OUR NEW TEAM MEMBERS
Nora Preciado, Managing Director
Nora Preciado is a passionate, visionary social justice leader with almost two decades’ experience advancing immigrant rights. Most recently, Nora directed Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, where she advised the mayor, his staff, city offices and stakeholders on policy and programs relating to Los Angeles’ immigrant residents. As an immigrant, she approached the work from both a personal and professional perspective.
Before that, Nora worked 11 years at the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), rising from staff attorney to supervising attorney focusing on impact immigrant rights litigation. From 2009 to 2012, she taught as an adjunct at Loyola Law School. Before that, Nora worked at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU), first in the Orange County office where she began her career, and then at the Los Angeles office, handling constitutional rights cases involving immigrants.
Nora is a member of the advisory committee for the National Immigration Litigation Alliance and the Mexican American Bar Association’s immigration committee. She has a law degree from U.C. Berkeley School of Law, a BA in political science from U.C. Davis, and is a proud community college alum. She lives with her family in Orange County.
Teresa Borden, Media Relations Director
Tessie Borden is the U.S.-born daughter of Cuban refugees who, like so many others, arrived here seeking better opportunities. She has worked in immigrant rights since her days as a newspaper journalist in Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas, and Mexico, where she was a foreign correspondent. Through this work, she saw the clash between the foundational narrative of the U.S. as a nation of immigrants, and its actual treatment of them.
After the failure of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill of 2006, Tessie decided to work for immigrant rights as an advocate rather than as a reporter duty-bound to give equal time to the anti-immigrant right. She moved to Los Angeles and has pursued this path since 2014, working as a communicator for immigrant rights organizations across the sector, including CARECEN, CLUE and ImmDef. Most recently she spent five years at CHIRLA, where she rose to deputy director of communications.
At Tzunu, Tessie hopes to develop a strong media relations team to provide better communications and media exposure for social justice organizations across Southern California.
Rachel Barbosa, Senior Advisor for Local Government
Rachel Barbosa has more than 25 years’ experience working in public policy with the non-profit, private and government sectors in Southern California.
She was city manager for South El Monte, where she oversaw all city departments as well as all policy and compliance-related needs. She developed citywide/ departmental goals, policies, and procedures and implemented a voter-approved initiative that resulted in a 43 percent rise in the general fund.
Rachel also served as leading staff for two Los Angeles County supervisors and worked on initiatives to improve housing services, transportation infrastructure and parks. She served as a delegate on the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments and as a delegate on three local oversight boards. She is a member of the Fairplex Association and the Latina Golfers Association.
Raised in the San Gabriel Valley, Rachel experienced homelessness as a child and became a teen mom. She now uses her story to advocate for the disadvantaged.