LARASA moves ahead in the new decade

Dear Friend of LARASA:

Thank you for your continued support of the Latin American Research and Service Agency (LARASA). I would like to update you on our new focus and direction as an organization.

Almost 46 years ago, a group of ordinary individuals came together to create the vision for the first Latino non-profit organization in Colorado. The founders of LARASA recognized the need to create an active community advocate to inform and influence fair and equitable public policies. Those leaders also wanted to provide culturally and linguistically effective programs and services to improve the quality of life for all Latinos in our state.

Our work today continues to be as important as it was back in the spring of 1964. Our HOPE online learning centers, our comprehensive family referral and support services, and our adult education initiatives have helped thousands of Latino families over the years.

Today, LARASA plays an important role in the community. We provide direct services to improve the lives of Latinos and we monitor and respond to public policies that have an impact on the Latino community. But we can do even more to help Latinos in Colorado. Over the years, we have lost two important pillars of our organization's foundation: advocacy and research.

As our world changes, organizations-public, private and non-profit-are rethinking their work and, in some cases, radically reinventing themselves in order to remain relevant and useful to their communities. LARASA must also change in order to be the first-class, effective grassroots community organization we envision.

New direction and focus

In 2010, LARASA is re-focusing on our past pillars of success: advocacy, direct service and research. We aim to be relevant and useful to our community by embracing and improving on the areas we do well but also letting go of programs where other community partners are better poised to do that work.

The new and improved LARASA 2.0 will take us back to our core intent and focus - advocacy for the poor and disenfranchised, providing the community with access to critical social and government services, and delivering relevant information and data about issues and policies that impact our communities.

The board of directors has developed an ambitious plan for LARASA 2.0. We will re-launch the organization in April 2010 with new focus areas and broader priorities.

New leadership in 2010

LARASA's new direction requires a dynamic, multi-talented, grassroots-oriented community leader. Mr. Thomas Ogas and the board agreed on the need to find a new leader to launch the new and improved vision for the organization. I want to personally thank Thomas for his passion and extraordinary service to LARASA over the past 16 months. Under his leadership, LARASA improved on many of its internal systems and we are a better organization because of his great work. I wish him and his family well as he pursues other leadership opportunities.

The board will soon begin a statewide search to find the right person for the job. In the meantime, the board has named Dr. Estevan Flores, a sociologist, as interim director of LARASA. Dr. Flores comes to LARASA with over 25 years of leadership experience in the non-profit and academic sectors. Most recently, Estevan was the chief of population science and cancer control at the Nevada Cancer Institute in Las Vegas. Formerly, Estevan was the executive director of the Latino/a Research & Policy Center at CU Denver for 10 years and was a tenured associate professor at CU Boulder. He has raised over $7 million dollars for research and projects in his career. Estevan was a Kellogg National Leadership Fellow and has served on numerous national, state and local non-profit boards, including the Colorado Latino Forum and Clinica Tepeyac.

I am pleased to have Dr. Floresleading LARASA in this time of transition for the organization. His leadership experience and his years spent informing and shaping public policies through writing, testimony and advocacy will be very beneficial as we work to refine and finalize the plan for the new and improved LARASA 2.0.

The new year gives me hope. I am more optimistic today about the future of LARASA than I have ever been. As we approach our 46th year of service, we are working hard to ensure another 50 years of success in meeting our mission and strengthening the Latino community, thus helping to improve the lives of all Coloradoans.

The board and staff will do our part to ensure success. Your support and commitment to LARASA in 2010 is vital to our growth and continued success. Keep watching as LARASA moves ahead in the new decade!

With gratitude,

Alex Sanchez
Chairman
Board of Directors
Latin American Research and Service Agency (LARASA)