Rodolfo_Pinon_119
Rodolfo Piñon was born in El Paso Texas in 1955 and lived there for most of his childhood. His family moved to Blythe California in 1969. He started working in advocacy early in his life and continued to do so for the rest of his life. He did not separate the narrative of his advocacy and activism from that of his life; to him they were one and the same. In all of the work he did he brought to bear his knowledge, experience and energy, which were an enormous asset. He could see the field and all the positions in it clearly, this made him an indispensable resource to the Valley. When dealing with social and racial inequality the scope of the problems and the pace of change can be frustrating but he was patient and determined because he had seen that even small changes give people a sense of worth and raised their self-esteem so that work on other issues could begin. He also, generously and graciously, passed on his knowledge to the many, many people he mentored over the years, most of them now work in advocacy, continuing the work he began.