Our Team
Get to Know the Volunteers Behind Rescued Minds, Inc.
Since our founding, Rescued Minds, Inc. has helped to dignify the lives of the mentally ill at Visión En Acción. We’re very proud of the expertise of our board members and their abilities to contribute their own unique experiences and skills to our success.
Words cannot describe Art's role in ensuring that Rescued Minds, Inc. always stays on track. His constant communication with beneficiaries means that Art is our greatest asset in listening to the pressing needs of grantees at Visión En Acción. Art is also the curator of the Mentes Hermosas Photo Exhibit, which will be a fundraising venue on behalf of Rescued Minds in support of Visión En Acción.
Art Moreno, Jr.
President
Ladonna Apodaca
Board Member
Interior Stylist - Visual Merchandiser - Art Director - Writer - Event Planner- Artist…
Ladonna Apodaca is all of these things yet she prefers to more simply describe herself as a creative person. She wields her design aesthetic on a varied list of projects both commercial and residential… personal and professional. As an interior stylist for the past several decades, her work benefits greatly from an understanding that there are countless facets to the arts.
Ladonna has 3 favorite quotes that sum up her ideology about her chosen profession…
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“Creativity is intelligence having fun.”
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“Design is so simple. That’s why it’s so complicated.”
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“I’m going to make everything around me beautiful – that will be my life.”
And so it is that this has been Ladonna’s life too!
Cristina Ferraris
Board Member / Secretary
Cristina was born and raised in Italy and moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2002. She is a Business Development Representative with H.B. Fuller, an adhesive manufacturer. Cristina dedicates her free time to her husband and two sons and to various volunteering projects in her local community. She is passionate about helping the less fortunate and was deeply moved by the portraits and stories of the Vision in Accion patients that Art first shared with her. Cristina strives to help bring awareness about the needs of the mentally ill in the sanctuary and raise funds to continue providing the loving care they deserve.
Dr. Miguel Juárez
Board Member
Dr. Miguel Juárez was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. He is a lecturer in the Department of History and received his Ph.D. in 2018 from the University of Texas at El Paso. He also has a Master's in Library Science from SUNY Buffalo, a Master of Arts in Border History, graduate coursework in arts administration, museum studies, and arts practice from CSU Dominguez Hills and CSU Long Beach, and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism (marketing and public relations focus) from the University of Texas at El Paso. Dr. Juarez is involved in the community and strives to help people from all walks of life.
Ariel Lysander
Board Member
Ariel was raised in Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas as the son of a Greco-Italian Jewish father immigrant to the United States and a Mexican Catholic mother. He grew up as a child of the border with a strong mix of cultural, religious, and family values that have shaped him to this day. Ariel is a financial analyst with Resideo Technologies, Inc. in Juarez, Mexico, and has a Bachelor’s in Accounting from Cultural University. He has two children, Gino and Karen. His other volunteer efforts include the Anusim Center of El Paso-Mexico Relations, Scoutmaster with Asociacion Scouts de Mexico, and an Internal Revenue Officer with Mexico’s tax authority.
Fernanda Salinas
Board Member / Treasurer
Fernanda is currently a content creator for a variety of local businesses/artists. She is also the owner of BLOOM, an indoor plant business in El Paso. A University of Texas at El Paso graduate with a major in Marketing and a minor in General Management, she has acquired experience and knowledge in social media and content creation for Instagram and Facebook. Fernanda is currently managing the Instagram account for Mentes Hermosas. She is actively creating content in an effort to make more connections with people around the world by letting them know about Visión en Acción and how to help.
Alex Sieni
Board Member
Alex is a student at UNC Chapel Hill studying computer science and statistics. He strives to help positively impact society and is currently designing the website for Rescued Minds. Alex is fluent in Italian and is an avid chess player.