Celebrating Black History Month Together and Honoring the Legacy of Our Beloved Friend Vico!

February 2026

Honoring Black History Month

As, we celebrate Black History Month this month, we honor the African American and Black educators, parents, students, advocates, and trailblazers who have fought for student opportunity. We honor Goldie Buchanan, who led the network in partnership with PON members from 2005-2013. We also celebrate the beauty of African American and Black culture, history, and heritage. Additionally, we stand in community and solidarity with African American and Black families in Los Angeles.

At Parent Organization Network (PON), our mission is to connect, empower, and mobilize parents and parent organizations across the greater Los Angeles area to improve academic outcomes and the quality of education for all students including Black and African American students and their families.

In October, PON launched the Building Community Solidarity Survey to explore the deep-seated connections between African American and Latino/a/e/x communities. Last month, we released a report of survey findings, which serve as both a mirror of our current challenges and a roadmap for collective healing. Together, we can move from isolation toward a future rooted in courage and connection.

This Black History Month and year-round, we acknowledge the barriers Black and African American students face in public education, and we commit to engaging Black and African American parents in our work to ensure equity and excellence for all students.

RECHARGE & RISE: PON PARENT LEADERS WELLNESS RETREAT

We’re excited to share that our PON Parent Leaders were able to enjoy a day of wellness and care for themselves at our Wellness Retreat on February 5, 2026! The parent leaders gathered at the beautiful Los Angeles River Center & Garden for a rejuvenating day focused on movement, community, and well‑being.

Participants came prepared in comfortable clothing and brought their own personal items to feel at ease throughout the day. It was truly an inspiring and restorative experience for our PON Parent Leaders.

Here is what participants said they enjoyed most about

the Wellnesses Retreat...

“It was a fabulous and relaxing day, a time for my thoughts, my personal visions, and those of my family. Thank you for the gift and for your lovely kindness." - Carolina P.

“I want to express my gratitude for the Wellness event that the PON Staff and Board provided to the entire network of Leader members who are part of PON on February 5, 2026.

This event, which was planned with love and care, made me feel very good and proud

to be part of an organization that believes in the potential of all its members and values, respects, and elevates the leadership of each one. Many thanks for everything

this event did to help us feel important, distinguished, and honored." - Daisy O.

"I was fortunate to attend the PON Wellness Retreat on February 5, 2026, and I truly enjoyed every activity. I started with my first-ever massage, which I loved, relaxing my shoulders completely. We continued with outdoor yoga, where I felt deeply connected to nature, followed by sound therapy that was incredibly beneficial for me. Thank you for giving us such a wonderful day. I felt cared for and welcomed by everyone who made this possible. I’m deeply grateful for always thinking of your members." - Yesica L.

Honoring Victor Bonilla

We Celebrate the Life and Legacy of Vico, a Psychologist, Mentor, and Beloved Friend to our Community.

Victor Bonilla - A great human being, a friend to many and a brother of the Soul!

Vico, as we all called him, was a professional psychologist who graduated from the Jesuit University Rafael Landívar in Guatemala City, where he lived with his wife and three daughters. He dedicated his life to serving others with commitment, love, and wisdom.

As a Latino community in Los Angeles, we were fortunate to receive his support and guidance starting in April 2020, one month after the pandemic began. During that period of lockdown, through three weekly Zoom meetings, he accompanied more than 150 families who say they felt “saved” by the emotional strategies they learned in his workshops.

Since then, he remained present with workshops on personal growth. And in recent months, in the face of the growing wave of hatred and racism, we received his teachings: “Roots that Walk: Healing and Resisting from Migrant Dignity” and “Spring

Along the Way: Dreaming and Shaping Life Through Resistance.”

These are some words from the parents who participated, upon learning of his passing:

"Dear Vico, how beautiful it is to transcend and leave this world after having planted deep seeds of light and hope among us, leaving us a legacy born from

the spring of your soul.

"Infinite thanks for your strength, your tenderness, for giving us an example to follow, for your wise and subtly radical words that continue

calling us to coherence and commitment."

"Thank you for your good humor, for the clarity you brought in dark moments, for sharing your life and your heart, for giving yourself unconditionally."

"Thank you, Vico, for the mornings of CAFÉ CON PON, thank you for everything and for so much! We will continue honoring your legacy, making the path by walking, being perseverant, and walking and rising with dignity."