Gonzalo Mercado-Cisterna

Gonzalo Mercado profile picture

Gonzalo Mercado-Cisterna is the Director of Transnational Initiatives at National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON). Of his service on the board of directors of North Star Fund, Gonzalo says, “So many movements come out of New York City. Change here can have a national impact.”

Gonzalo previously served as the executive director of El Centro, a storefront immigrant day laborers’ center in Port Richmond, Staten Island. Through his work, Gonzalo came to understand the power of grassroots activism.

“When workers feel voiceless, powerless, without rights, community organizing can provide an opportunity to turn things around and make a change, not only in individual lives but as a movement affecting a larger group of people.”

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