Gloria Gonzales-Dholakia is the incoming Executive Director of Jolt Action and the Jolt Initiative.

The daughter of Mexican-American migrant parents, Gloria grew up working alongside her
parents and siblings to build a janitorial business that became a source of great pride for the entire family. The pride and strong work ethic she developed during that time have fueled the drive and foundation she has used to build her personal and professional life.

In the past, Gonzales-Dholakia has served as an adjunct professor at St. Edward’s University and
Austin Community College, Executive Director of a local education foundation, and Executive
Director of a foundation striving to help people with physical challenges live life to the fullest. In
2018, she became the first Latina to be elected as a school board trustee for the Leander
Independent School District, a position she continues to hold.

Gloria remains active in the community as a civic leader for multiple Texas State House Districts, the City of Austin, and Texas Public Schools. She is an active member of area business chamber organizations.

Gonzales-Dholakia has earned a bachelor’s degree from Baylor University, a master’s degree from the University of Phoenix, and a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin. She and her husband have three sons.

Jackie is a first generation college graduate. She attended the University of Houston Downtown where she obtained a B.S. in Criminal Justice and then obtained a M.A. in Criminology from the University of Houston Clear Lake.

Jackie is excited to be part of Jolt, an organization that empowers, equips, and mobilizes individuals to speak up not only for themselves but for those who are afraid to do so for fear of reprisal.

Jenn Longoria is a Rio Grande Valley native of Edinburg, Texas with over a decade of experience managing national, statewide, and city-wide campaigns. She specializes in TX-based campaign field programs and data management.

Drawn to organizing by her belief that every voice deserves to be heard, Jenn’s commitment to empowering communities of color has led her to champion voter registration, as well as train volunteers and staff from progressive organizations across the state in data management and volunteer recruitment. Prior to joining JOLT, Longoria served as the Texas Deputy Director for the Biden 2020 Campaign and as Texas Director for Elizabeth Warren for President.

Jenn currently serves on the Advisory Board for Battleground Texas and lives in San Antonio with her husband and their 4-year-old Dachshund/Beagle pup, Ellie.

Sonya Radtke joined Jolt in 2020 to lead the organization’s fundraising efforts. Sonya is an experienced fundraiser with a proven track-record of achieving multi-million dollar development goals for nonprofits in the arts, education, and human services spaces. Having lived in the Dallas area for most of her life, Sonya’s perspective on philanthropy is informed by an understanding of the systemic challenges of poverty and racism in Texas. As the daughter of a Spanish immigrant, Sonya is inspired by Jolt’s commitment to social justice and creating a more equitable future for all Texans.

Prior to joining Jolt, Sonya consulted for eight large and mid-size social service organizations across the United States, working with their senior leadership teams to develop and implement annual fundraising plans. She also spent over four years as the senior development manager at Big Thought, a youth development organization in Dallas. Sonya holds a BA from Emerson College and a dual MBA and MA from Southern Methodist University.

Patricia Zavala is a Senior Policy Analyst at Jolt where she leads state and federal policy initiatives that support and uplift LatinX communities. Patricia is Peruvian-American and a native Texan; she believes in combining community organizing strategies with policy advocacy to build racial and economic equity. She has passed legislation that created more workplace protections for immigrant workers and successfully initiated a new green jobs program for youth, women and people of color.

During Patricia’s tenure as a Brumley Research Fellow, she conducted policy research for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and organized transnational climate actions with the UN Climate Vulnerable forum. Patricia holds two masters degrees in Public Affairs and Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and also serves on the Board of Directors for the Texas Electric Transportation Resources Alliance.

María Reneé Morales is a social worker by education and by heart. She serves Jolt’s organizers in Austin, where she teaches the Latinx community best practices on utilizing their power to build momentum and change. She has always been passionate about helping people and educating the community.

María Reneé has experience in macro and clinical practice involving community engagement, program planning, evaluation, and case management. She has a Bachelor’s in Social Work from St. Edwards University and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Houston. She is originally from Guatemala and loves meeting new people and dogs.

