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In 1983, the Hall Family Foundation approached leaders in Kansas City's Hispanic community with an innovative idea for them to control philanthropic resources for their own community. The concept had never been attempted before: to give leaders in the Kansas City Latino community resources for them to decide philanthropic priorities in their own community. Through the leadership of Tony Salazar and others in the community, the group rose to the challenge of investing the initial funds contributed by the Hall Family Foundation.
The Hispanic Development Fund, or HDF, soon proved the concept could become a reality. In 1986, the Hall Family Foundation made a pledge to further support the fund by helping create an endowment. Over the ensuing years the HDF leadership through hard work and perseverance continued to raise more endowment funds, many from within the Latino community. In 2006, HDF, as a result of its growth and success, became a regional affiliate of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation.
The mission of the Greater Kansas City Hispanic Development Fund is to improve the quality of life of Latino families in Greater Kansas City by engaging the Latino community in philanthropy to build stronger communities through grantmaking and scholarship support.
Alejandra Perez
Coordinator of HDF Programs
perez@hdfkc.org
Alex brings a wealth of college advising experience, most recently at Metropolitan Community College. As a first-generation college graduate, she has a deep understanding of the barriers many of our students and families face in their academic journeys and, more importantly, how to overcome these challenges.
Alex holds her bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a master's degree in Educational Administration from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
John Kearney
Director of Educational Programs
kearney@hdfkc.org
John joined the staff of the Hispanic Development Fund in 2018 after spending ten years as a high school social studies teacher and college advisor. It was during this time that John discovered his passion for helping Latino students reach their college goals and saw first-hand the unique barriers that many first-generation students face in navigating the college admissions and financial aid processes. In addition to his role at HDF, John founded the Pell Project.
John earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in secondary education from the University of Kansas.
David Ochoa
Executive Director
ochoa@hdfkc.org
After spending a decade in higher education development at the University of Kansas Endowment Association, David joined the Hispanic Development Fund as Executive Director in 2019. As Executive Director, David aims to elevate HDF's mission by growing both the scholarship and educational programming and strengthening existing strategic partnerships.
David earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's degree in education from the University of Kansas.
Ramon Murguia
Board Chair
Attorney
Bobby Hernandez
Founding Board Member
Community Volunteer
Raul Duran
VP, Community Development Officer
Arvest Bank
Randy Lopez
Vice President of Community Programs
Wyandotte Health Foundation
Maria Mora
Founding Board Member
Community Volunteer
Raymond Rico
Attorney
Garcia Immigration Law Firm
Mayra Aguirre
President
Hall Family Foundation
Andrew Marquez
Co-founder
SocialUp
Katelyn Girod
Hispanic Community Services Facilitator
Olathe Public Schools