OUR HISTORY
In the 1980s, The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, a Catholic faith-based organization, embarked on a mission to provide essential health support to farmworker families on the East Coast. They named this project “The East Coast Migrant Health Project.” As part of their dedication to this cause, they expanded their…Read More
The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, a Catholic faith-based organization, begin a project to provide health support to farmworker families on the east coast of the United States. The name of the project is The East Coast Migrant Health Project. The Leadership Conference of Women’s Religious expands its project services…Read More
ECMHSP extended its Head Start services to reach more farmworker families, with a specific focus on migrant farmworker families engaged in agricultural labor, including crop harvesting and production. Toward the end of the decade, Sister Geraldine O’Brien, the Executive Director who had passionately led this mission, announced her well-deserved retirement.…Read More
In the early 2000s, Rafael Guerra took the helm as the new Executive Director of ECMHSP. Under his leadership, the organization experienced a significant expansion into new farmworker communities. Rafael also emphasized the enhancement of service quality throughout the project. ECMHSP began to shift towards a direct service model, reducing…Read More
Dr. José S. Villa assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer, succeeding John E. Menditto, who had skillfully guided ECMHSP through the Designation Renewal System before resuming his position as Chief Legal Officer. Dr. Villa, following in the footsteps of Rafael Guerra, prioritized the enhancement of service quality and the…Read More
Dr. José S. Villa announced his retirement, and Maria C. Garza succeeded him. Maria, much like Rafael and José before her, grew up in a farmworker family. Her personal experience as a farmworker child and her career in leadership roles supporting the farmworker cause uniquely positioned her to lead ECMHSP…Read More
East Coast Migrant Head Start Project celebrates its 50th anniversary, marking five decades of dedicated service to farmworker families. With a commitment to providing high-quality early childhood education and family support, the project continues to empower children and families across 10 states. This milestone year reflects the ongoing impact of…Read More
In November 2024, ECMHSP’s Board of Directors appointed John E. Menditto, as Interim Chief Executive Officer during a period of executive leadership transition.
The ECMHSP Board of Directors appointed Dr. Javier Gonzalez as the organization’s Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Gonzalez brought over thirty years of experience working with farmworker populations and most recently served as Chief Operations Officer at ECMHSP since 2016. He is a former president of the National HEP/CAMP Association and…Read More
