Serving as USCSCA's President, Lisa made her first trip to Cuba in 1971. She spent the last 14 years focusing exclusively on creating a dialogue within the American public; giving voice to ordinary people’s willingness to explore a more constructive U.S. policy towards Cuba, and the general public’s eagerness to be more engaged in national debates impacting U.S. foreign policy. A large part of her ‘mission’ is to ‘de-politicalize’ and defuse the issue of Cuba, to help people view US-Cuba history less reactively and more realistically; Cuba as simply another unique country in our global village.

As an internationally recognized spokesperson on U.S.-Cuba relations, Lisa has toured the US, Europe, Canada, and Mexico and has led numerous U.S. delegations to Cuba for many organizations. Lisa serves the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom’s Cuba Campaign, on the state board of Americans for Humanitarian Trade with Cuba, and board member of the Thomas Merton Center. A founding member of USCSCA, she calls herself the "super glue" for pulling sister city initiatives together across the county. She has thus far, been on every Pastors for Peace Cuba Caravan and participated in both the 23-day and 94-day hunger strikes when stopped from taking medical computers to Cuba requested by the World Health Organization in coordination with the United Nations.

A founding member of USCSCA, and serving as its Vice President responsible for Programs, Ricardo is originally from Camaguey, Cuba. A business owner in Madison, Wisconsin, he is a former council member of the Madison City Council, and founder and current president of the Madison-Camaguey Sister City Association. He also is a founding member and Trustee of the Cuban Committee for Democracy (CCD). He serves on the board member of the Cuban American Alliance Education Fund (CAAEF). He also assisted high school students in Madison to help organize a national high school initiative, the 'Student Exchange between Cuba and America', (SECA) Inc. He is also very active in Cuban-American family reunification issues, and played a mentoring role with the Milwaukee-Nuevitas Sister City Association.

Ms. Edwards is a partner in Ellis/Edwards and, with partner Pam Ellis, has been involved in a wide variety of projects with this firm. These include:

* City of Los Angeles, Workforce Development Division/* City of Los Angles, Transitional Youth Council. /* City/County of San Francisco, Department of Human Services. Strategic Planning in the Era of Post-Welfare Reform and the Workforce Investment Act /*Summit County, OH, Domestic Violence Task Force. Development of a Strategic Plan and a County-Wide Protocol/ *Los Angeles County, Office of the Child Advocate and Friends of Child Advocates. Development of a Strategic Plan for a Public/Private Partnership/ and worked with major corporations in many capacities such as: *Armco Steel. Employee Problem Solving/Action Planning Sessions /* Bayer Corporation. Manufacturing Plant Expansion Project /*Marriott Corporation – Host Division. Director of Organization & Management/ *Development Internal Revenue Service Training Specialist

Serving as Secretary, Pam has offered to combine duties and become Secretary-Treasurer of USCSCA. Pam also serves as the Vice President of Philadelphia-Cardenas Sister Cities Association. She is graduating in May 2003 with a Master's Degree in International Peace & Conflict Resolution from Arcadia University. Pam has visited Cuba five times, once with Global Exchange, then to attend U.N.-related conferences and the 2002/2003 Sister Cities Conferences. Pam's Cuban-born husband, Luis, is supportive of her efforts to help normalize relations, and daughter, Erica, is looking forward to spending a college semester in Havana.

A founding member of USCSCA, Clare is coordinating West Coast sister city organizing efforts, and plans to focus her efforts in developing a California state relationship with the province of Santiago de Cuba. Thanks in large part to her hard work, California has the most sister city/county efforts of any state. Clare has a background in small business administration and international banking, and is bilingual having lived for many years in Mexico where she managed loan portfolios and wrote a weekly financial column. Clare has been invaluable to the growth and success of USCSCA.

Jill, along with her husband, Dr. Bob Schaeffer, are both founding members of USCSCA. She served as a first term Vice President. Jill is a current board member and secretary/ treasurer of the Society Mobile-La Habana, the first U.S. city to form a sister city with Cuba. Jill first traveled to Cuba in 1995 and has since returned numerous times with sister city delegations from Mobile. Shinault is a legal assistant with a B.A. in Organizational Management and Communications. She currently heads a fundraising committee of the Society Mobile-La Habana. Aside form her formal duties as a board member of USCSCA, coming from the oldest established official sister city, Jill is willing to assist the many sprouting sister city groups in the southern states, and Florida. She also works with her local League of Women Voters. She and Bob have a daughter.

Michael Gasser is Associate Professor of Computer Science, Linguistics, and Cognitive Science at Indiana University Bloomington. His research is in the area of language learning and the relationship between language and the rest of cognition. His teaching focuses on general linguistics, computer programming, and artificial intelligence, and he is currently writing a web-based introductory linguistics textbook.

Gasser served in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia from 1969 to 1973 as a science, mathematics, and English teacher and teaching supervisor. He then worked as an English-as-a-second-language teacher in Los Angeles for a number of years. He received his PhD in Applied Linguistics from UCLA in 1988 and joined the IU faculty later that year.

