Honoring Patti’s Legacy: 5Qs for Patti from Amy Sanchez 

After more than twenty years at the helm of Esperanza United, Patti Tototzintle is retiring. To preserve her wisdom and lessons learned, we are organizing a series of conversations between her and the friends, leaders, and colleagues she’s worked with along the way. First up, we have Amy Sanchez, current CEO at sister organization Battered Women’s Justice Project (BWJP). Close friends, Amy and Patti also served as co-executive directors of what is now Esperanza United. They’re here now talking about Patti’s early vision for the organization, the ways it has grown, and some of their favorite memories together. 

AMY SANCHEZ: You were the Executive Director of Casa de Esperanza (now Esperanza United) in the mid-90s. What inspired you to return to the organization in the early 2000s? 

PATTI TOTOTZINTLE: That’s easy, in one word: Lupe. After leading what is now Esperanza United as the ED in the mid-90s, I was enjoying spearheading a leadership development initiative focused on immigrant leaders and leaders of color in rural Minnesota as a consultant. However, when Lupe Serrano invited me to re-join the organization, I couldn’t refuse, and eventually became full time to lead the new, national training work we started after securing our first grant from the Office of Violence against Women.  

AMY SANCHEZ: What do you consider to be your biggest accomplishment during your tenure? What do others tell you is your biggest accomplishment? And are they different?  

PATTI TOTOTZINTLE: This was not easy to immediately answer, not because I want to be so humble, but because there have been a lot of accomplishments that have occurred over so many years thanks to so many people. One being the decision and the leadership it took to become a nationally recognized Latina organization. Amy, you, Lupe, and I knew what the potential was for us to be a leader nationally (though none of us fully realized what it would look like today) and we had a board that was willing to take the leap forward. That was a big one, but I’m also so proud of the work we’ve developed with boys and men, moving from focusing on “domestic violence” to the more expansive (and I’d argue more foundational) “gender-based violence,” growing our research and evaluation work, and offering Latina fellows paid stipends. And that’s just programmatically! 

On the business side, we’ve done great work to make Esperanza United more financially stable, which started with COVID SBA loans, then new staff, and eventually the increased ability to secure big gifts, including one from Mackenzie Scott. Since then, we’ve been able to expand to offer grants to Latina-focused organizations in a true win for our mission and movement. I’m of course also proud of rebranding the organization to better communicate the full scope of our services and I’m proud of the work we’ve done to honor and grow our staff and board – including better benefits. Ok, I’ll stop now! 

AMY SANCHEZ: What is the one thing you would tell Latinas about your professional journey? 

PATTI TOTOTZINTLE: I would say that it wasn’t always easy, in fact, sometimes it was very challenging, but it helped make me who I am today: A Latina from the West Side of St. Paul, who lives in my family home and has had the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of Latina survivors and Latin@ communities locally and across the country. 

I learned from every job and leadership opportunity I had over the years. But I had to be willing to try new things, take on new roles/positions, expand my comfort zone, and try to balance family life and being involved in my neighborhood/Latin@ community. Sometimes I worried about everything and other times I just did the best I could at the time.  

I would also say: 

• Be brave: Don’t let anyone push you around. 

• Be proud of who you are and where you come from: Don’t let anyone else define you. 

• Be challenged: Take on new opportunities, professionally and personally. Don’t be afraid to fail, it will be okay! 

• Be willing to learn and to be hands-on: There will be new positions or work that you need to create and implement. Don’t be afraid – you can figure out what you need to do and who can assist you along the way 

• And don’t forget to take care of yourself! 

AMY SANCHEZ: Has your vision for the organization and its mission changed over the years, and what factors influenced this evolution? 

PATTI TOTOTZINTLE: For the longest time I kept Lupe’s vision and messages front and center, and in fact I still quote Lupe today. But more recently, I recognized that I needed to claim what was becoming my vision for the organization. For example, we changed the words “domestic violence” to “gender-based violence” in the mission a number of years ago, which was appropriate given the expansion of our work.  

We have grown beyond what Lupe, or I, might have imagined years ago – we are currently providing grants of $300,000 or more to 29 Latin@ organizations across the country and in Puerto Rico. None of us saw that coming.  

My vision has always been to keep Latinas and Latin@ communities at the center. We listen, we learn, and we adapt. It’s about building the capacity of individuals, families, communities, and the organizations and systems that work with our communities. Here’s what guides my vision: 

• Our mission 

• Our five organizational values 

• Our philosophy/Theory of change 

• These wise words from Lupe, “It’s about putting the work in the hands of community”  

• My motto, “be bold and smart”  

AMY SANCHEZ: How have you seen Latin@ communities change over your 40+ years in the nonprofit sector?  

PATTI TOTOTZINTLE: Locally, our Latin@ communities have grown and become more diverse. There are Latin@s in every county in Minnesota, although sadly, sometimes anti-immigrant sentiment drives them to live in the shadows.  

Esperanza United’s reach within Latin@ communities has grown tremendously over the last 20-25 years due to starting the Centro de Información y Recursos in the Mercado Central, locating community advocates in Minneapolis and other communities, and developing and expanding our community engagement work. The community now better recognizes and understands domestic violence. We have more community members – youth, adults, and whole families who are “first responders” and know how to support someone dealing with domestic or other forms of violence.  

The collaboration between Latin@ organizations has been okay but not as robust as needed. Thankfully, LatinoLEAD and other Latin@ networks and groups have grown as has the coordination and support between them. We’re still missing the development and implementation of a prevention and community-engagement focused network across the state. That would continue to address gender-based violence and strengthen healthy relationships and healthy families and communities. 

Thanks Amy – this has been fun!