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
