It's Hard to Say Goodbye

Farewell from Latina Initiative's Executive Director

Dear Friends of the Latina Initiative,

 One of the most important things we can do to improve our lives is to exercise the vote we have worked so hard to earn. It has been an incredible honor to work with you to support the civic engagement of Latinas through our work here at the Latina Initiative. 

 Since I came on in January, the Latina Initiative has made rapid progress with a one to two person staff to implement successful programs, increase systems, and gain recognition for LI’s work at local & national levels. Our accomplishments include:

• Co-convened the 5th Annual Latina/o Advocacy Day held February 27th and 28th -the most successful yet. The event brought 200+ Latina/os from all over the state to advocate at the Colorado Capitol.  Latina Initiative played a key role as fiscal agent and coordinator for all logistics and many of the speakers for the event.  A big thanks to former LI staffer Lynn Cordova for her role in this.
• Delivered the most successful Ya Es Hora Ciudadania campaign yet this year with drives on April 30th and again on July 23rd.  Helped by over 80 volunteers and 25 lawyers, Latina Initiative supervised the delivery of naturalization application services and legal review for 230 applicants. This year alone the drives have delivered over $115,000 worth of free legal services. Thank you to Celia Reyes Martinez of Mi Familia Vota for coordinating this incredible program. 
• Advocated strongly for our community, working on in-state tuition, Arizona-copy cat, and voting rights bills, as well as blogging the civil union and in-state hearings, and working on and testifying in the redistricting and reapportionment with our partners at the Hispanic Redistricting Coalition.
• Gave key testimony in the campaign to repeal of I-100, the Denver Impound Penalty Ordinance that Councilman Paul Lopez led this year.
• Helped plan and MCd the Colorado Women’s Legislative Breakfast with over 300 attendees.
• Revamped our Youth Action and Advisory Council to become the core our civic engagement work. Latinas in the program volunteered in our phone banks, citizenship drives, and attended Latina Initiative events and trainings. 
• Sent six of our young Latina leaders to Close Up in Washington DC. The week changed their lives by clarifying how government works and allowing them to meet Latinas working in government like Katherine Archuleta, LI's founder. The girls stated the trip and Katherine giving them time in her office was one of the most valuable parts of their education. It showed them their responsibility to make sure our community votes.
• Published a Latino Mayoral Voting Guide in English and Spanish.
• Hosted a bilingual Mayoral Forum with Mi Familia Vota and our LWG partners attended by over 120 participants.
• Turned out voters for the municipal election with the Latino Working Group of the Civic Engagement Roundtable with over 18 volunteer shifts of the 75 total being from LI, a small budget that the groups jointly raised, Latina Initiative and our partners from Engage Colorado reached 33,869 Latina/o voters, or 87% of all Latina/os who voted in the municipal elections.  Latina/os contacted voted at a rate of 181% more than non-contacted Latina/os.
• Partnered with Entravision and Educa to get voter information out to viewers and 54,000 listeners.
• Engaged in several successful efforts to build the will for immigration reform with business leaders, Jewish leaders and the LGBTQ community.
• Delivered a number of talks and seminars on voting rights, immigrant rights, confronting racism and more to over 300 Latina/os in our community.
• Joined the Hunt Alternative Foundation’s Political Parity Project national leadership team.

Sadly, it takes more than good work to make it right now. Due to the difficult economic climate, the Latina Initiative board of directors has moved into a three to six month due diligence process to determine the evolution of the Latina Initiative. The board will let the community know once they make a decision.  All programmatic work has been suspended.  All staff including Dymarie Colon Flores our operations manager, Sandra Zamora our citizenship instructor, and myself have been laid off effective August 31^th, 2011.  This has not been easy for the board or staff.

 My sincere and heartfelt thanks goes out to you our members, our staff, our partners and our funders.  I appreciate the hard work you have put into our collaborative efforts to make “I’m Latina and I vote” one of the most powerful phrases in our state and our nation. It wasn’t until we began the due diligence that I realized how much work we have accomplished at the Latina Initiative and what a void there will be in the community.  I would be remiss if I did not give out a few special thanks to those who are helping to minimize the void and create a smooth path for those we serve.  

A special thanks to Olivia Mendoza and the Colorado Latino Forum for your help with the transition, Lorena Garcia and COLOR for taking over the helm of the Latina/o Advocacy Day, Grace Lopez Ramirez and Celia Reyes Martinez at Mi Familia Vota for taking over all of the responsibilities of Ya Es Hora Ciudadania, Dymarie Colon Flores our operations manager who stayed when most would have left, to Sandra Zamora our citizenship instructor for her work, Carlos Martinez for being an incredible mentor, Janine Vanderburg for all your help, and to Yoselin Gracia and Kaylee Ortega from YAAC who have decided to continue Youth Action and Advisory Council at Lincoln High School. 

