Juan Santiago calls the Central Valley of California home although born in Oaxaca Mexico, Juan has lived in Valley for the past 18 years. Son of migrant indigenous Zapotec farm workers, Juan knows firsthand the daily hustling of Valley’s under-served rural entrepreneurial community. Before joining the Fund, Juan worked in the private sector for 10 years serving the agribusinesses in the region. Juan has also ventured into the food industry by having operated a full-service restaurant of his own where he aimed to showcase the Mexican indigenous cuisine. In addition to his business experiences, Juan also brings to the organization his public media journalism expertise having filed in-depth news reporting on environment, health, water and immigration issues across the Valley. Furthermore, Juan also have experience working with governmental agencies as the only language-skill interpreter in his native Zapotec dialect, Juan has been contracted by US District Courts to provide these much-needed services for non-English speaking defendants at immigration courts and detention centers along the Southwest border.Now as a business development specialist, Juan assists entrepreneurs in under-served and low-resourced rural communities. In addition to allocating micro-loans, Juan also provides business owners with technical assistance, business development, and connections with resources and markets.Juan attended Fresno State and holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Political Economy. In 2013, among others, Juan published a participatory action research: Voices of Indigenous Oaxacan Youth in the Central Valley: Creating our Sense of Belonging in California. That same year, Juan was invited to present his work at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) and work as an aid at US Congress in Washington DC.