundreds of uniforms to underserved students in 3 different schools in small towns of Chalatenango, El Salvador.
Guadalupe is now semi-retired and dedicates her time to her Real Estate investments and her family. She is proud to be a board member of FUSALMO USA and continues contributing to nonprofit organizations and various humanitarian causes in El Salvador and the USA.
Yeni Hércules
Boardmember
Yeni Hercules was born in El Salvador. She currently serves on the board of FUSALMO USA as a board member and Mujeres Activas en el Comercio Hispano (MACH) as vice-president, both are nonprofit organizations. Over the years she has worked in the community as a Mental Health Therapist. She Served in the Army Reserve and loves to work with children and teenagers.
She is the founder and CEO of H&P Logistics Inc and Yen Wellness. She has a Masters degree in Counseling (Marriage, Family and Child Therapy) from University of Phoenix.
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