Jerry Tello

Jerry Tello comes from a family of Mexican, Texan roots and raised in south central Los Angeles. He is an internationally recognized expert in the areas of family strengthening, community mobilization and cross cultural issues. He has over 20 years of hands on experience working in communities both locally and nationally. He provides keynotes, institute training consultation and technical assistance to a variety of national, state and local organizations and agencies. He began working in communities in the early 1970's and has continued to attempt to strengthen, heal and develop children, families and communities building on their own internal assets.. Mr. Tello incorporates innovative processes to include theater, music, Poetry, humor and storytelling all with an interactive focus in order to engage the heart, mind and spirit of the audience.

He has written extensively from articles to curriculum training manuals to commissioned papers and has written for Parent Child Magazine, Early Childhood Today, Pre-K Today and Low Rider Magazines. In addition, he has authored a Latino Male Rites of Passage Curriculum, a Latino Parent Education Curriculum, a Multicultural Young Fatherhood Curriculum, a Male Responsibility, Pregnancy Prevention Curriculum and has just completed a book on Family Violence and Men of Color. In addition, Mr. Tello has written and published a series of children's books and this year was featured in People, Newsweek and Time magazines. He has served on numerous local and national advisory boards and committees and has received numerous awards and recognitions for his work including awards from the last two governors of California. In April of 1996 he received the 1996 Presidential Crime Victims Service Award presented to him by President Clinton and Janet Reno at the White House; and In 1997 he received the Ambassador of Peace award presented to him by Rotary International for his work with cross cultural populations. He is presently the Director of the National Latino Fatherhood and Family Institute. Mr. Tello is married and has 3 children.