For Daniel Altamirano Hernández '19 and His Colleagues at Centro Cultural, the Job Must Be Well Done

Daniel Altamirano Hernández ’19 wants people to know that he and his colleagues at Centro Cultural are serving with purpose.

“If Latinos are going to do something, we do it well,” he said. “We’ve been tested through these times, and I think our response shows we just care, not only what we do but how we do it.”

Altamirano is program manager for the Cornelius, Ore.,-based nonprofit’s COVID-19 response and KEEP, a program to support Spanish-speaking foster and kin families. His remarks are captured on a Centro Cultural video.

At Pacific, he earned a bachelor’s degree in social work and was active in the Phi Alpha Honor Society for Social Work and the Hispanic Heritage Student Association. He’s been at Centro Cultural since last fall, starting in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Centro Cultural’s health services are provided in conjunction with government health authorities and are aimed at giving Latinx clients a wraparound safety net as they are quarantined and afterward.

Centro Cultural is “a safe, supportive place for our Latinx community,” said Marni Kuyl, Washington County’s director of health and human services. “I can’t even imagine Washington County without Central Cultural.”

The nonprofit served a critical role for Spanish-speaking residents, especially as the economy was largely shut down by the pandemic.

“I am beyond proud of Centro for their response. We’ve been providing food boxes and groceries to the community,” Altamirano said. “Our COVID-19 response team grew from one to a team of five. Our collaborative approach will help lead to that equitable reopening of our economy once we are back to a normal society.”