Co-Founder

Jesús Guillén (1980-2018) was born in Chihuahua, Mexico and moved to Oregon in 2002 after graduating from the Universidad Autonoma de Chichuahua with a degree in Computer System Engineering. He started working as a vineyard laborer in the Willamette Valley for Patricia Green, Laurel Ridge Winery and White Rose Estate. In 2008, he was promoted to winemaker. For his first two vintages at White Rose Estate, Wine Advocate gave more than 90 points for his 2008 and 2009 vintages, among the highest scores for Oregon wines up to that time. Subsequent vintages regularly earned high scores from other critics. Determined to have his own winery , Jesús started Guillen Family Wines in 2006 with his wife, Yuliana. He was named one of Top 40 under 40 Tastemakers of 2018 by the Wine Enthusiast and is one of the subjects of the documentary, “Red, White, and Black: The Oregon Wine Story,” about minority winemakers in Oregon. Eager to give similar opportunities to others working in the vineyards, Jesús teamed with Sofia Torres-McKay, and Miguel Lopez to form AHIVOY. “The skilled manual labor that Hispanics provide in the vineyard is essential for making high quality wine. Give them opportunities to grow and also to learn more about the beautiful product they are helping create.” Sadly, he did not live to see the rise of the association. His wife, Yuliana, has stepped into the role.

Co-Founder

Yuliana Cisneros-Guillén moved to the United States as a child from Jalisco, Mexico and grew up in Oregon. Until 2008 when her son, Adrián Guillén was born, she worked in tasting rooms at Wine Country Farms, White Rose Estate, and Sokol-Blosser. Yuliana started Guillén Family Wines in 2006 with her husband, Jesús, releasing their first vintage in 2007. She is now the sole proprietor of the label. For the past 11 years, Yuliana has been with Head Start of Yamhill County and is currently Early Head Start coordinator. She sits on the Finance Committee of the AHIVOY organization to help others onto a successful path in this great wine industry.

Co-Founder / Vice President

If there is someone proud about her heritage it’s Sofía Torres-McKay, Co-Owner of Cramoisi Vineyard and Winery and Co-Founder of AHIVOY (Asociación Hispana de la Industria del Vino en Oregon Y Comunidad) and she’s a prominent activist for Vineyard Stewards. Born in Mexico City, Sofía worked 19 years in the tech industry before moving to United States in 2002 to pursue her career in corporate business. In 2011, Sofía (Mexican) and her husband Ryan McKay (Oregonian), both invested their money and took a chance on 10 acres of property in the Dundee Hills of Oregon where they planted vines and started living their dream making small lots of boutique Pinot noir! Now the only Latina Winery/Vineyard Owner in the Dundee Hills AVA, Sofía continues to be a passionate steward for diversity in the wine industry and teaches Vineyard workers the importance of Organic and Biodynimic farming. In 2019, Sofia was appointed to the Regional Solutions Advisory Committee–Mid Willamette Valley–by Oregon State Governor, Kate Brown. Active participant in the community, when Sofia is not working she is busy raising her two boys, Mateo and Johnathan, in a dual cultural household where both English and Spanish are spoken. As a Latina, she teaches her kids the importance of diversity and inclusivity and brings those values to all she does for the wine community.

Co-Founder

Miguel Lopez is a bright light in the Oregon Wine Industry and over the past 20 years he has worked at the best Oregon vineyards and wineries with stops at Walnut City Wineworks, Domaine Serene, Soter Vineyards, Domaine Roy et Fils. Born to immigrants from Oaxaca Mexico in Hillsboro Oregon, he was the first to accomplish the goals of his parents for a better education and life for their children with a degree in winemaking from the NW Viticulture Center. He is the owner of Red Dirt Vineyard Management & Winemaking, founder of AHIVOY, on the board at the Oregon Department of Agriculture and on the board of directors for the Willamette Valley Wine Foundation. His greatest achievement is raising his 2 daughters.

Secretary

Cristina Gonzales is the granddaughter of migrant farm workers from Texas, who moved to Wisconsin to pick cherries in search of a better life. Her passion for wine began while traveling as a backpacker through South America in 2001 and landing in Mendoza, Argentina, the epicenter of South American Malbec. When she returned to the United States, she entered the wine industry and eagerly absorbed information any way she could, working harvests in California, Oregon, Tasmania, and Australia. She honed her skills at A to Z Wineworks/REX HILL in the Willamette Valley and in 2009, she finally launched Gonzales Wine Company, uniting winemaking experience from around the world with that first spark of inspiration in a glass of Malbec in Argentina. She resides in Portland, Oregon with her son and produces small-production wines in both California and Oregon.

