Women’s History Month spotlight: Family advocacy leadership

During Women’s History Month, we are highlighting the incredible women across Esperanza United whose leadership, dedication, and work help strengthen our communities every day. This week, we are proud to spotlight leaders from our Family Advocacy team, whose work supports Latin@ survivors and families across the Twin Cities.

At Esperanza United, Family Advocacy is rooted in a simple but powerful belief: survivors are the experts in their own lives. Our advocates walk alongside participants and their families, supporting them in accessing resources, navigating systems, and strengthening safety and stability while honoring their choices and leadership.

For Sarahi Mateo, assistant director of Family Advocacy, Latina leadership is deeply connected to community, opportunity, and collective progress.

“Latina leadership to me means opening doors and creating opportunities for other Latin@ women and individuals to lead, innovate, and succeed on their own terms while supporting and honoring their choices – they know what is best for them. Ensuring everyone feels supported, included, and truly seen by who they are and for our shared diversity. It also means cheering each other as we make collective progress for our community.”

Sarahi’s perspective is shaped by her own experiences as an immigrant Latina from Mexico, which informs how she approaches leadership and service.

“Being an immigrant Latina woman from Mexico has deeply shaped how I lead and serve in my role at Esperanza United. Through my personal and professional experiences, I have developed a deep understanding of the unique challenges our community faces when trying to access systems and services while also recognizing how determined and innovative we can be in overcoming them.

We often hear the phrase ‘think outside the box.’ For me and many Latin@s, the real question is: why are we starting with a box?”

Sarahi sees that same creativity and strength reflected in the advocates and participants the Family Advocacy team works with every day.

That vision of courage and collective leadership is also reflected in the perspective of Angie Mejia, community advocacy manager, whose reflection connects leadership with the histories and knowledge carried by women of color.

“My identity shapes how I lead and serve because navigating the world as Latina taught me that courage is not a personality trait. It is a practice and a collective survival technology that we have learned and received from those who came before us. We use this passed down knowledge to move through spaces that were not built with us in mind.”

Angie reflects on how courage and voice remain central to the work of supporting survivors and challenging systems that often fail to recognize their experiences.

“As Esperanza United’s Community Advocacy Manager, International Women’s Day pushes me to keep protecting our communities’ ability to name what is happening to them in all of its complexity and to center their lived experience as a blueprint for everyone else’s ability to collectively survive and thrive courageously.”

Together, leaders like Sarahi and Angie remind us that advocacy is not only about services – it is about honoring the wisdom, resilience, and leadership that already exist within our communities.

To learn more about Esperanza United’s Family Advocacy program and how we support Latin@ survivors and families across the Twin Cities, you can explore the program here.