Communities In Schools of Chatham County

For 25 years bringing Chatham County Together!

People

Lesley Sifuentes

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Lesley Sifuentes was born and raised in Siler City, and is a graduate of Chatham County Schools. After graduating from Jordan Matthews High School in 2017 she pursued an associates degree in Dental Hygiene at Guildford Technical Community College. While studying at GTCC, she began working part-time with Chatham County Group Homes assisting clients with mental and physical disabilities. She has held additional roles as a Home Health Aid for other agencies in Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Pittsboro. Through these job opportunities, she found a passion for helping those in need, and decided to change her career path toward getting her Associates of Science in Human Services. In March of 2022, Lesley obtained her certificate as a Registered Behavior Technician, helping children with Autism navigate life better with ABA therapy, and graduated with her associates degree in May 2022 from GTCC.

In the last year of obtaining her degree, she interned with Communities in Schools of Chatham County as a student support specialist. She enjoyed every part of working one-on-one with children at Siler City Elementary along-side GYS Youth FIRST program coordinator, Shirille Lee. After graduation, Lesley decided to make CISCC a permanent home for her career interests. Her goal for students at Siler City Elementary is for them to fulfill their maximum potential in everything they do with the support of her guidance, effort, and patience.

Lesley loves listening to people and spending time with her loved ones, especially her Goldendoodle, Milo. She is inspired by the quote “Try to be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud” – Maya Angelou

Ilsen Lopez

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Ilsen grew up in Siler City, NC and although she left Siler City after high school, she came back and is now ready to make a difference in the lives of Chatham County students. Ilsen is an alumni of Siler City Elementary, Chatham Middle, and Jordan Mathews High School. She is hoping this role will provide her an opportunity to further her educational goals in the future and to grow as an individual.

Her goals for students at Chatham Middle School are to know they are being listened to, heard, understood, and most importantly – to feel supported in every way along their journey through education and life. Ilsen loves spending quality time with her daughter and family, and hopes to be the best role model she can be.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…” ― Dr. Seuss

Veronica Nunez

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Veronica Nunez was born in Los Angeles, California; however, she moved to Siler City after high school graduation in 1996. Her family was looking for a new beginning. At first, she worked as an interpreter for Chatham Hospital. It was there where she decided to pursue a career in human services. Veronica followed this goal by becoming a student in the Registered Nursing program, but she could not continue. Everything changed when she started working at Chatham Child Development Center (CCDC) as a teacher assistant. She enjoyed working with students and their families; therefore, she pursued becoming a Chatham county school employee. Veronica had many roles as a Chatham County employee, such as secretary, interpreter, and data manager.

Growing up, her parents did not speak English; therefore, it was hard for them to assist her brother and her with homework or have school involvement. Often her mother worked long hours, and her father is disabled. Her parents did not reach out for support nor seek programs available due to the language. As a result, Veronica promised herself that she would help non- English speaking parents and be their voice when she was older. She looks forward to utilizing her skills and experiences in support of the GYS Youth FIRST program.

Eva Depaz

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Born and raised in Siler City, North Carolina; Eva Depaz was educated in the Chatham County school system. Since a very young age, Eva always knew she wanted to do something with children. As Eva grew and gained experiences in the community she realized that working with children was not enough to fulfill her career goals.

There is more to bettering a child’s life; she realized that the overall well-being of the family as a whole is essential.  She now dreams of empowering children’s lives and helping families strive for a better future. The family is the most important foundation in a child’s life!

She has served in many different roles throughout her career; including nine years of experience working with children and families in this community. Eva is a strong believer that it is essential that we put our care and love into our children today because they are our future tomorrow! If we grow successful children and families, then our world will be better and full of wonderful things.

“The best way to predict your future is to create it” –Abraham Lincoln.

Travis Patterson

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To every thing, there is a season, and a time for every purpose…

Travis is a life-long Chatham County native, and first became involved with CISCC in 2009 as a surveyor for what was then Chatham County Together’s! Plain Talk/Hablando Claro program. In 2010, Travis joined the permanent staff at CCT! as the Program Assistant for the Mentoring Children of Prisoners program, and served in several capacities until 2015, when the winds of change blew.

Travis stayed close to home and mission, and continued to empower youth and other community members through various projects and through work with other organizations. As of March 1, 2021, Travis returned to CISCC as the Community Service and Restitution Program Manager, and now looks forward to bringing his passion and perspective for youth services to the CIS Chatham team in his new role as GYS High School Success Coach at Jordan Matthews High School. As Frederick Douglass said, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”

Perla Ayala

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Born in Washington State and moving to Siler City at a young age – Perla Ayala was educated in the Chatham County School system – working her way through Siler City Elementary, Chatham Middle School, and Jordan Matthews High School – graduating in 2010.

As a first-generation college graduate – earning her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting – Perla will bring her passion for helping youth and business experience to her role as Chief Operations Officer.

Perla was first introduced to CIS Chatham County through her engagement as a high school volunteer with two Family Advocacy programs – Hablando Claro and Cuidate, and now returns in her role as COO. She maintains her commitment to being a positive role model for youth in the community, and is excited to take on this new opportunity. When she is not crunching numbers and building budgets, you can find Perla spending time with her beautiful family, including her two lovely children – one who is in first grade at Siler City Elementary.

She is inspired by the quote ‘everything is possible if you believe in yourself’, and looks forward to helping grow CIS Chatham’s impact in the years to come.

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