Arcenio J. López
Arcenio J. López is a Mixteco native from the village of San Francisco Higos, in Oaxaca, Mexico. He grew up speaking Mixteco as his primary language, and learned Spanish as his second language. When he arrived in Oxnard in 2003, Arcenio worked as a farmworker in the strawberry fields. In 2006, Arcenio was hired as MICOP’s first Community Organizer. He enrolled at Oxnard College where he received his Associate Degree in 2008. Arcenio was hired as the Associate Director of MICOP in 2010. Eventually he was promoted in 2014, and became the first indigenous Executive Director for the organization. Because of his work, MICOP is the trusted voice of the indigenous community and a respected partner to dozens of local and statewide agencies.