From the Publisher: In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, La Voz will highlight organizations or individuals that have been instrumental in improving the state of Colorado. For the next five weeks, Citywide Banks, a Division of HTLF, is the sponsor of that 5-week series.
HISPANIC HERITAGE SERIES – PART I
By: Joseph Rios
For the past 58 years, the Colorado Latino Leadership Advocacy and Research Organization (CLLARO) has been focused on empowering Colorado Latinos through leadership development, advocacy and policy research to strengthen the state.
Through the organization’s Capitol Fellowship Program, CLLARO provides public policy training to college students who are typically the first ones in their families to attend college. The organization places program participants in paid internships to help college students who are concerned about social justice. Through those internships, college students develop leadership skills and knowledge of how legislation can become a law. Program participants are placed with state legislators and other public officials and policy advocates dur- ing the Colorado legislative session.
Now in its 10th year, the Capitol Fellowship Program has helped 122 college juniors or seniors complete the program. “We created this program to help them get exposure and be part of something we don’t often have access to. It takes different routes for different individuals to really get to run for office or consider their options,” said CLLARO President and CEO Mario Carrera.
“Diverse representation is not only good but smart. It’s smart for organizations, it’s smart for our community, and I think the idea and the excuses of not having a population or a pool that you can go to — those are gone, and those are no longer acceptable,” he added.
Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated by La Voz over the next five weeks by highlighting organizations like CLLARO and people who are making a positive impact on the Latino community.
Outside of creating leadership opportunities for young Latino and Latina college students, CLLARO conducts research on specific issues and topics that are relevant to the community, specifically addressing the needs of the commu- nity. One month ago, the organization’s board doubled down and decided it needs to get back to focusing on research that supports public policy that can improve the lives of Latinos and all Coloradans, said Carrera.
“With that, once we develop the specific areas we need and the topics we feel should be prioritized for our community, we will get our plan and make sure individuals and the right groups — whether they be legislators, elected officials or institutions — can benefit from the work we’ve done and the information we’ve gathered,” he said.
To CLLARO, Latino and Latina lack of or low representa- tion on city councils, school boards, state legislators and at the federal level is unacceptable. “(Latinos) are 22 percent of the state, and when you have different perspectives and different points of view that are representative of the populations and people you serve, you come out with better solutions and ones that are more sustainable and supported,” said Carrera. “We’re not there. The legislator representation we have is not 22 out of 100 legislators. And the leadership within the legislator is not representative of who we are in our community.”
After taking a pause the past few years because of COVID-19, CLLARO is bringing back the Bernie Valdez Awards Thursday, Sept 22nd. The event is a celebration of community leaders, organizations and businesses who are working to improve the lives of Latinos in Colorado. The Bernie Valdez Awards also benefits CLLARO’s Capitol Fellowship Program.
“We want to see Latinos empowered and we believe that by elevating Latinos, we are also elevating the entire state of Colorado,” said Carrera.
More information about CLLARO can be found at https://www.cllaro.org/.
