The Latina A.R.M.Y. is pleased to share several exciting updates on what we’ve been involved in over the summer to continue to celebrate and empower young Latinas by providing inspirational role models and introducing powerful life skills for personal excellence. We hope that you’ve had a great summer and had a chance to relax and recharge for the fall season.
Pilot Testing Commences for Our Expanded Eight-Session Workshop Model La Mariposa/The Butterfly
The Latina A.R.M.Y. continues to prepare for the launch of our expanded workshop model La Mariposa/The Butterfly thanks to generous funding from Hispanics in Philanthropy Funders’ Collaborative for Strong Latino Communities. After our June 2013 facilitator training, 8 organizations based in CT and NY agreed to pilot test the 8-session curriculum with young girls ages 12 to 18 and to provide feedback about their experiences. The facilitators who participated in the training include staff from The Center for Women and Families, Cigna, the University of Connecticut Health Center, Croton – Harmon School District in New York, North American Family Institute (NAFI), Northeast Utilities, the Village for Children and Families, and the Yale Child Study Center. The Village for Children and Families in Hartford has already delivered the program to 9 girls over the summer. NAFI is currently piloting the model at the Touchstone Program in Litchfield, CT.
Preliminary feedback from the girls is encouraging. They report enjoying the sessions, using the skills they learned, bonding together, and “wishing the program was longer”. The participants appear to be learning and using the JARS tools (journaling, affirmations, personal rules and setting goals) as well as important information about health, careers, self-image, and managing cultural and gender challenges. The remaining organizations are working on plans to deliver the program to young girls in the next few months. Feedback and suggestions from these initial workshops will help us to refine La Mariposa.
Kimberly Sokoloff Selvaggi from TaylorLane Consulting LLC, who conducted a preliminary review of our original two-session workshop model, is working closely with Dr. Josephine Hawke from the University of Connecticut to conduct a process evaluation of the workshop. This includes the collection of data, observations, and feedback from the participants and facilitators about the model. This evaluation will allow us to modify La Mariposa to ensure that the girls are receiving a positive and long-lasting experience, while learning skills that will positively impact their future. We estimate that the process evaluation will be completed in early 2014, and hope to make the finalized curriculum available soon after. We look forward to sharing the results of our work and next steps. If you’d like to learn more about La Mariposa please contact us at
info@thelatinaarmy.org.
Update on The Latina A.R.M.Y. Board of Directors
We are delighted to welcome two new board members to The Latina A.R.M.Y. Board of Directors, Eliana Nunez and Rosalinda Garcia. Both women bring exceptional leadership skills, talent and passion to our organization as it grows and evolves. We’d like to share a little more about each woman’s background.
Eliana Nunez is the Operational Effectiveness Senior Director at Cigna Corporation. Eliana has over 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, with work experience ranging from operations, program and portfolio management and has extensive experience in leading diversity and inclusion in the organization. She has served on the Latina A.R.M.Y. Board of Directors since May 2013. Since 2011 she has been an active volunteer of the organization and has delivered multiple Latina A.R.M.Y. workshops across Connecticut.
Rosalinda Garcia a native of the Texas-Mexico border region is an Assistant Dean at Yale College and Director of Yale’s Latino Cultural Center. She is responsible for overseeing the center as well as the work of nineteen Latino based student groups affiliated with the center. Rosalinda currently directs Cultural Connections, one of Yale’s pre-orientation programs and is the administrative director for the STARS (Science, Technology and Research Scholars) Program. Prior to joining the Board Rosalinda was a volunteer workshop facilitator for the Latina A.R.M.Y. Rosalinda joined the Latina A.R.M.Y. board of directors in June 2013.
After having volunteered for the Latina A.R.M.Y. since 2008 and serving as its board co-chair since 2011,
Yolanda Caldera-Durant, who works as Senior Program Officer at the Connecticut Health Foundation
, will now serve as an advisor to the organization. She has brought strong leadership to the organization during this time of transition and helped to bring on new board talent. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time serving on the Latina A.R.M.Y. board and to support the process of building out our new program model to serve even more Latina girls in Connecticut and throughout the country.” Deborah Sabia and Eliana Nunez will assume the roles of board co-chair for the Latina A.R.M.Y.
“On behalf of the Latina A.R.M.Y. board of directors, I am thrilled that Eliana Nunez and Rosalinda Garcia, two talented and dedicated volunteers have joined our Board of Directors to help guide our organization as we build out our new program model to serve even more Latina girls in CT and beyond. I am also thankful that Yolanda Caldera-Durant served as board co-chair for the past 2 ½ years. We appreciate her numerous contributions and she will be missed” stated Deborah Sabia, Board Co-Chair. Please join us in warmly welcoming Eliana and Rosalinda to the Latina A.R.M.Y.
Nancy Roldan Johnson, Co-Founder and Creator of The Latina A.R.M.Y. Moves Abroad to Sweden
Greetings from Sweden! I am delighted to have this opportunity to address you, our caring partners, from the diverse city of Stockholm. As I write this message it is a sunny and cool morning six hours ahead of east coast time, so I hope you are all fast asleep getting rested and recharged for a new day. My transition to this new country is ongoing and has been an experience entirely new to me and to my family. Overall it has been a wonderful change. Seeing how another country lives and functions on a daily basis is truly eye opening. Of course the differences stand out immediately because we are not used to them: the language, the cue system for keeping order and lines everywhere, the different foods at the grocery stores, and the long wait to get cable television installed. There are also many similarities: fashion, movies all in English but with Swedish subtitles (phew!), driving on the same side of the road, and girls who struggle with self-esteem issues. In fact, I have already been asked to bring La Mariposa program to a school and a center nearby.
I have embraced the reality that I am fortunate to be here for the next three years, and I have had a great time making this my home and seeing my family grow and experience new things. I have also had times where, like my children, I miss home and crave for the comfort that predictability and familiarity brings. I’m thinking now about The Latina A.R.M.Y. organization and the many girls I have had the honor to work with and serve, and I know now more than ever that change is necessary for our healthy development and well-being. As long as the intention and goal for the change represents a positive improvement, feelings of loss, vulnerability, humility, and discomfort can be part of the wonderful journey to gaining peace and success.
As The Latina A.R.M.Y. continues to strive for excellence, it will inevitably experience change. With perseverance and through the stewardship of our wonderful board of directors, it will indeed achieve greatness. Thank you for being an important part of this journey.
Wells Fargo Social Responsibility Group Awards $5,000 Grant to Support La Mariposa
The Latina A.R.M.Y. continues to pilot our expanded La Mariposa program model. With a generous grant of $5,000 from the Wells Fargo Social Responsibility Group we will be able to continue this effort. Wells Fargo has been a consistent supporter of our work and we are grateful for their commitment to our mission to empower young Latinas across Connecticut and beyond.
Walmart Supports The Latina A.R.M.Y.
We are pleased to acknowledge the Walmart stores in Derby, Shelton and Orange, Connecticut that have awarded a total of $5,000 in grants to support our ongoing work to help Latina girls to become empowered and achieve personal success. Thank you for your support!
