Celebrando Comunidad honors leaders in local Latine community

Celebrando Communidad: Latine Awards + Celebration will mark its fourth year on October 11. The event recognizes both individuals and organizations in the South Puget Sound area who positively impact Latine communities.

"The eight honorees we're celebrating all demonstrate how Latine leaders create positive change and contribute to thriving communities across generations," said Amanda Figueroa, Associate Vice Chancellor for Social Mobility, Student Affairs at UW Tacoma. "From a high school student to a college professor, nonprofit and business leaders, the cultural values of family and care that Latine cultures share shine through in the stories of this year's awardees," she said.

Lluliana Sanchez, a UW Tacoma student who serves on the Celebrando Communidad planning committee, agreed. "As a business student and a member of the community, these Latine awards hold deep significance for me," she said. "They honor and elevate the individuals within our Latine community who are making a meaningful difference through leadership, service, arts, culture, and business representation."

"Sharing food, music, dance, and stories at Celebrando Comunidad creates a very special environment that welcomes people of all backgrounds," said Figueroa. "The celebration is a reflection of the rich tapestry of culture and service that Latine communities contribute to all of our lives, locally and nationally."

The honorees are nominated by the public. UW Tacoma Communication and Media Practice professor, Dr. Sonia de la Cruz, has utilized her scholarship and experience creating social-cultural and ethnographic documentaries to guide the development of short-form videos about each recipient that will debut at the annual celebration.

Celebrando Comunidad will be held on Friday, October 11, in William Philip Hall at 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, though donations are welcomed. Dinner will be provided, and registration is required. You can register online at tacoma.uw.edu/celebrando.

The 2024 award recipients are:

South Sound Business Leadership

Beto Yarce
Regional Administrator of the Pacific Northwest Region, U.S. Small Business Association

Yarce's immigrant story is one of perseverance and dedication. An entrepreneur who founded his own company, and then went on to direct Ventures, a non-profit working with communities in the PNW to alleviate poverty through small business ownership. He was appointed by President Biden to become Regional Administrator of the Small Business Administration for the Pacific Northwest region in January of this year. Yarce's impact on the Puget Sound region through entrepreneurship, advocating for economic opportunity, private business ownership and social justice have had a lasting impact.

Emerging Leader

Rosie Ayala
Director of Operations for the Foundation for Tacoma Students and Tacoma Parks Commissioner

Ayala is the first Latine Metro Parks Commissioner elected to that position. She is also director of operations for the Foundation for Tacoma Students, and is running for Pierce County Council in this year's election. She serves on a number of boards throughout the region, and her focus has been on education justice, including looking for ways to increase educational access and financial aid for first-generation college students. Growing up the daughter of fruit-pickers in California's Central Valley, Ayala was the first in her family to receive an education beyond elementary school, and is now among the 7% of Latine women who hold a master's degree.

Social Justice

Maria Teresa Gamez
Language Access Coordinator for City of Tacoma, filmmaker/producer

A champion for language access in the Tacoma region, Gamez works to create and translate language and meaningful cultural connections to allow all communities to understand the important issues that surround them, like public health and environmental issues, public health and safety, recycling and many others. Gamez is a filmmaker and artist who uses those mediums to discuss important topics like climate change and cultural issues. She has also worked with the Calavera Collective to help create a Dia de Los Muertos experience that is culturally deep and relevant to the community.

Art and Culture

Lauren Robles
Director and Founder of Grupo Folklorico Citlali

As a teacher and instructor, Robles labors with love to bring the intricacies of folklorico dance, the cultural meaning of each step and movement, to her students - children and adults alike. Through her teaching, students have gained a greater appreciation and understanding of Latine heritage, fostering pride and cultural continuity within the community. Robles also personally sews and makes each of the costumes for her students who bring them to life in each dance. Her commitment to her teaching of this artful dance is a daily expression to its cultural significance in our community.

Healthcare

Elodia Andres C.
Health Promotion Technician for the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department

In Elodia Andres' work with the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department, she has provided outreach to the Latine community using her cultural and language skills and she has been instrumental in reaching the indigenous community, traditionally harder to reach, in this way. During the covid pandemic, she worked to provide a bridge to public health programs for the Spanish-speaking community, providing both appropriate information and listening sessions so that communities would feel represented and heard.

Education

Dr. José Rios
Associate Professor, School of Education at UW Tacoma

Rios is an educational leader who was the first Latine faculty member to earn tenure at UW Tacoma in 2004. His widely presented and published work on justice focused approaches to STEM and pedagogies in both Pre K-12 and in higher education are ground-breaking, and his community engaged scholarship has demonstrated a significant impact to advancing equity and social justice for Latine and BIPOC communities in the South Sound. As a teacher, Rios is very popular, and he has been a mentor and role model to students from all backgrounds and communities at UW Tacoma. Himself a first-generation college student, Dr. Rios brings his own experience to students who, like him, are navigating classed, gendered, racialized and other realities in post-secondary education.

Karl Ortiz Youth Award

Sophia De Jesus Martinez
High School Senior at Tacoma School of the Arts

A senior at Tacoma School of the Arts, Martinez has sought out internship opportunities that allow her to learn more about leadership in her community, including the Next Move program at School of the Arts. Working at the City of Tacoma during the summer of 2024, she has shown a passion for working with people of all backgrounds to discuss positive approaches for communities in solving local issues. Martinez is actively involved with student leadership at School of the Arts, and also participates in choir and dance. An excellent student, she will be a first-generation college student in her family and is currently planning out the next step in her education.

Youth Service Award

Carina Gallardo
Onsite Manager for Sunrise Apartments and host of the En Otras Palabras program on Voice Tacoma Radio Universal

Gallardo's work as manager of Sunrise Apartments has provided her an opportunity to work with immigrants to the United States as they come for the first time and find a home there. An often neglected part of the Latine community, Gallardo has taken it upon herself to help newly arrived immigrants access healthcare, safety and education resources for their families, lessening the culture shock they feel. She has worked primarily with young people who are often left home alone while their parents go off to work, and she directs them toward positive ways of dealing with their isolation and depression. One way in which she's done this is through her hosting a show on VTRU called En Otras Palabras. She will often interview young people about their experiences, and she also puts them in charge of making public service announcements, helping them realize that their voices matter. Gallardo is also a leader with East Tacoma Community Leaders, advocating positive change and connection with others in the community.

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