Sonoma County leadership group Los Cien hires first executive director

The Sonoma County-based Latino leadership group Los Cien has hired its first executive director, with a charge to grow the now 1,500-member group, which was launched in 2009 by nine members who met in a backroom of a Mary’s Pizza Shack.

Since then, the coalition of business, government and civic leaders has expanded by word of mouth, holding well-attended monthly lunch meetings and an annual summit focused on issues affecting the Latino community.

The new executive director, Magali Telles, a former college readiness counselor from Sonoma State University, said the organization will stick to its core values: civic engagement, education and building bridges between the growing Latino community and others in Sonoma County.

“That’s why I fell in love with Los Cien - the core values, the pillars,” Telles said. “It just aligned so perfectly with me as a person and what I want to do professionally.”

Telles started May 1 in her new role at the previously all-volunteer organization. She began two years ago attending Los Cien’s luncheons, which provide a forum for community members as well as presentations on social, economic and leadership issues.

Herman J. Hernandez, the Los Cien board president and founding member, said the organization decided to hire an executive director to become more effective and efficient in its mission.

“We needed someone to be able to work with and really start to make a difference in the community, because there was so much that was being asked of us,” Hernandez said.

Telles’ post is supported in part by a grant from Community Foundation of Sonoma County.

A native of Michoacán, Mexico, Telles was the first member of her family to attend a four-year university. She received a bachelor’s degree in sociology followed by a master’s degree in education from Sonoma State University. Later Telles helped to guide first-generation students like herself through the admission and financial aid process and started SSU’s Latino Family Summit, an annual event that introduces hundreds of Latino families to the Rohnert Park campus.

At Los Cien, Telles wants to bring her experience to bear while engaging with students and young professionals.

“Eventually I’d love to see some sort of official mentorship program come out of this,” she said.