Ramon Ramirez is a legendary leader for his collaborative movement building that has pushed policy and industry to recognize the rights of immigrants and farmworkers for over 4 decades. His activism has been recognized locally and nationally and his service to the community is represented in forming PCUN, Oregon’s farmworker union. As a founding member of FHDC, his work has directly and indirectly supported thousands of immigrant families in Oregon in the pursuit of prosperity and equitable opportunity.
As Ramon transitions to a different role as a leader and steps down from over 3 decades of Board service at FHDC , we had a chance to sit down with his colleagues, mentees, and community to hear about what his support and leadership has meant to them over the years.
Check out our video thanking Ramon for his service:
“I have so much love for Ramon Ramirez. I am so grateful to be able to learn from and be in community with Ramon. I want to thank him for his leadership and thank him for all of the hours, the countless hours, the blood, sweat, and tears that have been put into starting these organizations and building a movement. Ramon is one of my mentors. He’s been my mentor for over a decade since my days at Causas’ as an organizer there 10 years ago. But also he has been such an important person for me personally, in terms of coaching me through my leadership, showing not just telling me, but showing me what the values of the movement are and sharing the history, our deep history and how that is so connected to our now. And what I’ve seen from him is that he’s special. He’s very special. And I’ve been a part of the leadership transition as well for him to be able to retire and start handing off things to the new generation. “
—Reyna Lopez, FHDC Board Secretary & PCUN Executive Director
“I have been thinking about the legacy of Ramon Ramirez. And at some point I thought it’s just too complex to explain because he touches several areas of the complex work that we do as a nonprofit organization. But I will say that his impact in the Latinx community and the BIPOC community at large has been a message of unity, a message of support. Of supporting each other, of talking about our differences and creating bridges for us as a leader of our organizations, but also for the people that we serve for our better days.”
—Maria Elena Guerra, FHDC Executive Director
“Ramon has been a teacher, a colleague, a friend to me, and to this community, particularly FHCC for over three decades. And the gift that he generously shares is his wisdom and sense of balance and patience. I have been with him in many rooms with many different types of people from various walks of life, including industry and agency representatives, policymakers. And he has a real gift in breaking down challenging, complex issues into a way that people can relate to. And people, including people who’ve never set foot on a farm or a labor camp, or have harvested or pruned for a living. And he’s very disarming, people are persuaded by the power of his logic, but also his compassion for people whom he has served practically all his life. So we owe a lot to Ramon for the dedication that he has had, at considerable expense to himself personally.”
—Nargess Shadbeh, FHDC co-founder & Immigration Attorney
“When I joined the board there were board members that had been on the board since inception, and the board chair had been the board chair forever. I’m like, ‘what is this? This doesn’t happen.’ But after meeting Ramon and hearing his story and about the community organizing and the empowerment, and the stories he tells about seeing the labor camps, and the push back that the organizers got when they tried to go onto the farms or into the farm labor housing, or even into some other communities and just how dedicated and heart-centered he is in the importance of the work and his ability and willingness to show up and engage. Just talking about him, I smile because he’s got an infectious smile. He can be serious and very direct, but he also is committed and caring, and funny, and he was a real joy to work with. I really enjoyed the years I had serving on the FHDC board with Ramon, and FHDC was so lucky and blessed to have him be engaged for so long. And I think we’ve got a huge legacy to carry on with him transitioning and retiring.”
—Joni Hartmann, Housing Developer & Former FHDC Board Member
“Ramon Ramirez, I know of his work. I don’t know him personally. As someone who is connected with other community organizers, I know of his great legacy. I also know him more because I am a product of Ramone Ramirez. He might not know this and he might not know this for many other folks who came after me. It was because FHDC, it was because I was able to stay here that I didn’t have to worry about moving, that I was able to have some stable shelter, not really move very much….I know Ramon Ramirez and I haven’t worked with them directly, but I benefited him from his great work tremendously. I don’t know where I would be without him.”
—Miguel Arreano, former FHDC resident & DevNW Board Chair
“I describe Ramon as a humble and articulated leader. He is an activator. He activates and not only talks, but he activates. And he acts, he talks the talk and walks the walk, and he is very humble. I learned so much from him not wanting the spotlight. And many times when you become a leader, many times you’re looking for the spotlight. I respect Ramon with all my heart. I love you, Ramon. I learned so much from all of you. And I learned from the best, because you guys were the first ones, you were the first one to become a leader of color here in the area, among Cipriano Ferrel. You created a pathway of social justice, the pathway of being just, a just world for ourselves and for our kids and the next generation.”
—Laura Isiordia, FHDC Community Leader & The Ford Family Foundation Field Coordinator
“I’ve worked with Ramon and known him for 44 years, since we were both young. So we came up together as younger leaders in the movement. I consider him a brother. I have great admiration for Ramon’s heart, for his spirit, for his generosity, for his powerful ideas, and for his example. He attracts people, and bonds with people seemingly effortlessly, but it comes from that spirit and that reflex of generosity. So even what we call radical generosity. And what that means is generosity with people with whom you have no expectation that they’re going to be generous back to you. In fact, they may not be, right? But it’s part of an expression of our values, not a transaction. ‘I’ll be generous with you if you’re generous with me.’ Which is not to say that Ramon will suffer injustice indifferently, quite the contrary. But he leads with that kind of grounded and enthusiastic vision that I think inspires all kinds of people, powerful people and people that feel powerless. And so it’s been a great privilege to work at his side, and as his partner in this work in PCUN.”
—Larry Kleinman, FHDC Board Treasurer & Community Leader