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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Julian Teixeira
jteixeira@nclr.org
(202) 776-1812
Washington, D.C.—NCLR (National Council of La Raza) mourns the passing of Saul Solorzano, the President and longtime Executive Director of CARECEN (Central American Resource Center) in the District of Columbia.
“Saul’s sudden and untimely passing is a profound loss to the community and to the city he loved so dearly. He was a fierce and dedicated champion for the Latino community both in Washington and in the nation. We will truly miss his wise counsel and support as one of the core leaders in NCLR’s Affiliate Network, especially in our ya es hora naturalization project and LEAP (Latino Empowerment and Advocacy Project) campaign,” stated Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO.
“As one of the first generation of Central American organization leaders to come out of that community’s refugee movement of the 1980s, Saul recognized very early on the need for organizations such as CARECEN to expand their mission and work. Under his leadership, CARECEN evolved from a single-issue group to a highly respected institution serving the Latino community in a host of areas including housing, economic development, citizenship and legal services, and other social services,” Murguía continued.
“Saul was very proud of his roots as a Salvadoran refugee, but he also came to love the city he called home. He was a strong advocate for the people of Washington, even running for a D.C. City Council seat earlier this year because he wanted to give a voice to those who all too often don’t have one. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his many friends, and colleagues as we also grieve for a friend we lost much too soon,” Murguía concluded.
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