Karen Vallejos
Executive Director
Cecilia Morales
Bookkeeper & Administrative Associate
Patricia Sanguinetti
Mentoring Program Coordinator
Carlos Puerta
Program Manager and Systems Developer
Belinda Passafaro
Case Manager
Meg Phillips
Director of Fundraising
Karen Vallejos
Executive Director
Karen, a dedicated public servant, rejoins the Dream Project after receiving her Juris Doctorate from Washington & Lee Law School and working as a Law Graduate Clerk with the Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid. Throughout law school, Karen found ways to integrate her passion for immigrant rights with her legal studies. She traveled with a team of volunteers to Tijuana, Mexico to provide legal aid to the ongoing migrant and refugee crisis at the border and worked as a student attorney at the W&L Immigrant Rights Clinic.
Prior to law school, Karen served as a program administrator with NovaSalud, and before that was a Dream Scholar herself and graduated from Southwestern Adventist University with a double major in International Business and History.
Karen immigrated to Arlington, Virginia, at the age of five and spent most of her lfe as an undocumented individual. Karen’s passion for immigrant rights -particularly reform enabling access to higher education in Virginia-developed as she became a proactive high school advocate. After witnessing the 2010 collapse of the federal DREAM Act, she became involved in the foundation of the Dream Project, Inc., and the advocacy group Dreamers of Virginia.
Cecilia Morales
Bookkeeper & Administrative Associate
Cecilia works as the administrative associate and bookkeeper for the Dream Project, providing support for all programs offered by the Dream Project. Additionally, Cecilia manages all the bookkeeping tasks for the organization. Mrs. Morales was born in Bolivia, where she studied law and accounting. She is the mother of two ‘Dreamers’ and she joined the Dream Project in 2014. She is motivated to help young people make their dreams of a professional career come true.
Patricia Sanguinetti
Mentoring Program Coordinator
Patricia Sanguinetti has more than 25 years of counseling experience working with culturally diverse populations. She has been a passionate advocate for excellence and equality in education for all students. She is responsible for promo ting, planning and implementing career and college activities and assessing and interpreting student’s needs to provide them with the b est educational opportunities. In addition to her counseling work, Ms. Sanguinetti has been the principal of the Escuela Argentina Inc. for the past eig ht years. The Escuela Argentina provides instruction in Spanish every Saturday to more than 400 bicultural students from Pre - K to 12th grade.
In the past year, Ms. Sanguinetti has been coordinating the Dream Project Mentori ng Program, supporting seniors with their post - secondary education plans and the understanding of the college application process, financial aid, and available options
Carlos Puerta
Program Manager and Systems Developer
Carlos has provided the Dream Project with ample support in project and program management and data analysis since January 2019. Carlos graduated in 2018 from the University of Maryland with a B.S. in Psychology. Throughout his university career, Carlos has facilitated countless workshops for immigrant youth. Being an immigrant from Colombia, Carlos is very familiar with the
struggles many immigrants face in the U.S. Through his work, Carlos has helped Latinx youth work through issues adapting to the U.S. as well as equip them with tools to become better at communicating to have more fulfilling familial relationships.
Belinda Passafaro
Case manager
Belinda Passafaro joined the Dream Project Board of Directors in August 2016, but stepped into the Case Manager role in 2019 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. As the Case Manager, Belinda provides guidance in navigating community resources to Dream Project students and families. In addition, Belinda is also currently serving as the Interim Executive Director until June 30, 2021, while the next Executive Director is identified. Over the past 20 years, she has served in the educational field as a leader, social justice advocate, program director, and consultant. She is the Vice President of Development Without Limits and specializes in professional development, curriculum development, program management and leadership development for non-profit organizations in underserved communities in New York City and in cities across the country.
Belinda is also the Co-Founder and Associate Executive Director of Hermanas SOL, which seeks to empower women of color to achieve personal, professional, and spiritual growth through educational achievement, financial literacy and leadership development within a culturally relevant framework. As a marketplace minister, she also facilitates strategic planning retreats, mentoring opportunities, and serves as a conference presenter for faith-based entities.
Belinda is a graduate of Brooklyn College, of the City University of New York, and has a Master’s Degree in Bilingual Education, and also completed Columbia University’s Middle Management Program at the Not-for-Profit Institute. In May 2013, Belinda graduated from Union Theological Seminary, in New York City, with a Master of Divinity degree with a specialized focus in theology and psychology. She currently resides in Arlington, VA with her husband, Benjamin.
Meg Phillips
Director of Fundraising
Meg has worked in the nonprofit sector for a decade in various capacities. Most recently she was the Director of Operations at a camp for children with medical needs. As a former teacher, she understands the value and transformative power of education and believes everyone should have the opportunity to fulfill their dreams and thrive. She is excited to share the mission and garner support for the Dream Project to reduce barriers to education for undocumented students.
Meg has her B.A. with a major in Latin American Studies and minor in Spanish from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business.
