A Civic Participation Success Story (East Palo Alto, California)
In the late 1990’s, and echoing the multiple reverberations occurring all over the globe, a variety of experimental projects were set at the forefront of the US public eye addressing the “re-inventing of governance” phenomenon. The exploration of self-governing, resident-driven neighborhood improvement initiatives was one example of this movement, and the Hewlett Foundation funded three pilot projects in the San Francisco Bay Area: One in San José, one in West Oakland and one in East Palo Alto.
As a team member of the Community Development Institute, over a 15-month period, Dr. Melano facilitated a series of collaborative meetings for the Educational Planning Group. Ranging from local undocumented immigrant and blue-collar workers to a few Stanford University staff, and every profile in between the spectrum, an average of 15-20 multicultural and either English or Spanish speaking residents attended regular planning meetings. Several group milestones were breached through such process. Its major success, however, was the establishing of a Charter Public High School, after over 20 years in which East Palo Alto did not have any public school for their adolescent generations.
“In my role as the Hewlett Foundation’s evaluator for this project, one of my tasks included observing the work of the facilitators I watched Dr. Melano work with a group of African-American, Pacific-Islander, Latino, and White residents, all of whom carried heavy emotional ‘baggage’ from years of disappointment. Melano did the technical work of three people, facilitating, recording, and graphic recording, all at a very high skill level. If this was not sufficiently impressive, she also did it English and Spanish. Finally, her energy, tenaciousness and positive demeanor, made an immeasurable contribution to the success of the group.”
- Renee Berger (Teamworks, President)
Breaching the Gap in Medical Schools (UCSF, California)
At the dawn of the Twenty First Century, medical schools throughout the United States are still struggling with attracting and retaining widely under-represented students—such as African American, Latino/Latina, Native American, and most Asian students. Therefore, the question remains: Why do certain ethnic/racial groups drop out at such higher rate than others? And more proactively: What can medical schools around the country do differently to make this organizational reality improve?
In 2002, Fred Butler and Associates, was requested to facilitate a series of focus groups of under-represented as well as over-represented graduate students to better understand what the university might do differently to improve its service to all its students. Dr. Melano, as a co-investigator in such endeavor, co-facilitated four focus groups, transcribed and analyzed all raw data, and in tandem with Mr. Butler, elaborated a report to the Diversity Committee.
“Dr. Melano wrote the report for the Diversity Committee. I presented that report to the executive committee and faculty, and received very positive feedback. As a result of this exercise, we have altered some policies in our courses, made one on one tutoring available to all students, and now discuss these issues at the graduate student orientation meeting.
Gabriela is extremely skilled, in interacting with diverse people, facilitating groups and writing reports that capture the essence of both the problem at hand and people’s perception of that problem. I recommend her highly.”
Professor Carol Gross, Ph.D., UCSF Biomedical School
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National Commission on Administration of Justice, Costa Rica
“I first met Gabriela Melano in 1995 when she served as an Educational Consultant to the Supreme Court in Costa Rica. Funded by USAID, the main goal of the projects she worked on was the promotion and implementation of alternative conflict resolution programs throughout our country.
The participants who attended the workshops she lead deeply appreciated her ability to teach truly new concepts and professional practices, and to inspire us to live our lives according to non-violent principles.
It is because of this experience that, as the Director of the National Commission for the Improvement of Judicial Administration (CONAMAJ) that I hired her to collaborate on a few projects we were undertaking. One that stands out in my mind was when she lead workshops on alternative conflict resolution principles and practices to inmates and prison personnel. For all of the above, I recommend her highly as a highly skilled professional, with a special human touch.”
Msc. Sara Castillo, Executive Director
National Commission for the Improvement of Judicial Administration (CONAMAJ), San José, Costa Rica