President

DeAnna Ornelas has worked in the wine industry for more than eight years and is Tasting Room and Hospitality Manager at Winderlea Vineyard and Winery. Though originally from Kansas, her love of Oregon wine drew her to the Pacific Northwest in 2015. Since then, she has combined her love of wine with her passion for social justice, becoming a leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Willamette Valley. In May of 2019, she spearheaded the first ever, comprehensive DEI training for wineries in the Willamette region, a joint venture between multiple producers. DeAnna is also actively involved in the Vineyard Steward movement and was first compelled to become involved in AHIVOY due to the lack of diversity in the positions of power in the Oregon wine industry. DeAnna wanted to help those whose experiences resonated with her own.

Board Member

Bryan Berenguer holds an MSc. in Viticulture and Enology from a joint program between Montpellier SupAgro- France, Bordeaux Sciences Agro- France & Geisenheim University- Germany. He previously worked in vineyard management and winemaking in Europe before coming to Oregon to take a position as Faculty and Program Chair of the Vineyard Management degree at Chemeketa Community College. He also holds a WSET 3 in wines.

Board Member

Maria serves as a lead advisor and relationship manager to high-net-worth individuals, families and organizations, including closely-held and family-owned businesses as well as nonprofit organizations. Maria works with her clients to gain a complete understanding of their lifestyle, career, priantnropic and wearn planning goals. Then, she identifies and engages a Client Strateav leam to create a unique and constantly evolving financial plan and strategy to help meet these goals. She joined the organization in zuz3 and nas zo vears of experience in the financial services industry. Mara eared a Bachelor or science Degree in Business Management from the University of Phoenix. She is also a Certified Wealth Specialist and Certified Financial Planner professional. Maria is active v involved in her community and served on the Advisory council for the Dr. Arreon Foundation. Marla lives in Portland and is currently pursuing her MBA at Portland State.

Board Member

Jay Parasco followed his partner home to Oregon from Hawai’i in 2017. He’s a political strategist for Oregon’s largest labor union, Oregon Bar Association member, International Union for Conservation of Nature Commissioner, and sits on the Street Roots Board of Directors. After serving in the Army as a Korean Cyroptological Linguist, Jay backpacked across the world for a couple of years before starting a career in communications and housing/homelessness. He’s passionate about food, wine, travel, and social justice. A supporter of AHIVOY since our inception, Jay is committed to honoring the legacy of co-founder Jesús Guillén by empowering wine vineyard stewards. Jay lives in Portland with his partner and their cat.

Board Member

Ocean Yap Powell is a Hawaiian-Chinese queer woman activist with an invisible disability working in the wine community. She has positively positioned herself into decision making conversations surrounding wine that protect and better reflect priority communities (BIPOC/AAPINH, LGBTQ+, Deaf, and communities with disabilities). From production, vineyard management, consulting, and working at a locally run wine shop in Portland Oregon, Ocean is committed to breaking down barriers and making wine accessible. She has the opportunity to be an advocate for priority communities within the wine industry in various situations including Burgundy, Oregon state funded organizations, local wine boards, nonprofits, fundraising, as well as hosting her own events. Her motivation to write has bloomed under the foundation of accessibility that pushes the conversation towards social justice equity and how we interact with fermented grape juice. The best part about wine, Ocean asks? It goes with everything, even revolution.

Board Member

Neal D. Hulkower, Ph.D., is an applied mathematician and freelance writer living in McMinnville, Oregon. While he has been writing regularly about wine-related topics for academic, trade, and popular publications since 2009, his first contributions to a wine publication appeared in the early 1970s. He has reported on AHIVOY since it was first conceived in 2018. Neal was a Field Coordinator for Slow Wine 2020 and 2021 Guides and Slow Wine USA Guide 2022. He is a member of the Circle of Wine Writers. Previously, he was a senior executive at MCR and occupied three executive positions including President and CEO at RAF Technology. He also held positions of increasing responsibility at JPL, TRW, and MITRE. In addition, he taught mathematics at six colleges and universities. Neal can occasionally be found pouring some of Oregon’s finest in a tasting room at the top of the Dundee Hills.