By: Adriana Solís-López, Chief External Affairs Officer

Growing up in a Latino immigrant household, my mother stressed the importance and power of education; after circumstances prohibited her from even finishing first grade in Mexico, her biggest expectation of me was to get a college degree. Like many Latino families across the country, there was a universal feeling in my household that education is the greatest equalizer and the path to prosperity and success. With that same belief and resolve, I get to advocate for millions of Latino students across the country in my role at Latinos for Education.

As we enter the close of another year, I can’t help but reflect on the many ways that Latinos have been succeeding this year. We have seen Adriana Kugler appointed as the first Latina to ever serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in the 109-year history of this institution. We witnessed Susan Cordova being named Colorado’s first Latina Education Commissioner, serving roughly 300,000 Latino students (about one-third of the student population), and Dr. Mildred Garcia being appointed as the first Latina chancellor of the California State University system. Across the country, we saw many of our fellows run for office as school board trustees or city council members, step into leadership roles within their school districts, and reaffirm their commitments to staying in the classroom.

Together, we are changing the ecosystem – uniting our Latino heritage, identity, culture, and superpower to lead a movement to ensure that Latino students feel valued in their schools and see themselves reflected in their classrooms through their teachers, school leaders, and curriculum. We know that representation matters, not just for Latino students but for all students. When I talk about the impact Latinos for Education is making in the education sector, I share personal stories from our over 600 fellows and alums who found a home at Latinos for Education that allowed them to think bigger, challenge themselves, and take a leap of faith to follow their biggest dreams. 

Stories such as the success of our Familias Latinas in Houston, who, despite being overlooked in their children’s education, brought attention to school administration that language barriers were excluding Latino families from fully participating in school board meetings. After a presentation with board trustees and the HISD superintendent, every meeting soon had a Spanish language interpreter, and parental engagement has increased since. 

Here at Latinos for Education, we are genuine connectors and bridge builders – we understand the needs of our Latino students, parents, and educators and the levers we need to pull to create change in our education system.

But we know change is an uphill battle, especially for Latino-led organizations that receive less funding to be able to fulfill our missions – in fact, only 2% of all philanthropic dollars go to Latino causes and organizations. As we approach our end-of-year campaign, we are calling on our community to help us raise $25,000, funds which will help us continue our expansion and enable us to educate, develop, and empower more Latino students, educators, leaders, and parents.

In this work, we’ve seen that all of us have had a community of supporters, mentors, encouragers, and bridge builders to get us on a path to success. You can be that for our current Latino leaders and educators who are working to ensure that education continues to be a path to prosperity and success for Latinos. Join us by contributing in honor of your own champion – your mamá who wanted more than what she had, the maestra who believed in you, or the comunidad who surrounded you. Together, we can create an equitable system for Latinos everywhere.

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Adriana Solís-López is the Chief External Affairs Officer at Latinos for Education and leads the external functions across the organization. She has dedicated her career to social justice work and has worked in various local and international nonprofits in the San Francisco Bay Area for over ten years. In these last 12 years, she has worked in organizations focused on education, youth development, immigrant rights, workforce development, peacekeeping and environmental justice. Most recently, Adriana was the Vice President of Development at College Track, a national nonprofit focusing on college access and persistence, where she secured an eight-figure investment, the largest gift in the organization’s history. In her spare time, Adriana enjoys exploring the great outdoors with her family.