Educating and Empowering Women Through Its “Latina Identity

Educating and Empowering Women Through Its “Latina Identity Project” “Findings & Impact Report/Call to Action” “Leadership, Education, Advocacy, Development” Initiative L.E.A.D. 2016

About Us Wise Latina International is a non-profit 501 C3 corporation serving the international border area of the City of El Paso, the State of Texas, New Mexico & our international sister city of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. WLI uses entertainment, cultural & performing arts & related activities to enlighten & raise awareness, to develop leaders & mentors, to support & encourage women to overcome racial, cultural & economic barriers. It does so while embracing history, cultural diversity & promoting cultural pride. WLI Executive Board President Liz Chavez Vice President Lizette A. Saucedo Current Directors 2016 to 2017: Identity Project/L.E.A.D. Co-Chairs Lorena Castaneda Dorian Clouser Elena Garza Laura Nebhan Denisse Olivas Treasurer Rosie Corral Secretary Sandy Castillo Latina Dr. Gina NuñezMchiri UTEP Dr. Areli Chacon Silva UTEP

ABOUT THE “Latina Identity Project” Beginning October 2013 through June 2015, WLI conducted a series of summits, public meetings, and focus groups to identify the status of Latinas in the El Paso Del Norte Region The purpose of the qualitative study was to identify problem areas, solutions, and successful coping strategies used by Latinas to overcome barriers to success- both internal and external and any resources accessed to deal with challenges faced WLI’s “Findings and Impact Report” examined four key areas: Economic Opportunities and Challenges, Educational Attainment and Advancement, Affordable Housing and Childcare and Health Care access including Behavioral Health WLI’s findings and efforts to improve the quality of life for women in El Paso by strengthening the economic security of women and girls is supported by the latest comprehensive study generated by the Texas Women’s Foundation (TWF) in May 2014 Economic Issues for Women in Texas WLI’s findings and efforts to improve the quality of life for women in the El Paso Del Norte Region was a study conducted in partnership with faculty at the University of Texas at El Paso, Texas Agri-Life Extension, MerkadoTeknia Consulting Company and other community partners

Some Key Findings: Pressing Issues for Women in the El Paso Metro area: 80 60 79 40 55 44 20 0 h W it en om eW s a tin a L E so a lP tin a L en om aW Women's wages - cents to dollar nationwide Households living in poverty 47% 53% Female headed Male/Both

Pressing Issues for Women in the El Paso Metro Area: Uninsured women 10% Pregnancy rates 47% 43% 47% 53% Ages 18-34 Ages 35-64 Other ages Latina Teenagers Latina Adults Percentage of single mother families Buy home 29% Rent home 71%

Wise Latina International’s Call To Action WLI’s Call to Action includes a platform for action that not only sheds light on the issues that affect women and their families but that will actively work to ensure that through community/civic engagement we aim to help create a more just and equal world. L.E.A.D. is part of WLI’s platform for action. L.E.A.D. Mission: Our Mission is to empower Latina women committed to our community to lead, educate, advocate, and develop (L.E.A.D.) the leadership skills and talents to address the socio-economic, educational needs and priorities in the El Paso del Norte border region. L.E.A.D. Vision: The L.E.A.D. Development Program seeks to enhance the leadership skills and abilities of Latinas and for Latinas to transform their communities through social justice, equity, empowerment, and education.

L.E.A.D Goals and Objectives L.E.A.D.’s primary goal is to help develop the leadership capacity of women in El Paso so they can be active agents in seeking their own professional and personal development while also maximizing their ability and effort to impact and contribute to the empowerment and development of the region. The purpose is to provide participants with an in-culture curriculum that gives them the necessary tools for organization and personal development. It will be the expectation of the L.E.A.D. training participants to develop a community based project/s to improve the quality of life for women in the El Paso del Norte Region.

