Leadership in community with Vivian Huelgo and Jennifer Mondino

At Esperanza United, we know no single organization or person is going to end domestic and sexual violence alone – it takes communities working together. That’s why Latina leadership and community-based solutions are two of our organizational values.

To advance this strengths-based approach, Esperanza United President and CEO Vivian Huelgo, J.D., interviews leaders whose work is creating change, advancing equity, and strengthening communities across the country. Through these conversations, we celebrate the people behind the work, reflect on lessons in leadership, and share our collective vision for a future free from violence.

In this edition, Vivian speaks with Jennifer Mondino, Senior Director of the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund at the National Women’s Law Center and a member of the Esperanza United Board of Directors. With more than two decades of experience advancing civil rights and survivor justice, Jennifer reflects on the importance of mentoring the next generation of Latina leaders, creating opportunities for others to grow, and fostering leadership rooted in collaboration. She also shares how gratitude shapes her perspective and her vision for a future where everyone can live with dignity, safety, and the freedom to thrive. Pues, vamos:

Vivian: One of our organizational values is Latina Leadership, what does (Latina) leadership mean to you?

Jennifer: To me, leadership is not so much about one’s official title; rather, it’s about finding ways to work collaboratively and uplift others to bring about meaningful change.  For Latinas in leadership, this has to include mentoring other Latinas and making conscious choices to allow Latinas to be represented and genuinely included in this collaboration.

Vivian: Who inspired your leadership journey and how did they shape you?

Jennifer: I’ve been lucky to have had some managers who were brilliant at their work yet trusted me to manage important projects and gave me room for creativity and flexibility.  It let me grow as a leader and balance my personal and work lives.  I try to emulate their approach in managing others.

Vivian: How do you mentor or support the next generation of Latina leaders?

Jennifer: I think it’s important to just do it, and keep doing it, taking advantage of whatever opportunities you have.  For me, this has ranged from literally serving as a mentor, in formal mentorship programs, to suggesting younger Latinas for speaking or training opportunities that may come my way.

Vivia: What is a lesson you learned recently that surprised you?

Jennifer: I recently took a sabbatical and did a tremendous amount of planning beforehand.  But even so, my team ended up navigating significant surprises and doing so incredibly well.  It was a powerful reminder that creating space for your team to handle a broader range of responsibility and navigate uncertainty is both an incomparable opportunity for their growth and can lead to truly spectacular results and innovation.

As you know, one of our other organizational values is living free from violence, what does a violence-free future look like to you?

This question reminds me of a yoga mantra that I always find myself returning to – translated from Sanskrit to English, it means may all being everywhere be happy and free, and may my thoughts, words, and actions contribute in some way to that happiness and freedom for all.

Vivian: Gratitude is so important: Tell me about something you are grateful for?

Jennifer: This is a terrific question, and one that I try to make a habit of answering for myself every day, or as close to that as I can manage.  Taking notice of the things that brought me joy – even very simple ones – can reframe even the most difficult days.

About Jennifer Mondino

Senior Director of the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund at the National Women’s Law Center

Jennifer Mondino is Senior Director of the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund at the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC).  For over 20 years, Ms. Mondino’s legal career has focused on civil rights and women’s rights, with a particular emphasis on legal advocacy for survivors of gender-based violence.  She is frequently consulted and interviewed about workplace sex harassment and survivor justice issues and has appeared in media outlets including the New Yorker, Newsweek, Washington Post, Forbes, BBC, The Guardian, and Univision.  She was honored to join the Esperanza United Board in December 2025.

Prior to joining NWLC in 2018, Ms. Mondino was a Senior Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, where her practice focused on pattern-or-practice investigations of police departments and other law enforcement agencies.  She led DOJ’s first-ever pattern-or-pattern investigation focused on the law enforcement response to sexual assault, in Missoula, Montana, and played a leading role in drafting the 2015 DOJ guidance on preventing gender bias in the law enforcement response to sexual assault and domestic violence.  During her tenure with the DOJ, Ms. Mondino also spent a year on detail as an Attorney Advisor with the DOJ Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), where she provided policy advice to the Department and legal counsel to OVW and its grantees.  Ms. Mondino’s past legal experience includes working for the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Civil Rights Bureau of the New York State Attorney General’s Office, the Safe Horizon Domestic Violence Law Project, and Mayer Brown LLP.   She received her B.S. from the University of Virginia and her J.D. from New York University School of Law.