Staff

Sara Carbajal was born in Mexico and migrated to the USA when was 24 years old to marry her husband. Since then she’s worked in apple orchards, picking and harvesting fruits, and trimming and planting trees. She has also worked as crew recruiter. Her skills include supervisor and business management, strategic planning, resources allocation, leadership techniques, and administrative coordination of people and resources. Sara is also a Translator and Interpreter.

Sandra Cuellar Oxford proudly serves as RMM’s Donor Engagement Coordinator. Her roots as a community & labor organizer, educator, and trainer were nurtured in the Mid-Hudson region. Sandra’s appointment to various governmental boards and her volunteer service on numerous not-for-profit boards dedicated to health, legal representation for the indigent, youth services and immigrant advocacy spans two decades.

Noemi joins the staff and worker council at the Center of Alliance, Solidarity, and Accompaniment (CASA) in Riverhead after years of community organizing in the area. Noemi says: "I am a survivor of domestic violence, which is the reason I am involved in advocacy for women's rights. I use my voice to help more women fight for their own rights. RMM gave me the opportunity to help on this project in Long Island with farmworkers as well as invite more women to become involved so their voices are heard."

Juan Antonio is a lifelong community organizer and farmworker. In El Salvador he worked the fields and managed a cooperative that helped bring electricity and clean water to the community. After spending years traveling around the United States doing farmwork and construction, Juan Antonio moved to Long Island in 2005 where he now lives and works alongside his loving family.

Sakima is an Iraqi war veteran who graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a degree in Engineering, and went on to get her Master's in Business with a minor in Accounting. She is a Board Member of the Dutchess County Mental Health of America, sits on the City of Poughkeepsie Planning Board, and a social member of the Exempt Firemen Association. Sakima was the first female Commander of the Veteran of Foreign wars in their 75 year history. She is a member of the American Legion, and also served as President of the Poughkeepsie School District Board.

Gabriela Quintanilla, an RMM YAG granduate, was born in El Salvador, and migrated to the U.S. when she was 13 years old. In 2016, she graduated from Stony Brook University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and a minor in Political Science. She has become a social justice activist with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Student/Farmworker Alliance National Student Network.

Jeannine Otis, RMM’s Music Director has become an important ally in our quest for farmworker justice in NYS. Jeannine has produced RMM’s Voices of Hope CD and leads the music programming at the Overnight Leadership Camp and our Annual Rural Women’s Conference. As a songwriter, singer, actress, and recording artist, she moves from style to style. She has worked with Grover Washington,
George Brown of Kool and the Gang, and Pete Seeger. Jeannine, a Warner European recording label artist, has had a top ten hit, appeared with the American Repertory Theater and with the Public

Jose is originally from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas and as a youth worked and traveled with his family as a migrant farmworker in the fields of the panhandles of Texas and Iowa. He graduated from Wesleyan University in Connecticut where he majored in American Studies with a concentration in Ethnic Studies. Jose worked as a paralegal and accredited representative focusing on immigration in South Texas as well as in New York City, and also has experience as an organizer and in public relations. Jose is thrilled to join the Justice for Farmworkers Campaign.

West recently moved to New York after living and working for 20 years on the U.S.-Mexico border, where he founded Project Puente to do educational work along the border and Casa Puente, a hospitality house which serves the needs of interns and volunteers working in the non-profit sector in El Paso. Prior to this West served as a Lay Missioner with Maryknoll, living and working for eight years in Venezuela. He has a Masters degree in Religious Education from Seattle University.

Nathan Berger is currently the Long Island Coordinator. Since September 2014 Nathan has been coordinating the Long Island JFW Legislative Campaign as well as Long Island farmworkers empowerment and outreach programs. Nathan graduated from Hobart & William Smith Colleges in 2013. During his time at the colleges he interned at RMM's Liturgia Worker Education Center in Western New York. His experience at RMM inspired him to continue to fight with farmworkers for dignity and respect.