The L.E.A.D. Curriculum L.E.A.D. is being developed with our community partner The University of Texas at El Paso Women & Gender Studies’ Program Director, Dr. Gina Nunez-Mchiri and Master’s Leadership Studies Program Director, Dr. Areli Chacon Silva, and in consultation with key national and local leaders. The goal is to recruit an initial cohort of 8 to 10 women who will commit to an 8-9 month leadership program. The curriculum will have targeted leadership modules conducted at least once a month for the period of the program. The program will include a series of speakers, interactive workshops and trainings with the emphasis and requirement that L.E.A.D. participants develop a community based project to address the needs of women in our border region as identified by the WLI “Impact and Findings Report.” The Curriculum will include a case study/and community project designed to provide measurable results and outcomes to be documented in an official impact report. Evaluation instruments will be used at the beginning and end of each module to assess understanding of content and real life applications of the workshops and training. As part of the training, participants must commit to fundraising for their projects and to mentoring future generations of Wise Latina L.E.A.D. fellows in the subsequent year.

Recruitment and Participant Criteria Participants for the Inaugural L.E.A.D. cohort will be recruited from a list of registered participants who attended the El Paso Wise Latina International 2016 Latina Summit. Members of the Wise Latina International Board will also nominate applicants from the community who are likely to participate and commit to the L.E.A.D. Leadership Curriculum on a monthly basis. L.E.A.D. participants will also be recruited through a nomination process via social media and via the site www.wiselatinainternational.org.

Participant Criteria The L.E.A.D. Executive Leadership Initiative will identify Latinas that are: Looking for an opportunity to develop their leadership skills Are seeking to make a positive change in the El Paso community Have the desire and drive to be an active leader Want to invest in their personal and professional growth Have an entrepreneurial spirit or want to develop it And have a particular project in mind they are committed to developing Applicants will be asked to submit: Resume/CV and a two-page Statement of Purpose that addresses the following questions What have you done to prepare to serve your community? What ideas do you have to empower Latinas in El Paso What priority or need do you identify in the following: areas Housing, Child care, Health/Mental Health, Education & Economic Opportunities and how would you address it? If selected as a finalist an interview will be conducted by a selection panel at which time applicants will be afforded the opportunity to give a three minute presentation as to how they would address the priority they have identified The deadline for applications will be November 1, 2016 Selection will be made no later than December 31st First class will begin Winter/Spring 2017 The Inaugural pilot program will lead to developing a Leadership Certificate at the University of Texas at El Paso and will establish the Wise Latina International L.E.A.D Fellows Program.

BIOS & PROFILES Ms. Chavez is the President of Impact Media Communications a multiservice group headquartered in Southern California. She is a graduate of Stanford University with degrees in Communications and Spanish, attended UCLA Law School, was selected a Coro Fellow to their National Public Affairs and Management Program and attended the CBS School of Management in New York City as a senior manager for the Los Angeles owned and operated station. A native of El Paso, Ms. Chavez currently divides her time between California and Texas. She is President and Founder of Wise Latina International a non-profit organization serving the international border of El Paso, New Mexico and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua that seeks to raise awareness, educate and empower Latinas and women. Ms. Chavez is an Emmy award winning television producer/director, a member of the distinguished Director’s Guild of America and The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Her entertainment expertise has led her to provide publicist services to Warner Bros and Showtime, Inc., working closely with film producer Moctesuma Esparza and director Gregory Nava on the highly acclaimed film Selena and Creator and Executive Producer Dennis Leoni on Resurrection Blvd. the first weekly one-hour dramatic series on American television to predominantly feature Latinos in front and behind the camera. Prior to establishing Impact Media and upon her departure from CBS/KCBS Ms. Chavez served as Communications Director and Chief Spokesperson for former Los Angeles Council member Richard Alatorre. She was an appointee to the Greek Theater Advisory board by Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and was honored by the City of Los Angeles during Women’s History Month. Throughout her career Ms. Chavez has received numerous commendations and awards. She is a founding member and past president of the Stanford Chicano/Latino Alumni Association and founded the Stanford Latino Scholarship Fund an endowment that raised half a million dollars in its first year. In El Paso she has served on the Board of the Boy’s and Girl’s Club, serves on the El Paso Community College ELIZABETH CHAVEZ President & Founder of Wise Latina International

