The last month has given us the clearest picture ever of the overlapping crises we are facing as a society. Our representative democracy is under attack, catastrophic fires in the west and blistering snow storms in the east have ravaged communities, and harmful narratives and actions of exclusion—from bans on government diversity programs to immigration raids—continue to divide us. Amidst all this, we’ve seen firsthand the power of community, from the outsized role of mutual aid to support victims of disaster to the dissemination of truthful, in-language information by trusted messengers to keep families together.

Over the next four years we have significant work to do to hold the line against a concerted effort to dismantle decades of progress for communities of color, women and other marginalized communities with the stroke of a pen. For too long, we’ve ignored critical voices advising us how to not only protect the progress we have made but advance inclusion to unleash the full ambition of all Americans. At the forefront of that chorus are women and girls, whose voices must be amplified – not as an afterthought, but as a necessity for ensuring a thriving, just, and inclusive future for all.

At the Latina Futures 2050 Lab, we are committed to centering Latina leadership in every sector—from grassroots advocacy to government to academia. Through our Unsilencing Bootcamp, we are equipping leaders with the opinion and commentary bonafides to voice their perspectives on the Trump administration’s first 100 days.  Under the direction of senior journalism fellow Jean Guerrero, the bootcamp challenges entrenched ideas of whose voices should be heard and whose expertise is valued. We are pushing for a future where the myriad perspectives that encompass Latina life in the U.S. shape the policies and decisions that impact us all, from gender equity to environmental justice to housing policy.

En Cominudad,

Veronica Terriquez
Co-founder, Latina Futures 2050 Lab

Sonja Diaz 
Co-founder, Latina Futures 2050 Lab

Unsilencing Bootcamp students participate in a session focused on personal stories. 

Latina Futures kicked off 2025 by launching an inaugural opinion commentary bootcamp called “Our Unsilencing.” Led by Latina Futures senior journalism fellow Jean Guerrero, this intensive training program equips students with the tools and skills to write persuasive op-eds and deliver on-air commentary on some of the most urgent political and social issues of our time, including the economy, environment, and immigration, among other critical topics. The cohort is made up of a diverse group of people—younger individuals whose perspectives are critical for the future, as well as established community leaders and eminent scholars who can bring their experience to the table. 

Latina Futures interviewed Guerrero to learn more about why it’s critical to hear from these voices in the first 100 days of this Trump presidency: 

“The Trump administration’s policies are targeting vulnerable communities across this country, including mixed-status families and LGBTQ individuals. Latinas are often heads of households of these groups; their voices can counter the politics of scapegoating... Even if our recruits can’t change minds inside the White House, there are powerful people across this country—locally, statewide and in other parts of the government—who can be influenced to forge positive change and to fight for the dignity of all people.” - Jean Guerrero

Krystell Jimenez can be seen here with the Retter Papers, one of the library's in-process collections. The CSRC Library was established in 1969.

Latina Futures’ archive work plays a critical role in making materials accessible to the public. Krystell Jimenez is on a mission to preserve the histories of marginalized communities, ensuring their voices are not lost to time.

As the Latina Futures Librarian at UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center, she specializes in archiving underrepresented stories, from personal letters to records of systemic injustices like forced sterilizations. 

The fight for reproductive justice is not just about securing rights – it’s about addressing historical injustices, and ensuring they are never repeated.

By shedding light on the forced sterilization of Latinas, a dark chapter in American history, and advocating for justice, Latina Futures is transforming this conversation into a platform for meaningful change.

To confront this painful history of the forced sterilization of Latinas, we are working to digitize and catalog archival collections from court transcripts, research notes, and media clippings from the Virginia Espino and Renee Tajima-Peña Collection of Sterilization Records and the Vélez-Ibáñez Sterilization Research Collection. In November, Jimenez joined a roundtable convened by the Select Committee on Latina Inequities Chair Wendy Carrillo and the Alliance for a Better Community. At the roundtable, she highlighted how this history informs broader discussions on reproductive rights, particularly in the context of the Dobbs decision. You can read more about this work here. 

