Michael Ann Galliano Oropeza is a native of Clinton Mississippi.  She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. Prior to joining El Pueblo, she worked for private law firms in the Jackon, Mississippi area and in Pittsburgh, PA focusing on immigration work. In addition, she served as a Director and Divisional Director at Catholic Charities overseeing the immigration program and advocating for immigrant rights. She also worked as a legal support analyst at the ACLU addressing civil rights issues including immigration rights. Michael is accredited to practice as an immigration paralegal by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) of the U.S. Department of Justice. 

Michael Ann also serves on the Mississippi Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights and she serves on the UMMC Institute for the Elimination of Health Disparities Community Advisory Board.

Yolanda Soto originally from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, is the Director of Community Outreach for El Pueblo. She has served the Forest community for many years, everything from organizing a community soccer league to assisting with ESL classes.  Yolanda worked with Mississippi Immigration Coalition and was the lead case/outreach worker instrumental in assisting families with food distribution and disbursement of humanitarian aid in response to workplace enforcement raids.

Carolina Bermudez, originally from Costa Rica, has 12 years of experience working with the Hispanic Community in the grander Scott County area. As a caseworker at El Pueblo, she is informative and helpful to those who need legal or personal help as they navigate living in the United States. She has a passion for serving her community and helping people who are going through difficult times which makes her well-suited for her position at El Pueblo. In her free time, Carolina loves to travel with her family. 

Krishna Desai was born and raised in Ridgeland, Mississippi. She graduated from Mississippi State University in 2020 where she studied Political Science and Economics. Krishna joined El Pueblo in the summer of 2020 as a volunteer, and soon she became a member of the Forest staff as a caseworker. Her passion for migrant issues and advocacy began in college, where she also minored in Spanish and International Studies. 

She is now attending law school where she hopes to study immigration, women’s law, and international human rights and continue the work she started at El Pueblo. 

Genesis Valdez is originally from the Dominican Republic. Lived in Forest, Ms for 15yrs. Graduated from Hinds Community College with an Associate’s Degree in Arts. She has medical experience. joined El Pueblo as the new case worker for the victim’s advocate to serve the immigrant community.

Maria Schrupp, originally from Minnesota, is a volunteer for El Pueblo. She is currently a graduate student at Mississippi State University in the Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures and her graduate research investigates the relationships between migration and climate change. Her work with immigrant rights began in 2019 when she spent a summer in Santiago, Chile volunteering to help Venezuelan immigrants and refugees with immigration and relocation processes.