About
Founded in 2004 by former MEChA students, CORE has been dedicated to understanding and elevating the challenges and pride of the Chicano/Latino community, particularly in educational environments. We unapologetically work to uplift Chicano/Latino, immigrant, and undocumented students through our programs and resources, as part of the decades-long movement for Chicano solidarity and empowerment.
Our Mission
Grounded in Chicano thought, CORE creates opportunities and change to empower Chicano/Latino students.
Our Board
Jaime L. Del Razo, Ph.D., Executive Director, is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Education Department at Vassar College. His research interests include the education of undocumented students, the school to military pipeline, critical race theory in education, and examining the disruption of oppresive dominance.
Prior to Vassar College, Jaime was a Principal Associate at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University and an adjunct assistant professor at Brown University. Jaime has served as Director of UC Irvine’s Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) Schools program. He has also worked as a high school math teacher at Dominguez High School in Compton, California. He holds a Ph.D. in Education from the University of California, Los Angeles, a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) in Rhetoric from the University of California, Berkeley and an Associate of Arts (A.A.) from Pasadena City College. During his undergraduate years, he was active in the college recruitment of Chicano/Latino students and in Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA). Born in East Los Angeles, Jaime was raised in neighboring Boyle Heights and graduated from Montebello High School. He served in the US Army prior to attending college and is a Gulf War veteran.
Maritza L. Del Razo, M.Ed., Financial Officer, was raised in California’s San Joaquin Valley where she labored as the third generation of farmworkers. She went on to receive an Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree from Modesto Jr. College and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Ethnic Studies from the University of California at Berkeley. After ten years in various non-profit organizations, Maritza obtained a Master’s in Education (M.Ed.) from the University of California at Los Angeles where she also became a facilitator of Intergroup Dialogue. Today she lives in the Hudson Valley of New York and works as a consultant. Maritza is the host of the Spanish radio segment “Hablando de Corazón: Lo Que No Nos Contaron – A Heart to Heart: What They Didn’t Tell Us”, a bi-weekly segment to air the U.S. history largely missing from school curriculum – a heart to heart, to dismantle racism and envision a way forward.
Julián E. Aguilar, A.B., Operating and Communications Officer, is an Academic Computing Consultant and Program Director for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Office of the Vice President of Operations for Technology and Human Resources at Vassar College.
Julián is a graduate of Vassar College and holds a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) in Sociology with a concentration in Urban Studies. At Vassar, Julian served as a Class Representative on the Committee on Admission and Financial Aid (2019-20), College Planning Senator (2020-21), Class Senator (2021), and the President (2022-23) of the Vassar Student Association, the undergraduate government of the college, among other work-study and extracurricular obligations. While in college, Julián also founded Valley Scholars College Initiative, a community-based non-profit organization that serves Central Valley high school students in an effort to promote college access and ensure an equitable admissions process, serving as the President of the organization and its Board of Directors. He also was a member (2019-2022) of the StanFUTURES Action Team of the Stanislaus County Cradle-to-Career Partnership. Now deepening his roots in New York’s Hudson Valley, Julián was born and raised in Turlock, CA, and is proud to be from California’s Central Valley.