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Latinos in the Deep South is a program coordinated by the Latino Commission on AIDS that aims to build local leadership, develop networks and coalitions, enhance knowledge and cultural competency, and spur actions to address the needs of the emerging Latino/Hispanic communities in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The program accomplishes these goals through capacity building, community organizing, leadership development, and networking initiatives, with a focus on community-based participatory research and information dissemination.
Judith Montenegro
Program Director
Since 2004, Judith has worked with the immigrant population focusing on immigration reform, farm worker advocacy, healthcare access, labor rights, and language justice. She serves on the Boards of Directors of the American Heart Association, El Centro Hispano, and Alianza Americas.
Judith graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in Sociology. She was born in Durango, Mexico and came to the US at a very young age. She currently lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with her husband and dog, Barkley.
Joaquín Carcaño
Director of Community Organizing
Joaquín is the lead plaintiff in the North Carolina's HB2/HB142 lawsuit: Carcaño, et al. v. Cooper (formerly Carcaño et al v. McCrory). Joaquín has worked and organized to improve access to quality health care for the marginalized and underserved, queer and trans liberation, prison and ICE abolition and reproductive justice. Joaquín serves on the Board of Directors of Equality NC and the Southern AIDS Coalition.
Joaquín graduated from the University of Texas in Austin with a BS in Human Biology. He is a native of the Rio Grande Valley along the Texas-Mexico border. He currently lives in Durham and enjoys spending time with his boyfriend, Stormie Daie and dog Moose.
Rev. Shawn P. Torres,
Capacity Building Specialist in the South
Shawn graduated from Benedict College with a BS in Child and Family Development, a Masters in Divinity/Ministry from Union Theological Seminary and is currently working on his Masters in Public Health from Grand Canyon University. Shawn lives in Columbia, SC where he serves as an Associate Minister at First Nazareth Baptist Church.