 All of you make me proud to be part of the civil rights movement. How we lift each other up in hard times is the truest testament to our movement for justice, peace, and equality.  While we are in a dark moment, I am confident there is light ahead. Together we have accomplished much and I appreciate the opportunity to have served you as the Executive Director of the Latina Initiative.

 After August 15, 2011 my contact information will change to the information below.  I would welcome a call or email from you.  The LI Board has the message below for you and Dr. Janet Lopez, board president, is in charge of all further Latina Initiative matters after my departure. 

 With gratitude,

Amber Tafoya
Executive Director

Amber Tafoya
720-371-7496
ambertafoya@gmail.com

It has been a hot and busy summer for the Latina Initiative. Not only did our youth enjoy a life-changing trip to DC, but we have come back ready to defend the rights of our community.  Two very important hearings happened yesterday and Latina Initiative was there to make sure that Latinas were heard.

Most pressingly, last night Denver City Council repealed I-100.  This initiative put a $2,500 bond on people who were driving without their licenses. Over 5,700 people in Denver have lost their car due to the overly high fees mandated by this ordinance.  While no one should drive without a license, this ordinance was mean spirited, aimed directly and unfairly at the Latino community and patently unconstitutional.  It was our duty at the Latina Initiative to speak out against this terrible law as part of a broad coalition led by Councilman Paul Lopez.  I spoke about fear the law has caused, the the misplaced resources, and the undue burden that this law places on low income moms and others. New Era testified regarding the unfair burden on students. Several pastors also spoke out as well as a mom who had her car towed even though she didn't know it was missing. Our testimony and the calls of the community were heard and Council voted 9 to 1 to repeal the law. For news coverage please click here, and in Spanish here. This is an important civil rights victory for Latina/os in Denver because it is the first time Council has seen anti-immigrant laws as the liability they are.

Additionally, yesterday was the Colorado Reapportionment Commission's last hearing in Denver regarding the new State House and Senate maps being drawn this summer.  Latina Initiative testified with our coalition partners Colorado Latino Forum, Mi Familia Vota and COLOR to make sure that Latina/os are not packed into too few districts or cracked into too many districts to be heard.  In testifying about the importance of our ability to elect candidates of choice, I emphasized that we should have as many majority minority districts as possible. Where that's not possible, it is the responsibility of the commission to put us with other like minded communities who embrace diversity and will vote with us and not against us.  Vice-Chair Wellington Web was clear that the Commission would respect our concerns regarding voter suppression in the new maps.  We also received assurances from Delores Atencio, the only Latina on the Commission, that she would be watching out for our needs behind closed doors. Latina Initiative feels confident that with three out of eleven Commissioners being Latino, Commissioners (Chair) Mario Carrera, Arnold Salazar, and Delores Atencio, and the strong voice of former Denver Mayor Wellington Web on the commission that Latina/os will not be marginalized in the current maps.

It is always an honor and a pleasure to be in service to community, but it is especially important that our voice is heard now.  Increased population numbers will mean nothing if we do not receive a fair shake in representation and if we feel intimidated by discriminatory laws.  Latina Initiative is proud to be on the front lines with our partners fighting for our community.

A note from Latina Initiative's new executive director, Amber Tafoya, Esq.

First let me say what a pleasure it is to be leading the Latina Initiative.  In the first month I’ve been here at Latina Initiative I have gotten a first-hand look at the wonderful work and people involved with LI.  The passion and the skill that staff, board and partners have brought to the work is evident in our voter registration and engagement work with the Latina Voting Circles, our community advocacy through Serious Women, Serious Issues and Latino Advocacy Day, the Colorado Women’s Appointment Project, and in our Ya Es Hora Ciudadania citizenship workshops and classes.

All of us here at LI are excited about our goals for 2011 as we work to build the infrastructure necessary for large scale voter engagement in 2012.  We’ve been working hard to update our strategic plan and clearly articulate our theory of change.  I accepted my position at LI because we are at a critical moment in Colorado’s Latino community.  Forty-seven years after the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, our community still faces significant challenges in graduation rates, access to health care, equal pay for equal work and access to voting and legal status.  For me, the answer is in unifying our voice through increased voting.  The question that LI exists to answer is “What would the world look like if every Latina voted and made sure her family and friends voted?”  It’s a big vision but one that I know will radically impact the challenges our community faces at this moment.


So LI is centering 2011 on setting up the infrastructure and programs that will get out the vote. My theory is that by achieving our mission of “cultivating, supporting, and maintaining the civic engagement of Latinas” that we will see government policy that responds to our needs. We will see increased protections in the work place and for vulnerable children and seniors, better access to programs that address our educational and health care needs and we will see more of our faces at the decision making tables.  I still believe that our vote is our voice and I invite you join me and the LI team as we embark on a new chapter of using our vote to bring real results into our homes and communities.


Thank you for the warm welcome that each of you has extended to me during this transition.  I am so excited about the work we will do together here at Latina Initiative.  If you'd like to be more involved at LI, please send me an email or give us a call at the office at 303-572-0013.


Sincerely yours,


Amber Tafoya