OYEN Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month as Gold Sponsor and Featured Speaker at PODER Oregon’s HHMB & Summit 2026

Salem, Ore..OYEN Emotional Wellness Center was honored to serve as a Gold Sponsor of PODER Oregon’s 2026 Hispanic Heritage Month Breakfast & Summit, held September 15 at the Salem Convention Center.

For 17 years, the Hispanic Heritage Month Breakfast & Summit has brought people together to celebrate Latino culture, elevate Latino voices, and recognize the many contributions our community makes every day. The annual event has become an important gathering place for leaders, organizations, professionals, families, and community members to connect, learn from one another, celebrate shared experiences, and continue building toward the future.

OYEN was proud not only to support the event as a Gold Sponsor, but also to have a meaningful presence throughout the day.

Melinda Avila Takes the Stage

We were especially proud to have our CEO, Melinda Avila, takes the stage as a featured Gold Sponsor Speaker.

Melinda’s leadership at OYEN has been rooted in a commitment to expanding access to culturally responsive behavioral health services and creating spaces where individuals and families feel seen, heard, understood, and supported.

As a featured speaker, Melinda had the opportunity to share her voice, represent OYEN, and join other community leaders in a morning dedicated to celebrating Latino culture, strengthening community, and creating meaningful connections.

Her participation also brought emotional wellness into the larger conversation around leadership, culture, and community. At OYEN, we believe these conversations are deeply connected. The strength of our communities is shaped not only by the opportunities we create, but also by how we support the emotional well-being of individuals and families.

Having Melinda represent OYEN on stage was a meaningful moment for our team and reflected our continued commitment to ensuring culturally responsive care and emotional wellness remain part of the conversations shaping our communities' future.

Exploring Generational Patterns in Latino Families

Our participation continued with a powerful conversation centered on therapy, mental health, and generational patterns within Latino families.

The session explored how cultural values, family expectations, traditions, communication styles, and lived experiences can shape emotional wellness across generations. The panel also discussed how therapy can support Latino individuals and families in better understanding these patterns, processing past experiences, strengthening relationships, and creating healthier ways of communicating and connecting.

Ricardo Sanchez, Licensed Clinical Social Worker at OYEN, moderated the conversation, which featured OYEN team members Selia Ramon, Omar Ruiz, Ashly Banuelos, and Yesenia Hernandez as panelists.

Together, our team shared personal and professional perspectives and created space for an open conversation about honoring the strengths we inherit from previous generations and recognizing patterns we may want to better understand or approach differently.

Celebrating Our Community

At OYEN, we believe emotional wellness is deeply connected to our stories, our families, our culture, and the communities that shape us. That is why being part of the Hispanic Heritage Month Breakfast & Summit was so meaningful to us. We are grateful to everyone who attended our session, shared their experiences, listened, reflected, and connected with our team throughout the day.

We are also grateful to PODER Oregon for continuing to create a space where Latino voices are celebrated, leaders can learn from one another, and our community can come together to honor where we come from while creating what comes next. We are proud to have been part of the 2026 Hispanic Heritage Month Breakfast & Summit and even more proud to continue doing this work alongside the communities we serve.

About OYEN: OYEN Emotional Wellness Center is a bilingual and bicultural clinic that offers an array of mental health support for all ages. OYEN consists of a group of highly qualified English and Spanish-speaking Licensed Professionals who meet the mental health needs of our communities. For more information on OYEN, visit the website at www.oyenwellness.com.