LUPE Fund Announces New Leadership Position for President Sara Peña

Newark, NJ – Lupe Fund is proud to announce its President, Sara Peña, to serve as the Director of the Center for Hispanic Policy Research and Development at New Jersey Department of State.  

Ms. Sara Peña will be primarily responsible to provide financial support and technical assistance to Hispanic community -based organizations throughout New Jersey and to ensure that the executive and legislative branches are informed of legislative initiatives with potential impact on the Hispanic community.

A native of Newark, Sara Peña graduated from Kean University and earned her Master of Public Administration degree from Rutgers University. She is a Leadership Newark Fellow, a program designed to cultivate leadership through immersion in public policy and engagement with social and political issues and a graduate of Emerge New Jersey, a political leadership training program for Democratic women. Sara also served on the Human and Children Services Transition Advisory Committee for Governor Phil Murphy.

Ms. Peña brings approximately twenty years of expertise in developing and implementing communication strategies and building relationships and partnerships geared towards addressing community affairs, ranging from the non-profit, healthcare and government sectors. Her commitment to community service and passion for mentoring the youth has led her to be recognized and honored by numerous organizations and elected officials, including the Illustrious Award from the Institute for Latino Studies.

We are also extremely proud of our other board members who have been appointed to the Governor’s administration. They include our Vice President, Andrea Martinez-Mejia, Chief of Staff in the Department of Health. Maria Del Cid, Director of Legislative Services in the Department of Health and Marelyn Rivera, Aide to Governor Phil Murphy.

LUPE Fund, Inc. is a non-profit 501c3 organization whose motto is to Educate, Empower and Engage Latinas, provides scholarships, educational programs, networking opportunities and mentorship to promote leadership and civic engagement. The goal of the organization is to promote an increase in Latinas in civic leadership locally and statewide, and to collaborate with other women’s and children’s organization on issues of common interest such as health and education in order to advance the Latino community.