Pioneers 

These are women CEFL wants to recognize for being the forerunners in our world making a difference in their communities whether they received recognition or accolades or not! They were/are determined women whose mandate it was to "just do it" as God commanded. For taking steps where many did not dare venture and for blazing paths that many of us follow today, we honor them and want you to know who they are.

Amy Cortese - Aimee Garcıa Cortese now in her late 70’s, is pastor emeritus and founder of the Crossroads Tabernacle in the Bronx, New York. She was an powerful speaker and a committed progressive Pentecostal dedicated to urban social transformation . Read about her here.

Rev. Leoncia Rosado Rousseau aka Mama Leo – Born on April 11, 1912, Rev. Leoncia Rosado Rousseau or “Mama Leo,” as she is affectionately called by many, came to New York City by boat on September 22, 1935. She started a ministry to the “outcasts” of society and became known for her drug and alcohol rehabilitation program before there were many like it. She also was a “church planter” having founded “Iglesia Cristiana de Jamaica which is still in existence today.

Ana Villafane - Born on April 6, 1934, in Brooklyn Heights, New York, and growing up in

the early to mid-1960s, this Puerto Rican young woman embarked on a life-changing journey in her life. As a graduate of Mama Leo’s rehabilitation program she began Way Out Ministries, a similar program in the Bronx to that of Mama Leo’s. Find out more here.