Since 1999, Gasser has been active in CUBAmistad, the Bloomington-Santa Clara, Cuba sister city project. He is also one of the founding members of Afro Hoosier International, a Bloomington band that plays African popular music.

New to the board, Ruth has a Bachelors of Arts in Humanity with an emphasis in Criminal Justice and a Masters degree in Humanities with emphasis in Organizational Development and Leadership.

Her history of being a leader in the community extends itself in intervention, strategic development and community collaboration and translation. She has effectively worked in a multi-cultural and language specific communities and has made inroads to helping families in distress find the resources to better help the family. She has worked in collaboration with local, state and federal agencies as well as faith and community-based organizations and has been seen as an ally and insightful resource.

Ms Rodriguez has a strong background in working with Faith-based and community organizations. She is pro-active in finding foster parents for children, and an advocate for Adoptions. She has been a senior juvenile probation officer carrying difficult gang related caseloads, while simultaneously holding a youth director position in a large non-denominational church in California. She has worked as a senior social worker, directly working with women who are in treatment for alcohol and drug abuse with the Department of Corrections and at-risk juveniles. She herself has been a foster parent for 23 years. Ms. Rodriguez was vice-president of the Match-two, a community-based inmate visitation program with the department of Corrections, Youth authority, and the State Mental Detention facilities. She was the project director for the programs in all the Department of correction facilities, including the California Youth authority. Ms Rodriguez’s has also held positions with school-based programs to combat crime, reduce truancy, and promote cultural competency and diversity. Being Tri-lingual and culturally astute, she has worked with the African American, Latino, and Southeast Asian population and has made an impact in reducing crime and violence in School settings in Northern California School Districts.

Ruth was a key component in the success of the Richmond-Regla Sister Cities Association, prior to moving to the District of Columbia. She also works with Global Exchange as a trip consultant and leader. Ruth will help represent USCSCA membership interests through our congressional informational work, as well as work with the D.C.-Havana Sister City Partnership, and the newly forming Takoma Park (MD) - Jovellanos Sister city Partnership.

New to the Board, Miguel Angel brings many talents besides his optimistic personality. He is modest in his description of himself, but will quietly amaze us with his profound energy and organizational abilities. Some facts about Miguel:

* Retired Professor of Latin American/Chicano Studies

* Founding member of the First Chicano Studies Program in the United States in 1968, * San Francisco/Oakland/Berkeley California area

* Member of the Faculty for Human Rights in Central America (FACRES-CA) and participated as an observer of the National Elections in Nicaragua in 1984

* Longstanding member of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)

* Member of La Raza Educators (Bay Area)

* Founder of Centro Cultural de la Raza, Oakland, California

New to the board, Randy is not new to her deep love and respect for Cuba. Randy has made five trips to Cuba since 1999, including the annual USCSCA meeting in 2002. She also attended the National Summit on Cuba in Washington, DC. She is the founder and director of NO-MAS, the New Orleans-Mariel Amistad Society, which is the US-Cuba Sister City project between New Orleans and Mariel she founded in 2002. The New Orleans-Mariel relationship is currently under review by the newly elected Mayor's office.

Randy has worked with Pastors for Peace and hosted Cuba caravans at her B&B for several years. She is currently working with IFCO on the Cuba medical scholarship program. Randy is a frequent speaker to local community groups about Cuba. She is also a longterm member of the Friday Night Food Line, a grass roots group serving the homeless weekly without a permit in New Orleans. She is also the founder of NO-WAR (New Orleans Women Against Rage) formed in the aftermath of 9/11. Randy has been an avid researcher of Cuban studies and Che since the summer of 1967.

A native of Dallas, Randy graduated from the University of Dallas in 1971 with degrees in fine art and art history. A former model and thespian, she worked with the ABC-TV affiliate in promotion and as a radio advertising copywriter and media director for a large advertising agency. As a licensed Texas Real Estate Broker for 14 years in Dallas, she won multiple sales awards. She was a local historian and also founded the Stradivarius Circle of the Dallas Chamber Orchestra.

In New Orleans, Randy was director of marketing for a large company. She and husband, John, own and reside in a popular antebellum bed and breakfast (1851 Inn on The Avenue) on historic St. Charles Avenue in the Garden District on the Mardi Gras parade route. She is the original founder of the New Orleans Bed and Breakfast Association. Randy is also a portrait artist, ceramic sculptor, textile designer and writer.

Randy's husband John, also involved in Sister Cities work, is general counsel for the government contractor which operates the Strategic Petroleum Reserves, the world's largest civilian oil storage. John is a former international negotiator, environmental and patent attorney. He is one of the earliest heart transplant recipients (1985).

Both John and Randy have enjoyed extensive international travel. They maintain an 88-acre natural wildlife refuge in the Big Thicket Forest Reserve in East Texas. Randy and John are currently restoring a houseboat located in the swamp of Jean Lafitte, surrounded by alligators.

