Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard - Press Release - Washington, D.C. – Photo: A visit with Sister Jennie Lechtenberg, founder and Chief Executive Officer of the PUENTE Learning Center..

(June 4, 2008) Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (shown center) welcomes Sister Jennie Lechtenberg (on right), founder and Chief Executive Officer of the PUENTE Learning Center, to our nation’s capital. Accompanied by Ms. Sandra Pasciuti, an executive assistant at the center, the pair traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend the National Nonprofit Congress 2008. More than 500 nonprofit professionals gathered at the conference to build on and celebrate the accomplishments of nonprofits across the country.

PUENTE stands for People United to Enrich the Neighborhood Through Education. The Center was founded by Sister Jennie in 1985 to offer children and adults in the Boyle Heights/East Los Angeles areas with the educational resources they need to succeed in school, acquire economic stability, and access educational and career opportunities. Today, approximately 2,000 students attend classes each day in Boyle Heights, with another 800 students attending classes in South Los Angeles. Classes are offered in the following program areas: Pre-School Readiness; Charter Kindergarten; After-School Enrichment; High School Tutorial; English as a Second Language; Spanish as a Second Language (South Los Angeles location only); Adult High School Diploma; Job Training; Computer Applications; Public Speaking; and Reading Academy. Since the organization’s inception, the PUENTE Learning Center has served more than 80,000 students.