Latina Leadership, Woven Together
LACE is a group of bilingual, bicultural women from Afro-Latine, Latine, and Indigenous communities of the Americas and the Caribbean bound by a commitment for social change.
Our Mission
Rooted in our Latina wisdom, we cultivate systemic change so leaders, communities, and organizations can grow and embrace the intersectionality of life experiences.
Our vision: we envision a world in which everyone belongs and thrives.
Liberation
We work toward a world free of oppression, where our communities define their own futures.
Justice
We pursue equity in the systems and structures that shape life in Oregon.
Courage
We speak up and show up — especially where our communities have been excluded.
Collaboration
We work in partnership, opening doors for one another and for those who come after us.
Generational Interdependence
We honor the wisdom of those before us and invest in the leaders who follow.
Our Story
Latina Associates for Collaborative Engagement (LACE) grew from an identified need for bilingual Spanish-speaking organizational development consultants to work with groups serving Oregon's rapidly growing Afro-Latine, Indigenous, and Latine communities.
LACE was formed in 2011 by six Latinas who met monthly to support one another's leadership and personal development. They began consulting and facilitating in 2012.
The Nonprofit Association of Oregon (NAO) was LACE's institutional home at the onset. In 2016, Sara Curiel Paez became LACE's first director, and the first cohort program was launched to build the capacity of aspiring or emerging Latina consultants.
In September 2019, LACE's Leadership Team began succession planning. In 2020, LACE transitioned from a NAO program to a non-profit endeavor with fiscal sponsorship under Cascade Pacific RC&D. Linda Jaramillo was hired as LACE's first operations coordinator. LACE embarked on two internal visioning and planning processes to define its mission, vision, values, and direction.
By 2022, LACE shifted from working internally to serving externally under the leadership of the Grupo de Dirección (Steering Committee) and two Co-Directors.
The Women Behind the Work
LACE members develop and support projects that are key to the well-being of communities of color in Oregon. We bring our education, lived experiences, professional skills, and cultural wisdom to dismantle oppression and sustain equitable systems and structures that benefit communities.
Alaide Vilchis-Ibarra
Allison Lugo Knapp
Alondra Canizal Hsu
Camerina Galvan
Carolina Castañeda del Río
Cecilia Girón
Claudia Arana Colen
Edith Quiroz
Guadalupe Guajardo
Jessica Rodriguez-Montegna, PhD
Kathia Damian
Kathryn Lopez Resto
Leocadia Montero-Hainley
Linda Jaramillo
Lorena Carrillo
Lucy Escobar
Martha Almendarez Langland
Maya Muñoz-Tobón
Neidel Rodriguez
Patricia Verduzco
Sara Curiel Paez
Tania Pineda
Teresa Alonso León
Veronica Bañuelos
Yirla Rubi Gonzalez Nolan
Yvette Perez-Chavez
Join LACE's annual membership and connect with other Latina leaders & consultants.
Become a MemberOur Services
Project or program design and implementation · Awareness raising and skillbuilding · Facilitation, focus groups, and community engagement · Personal and professional development — plus strategic planning, nonprofit board development, conflict resolution and restorative processes, and project management.
Transformative Trainings
Awareness raising and skillbuilding that equips leaders and organizations to dismantle oppression and grow equitable practice.
Facilitation Services
Facilitation, focus groups, and community engagement processes designed and led by bilingual, bicultural facilitators.
Community & Civic Engagement
Authentic engagement that brings the voices of Oregon's Afro-Latine, Indigenous, and Latine communities into public decisions.
Political Leadership
Developing and supporting Latina leaders who step into civic and political leadership across the state.
