FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Bruce Goldstein, President
November 7, 2018 (202) 293-5420 [email protected]
David Damian Figueroa, respected non-profit leader, activist and entertainment professional, will oversee Farmworker Justice’s corporate and foundation partnerships, giving campaigns, special events, and branding initiatives.
Washington, D.C. – Farmworker Justice announced the appointment of David Damian Figueroa as Director of Development. Figueroa will be based in California’s Coachella Valley and will report to the national organization’s president, Bruce Goldstein. Figueroa will be charged with increasing partnerships with foundations, corporations, and philanthropists. He will also be responsible for enhancing Farmworker Justice’s, individual donor base, organizational capacity, and raising the visibility of the organization’s policy advocacy, impact litigation, training and education programs, and corporate responsibility initiatives.
“We are very pleased we have this opportunity to take advantage of David Damian’s many skills and resourcefulness. He is an accomplished innovator in philanthropy, non-profit communications, branding, and content marketing. He comes to Farmworker Justice with a background as a farmworker and a wealth of valuable experience and we are excited to have him as part of our senior team,” stated Goldstein.
Prior to joining Farmworker Justice, Figueroa was the AVP of Branding, Content Marketing and Strategic Alliances at Frontier Communications. He served at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) from 1998 to 2001 and rejoined the organization as Vice President of Development and Strategic Communications from 2009 to 2015. Figueroa served as Associate State Director of the Los Angeles County Region for AARP California from 2002 to 2009 where he oversaw the implementation of social campaigns, community alliances, volunteer management and membership development. Figueroa also helped launch AARP’s Segunda Juventud bilingual magazine in Los Angeles.
“I’m excited and honored to have the opportunity to work for Farmworker Justice at such a critical time in our country. In my youth, I spent most of my summers and many weekends working in the fields and orchards of southern Arizona. It is my intent to bring the hardship of the farmworker to light and work with the team and key partners to identify and implement high-impact solutions that benefit our nation’s farmworkers,” said Figueroa.
For the past 26 years, Figueroa has served as a philanthropic advisor to numerous celebrities. He specializes in forging meaningful relationships with celebrities with non-profit organizations to heighten awareness for social impact campaigns.
Partnering with actors/activists Eva Longoria, Forest Whitaker, and author Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), David Damian has brought greater focus to the farmworker issue, working as executive producer on the critically-acclaimed documentary Food Chains, which focused on the corporate food supply chain and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers Fair Food Campaign. He was also was associate producer of The Harvest—The Children Who Feed America/La Cosecha—Los niños que alimentan America.
Prior to committing to service in the non-profit sector full-time, Figueroa achieved an influential role in the entertainment industry, fostering the success of clients including José José, El Show de Johnny Canales, Boyz II Men, Arista Latin, MCA Polygram, BMI Latin, Motown Latino, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Marc Anthony, and India for RMM/Universal.
Founded in 1981, Farmworker Justice is a nonprofit organization that seeks to empower farmworkers to improve their wages and working conditions, immigration status, health, occupational safety, and access to justice. For more information, please visit www.farmworkerjustice.org