Fátima Ramírez is New Executive Director for Mission Media Arts Center, Acción Latina

Raised in San Francisco’s Mission District, Fatíma Ramírez takes the helm as Acción Latina celebrates the 51st anniversary of its bilingual newspaper El Tecolote.

San Francisco — Acción Latina has announced that Fatíma Ramírez will serve as the new Executive Director of the organization effective July 15. An experienced news media and arts leader, Ramírez succeeds Josué Rojas. 

“Fátima Ramírez brings energy and ideas that will strengthen Acción Latina’s role as a media hub and beacon for the Latinx Bay Area community,” Acción Latina Board President Katynka Martínez said. “Fátima’s close connection to the Mission District and her bicoastal experience with media arts informs her vision for how this legacy organization can serve and empower both residents of the neighborhood and national audiences who interact with our programming.” 

Ramírez served as Interim Executive Director of Acción Latina since February and, during this time, cultivated relationships with funders, such as Borealis Philanthropy, American Press Institute, Latino Community Foundation, SF MOMA, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, and the Center for Cooperative Media.

Fatíma Ramírez Photo: Sean Reyes

“Under Fátima’s leadership, we look forward to building our journalism and cultural arts programming in safe and innovative ways as we continue engaging in community building under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Martinez said. “She has facilitated hugely successful in-person and virtual events, such as the Encuentro del Canto Popular and Paseo Artístico. Engaging in artistic programs like these is an essential component of Latinx cultural well-being and the flourishing of our community.”

Ramírez received a Master of Arts degree in Family and Community Education in Museums from Teachers College, Columbia University in 2016, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Studies and Latin American Studies from the University of San Francisco in 2012. 

She also served as Development and Events Coordinator at Hispanics in Philanthropy, Curatorial Committee Chair for the Juan R. Fuentes Gallery, Cultural Arts Manager at Acción Latina, and news contributor for outlets, including USF’s San Francisco Foghorn, KALW, and Radio 1010 La Voz program. 

About Acción Latina

The mission of Acción Latina is to promote cultural arts, community media, and civic engagement as a way of building healthy and empowered Latina/o/x communities.

Programs include the free biweekly, bilingual newspaper El Tecolote, which was first printed in 1970 and is the longest running Spanish/English bilingual newspaper in the U.S.; the podcast Radio Teco serving as the digital arm of El Tecolote; the Juan R. Fuentes Gallery showcasing the work of established and emerging Latinx artists as well as that of non-Latinx artists whose work depicts the nuances of Latinx life; the bi-monthly community art stroll Paseo Artístico; and the Encuentro del Canto popular, which celebrates the spirit of resistance within the music of Latin America.