MAGDALENO ROSE-AVILA (LENO)
Leno is a dreamer, a poet, a human rights activist who believes that we can Change The World. He is a gifted public speaker, bringing his struggle and a passion for justice to his stories of the past, present and a vision of a more just future.
Inspiring, motivating and encouraging people is his method of outreach. Using his dry and silly sense of humor to break through social boundaries, he always gets a laugh from his audience.
He is a published poet having his work in the book LOS CUATRO, Looking For My Wings and is currently editing a book entitled Driving To The Moon.
Currently Leno is utilizing his talents to spread awareness about GMO labeling across the United States.
MY EXPERIENCES
- Leno followed joined his father as farm worker at the age 11 and by age 13 had joined the migrant stream traveling with a work crew that went into the Dakotas.
- Working his way through college leno first spoke at a student demonstration at the University of Colorado, Boulder upon the killing of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. this event set leno on the road to activism.
- He worked with Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Pete Velasco and other key Farm Worker leaders of the historic United Farm Workers Union. This experience change leno forever.
- Since then he has managed and worked for many non-profit Organizations. He was Peace Corps Country Director in four countries, worked at the Democratic National Committee, Founded Homies Unidos (a peace and non-violence organization for gang members and youth at risk), the Founding Director of the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation, Founder of Ahora newspaper 1970, worked at Amnesty International, and most recently had become activist organizer on the issue of Pesticides and GMO seeds.