Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County
Milton Cadena has extensive work experience in various roles within the non-profit sector. From 1999 to the present, they have held positions at Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, including Program Director for Older Adult Services, Program Director of the Eastside Neighborhood Center, and Program Coordinator at Economic Development Services. During their time at Catholic Charities, they managed adult day care facilities, senior centers, and provided social services to low-income families. In 2007, Cadena also served as a Fellow at the American Society on Aging. Additionally, they worked as a Research Assistant at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador from 2001 to 2005, focusing on Latino American Studies. Prior to that, they were a Program Assistant at the County of Santa Clara – Office of Human Relations, where they were responsible for the development and analysis of Requests For Proposals for non-profit organizations.
Milton Cadena completed their Bachelor's degree in Sociology & Political Sciences at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador from 1992 to 1997. Later, from 2001 to 2004, they pursued a Master's degree in Public Administration at San Jose State University.
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County changes lives for good. As the social service and social justice ministry of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of San Jose, Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County works toward building a just and compassionate community with all people in a changing Santa Clara County. We help people of all cultures and beliefs rise up out of poverty and overcome the barriers to self-sufficiency and wellness. Because most lives are a complex pattern of choices and circumstances, we take a holistic approach to helping people change their lives, taking into account the whole person, as well as their family and life situations. We do this in three ways. First, we alleviate the conditions of chronic poverty through food, housing assistance, access to benefits, senior services, and mental health services. Second, we reduce the effects of situational poverty by providing jobs, immigration legal services, refugee foster care, financial literacy, and asset development. Third, we prevent the cycle of generational poverty through early childhood development, parenting support, after-school enhanced learning, and youth empowerment. We strengthen our communities through parish and community engagement, immigrant and refugee integration, and neighborhood development services. Each year, we serve more than 40,000 people in need.