Submitted photo
(top row, from left: Juan Jose Lopez, Rebecca Lehnen, Socorro Teniente, Lilliam Post, Karina Gandolfo, Celia Huerta. Bottom row, from left: Jon Gramling, Javier Champa, Henry Amaya, Oscar Mireles, Fred Svensson
Juan Jose Lopez, top row left, helped guide Centro Hispano through tough times in the late 1990s, says author Oscar Mireles, bottom row, second from right.
We lost Juan Jose Lopez this week. He was a person who led by example and tirelessly worked to make this world a more just place.
I moved to Madison in 1994. I only knew two people here, Dora Zuniga and Juan Jose. At the time, Dora served as the executive director of Centro Hispano of Dane County and Juan Jose was directing the Project Opportunity Initiative, which was focused on helping students who faced challenges complete their high school credentials.
Juan Jose welcomed me to the area, and we quickly became good family friends and confidants. He encouraged me to join the Rotary Club of Madison and to apply for the Leadership Greater Madison training program. I acted on his advice, as I would for many years to follow, and was able to connect to the greater Madison community. As the years passed, he replicated this act of kindness many times over and directly impacted the lives of thousands of Madisonians and folks from across the state.
As a newcomer to Madison, and the incoming director of Omega School, I was faced with challenges many face upon first arriving in the area — to understand the local structures of leadership, governance, and how communities of diverse backgrounds were positioned here. Needless to say, the learning curve was steep. Juan Jose reassured me that with time, principled work, commitment, and being open to change would eventually bear fruit for Omega and the adult students we served. Nearly three decades later, I can say that he was correct.
Juan Jose ran for the Madison school board in the late 1990s and won his first election. Our four children were MMSD elementary school students at that time and they benefited from his leadership, advocacy and service. He led efforts that challenged the status quo to build a district that offered equitable access to quality education for Black and brown students. Juan Jose took on many difficult issues during his tenure as a school board member including school redistricting, bilingual education, and alternative programs for students needing additional support and encouragement.
The late 1990s was a turbulent time for Centro Hispano of Dane County. There had been several executive director transitions and Juan Jose, Jon Gramling and I were asked to step up and serve on their leadership team during this time of transition. I witnessed first-hand Juan Jose’s grit and commitment to community. I remember vividly his willingness to work well into evenings, take on difficult jobs, and make those necessary hard decisions for the good of Centro and not necessarily any single individual. He guided us through those tough times. As I gaze out my window and see the new Centro Hispano facility Karen Menendez Coller is spearheading, the building’s foundation has Juan Jose Lopez’s handprints all over it.
Juan Jose was vital in the creation and development of several organizations in town including Adelante Madison, a political group focused on recruiting and training diverse candidates to run for local elections. The Madison Common Council and Madison Metropolitan School District benefited tremendously from the work of Adelante. The composition of both of these bodies became more diverse during Juan Jose’s leadership of this group. He was on the initial board of directors of the Latino Chamber of Commerce. His fundraising prowess and connections helped ground the Chamber and under the leadership of Julia Aratta-Frata and Jessica G. Cavazos has since emerged as a statewide organization focused on entrepreneurship and assisting Latino small businesses.
Juan Jose served as a mentor for many Latina and Latino professionals. For example, he mentored Christian Albouras, my nephew, who served as a Madison alderperson from 2019 to 2022. Juan Jose took Christian everywhere with him and I later learned that during their time together they would have deep conversations about community and politics. He understood the importance of social capital and made sure that Christian became an active member of his network of friends, colleagues and politicians. My nephew probably would not have sought local public office without Juan Jose’s guidance and influence. Besides mentoring Christian and me, Juan Jose also mentored David Aguayo, an up-and-coming figure who has a bright future in public and private service, and businessman Wensy Melendez, who with his father, co-owns Amigo Construction.
Juan Jose Lopez made Madison a better place. He modeled for us the impact that living a principled life, in service to others, and the willingness to fight the good fight have on society. Madison lost a great human being, and I lost my friend. We will miss him and commit to carry on his work.
¡Presente!
Oscar Mireles is a poet and editor and the executive director of Omega School.
