Conference on Gender, Families,
and Latino Immigration in Oregon

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Jorge Navarro

Executive Director, Centro Latino Americano, Eugene

Jorge Navarro is originally from the Los Angeles area. He was raised in a monolingual, Spanish speaking home, by his loving mother, Consuelo Navarro, a single parent who was raised in Mexico. Jorge's early education was in the parochial school system of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He attended a Roman Catholic Seminary studying to be a priest, and graduated in 1967 from Our Lady Queen of the Angels High School. He pursued his secular education at East Los Angeles Community College, California State University at Los Angeles and Fullerton as a History major. Jorge's opposition to the Vietnam War introduced him to the world of activism.

As a conscientious objector his alternate military service consisted of providing remedial mathematics classes to Latino students at Fremont Junior High School in Anaheim California. Jorge came to Oregon in 1973. In the following 34 years he has been a professional musician, a childcare provider, a professional cook and waiter, a deli manager, restaurateur, a certified bilingual multicultural drug and alcohol counselor for the Hispanic population, and gambling counselor. He has served on numerous community and city advisory boards. He has worked with Children and Family Services on their Latino Advisory Board, the HULT Center, the Community Center for the Performing Arts (WOW Hall), the City of Eugene's North Corridor Planning Committee, and Centro LatinoAmericano. He has served on the Board of Directors for the WOW Hall, the Eugene Chamber of Commerce, and Centro LatinoAmericano. Jorge is also an avid racquetball player and enjoys dancing, playing music, singing, and the arts.