BIOS & PROFILES Dr. Núñez-Mchiri is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at UT El Paso, where she enjoys teaching, mentoring, and working with students on engaged research projects in the community. She is a mother to her six year old son Adam, who will soon be entering the first grade. Dr. Núñez is a recipient of the 2012 University of Texas Regents’ Outstanding Teaching award. She is originally from Salinas, California and grew up as child of migrant farm workers crossing borders between the U.S. southwest and Mexico. She received her BA in International Business from San Diego State University specializing in Spanish and Portuguese in 1994 and her MA degree in Latin American Studies with a specialization on US-Mexico Border studies in 1998. In between her BA and MA, she worked three years helping to build the School of World Languages and Cultures at CSU Monterey Bay. She received her PhD in Cultural Anthropology from the University of California, Riverside in 2006. In 2005, she joined the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Texas at El Paso as an Assistant Professor of Anthropology. Dr. Núñez-Mchiri was a graduate of the 2012-2013 Leadership Development Institute. Most recently, she was selected as the 2013 Provost’s Faculty-Fellow for Civic Engagement at UT El Paso. Nationally, she will also be serving as a Southern Education Foundation Fellow on DR.GUILLERMINA G. NÚÑEZ-MCHIRI Co-Chair - “Latina Identity Project/L.E.A.D Initiative”

BIOS & PROFILES Areli Chacón has worked as a consultant since 2001, in the area of international business, leadership, and business logistics. She has a BA in International Business from Tecnológico de Monterrey (1996), an MBA from Angelo State University (1999), and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of La Havana (2011). From 1999 to 2012 she was an Associate Professor at Tecnológico de Monterrey, a leading university in Mexico and Latin America. In 2013 she joined the Master of Leadership Studies (MLS) faculty at the University of Texas at El Paso, and since January 2015 she has been the Interim Director of the Program. Dr. Chacón is coauthor of the book ¡Reconquest! Practical Advice for Chihuahuan Businessmen to do Business with Latinos in the United States (2010). DR. ARELI CHACON SILVA Co-Chair - “Latina Identity Project/ L.E.A.D. Initiative”

BIOS & PROFILES Lizette Saucedo , a native El Pasoan, is an advocate on behalf of educational opportunities for the El Paso community. Lizette is currently practicing as a Consultant for Mano y Corazon where she organizes Multicultural Health Educational events, a venue for inter professional dialogue and health education that has drawn hundreds of providers. Lizette holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Bilingual Creative Writing and a Minor in Sociology from the University of Texas at El Paso. Lizette’s extensive experience as an organizer comes from working for TSTA, Texas State Teachers Association where she organized to create change in public schools and to empower public school advocates to shape public education in the El Paso, Ysleta, Socorro, Clint, San Elizario, Fabens, Canutillo and Anthony school districts. Lizette brings a spanning professional history as an educator and writer. Her career encompasses creating and writing a program and curriculum for the Department of Justice which serves crime affected families across the U.S. Mexico Border. She also recently ran two successful local political campaigns. Currently, she serves as President of LULAC Council 335 where under her direction has lead the most successful fundraisers in the history of the council awarding over 30,000 yearly in scholarships to students pursuing a higher education. She was appointed by the County Sheriff to serve, as Vice President of the El Paso Sheriff’s Advisory Board and Sheriff’s Foundation Board. As Vice President of Wise Latina International she also chairs the Education Committee. She maintains her deep commitment to the El Paso Community by sitting on various boards like LULAC National Education Service Center, Centro para la Vida Saludable, Las Comadres de las America’s and D.A.P.A, Executive Action Task Force. LIZZETTE SAUCEDO Co-Chair - “Latina Identity Project/L.E.A.D Initiative”

GUIDING PRINCIPLES WLI Core Values and Fundamental Beliefs Support Our Mission and Vision and Guide Our Behavior and Actions as Members of Our Organization. WLI is dedicated to acting as mentors and Whereas role models for youth. WLI is committed and dedicated to WLI promotes education that leads to advocate on behalf of Latina Women and understanding of financial literacy. WLI strives to build economic Women of all ages and walks of life. WLI promotes social justice and nonempowerment for the betterment of discrimination to ensure and protect women, family and community. WLI consistently develops and promotes, equal rights, fairness, equity and fair treatment under the principles of human leadership, professional, and personal rights and civil liberties. development through sisterhood. WLI advocates for dissemination of WLI believes in the right to respect information to enhance the religious beliefs, sexual orientation, social, understanding of Women’s legal rights. political, economic, nationality and WLI works towards ensuring and immigration status. WLI is committed to promote positive promoting access and opportunity in education and health care ( ie. affordable representation and roles of cultural care, health reform, immigration reform, traditions, historical accuracy, language and Chicano/a Studies, higher and cultural and linguistic diversity within the professional education etc.). Latino communities.

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