Ernesto Cortes

Ernesto Cortes, Jr. is a community organizer affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) and Communities Organized for Public Service (COPS).

Career

Cortes is known primarily for his efforts in organizing COPS in San Antonio, Texas, though he also influenced the development of other IAF affiliates in Houston, El Paso, Los Angeles, Baltimore, and New York City. Cortes is currently the director of the Southwest Region of the IAF.

Cortes coordinates regional and national leadership schools that train grassroots leaders to develop community organizations based on access to political power, relationship building, and social justice initiatives. He has helped community members win water and sewage facility and other infrastructure improvements, election campaigns, and increased access to affordable housing. [Benjamin Marquez, "Mexican American Organizations and Identity Politics", pp. 48-50; Mary Beth Rogers, "Cold Anger", pp. 1-2.]

Honors

In 1984, he was awarded a MacArthur fellowship, also known as a "genius grant." In addition, he received the prestigious H.J. Heinz Award for public policy in 1999. [http://cjtc.ucsc.edu/news/Ernesto%20Cortes%20Jr.%20to%20speak.pdf]

Notes

References

*Marquez, Benjamin. "Mexican American Organizations and Identity Politics: Choosing Issues Taking Sides". Austin: University of Texas Press, 2003. ISBN 0-292-75277-6.

*Rogers, Mary Beth. "Cold Anger: A Story of Faith and Power Politics". Denton: University of North Texas Press, 1990. ISBN 0-929398-13-0