FJNWA Board Members
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As a DACA recipient has worked in immigration rights through Motus Theater "UndocuAmerica" and in food justice organizations at the Growhaus. He is passionate to share his knowledge of urban agriculture and civic rights.
Irving G Reza Alarcon, Treasurer
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I first got involved in community organizing back in high school, pushing for immigrant rights and immigration reform. That experience showed me just how powerful it can be when people come together to make change. Now, as Senior Organizing Manager at New Era Colorado Action Fund, I bring what I’ve learned from working across the state—from the metro area to the Eastern Plains, and Western Slope—to support local organizing and help build stronger, more equitable communities.
Jesús Calderón, Vice Chair
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With involvement over many years in nonprofit organizations, social enterprises, and social justice campaigns organizing for food justice, food access, and food sovereignty.
He is the Employee Ownership Director with the Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center where he serves businesses across Colorado with a focus on rural communities. He is a small business owner and launched Villa Novus Orchard, co-founder and board member of Food Justice NW Aurora, and board member of the Colorado Solidarity Fund. He has earned a BA & MA in political science from the University of Colorado, and is finishing an MBA with Colorado State University. He is a Permaculturist and earned his permaculture design certificate with Regenerative Education Collective of Denver having focused on Zone 3 for large-scale crops and animals. In his tenure, he has served community-led organizations such as Center for Community Wealth, The GrowHaus, East Denver Food Hub, Nourish Colorado, Community Language Cooperative, New Era Colorado, and Movimiento Poder.
As an activist scholar, Salvador is devoted to learning about the co-op model and its application to community issues. He sees the co-op model as a means of building an equitable economy that encompasses workers, community, and the environment. For his MA thesis, The Political Economy of Cooperatives: A Case Comparison of Law Development in Colorado and California, he compared the development of cooperative statutes in the two respective states. His advocacy for diversification in ownership of the food system and agriculture builds on the employee ownership models that are unique to Colorado.
A 2024 Cooperative Leaders & Scholars fellow with the Cooperative Development Foundation, NextEconomy MBA with LiftEconomy, and Art & Science of Cooperative Development with Co-opWorks!
Salvador González, Board Chair
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As a Vietnamese refugee and formerly unhoused youth, she brings lived experience and professional expertise in marketing and advocacy to her work. In 2019, Thái founded a grassroots nonprofit to expand equitable food access and uplift under-resourced communities. She continues to drive systemic change through active service on local, regional, and national boards and advisory committees.
Thái Nguyẽn
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He specializes in labor issues, working class and immigration history, community organizing and U.S. social movements. He is also the founder of the Romero Theater troupe, comprised entirely of volunteers, which performs to tell stories about human rights and social justice. James sees food systems work through the liberatory lens of food sovereignty, and believes that food justice is at the core of human rights activism. He tends a vegetable garden that is larger than his home, and redirects the food to community members and food pantries. He believes that growing food is an action of empowerment.
James Walsh
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Her background is in public health and her driving motivation to become a doctor was to practice medicine that was informed by the goal of health equity and the socioecological model of health. She currently serves as the Co-President and Community Liaison for Community-Students Together Against Healthcare Racism (C-STAHR). Rachel has done previous work to connect the medical student community to food justice efforts through a collaboration with Food to Power in Colorado Springs. She became involved with FJNWA through participating in grocery access community meetings and Rebels in the Garden, and has served as a volunteer for FJNWA for multiple years. From this engagement, she has seen the community mobilize around food systems issues and sees the opportunity for FJNWA to help accelerate research, advocacy and policy changes to improve food justice in NW Aurora.
Rachel Xue, Secretary
Annual recruitment for new FJNWA Board members occurs in early fall. If you are interested in joining the Board, please contact us at info@foodjusticenwaurora.org.
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