Alfred Diaz-Infante
Alfred Diaz-Infante, the longtime president and CEO of Community Housing Improvement Systems and Planning Association Inc. of Salinas, was honored last week by an alliance of local nonprofit organizations.
“Alfred has built bridges across disparate communities and as generated understanding and cooperation between parties that often had been adversarial,” according to officials with the Nonprofit Alliance of Monterey County. The alliance presented Diaz-Infante with its Perry G. Flicker award during a breakfast in Seaside on Friday.
Specifically for nonprofits, CHISPA has worked with agencies like the YMCA, the Read to Me Project, the Arts Council for Monterey County, and the Alliance on Aging to provide onsite educational and recreational programs to the housing projects it builds and administers.
In addition to his work with CHISPA, Diaz-Infante has served on board for the Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System, Hartnell College Foundation, Community Foundation for Monterey County, York School and YoSal.
NAMC also honored several “unsung heroes” at its breakfast, including Ali Garcia of Community Human Services, Tom Nelson of the Lyceum of Monterey County, and Cole Rossi of Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services.
Outstanding nonprofit organizations honored at the breakfast were Paws of Grace, the Monterey Symphony, GRID Alternatives, Rancho Cielo Youth Campus, The Village Project and Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley.
Unsung Hero nominees included Aimee Grijalva of Jacob’s Heart, Andrew Marine of the International School of Monterey, Anna Lowery of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Azalea Power of Everyone’s Harvest, Ben Bruce of the Community Partnership for Youth, Bill Belding of Meals on Wheels, Clare Mounteer of Monterey County Rape Crisis Center, Cory Utter of the SPCA for Monterey County and Darcy Swisher of Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services.
Other Unsung Hero nominees were Dorothy Micheletti of Youth Music Monterey, Geri Flesher of Monterey Museum of Art, Helen Grady of Papillon Center for Loss and Transition, Joanne Fontanilla of Interim Inc., Jon Assaad of Alliance on Aging, Kristina Olfson of VNA and Hospice, Mark Bruszer of Rancho Cielo Youth Campus, Mayra Perez-Diaz of United Way Monterey County, Paola Beletti of International School of Monterey, Regina Battle of The Village Project, Robin Ledford of the YWCA Monterey County, and Susan Love of the Big Sur Marathon Foundation.
