Additional information
by Tomas Alberto Avila (Author), Jose Francisco Avila (Author)
This book is a historical recollection of the Garifuna empowerment in the state of New York which evolved into a global achievement.
Author Biography
Tomás Alberto Ávila was born in the village of Trujillo, Colon Honduras to his hard working and devoted parents, Felipa Lopez-Lopez-Euceda- Green and Francisco Avila-Caballero Garcia-Mena, on the northern coast of Honduras, Tomás moved to Boston, Massachusetts with his mother and siblings in 1969, joining his father. Bilingual/bicultural, multi-task oriented professional, with extensive experience in the area of economic, Entrepreneurial, community and sustainability development and human capacity building. He is a founding member of the Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc and served as an advisor to the Board of Directors. He has served as the administrator of the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center's Primer Paso FasTrac business-feasibility planning program, at Johnson & Wales University, which was honored by the Association of Small Business Development Centers, with the ASBDC Rhode Island State Star for "his outstanding contribution and creative excellence." Mr. Avila also served as executive director of Progreso Latino, in Central Falls, RI, where he was responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs that lead to the success of the agency's clientele and stakeholders. He also served as a Policy Analyst at the Center for Hispanic Policy & Advocacy (CHisPA), in Providence, RI, identifying and tracking of legislative issues that impact the Latino and minority communities. He was also a founding member of the Rhode Island Latino Political Action Committee (RILPAC), a nonpartisan organization that works "to influence the political process in the state of Rhode Island," to improve the quality of life in the Latino and urban communities.
