In one of his best-known works, “The Poor,” Roberto Sosa, the
famous Honduran poet, writes, “The poor are so many, and so it
is impossible to forget them.” That thought could serve as a motto
for one of Sosa’s countrymen, Jose Alvarado, who has spent much
of his adult life helping the poor, the disenfranchised and all
those in need, most recently as the first Hispanic to serve as
a Westchester County Legislator.
Elected to the Board of Legislators in November 2001 to represent
the southwest portion of Yonkers, Alvarado, a Democrat, chairs
the Community Affairs Committee. He is also a member of the Budget
and Appropriations Committee, the Committee on Cultural and Ethnic
Diversity, the Special Committee on Families and the Special Committee
on Parks and Recreation.
When Alvarado, 37, came to the United States and settled in Yonkers
20 years ago he knew virtually no English and had very little
formal education. To support himself, his mother and his five
siblings, he held a series of minimum wage jobs, including factory
worker, dishwasher, car washer, and maintenance worker. Studying
English in his free time, Alvarado eventually earned a high school
equivalency degree, and then went on to study business at Mercy
College where, in 1986, he became an English tutor in the College’s
Bilingual Summer Program.
That experience triggered Alvarado’s interest in community service.
He became very active in his Parish, Iglesia San Andres, and in
1987 was appointed treasurer of the Parish and a Board Member
of CLUSTER (Congregation Linked in Urban Strategy To Effect Renewal).
Also in 1987, he became the Hispanic program executive for the
Boy Scouts of America.
After graduating in 1988 with a Bachelor’s degree in accounting,
he became an insurance agent and registered representative of
the Prudential Insurance Company. However, the call of community
service proved too great and he joined the Westchester County
Department of Social Services in 1994 as a Medical Assistance
Case Manager. Two years later, he became a Senior Case Manager
for Child Protective Services. By this time, he had also become
the treasurer of CLUSTER, managing a budget of four million dollars.
In 2000, Alvarado was selected as a management intern to the
Department of Social Services, which exposed him to direct management
skills and leadership training. He is currently Special Advisor
to the President of White Plains Hospital Center for Outreach
to the Hispanic Community and for the promotion of the hospital
as a whole. He will receive his Master's degree in public administration/health
care this fall.
Alvarado and his wife Karla are the proud parents of Amy Isabel,
their first child.