New to the board, Carol has worked as a bilingual (Spanish/English) kindergarten teacher in Redwood City, California for 21 years until her retirement in 2001. She was active in the local chapter of the California Teachers Association as well as serving on innumerable committees dealing with bilingual education. She also served on the Northern California Kindergarten Conference Committee for 14 years.

Carol visited Cuba for the first time over Christmas of ‘92-’93. She became convinced that the US policy toward Cuba is wrong-headed and mean spirited; she remains convinced of that to this day.

In the summer of 1993 she joined the second Pastors for Peace Caravan and made five other trips with P4P. She is very active in working with P4P to promote the Latin American School of Medicine, and has produced a Power Point presentation for use by people wanting to benefit their community by recruiting students to obtain free medical training in Cuba. She has twice challenged the Travel Ban with Global Exchange, attended various conferences in Cuba, and traveled there on her own as well, making a total of over 15 visits (so far).

Last year she attended the USCSCA Conference in Havana, and upon returning home began working on a project to establish a Sister City relationship in Redwood City. Although that project is just in its infancy, she recently assisted the Santa Cruz County delegation, on its trip to seal the relationship between their county and Guamá municipality in Santiago.

Carol is also producing a Power Point presentation for USCSCA to help people’s work in their communities. She is convinced that the people-to-people relationships formed are the most effective mechanism for eventually bringing down a divisive and harmful foreign policy.

A Founding member of USCSCA, Delvis is also the President and founder of the "Cuban American Alliance Educational Fund, Inc." (CAAEF) which educates the public on the hardships caused by US-Cuba relations, and helps council Cuban Americans with the family consequences of forced estrangement caused by US policy. Originally from Santa Clara, Cuba, he is one of the most respected Cuban American voices in the US today. Headquartered in Washington DC, he is also on the board of directors of Americans for Humanitarian Trade, the US-Cuba Business Association and Amerindia Inc. He has led advocacy visits by Cuban Americans to Washington and coordinates a relationship to supply humanitarian supplies to ACLIFE, which works with the handicapped of Cuba.

A founding member of USCSCA, Norine is a life partner with Delvis, and Executive Director of the Cuban American Alliance Educational Fund. People who know Norine, know Norine is the person who makes sure everything stays on track and manageable. Norine and Delvis have several grown children and new grandchildren that will be taking up more of their time in the future.

A founding member of USCSCA, Alberto resides in Palm Coast, Florida. Originally from Banes, Oriente, he also lived in Guantanamo. He is the president of the Caribbean American Childrens Foundation, (CACF) dedicated to bring cultural and friendship ties with Cuban descendents of English-speaking Caribbean's. He holds a doctorate of Veterinary Medicine and owns OrthoMedical, a company for the disposal of medical products. He has published widely, and leads advocacy delegations to Washington D.C., and US educational delegations with a focus on AfroCuban heritage to Cuba. Recently he has been a major supporter of the organizing efforts of USCSCA chapters in Tampa, The Palm Coast, St. Petersburg, and St. Augustine.

David is the founder and president of SECA, and a national merit honor's scholarship award winner, for his innovative website on Cuba. He is currently in Harvard, working on joint degrees in economics and history, and a master’s in statistics, which he will conclude in his four years there. He will be spending this summer in China. David runs an annual summer program in Havana for American students, and last year started a project with the National Peace Foundation. They created a computer center in Havana for youth to learn computer skills. David looks forward to the time he will have the ability to attend USCSCA conferences without missing class. And so do we!

Frances Chavez, MD is a Graduate of the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. Currently, she is the Assistant Residency Director for the University of New Mexico Family Practice Program in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The purpose of the program is to train family physicians to serve the rural and other underserved areas of northern New Mexico. She is recruiting US graduates of LAMS (Latin American Medical School, in Cuba) to do their residency with the University of New Mexico. She will support LAMS graduates with their residency training plans. Frances plans to work with others to establish a pipeline of resources and support to facilitate New Mexico youth to become physicians. Additionally, she has an interest in establishing more programs for the treatment of chemical dependency that is a major primary care problem in New Mexico. A current project she is pursuing is to invite a delegation of Cuban physicians with expertise in Chemical dependency to visit New Mexico this year to advise and assist the development of state of the art chemical dependency programs in New Mexico. As a USCSCA Board Member, Francis is committed to share her expertise and in overseeing the development of healthcare exchanges between sister cities, nationwide. She would like to help others develop programs in sister cities which will help US communities target, identify and help support students who would like to become doctors, but lack the resources, to be accepted by the Latin American School of Medicine in Cuba. This is a major part of USCSCA's strategic plan to have every sister city active with the LAMS and work with Pastors for Peace that administers this program in the US.

At the moment we don't have an official bio for Raul, except to say that he was the moving force behind the Milwaukee - Nuevitas (sister city) Association. As a Cuban American, Raul is a part of a movement of forward thinking and acting Cubans, reconciling people through diverse people-to-people community exchanges. [See Galvan interview.]