For some, the men working in the fields around Pescadero are part of the scenery. But when Laura Franco sees them, she thinks of her family.

“I think: that could be my aunt, that could be my dad, my grandmother. I see the struggles that people go through and I know that’s what my family went through. It strikes at my heart,” she says.

Many people know Laura as a hardworking attorney who splits long workweeks between San Francisco and Palo Alto. They know she is powerful and passionate. Sometimes they know her as the vice president of Puente’s Board of Directors, a position she took on shortly after joining the Board last year. She is also a monthly Puente donor.

Laura, and her son, Rowan

Some Pescadero students know her as the confident woman in the gray business suit who spoke to their grade about the importance of getting a college degree: if I could do it, she told them, you can do it, too.

To really know Laura is to know that she and her sister, Lisa, were the first of their family – on either side – to go to college. And that their parents were the ones who pushed them.

It is to know that her father, Manuel, grew up in Mexico, moved to Fort Bragg, and made his way in a new country with a third grade education – first as a logger, then as a self-taught carpenter.  Laura’s mother Barbara had a high school education and did office work. But when it came time for their girls to go to college, there was never any question.

Manuel and Barbara weren’t able to help Laura and Lisa with questions of where to enroll, what to study or how to pay for it all. But the girls figured it out. Today, both sisters are attorneys. Laura attended University of California, Berkeley, as an undergraduate student, and received her Masters in Public Policy at Harvard, simultaneously with a law degree at Berkeley.  Law School. She received full tuition scholarships; but no living stipend.

“For some reason God gave me parents with an open worldview. They understood the importance of an education. They didn’t shelter us,” Laura says.

Laura, with her father, Manuel

The college recruiter

If it was possible for her father to imagine his daughters finishing college, why doesn’t it work that way for other families? That’s a question Laura asks herself when she meets some parents – both Latino and Anglo – who didn’t go to college and see no reason for their children to go, either.

“If I could figure it out and spread it around I would. It would do so much to break the cycle of poverty,” Laura says.

Of all of Puente’s youth-based work, Laura most strongly supports Puente’s efforts to bridge the gap between high school and college for students whose parents never got that far. She speaks to students at Pescadero and La Honda schools, and makes a point of chatting one-on-one with students and sometimes their parents as well.

“I tell the parents, ‘Just because you didn’t go to school doesn’t mean your kids won’t succeed. ‘And I tell the kids, ‘Just because your parents didn’t finish high school, doesn’t mean they aren’t smart.’

Laura shared the story of her father’s own lack of education and humble upbringing at Puente’s second annual Career Night, an event intended to showcase Latino professionals who were the first in their families to go to college.

She also encourages students to use their personal stories in their college essays and to take full advantage of the academic scholarships and financial aid available to them as minorities and as students from a rural community.

Most of all, she directs them toward Puente, which offers scholarships to youth employees and helps students obtain real-world internships, along with unprecedented access to academic programs at Stanford University.

Puente is also in the midst of an effort to put together an advisory group of attorneys who can help with legal questions from time to time that fall outside the rubric of immigration law: workers’ compensation, estate issues, employee protections.

Puente Executive Director Kerry Lobel says Laura has helped Puente hit all the right notes from the beginning. “Laura brings a unique perspective to the Puente board framed by her personal family experiences and her legal training. Her story means so much to young people and their parents.”

Laura has lived in La Honda for over ten years. Her affiliation with Puente dates back to 2007, when she answered the call to donate bicycles and clothing. She became a student tutor and also helped Puente participants study for their citizenship tests.

“It’s where my heart is,” she says.

To donate to Puente, contact Kerry Lobel at (650) 879-1691 x 144 or klobel@mypuente.org
 You can also donate online at https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/puente?code=Novemberbridge

How do you know an organization is well loved? Come to its birthday party and talk to the people who know it best.

September 22 was a special day in Puente’s history. It was Puente’s 15^th anniversary celebration, held at Echo Valley Farm in Loma Mar. And fittingly, it was attended by Puente’s entire extended family, past and present.

Puente board members, past and present.

Among the revelers who raised a glass of home-brewed iced tea that day were the people who gave birth to Puente and witnessed its first steps; those who coaxed it through its growth milestones and transitions; and the many staff members, donors, volunteers, and event sponsors who oversee its confident adulthood.

“It’s shocking to my system,” said Puente founder Rev. Wendy Taylor, surveying the crowd of celebrants sitting at linen-draped tables on a grassy lawn. It seemed like yesterday, she said, that she and the men who went on to form La Sala sat on the steps of the Pescadero Community Church, talking about their lives.

