Posts About Leadership

By Virginia Martinez, Attorney, Volunteer and Longtime Supporter of the Latino Policy Forum

I recently volunteered with the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project at the South Texas Family Residential Center (STFRC) in Dilley, Texas. CARA provides much needed services and representation to women, and their children, who are seeking asylum in the United States. CARA volunteers serve weeklong commitments to provide services to those being detained and awaiting their first interview with an asylum officer.

It was an eye-opening, tiring and heartbreaking experience. The federal government opened STFRC in 2014 in response to a surge in asylum seekers (especially women and children) fleeing extremely violent situations in Honduras, El... Continue Reading

Posted In: Immigration, Immigration Reform & Policy, Immigrant Integration, Leadership

This op-ed was originally published in Crain's Chicago Business. See full article here

After Donald Trump's much touted immigration speech last month—the one many anticipated would signal a softening of his immigration stances in order to attract Latino voters—I was left even more puzzled than before about his true intentions. 

Trump's rhetoric was softened from prior to his visit to Mexico, but the underly
ing racism was still dripping from his speech. As his followers chanted their support, the Republican nominee went down a list of victims of violent crimes perpetrated by undocumented immigrants from south of our border. While these were terrible crimes, he chose not... Continue Reading

Posted In: Immigration, Immigration Reform & Policy, Immigrant Integration, Leadership

Summer 2016 Newsletter

  ·  Sylvia Puente

Dear Friends,

Despite the festivities and warmth that make this time of the year special for everyone, there’s a cloud hanging over the state brought on by the failure of government officials to pass an operating budget at the end of the state legislature’s spring session for the second straight year. 

While much of state government continues to function through court orders and consent decrees, children and families are unnecessarily suffering due to the lack of state funding for human services and higher education.  According to a recent survey conducted by the United Way of Illinois, nearly 1 million people are without services because... Continue Reading

Posted In: Infant & Toddler Services , K-3, Parent Engagement, Preschool, Families & Communities, Housing, Foreclosure, Housing Education, Affordable Housing, Homelessness, Immigration, Immigration Reform & Policy, Immigrant Integration, Leadership, Strengthening Leadership, Representation in Government, State Investment, Access & Resources, Educators

Here are the latest leadership initiatives happening at the Forum.

Multicultural Leadership Academy

The application period for Year 7 of the newly redesigned Multicultural Leadership Academy has officially closed. More than 60 civically-minded, multicultural leaders throughout Illinois have applied, the most applications received to date. The Forum is currently working to determine Year 7 cohort participants and is set to begin in early September.

The Forum sends a special thank you to leaders who participated in various committees, namely the advisory, resource and selection committees. For updates on the Academy, make sure to check the Forum’s website or contact Jessi Pérez.

American Bar Foundation

The American Bar... Continue Reading

Posted In: Leadership, Strengthening Leadership, Representation in Government

Here are the latest immigration updates from the Forum.

DACA/DAPA: The court case that has stalled the President’s executive actions to expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA+) and launch the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents program (DAPA) will be heard by the Supreme Court later this month. Oral arguments are set to begin April 18. Though the executive orders were issued in November 2014, the case has been in legal limbo since February 2015 when a Texas Circuit Court judge placed an injunction on them, preventing their implementation.

The case has only grown in notoriety with the recent unexpected death of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, which was followed... Continue Reading

Posted In: Immigration, Immigration Reform & Policy, Immigrant Integration, Leadership

Here are the latest leadership initiatives happening at the Forum.

Budget crisis: As debate ensues regarding the next fiscal cycle, the Forum is profoundly disappointed the Governor and the Illinois General Assembly have failed to reach agreement on the FY16 budget nine months into the fiscal year.  The Forum also issued a formal reaction to Governor Rauner’s State of the State address. Click here to read the statement.

On February 27, The Forum stood with members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus at Chicago State University to voice concerns about the MAP grant cuts recently announced. Advocates and students called on government officials to reinstate... Continue Reading

Posted In: Leadership, Strengthening Leadership, Representation in Government

Here are the latest updates for the Forum's Leadership Academy. 

Multicultural Leadership Academy: The Forum is pleased to announce Year Seven of the newly redesigned Multicultural Nonprofit Leadership Academy. The Academy will provide a series of leadership workshops, mentoring and coaching for individuals actively involved in social justice and sponsored by nonprofit organizations committed to social change and/or policy impact, serving communities of colorthroughoutIllinois. Applicants may be employees, board members or volunteers at their sponsoring organization. A distinguishing factor of the Multicultural Nonprofit Leadership Academy will be to acknowledge the significant leadership attributes inherent in cultural DNA. Applications for the new Academy will be available in early April.... Continue Reading

Posted In: Leadership

Why do you give?

You don't have to be a world leader or a billionaire to give back.

Giving Tuesday is about ordinary people coming together to do extraordinary things.

Every day, leading up to December 1, this blog will feature Forum staff, board and volunteers as they share their reasons for giving. 

In today's video, the Forum’s Board President, Sol Flores shares her‪#‎MyGivingStory‬.

 

Sol is Executive Director of La Casa Norte (LCN), a community-based organization founded in 2002. La Casa Norte serves youth and families confronting... Continue Reading

Posted In: Leadership

by Delilah Quintana, Civic Engagement Intern

I walked in and instinctively looked around hoping to find at least one more person who I felt looked like me, whose story resonated with my own, whose fears and struggles I could understand— I was looking for another Latino(a).

Growing up in a city as diverse as Chicago, I believed diversity is what I would find among my classmates my first day of graduate school at the Jane Addams College of Social Work. I was wrong. The numbers were small enough to count on one hand, and that feeling of being the token Latina in a classroom began to sink in.

Research findings from the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems... Continue Reading

Posted In: Leadership, Strengthening Leadership

As student-of-color demographics reach the “majority-minority” tipping point across the nation, building diversity within the teacher workforce has become increasingly urgent.  In response to that urgency, I’ve begun to develop a database to encourage educators and administrators to consider the myriad of ways to diversify the teacher candidate pool, provide linguistically and culturally responsive pedagogy, and offer rich field experiences in diverse settings. You can find the Teacher Diversity Database on the Latino Policy Forum’s website here.

A growing body of research shows students who have teachers from diverse cultural, ethnic and racial background stand to reap additional benefits from the experience, not just academically, but socially and emotionally as... Continue Reading

Posted In: Leadership
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