To view the link click here: http://www.gazette.com/news/schools-54589-bills-ritter.html

On April 23rd, at a reception held at Mi Casa Resource Center, community leaders welcomed and congratulated the 7th class of the Circle of Latina Leadership. The 2009 class joins 112 alumnae who have completed the intense one-year program. Circle alumnae are already on the move in Denver. A few graduates include: Erika Reyes, marketing director for the Hispanic Chamber Foundation, Dusti Gurule, director of Latina Initiative, Cynthia Gallegos, director of Focus Points, Suzan Moore Bustos, appointments for Denver boards and commissions, Monique Lobato, Director of the Xcel Energy Foundation, Marlene Delarosa, founder of the Mile High Parent Campaign, and Julie Rodriquez, who served as the Director of Public Programs for the 2008 Democratic Convention.

To read the entire article, click here.

To view the link click here: http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_11784019?source=email

To view the link click here: http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/7761.pdf

To view the link click here: http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/7645_02.pdf

Dusti Garrison Gurule, Grower of Latina Power

Dusti Garrison Gurule says the essence of her work is to increase the participation of Latinas in the American democracy and to raise their political power beyond the polling booth.

As the director of the Denver-based Latina Initiative, her efforts are paying off. The group has become involved in immigration issues and has so far helped more than 1,000 people gain citizenship by offering classes. And in 2008, it helped nearly double the voting turnout among Latinas in Colorado, from 8 percent to 15 percent of all voters in the state.

"It is important to have an informed participation throughout the year, not only during the three months prior to the elections," Gurule says.

The Latina Initiative formed in 2002 and is now becoming a model for other national Latina groups, particularly for its voter education programs.

Gurule understands the value of that type of nurturing after her own childhood growing up in the Chicano community of Colorado. She was part of a large family deeply involved in the Crusade for Justice, a civil rights organization that focused on self-determination and nationalism.

"My childhood planted the seeds for my future engagement," she says.

Gurule is steering the Latina Initiative toward getting more involved in research and "to be proactive instead of only reactive." That includes getting the Latino community involved in all the policy issues that affect them. During the election the Latina Initiative became an active opponent of Colorado's defeated Amendment 46, a voter initiative that sought to roll back affirmative action protections for members of minority groups.

"Latina Initiative wants to be the beginning and the end [of civic involvement] for our community, and, in the long run, to be able to answer every need and connect every member of the Latina community," Gurule says.

--Iulia Anghelescu

Listen Here:

Dusti Gurule, executive director, was part of a panel at Unconventional Women. For complete article, click Here.

Click Here to check out a live blog report by www.whataboutourdaughters.com from Unconventional Women during the Democratic National Convention!

Women's Resource Center partnered with the Latina Initiative, the La Plata County League of Women Voters and the Victorian Aide Society on Tuesday, August 26 to celebrate Women's Equality Day. The day marks the anniversary of the greatest success of the women's suffrage movement. On this date in 1920, the 19th Amendment was finally ratified, giving constitutional protection to women's right to vote in the United States. Although many states had given women the vote decades before—including Colorado—the franchise was not extended to all women in 1920. The local celebration included volunteers dressed as turn-of-the-century and modern-day suffragettes who "picketed" downtown Druango during the lunch hour, handing out voter registration forms and directing people who wanted to register right away to WRC's offices at 679 E. 2nd. Ave., Ste. 6. By the end of the lunch hour, the group had handed out or helped voters complete about 40 voter registration forms.
 
Women's Resource Center, the Latina Initiative and the La Plata County League of Women Voters will be conducting voter registration drives at events now through the voter registration deadline, which is October 6 this year. To register to vote in La Plata County or to update your voter registration address, stop by the La Plata County Clerk's office in the courthouse at 10th and East 2nd. Avenue, or visit www.sos.state.co.us to download and mail in a registration form.
 
Volunteers included:
From the Latina Initiative:Field Coordinator Tamlin Klutinis and interns Airiel Peoples and Melisa Smith.
From the La Plata County League of Women Voters: Marilyn Sandstrom, Mary Ruth Bowen, Jill Patton and Ann Flatten
From the Victorian Aide Society: Clare Lodahl, Rani Holt, Darla Hill and Carrie Foisel.