Honoring President and CEO Patricia Tototzintle before her retirement

Querid@s amig@s,

I am so proud of Patricia “Patti” Tototzintle and the legacy she leaves. As Board chair, I have worked with her for the last eight and a half years, and before that, I observed her leadership through the decades. Together, we have seen so many changes at Esperanza United. Programmatic expansion, funders’ shifting priorities, staff growing and moving on, even a new organizational name – we have been through it all, and I have enjoyed seeing Patti execute with empathy and excellence the vision of a national organization with community at the center set by Lupe Serrano, Esperanza United’s previous transformational leader.

Patti came to the organization as Associate Executive Director more than twenty years ago. As President and CEO, she has led with grace, humility, and an unwavering commitment to Esperanza United’s mission of mobilizing Latinas and Latin@ communities to end gender-based violence. She has done the work and now she deserves to rest, at least for a while.

Patti is retiring at the end of this year and I could not be more grateful for her service and her leadership. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or her. In the coming days, you will see information about our search for the next generation of leadership at Esperanza United and more ways that we are celebrating Patti’s legacy. Her contribution to ending violence in the Latin@ community and beyond deserves our gratitude and respect.

For now, I just want to thank her for her leadership, decades of dedication, and spirit of joy, innovation, and entrepreneurship. We are so grateful and we thank you Patti. I know your next chapter will be as exciting as the one you are completing. Mil gracias, mi amiga y mi hermana.

Sincerely,

Sandy Vargas
Board Chair | Esperanza United