Charles F. Landeros Name Evening Phone Charles F. Landeros Address Do You Live within the City Limits? Y Ward Occupation If so how long? 18 years Neighborhood None 7 Employer Student Business Address Are you currently and employee of the City of Eugene? No Eugene OR 97402 E-Mail Optional Information Gender Day Phone M Age 26-35 How did you learn of this vacancy? Friend Ethnicity Additional Languages spoken Hispanic, Latino Disability N or Spanish origin Description English Education / Training Job Experience I am currently pursuing my degree in Public Policy and Management at the UO. I also study Women, Gender Studies as well as Social Psychology and Human Services. AM/PM: Gas station attendant United States Army: Soldier Helicopter Transport Services: Mechanic Life Flight Network: Helicopter base crew chief Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team: Sex educator/ survivor Community Service / Volunteer Personal Experience In SWAT (UO Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team) I work as both a sex educator and survivor advocate. In the ASUO Men's Center, I work to create spaces to challenge dominant narratives of masculinity and I have been a father for over ten years.This is by far the longest I have even been "something." Being a father teaches me that there is no excuse for leaving my children a society full of problems that our generation refused to deal with. Personal Interest Contribution I want to be a part of the solution. I am personally affected by the decisions made in politics. So of course politics is personal to me. I want to see the liberation of marginalized peoples. Part of the way that happens is creating more space for their narratives. I want to see more representation of oppressed people and more outreach from their allies. I believe that I can offer perspectives that come directly from my lived experiences. I am a single father and veteran. I first hand know how difficult it is to balance the financial stress of providing for your children and taking time off to spend with them. I know firsthand the harrowing effects of living with PTSD. I am continually educating myself on systems of oppression and ways to effectively dismantle them. The Human Rights Commission has been integral in fighting for the liberation of people from its inception to now, fighting for the sanctuary ordinance. I want to be a part of this commission because I believe in the work that they do. My family is one of the immigrants. I came to the United States at the age of 1. Growing up as a person of color I know the pervasiveness of white supremacy. Growing up as an immigrant also meant my family was very lower class. Living under these systemic oppressions puts me in a space where I can clearly see them manifest within our city community. I have spent most of my life fighting and advocating for marginalized people. I will spend the rest of my life working for the social justice movement. I want to bring my entire life experience with me to the Human Rights Commission 1 How does your employment, volunteer experience or personal experience prepare you to do the work of a Human Rights Commissioner? Please be specific. Working as a sexual assault survivor advocate at the University of Oregon has taught me the critical importance of having advocacy work be survivor-centered. All too often some well-meaning people find themselves in ally/advocacy work and forget to center the people that they are trying to help. This almost always leads to decisions that cause more harm than not. Working as a survivor advocate taught me that oppressed people know best how to fight for their liberation. Coming to the Human Rights Commission, this will serve me by allowing me to analyze policy and advocate for more survivor-centered policies when we are doing our work. Working at the UO Men's Center, I have learned how to effectively collaborate with other student groups to create inclusive projects and events that give marginalized people space and platform to create their narratives. I have also led and facilitated group discussions to build spaces of social awareness and education. Doing this has taught me when to speak up and when to move back and listen; something vital for productive discourse. 2 What do you see as the three most pressing human rights issues in Eugene? Select the most important and explain why. The wellbeing of the unhoused community, food security for the lower socioeconomic class, and growing white supremacy are the most pressing human rights issues in the City of Eugene. With around 3000 people sleeping on the streets of Eugene, it is evident we have so much more work to be done. This past winter we had people die in our city because they froze to death outside of our doorstep. We must view this as a violation of human rights that we hold dear. If our city cannot prevent people freezing to death within our city limits, then we need to reflect on our priorities as a society seriously. The Eagan Warming Centers provides a necessary service during our coldest nights. However, they are only able to operate a fraction of the time they are needed because they are severely underfunded and staffed. In addition to finding NHS a permanent home, emergency shelter services like Eagan need to funded and staffed. Our city most certainly has the resources not to let the most vulnerable people die on the streets that we use to get to school and work. The question is simply whether or not we decide that the human rights are something that applies to everyone, or not. 3 Describe your specific strengths and weaknesses that would allow you to negotiate group situations in which members hold strong, differing opinions. Give a specific example if possible. I was a soldier for six years. Every one of those years I completed hundreds of missions; every one of those missions I had to work with someone who had different ideologies and perspectives than me. To complete my missions, my team and I had to work together to move forward in an efficient way. This was able to happen, despite our incredibly different backgrounds, because we always placed the mission first. Our personal differences could be set aside to best progress our mission. As long as we all kept the mission first in our reasoning, we were able to work through disagreements. Working with the Human Rights Commission, I am sure there will be strong disagreements. However, as long as we place the mission first of fighting for universal human rights, I do not believe there is any difference that cannot be worked through. Of course, sometimes arguments are not so easily resolved. Being a parent, I am very familiar trying to find solutions with people who have adamant disagreements with me. My children are always welcome to challenge me; when they do, I create space for them to speak their truths and perspectives. We work together to come up with the best solution to whatever problem we have. Sometimes they learn that I had underlying reasons that they did not consider, and sometimes I learn that my children have thought of something that I did not. Either way, we both learn how to speak I have learned when to stand firm in my beliefs and when to yield to move towards progress. The best work never comes from just one person, but rather from a collective of diverse minds working towards the same goal. The strength of the Human Rights Commission does not come from a lack of differing opinions, but through it.