Jimenez’s work bridges the past and present, making historical narratives more inclusive and accessible. By safeguarding these vital histories, she is not only documenting the past but also shaping the future of historical memory—one that truly reflects the experiences of Latinas, LGBTQ+ individuals, and other marginalized communities.

Sonja Diaz joined the Latinx Project at NYU for an interview in Intervenxions to talk more about the work of Latina Futures. In the piece, she highlights the importance of narrative and storytelling to build healthy and inclusive futures where everybody thrives instead of struggling to survive. Diaz outlines the need to understand shared humanity and ascribing dignity to everybody, and bringing those stories into media, entertainment, and news to bolster against the discriminatory and sometimes violent decision-making from our government at the state, local, and federal level. Read the Intervenxions piece here.

Bringing those narratives forward is a key focus of Latina Futures’ Unsilencing Bootcamp, led by Jean Guerrero, who puts her lived experience with Latindad on display in a deeply moving piece for the New York Times. “Today the concept of Latinidad obscures the infinite distinctions that exist in our communities. Democrats have used it to paper over our differences and tell themselves they understand us. Republicans have used it to pit us against one another. It’s time for our politicians to see us as co-authors of the American story. Not as sidekicks or supporting characters. Not as pawns.” Read her full piece here. 

The recent wildfires in Los Angeles are a devastating example of the climate disasters that will become increasingly frequent in the coming years and have disproportionate impacts on Latinx and other communities of color. As we navigate these new challenges, it’s important to draw on the lessons learned from environmental justice champions like the late Assemblymember Cindy Montañez, whose work we celebrated during our Latina Futures and the Environment event last fall.

The event featured a panel of academics and advocates who reflected on Montañez’s legacy while highlighting the work yet to be done to secure environmental justice for frontline communities that have been most impacted by pollution and are now most likely to be disproportionately impacted by future climate disasters. Watch the full panel below:

Sonja Diaz also joined EcoMadres at a press conference to discuss the impacts of the recent wildfires on Latino communities in the region. Focusing on economic disruption for Latino workers, Diaz outlined the disparate impact on Latino small businesses. 

State leaders across the nation have been wrangling with how to respond to a new federal administration and addressing voter concerns.

Latina Futures joined a panel discussion convened by California State Senator Lena Gonzalez at the 2024 California Latino Legislative Caucus Foundation Policy Summit. 

Moderated by Sonja Diaz, the panel provided key data insights into how the attitudes and preferences of Latino voters has evolved and what lessons can be drawn for the path forward. Experts including Dr. Fernando Guerra, Jean Guerrero, and Mike Madrid highlighted the complex and evolving priorities of Latino voters, emphasizing the growing influence of populism, economic concerns, and misinformation.

Housing affordability emerged as a defining issue for Latino communities, resonating deeply with voters across generational and geographic lines. Guerrero underscored this urgency in response to a question from California State Senator Caroline Menjivar, saying, “Housing has to be the number one issue,” noting that California lawmakers need to innovate and take bold humane action so that the needs of immigrant communities and the broader needs of Latinos are met. Read the full blog on the panel here.

Sonja Diaz talks to Bloomberg Law about the impact of California Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero's leadership on the state's high court.  

Jean Guerrero joins Jose Antonio Vargas on the Define American Podcast for an in-depth discussion on immigration, politics, and media representation.

Laura C. Chávez-Moreno was awarded the 2025 AAHHE Book of the Year for How Schools Make Race: Teaching Latinx Racialization in America. 

Sonja Diaz connects with USA Today following an EcoMadres press conference focused on the lasting effect of the LA wildfires on the LA Latino community. 

Catch up on the latest season of Gina Ann Garcia’s podcast ¿Qué pasa, HSIs? She connects with Dr. Patrick Velasquez, a Chicano educator who serves as Co-Chair of the San Diego Chicano/Latino Concilio on Higher Education.

Contact us
info@latinafutures.org

Latina Futures 2050 Lab is fiscally sponsored by Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs, a 501(c)3 non-profit,
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