Founder, Wendy Taylor, and Executive Director, Kerry Lobel

“To have this many employees, this many programs and this many precious services in the community – praise be to God,” she exclaimed.

The Rev. Taylor was an honored guest at the anniversary party, which featured a delicious gourmet meal prepared fresh, and served, by impeccably dressed student members of Puente’s Edible After-School program.

Puente’s Edible After School Program students

Dragonflies flitted about as guests soaked in the sun at festive, red-draped tables. Some important “city folk” came out to the farm to show their support and enjoy in the warm vibes, including San Mateo County Supervisors Don Horsley and Carole Groom, and San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools Anne Campbell.

Attendees ate, socialized and listened to some special remarks by people like Daisy Perez, 16, who got her first job in Puente’s office last summer. She took the money she earned and visited San Diego on her own.

Daisy Perez and Omar Ortega

Puente also helped her obtain a work/study permit under DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). Which in turn helped her make an important decision: to go to college.

“To get a title, a good job, and be known as something big – my summer with Puente was a big eye-opener,” she said.

Even Puente parties are venues for action. Puente Executive Director Kerry Lobel noted that one year ago, at Puente’s previous volunteer appreciation party, Supervisor Horsley stepped up to the microphone and announced that if voters passed Measure A, a half-cent sales tax, the county would provide a mobile medical clinic to the South Coast.

Well, Measure A did pass, and the funds were approved in September.

“If you look around, you can see why Puente has kept its promises for 15 years,” said Lobel. “Last year we talked about a medical van and now we’re getting one. At Puente you have to be careful what you wish for because it gets very, very big.”

Lobel honored Rev. Taylor by naming a new Puente legacy-giving program after her: the Rev. Wendy R. Taylor Legacy Circle. Rev. Taylor and her partner Ellen Sweetin returned the favor by being the first members.

Lobel also surprised Carol Young-Holt, a founding supporter of Puente, with a special plaque and the news that Puente’s children’s playground would be named after her.

Carol Young-Holt with Program Director, Rita Mancera, and Kerry Lobel

“What do we have in store for the next 15 years? There’s a lot to finish on behalf of our beloved community,” said Lobel, to cheers.

To learn about Puente’s Legacy Circle and other donor opportunities, contact Kerry Lobel at (650) 879-1691 x 144 or klobel@mypuente.org. 

The doctor is coming to town.

Puente celebrated a major victory on behalf of the entire South Coast community in September, when the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors formally approved funding for a new mobile health clinic that will exclusively serve the South Coast: Pescadero, La Honda and surrounding communities.

The initial funding for the clinic – a $1 million, two-year grant – comes from Measure A, a half-cent sales tax approved by San Mateo County voters in 2012.

A doctor, a nurse and a community outreach worker will staff the mobile health van, which should start making the rounds some time in late 2014 or early 2015.

“I want people to be able to enjoy some great quality time with their doctors,” said Supervisor Don Horsley, who worked closely with Puente Executive Director Kerry Lobel to make the medical clinic a reality.

Supervisor Don Horsley and Puente Board President, Mary McMillan

Lobel has been lobbying county officials for a consistent, reliable health care solution ever since the county cut funding for a different mobile health van in 2009.

Both mobile medical vans follow a history of attempts to provide health care services to the South Coast, dating back to 2002.

Lobel found a powerful ally in Stanford Professor Dr. Gabriel Garcia, who will oversee the  process of staffing of the medical clinic with a Stanford University physician. Under Dr. Garcia’s guidance, the van’s bilingual medical staff will treat patients on the South Coast with care and compassion. They will give special attention to the lifestyle factors that often play a part in causing chronic health conditions among a rural population. The approach will be holistic, engaged, and focused on prevention.

“This is very exciting. I think there will be lost of opportunities to do very creative things,” said Dr. Garcia.

Puente will help select a community outreach worker who will be specially trained to identify the short- and long-term health needs of local residents. He or she will be their liaison to the health care system, and help build confidence in the system. Many of the van’s new patients may never have had a primary care physician.

Perhaps most importantly, the van will make a point of stopping at the most populous labor housing camps. Puente’s recent census project and health care survey will be helpful in that respect, as well.

“We need to find out where people are and go there,” said Supervisor Horsley. “We have families who have may have children or spouses at home who can’t get into town.”