CADCA Ambassador Highlight Series: Denis Quinonez

This is the second in a series of articles focusing on the young adults participating in the CADCA National Coalition Institute's Ambassador Program, a workforce development initiative. This week, we highlight Denis Quiñonez from the Boyle Heights Coalition for a Safe & Drug Free Community in Los Angeles, Calif.

Renowned Harvard Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter said, “Leaders are more powerful role models when they learn than when they teach.” The CADCA National Coalition Institute’s Ambassador Program illustrates one effort to cultivate future coalition leaders by offering opportunities to learn and grow.

Denis Quiñonez is one of CADCA Institute’s first Ambassadors. At 24 years of age, he has been an active part of his coalition for two years and was hired as the coalition director in September 2009. Previously, Quiñonez spent several years working on youth development programs and services at his local Boys & Girls Club. It was an experience with one of his youth that would inspire him to do coalition work.

“One day one of our kids came crawling into the facility due to inhalant abuse. At that moment, I didn’t fully realize what was going on or how to deal with it. We called the kid’s parents and took him to the hospital. I drove home that evening thinking about the scary incident and all the reasons why someone might choose to abuse inhalants,” Quiñonez said. “Shortly after the incident in our club, we heard of several similar incidents in local schools, parks and community centers. It was then that I realized that the work done within the walls of our facility was simply not enough to truly help our youth and their families.”

Quiñonez hoped his work would keep young people safe and encourage them to stay away from drugs, but he wondered if he could do more. A few days after this incident the answer to his penetrating question seemed to land on his doorstep. “Our local Congress representative Hon. Lucille Roybal-Allard introduced drug-free community coalitions to the stakeholders in our community and called for community action to reduce violence and substance abuse in our area. It was then, that the dots connected in my mind and I knew that drug-free community coalitions were the vital link to truly making a difference in the lives of our youth and our community,” Quiñonez said.

Soon after, Quiñonez began the process of developing the Boyle Heights Community Coalition.

After being promoted to Director of his coalition, Quiñonez quickly realized there was so much he still needed to learn to be an effective coalition leader. When he learned about the Ambassador Program he knew it was just what he needed. “Being a part of CADCA’s Ambassador Program has been an incredible learning experience. It has provided me with the necessary training and mentoring to lead our community effort to reduce violence and substance abuse and for that I feel truly lucky,” he noted.

As a participant of the Ambassador program, Quiñonez is attending the three-week National Coalition Academy training. “The Academy training has made significant contributions to my development as an Ambassador and as a coalition director. I simply cannot imagine a coalition director being fully effective without such training,” Quiñonez said. “It has helped me to better understand the dynamics of environmental long lasting and meaningful community change.”

So what has been Quiñonez’ favorite experience as an Ambassador? “Being able to learn from experts in the field and attend the training required to truly making a positive impact in my community,” Quiñonez answered. “But most importantly the opportunity to meet and become friends with a group of talented professionals with similar visions, goals and challenges has truly been priceless.”

The Ambassador Program is geared toward adults age 18 to 30 and addresses a transparent need for young adult prevention workforce leaders in economically challenged communities. The CADCA Institute provides each participant with training at its globally recognized National Coalition Academy, the annual Mid-Year Training Institute and CADCA’s annual high visibility National Leadership Forum. Other relevant activities complement the formal training to provide Ambassadors with well-rounded and practical experience that equips them with serving their communities better.

To learn more about the Ambassador Program contact Janine Payne, Ambassador Program Manager, at jpayne@cadca.org.

As an Ambassador, Denis Quiñonez was also featured in the recent CADCA TV show Building Bench Strength, Finding New Leaders.