Flora Csontos
Template:TOCnestleft Flora Csontos grew up in both the communities of rural Hungary and northern California. This bicultural lens along with a church-centered upbringing brought her to understand the importance of community at a very young age. Her experiences, both negative and positive, prompted her to utilize her skills in a series of non-profit jobs that focused on multicultural community building. Her most recent position as a community organizer in her home county, one of the most conservative counties in California, entailed building a Spanish-speaking network of undocumented immigrant community members over hundreds of miles with the goal of legislating comprehensive immigration reform. During her four years in this position, she and a dedicated team of visionary community members met with dozens of public officials, played an indispensible role in assisting countless rural immigrant families in obtaining legal help, took part in the movement to win driver licenses for all undocumented immigrants in California and saw their police department hire a local undocumented activist. The relationships that were forged in this position challenged Flora to consider moving into the political field to create policies that would truly benefit all members of society.
Now as a resident of Wisconsin, Flora is committed to fulfilling that challenge by finding a job in local government that will allow her to further engage marginalized populations of all backgrounds in decision-making and critical legislation. The tools she developed in the first phase of her career coupled with the extensive resources that the New Leaders Council has to offer, will support her in addressing the widespread issues of systemic racism. Flora has prepared herself for this journey by conducting numerous informational interviews with community leaders, volunteering, attending several community forums and by interning at the State Capitol. A recent opportunity that has been particularly meaningful and relevant to her self-enrichment is a discussion group hosted at her church that challenges white community members to better understand their identity, privilege, and their place in a movement for equality. She is thrilled to be in the beautiful state of Wisconsin and is looking forward to leaving her mark on it. [1]
Colombia Support Network National Conference
Colombia Support Network National Conference June 2-3, 2017 Edgewood College, Predolin Hall, Room 306 Madison, Wisconsin.
7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. Words of Recognition of Cecilia Zarate-Laun, CSN Co-founder and Program Director who passed away on February 5, 2017.(Jack Laun and Flora Csontos, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin’s Southcentral Regional Representative).[2]