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Staff
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Dave Thompson
Co-Director of Organizational Development and Strategy
Dave has spent much of his adult life working in economic and racial justice in immigrant communities. Through tools like worker-owned cooperatives, popular education, theatre of the oppressed, Dave has been committed to participatory democracy in all of its forms. Dave has launched programs and organizations both here in California and in Guatemala and is excited to help build My Eden Voice into a solid organization that lives out its values of equity and justice both in its fight for systemic change and its internal operations.
He's most at home near water or in the mountains, ideally with his partner Kim and son Dylan. Dave is always up for a good story, good food, and most any outdoor activity.
Leo Esclamado
Co-Director of Organizing and Program Development
Leo is the Co-Director of Organizing and Program Development for My Eden Voice. He started as a volunteer for My Eden Voice in 2018 during the very first MEV summit and proudly works in service of the Eden area community today. For over 17 years, Leo has served as a community organizer alongside people of color, immigrant, refugee and working class families. He has a Masters of Social Work from the University of Michigan and is a graduate of CTWO's Movement Activist Apprenticeship Program. He is a proud father and enjoys dancing and cooking.
Julio Contreras
Community Organizer
Julio Contreras (he/him/él) is a Community Organizer with MEV. Julio is an urban farmer, beekeeper and community organizer/educator receiving his knowledge and experience from his family who were subsistence farmers in Mexico. His experience with organizing began at the Hayward Community Garden as a community farmer. He earned a BS in Conservation and Resource Studies from the University of California Berkeley with minor studies in Food Systems and Biological Anthropology.