Minerva Villa is a first-generation college graduate born in El Paso, Texas. She graduated in 2009 from Texas Tech University with her B.F.A in Acting and shortly thereafter discovered her passion for education. Minerva has been an educator for twelve years in both Texas and New York City as well as an active member of the performing arts community in Austin, where she has been both an actress and a director. At home, Minerva has a precious dog named Luna and creates clay jewelry in her free time.

In 2019, Minerva decided to act on her personal love for education and returned to grad school to earn her Master’s degree in Instructional Design and Leadership from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne.

After twelve years of serving in the education system, she has learned about the inequities rooted within our community and she is excited to be part of an organization that helps to unearth those deep roots. Daughter to two Mexican immigrants who have fought their entire lives to help her become a better version of herself, she is excited to be able to pass that drive and fire on to others in her role as Training and Curriculum Specialist.

Currently located in San Marcos, Texas, Elysia Perkins is a photographer and writer with a deep passion for creating meaningful, eye-catching content. She recently graduated from Texas State University after earning her BA in English with a minor in journalism. Inspired by Texas’ deep need for reform in healthcare, climate change, voting rights, and equal government representation for all Texans, Elysia entered public service to aid progressive change in Texas. Elysia is proud to act as Jolt’s Digital Content Specialist to spread Jolt’s message and empower Latinx voices across the state. She is excited to use her communication and design skills to make positive change in Texas.

Matt is the grant writer at Jolt. Prior to working at Jolt, he had been working in translation services and publishing. He began to get involved with Jolt as a volunteer in 2019 after moving back to Texas. A native Austinite, Matt is committed to building the power of Latinos to affect change in Texas and be fairly represented in our political system. He is a strong supporter of Jolt’s core belief that in order to empower the Latino community, we must change the narrative and uplift the voices of young people.

Zoila Cabera serves as Logistics Coordinator at Jolt. Prior to joining Jolt, Zoila Worked at Job Corps as an Outreach Admission Counselor, and also worked as an HR Generalist. In December 2018, she graduated from San Jacinto College in Pasadena, Texas, with an associate’s degree in accounting. She was born from immigrant parents and is the first in her family to graduate from college. She is passionate about helping the Latino community specifically, empowering Hispanic women.

Ambar Mendez is the Digital Media Manager for Jolt where she will be leading campaigns that will elevate, engage, and educate our communities. She graduated from the University of Houston – Downtown with her B.A. in Corporate Communications. Her primary experience comes from freelancing and working in nonprofits where she learned and mastered how to build digital media strategies that lead to executing social media campaigns and advertising. Her passion is in educating and being thoughtful in her creativity. She’s excited to expand on her skills with an organization that aims to put the voices of Texas Latinos on the forefront.

Elizabeth is responsible for supporting Jolt’s Executive Director and serving as a liaison to fellow staff members. Elizabeth is a first-generation Texas native with a vibrant Texas upbringing! She is a proud Houstonian and supporter of Latinx-centered engagement, sparked from her upbringing in a rural Texas town, that highlights the underserved Latinx community. She has applied and developed her knowledge in communications to provide the utmost support to Executive Director Antonio Arellano in the creation of organizational systems and daily support.

Maria is a proud Texas native, Chicana, and first-generation Mexican-American. She is the granddaughter of migrant farmworkers and daughter to immigrant mother from Monterrey, Mexico. Maria has been in the non-profit sector for 16 years working with underserved communities, single-parent households and at-risk youth to remove barriers while developing employment and educational opportunities. She is a proud mother of five and a hobby sugar artist/baker for local and national charities.

Through her personal experiences of the injustices facing the Latinx communities and political issues that were near and dear to her heart, she was drawn to become involved with Jolt. She wants to be a voice of empowerment and become a force for positive change in the Latinx community.  

She hopes to encourage, educate and mobilize the Latinx community to use their voting power for positive change in addition to advocating for those who cannot vote.