El Centro's Staff





Patrick Tapia, Executive Director of the Latino Advocacy Coalition, was born in Chile. He studied History and Geography at the University of Chile to become a high school teacher. During most of his life as, including his college years, Patrick Tapia lived under the brutal dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. Under this regime Chile saw the most violent and atrocious crimes and human rights abuses committed against its citizens. It was during these challenging times that Tapia learned many priceless lessons about the value and dignity of the human spirit and the need for respect of people's individuality.

In 1999, Patrick moved to Hendersonville, NC Since then he has been completely devoted to his work as an advocate for Latino residents, especially first generation Latino immigrants in WNC. During this time he has become a state certified interpreter for the courts, pursued university studies as an ESL specialist and finished a thesis for a university degree on the positive impact of Latinos in North Carolina ("Latinos en Carolina del Norte").


Evelyn Alarcon is the Programs Coordinator of the Latino Advocacy Coalition. Evelyn was born in Mexico City and came to the US in 2001. She has 3 sisters and 4 brothers and she is the youngest of the family. Evelyn started working with El Centro/LAC in 2003. Her passion is working with the Latino Community and she is always encouraging them to participate in educational programs. Evelyn believes education gives everyone more opportunities to improve their lives.








Carolina McCready is a graduate of the University of Montana with a M.S. in Environmental Studies focusing in social and environmental justice activism and from UNC-Asheville with a B.S. in Environmental Studies, Natural Resource Management. Currently, she works for the Latino Advocacy Coalition as the Development Director. Fundraising is a major focus of her career and she has been writing grants for area non-profits for nine years.Her passion lies in environmental and social justice issues, reflected in her participation in a Witness for Peace Delegation to Colombia to study the impacts of U.S. military intervention and U.S. lead fumigation program.