Adelante Mujeres Honored with Portland Business Journal’s Inaugural Impact Award
We were honored to receive Portland Business Journal’s inaugural Impact Award, recognizing nonprofits that have significantly strengthened our region’s economy and workforce over the past two years. This recognition is a celebration of our community’s courage, leadership, and unwavering commitment to creating a more just, equitable future for all.
A Celebration of Community Impact
We received the award at the Portland Business Journal’s first-ever Philanthropy Summit and Impact Awards, a powerful gathering dedicated to honoring the nonprofits and social impact leaders transforming lives across Oregon and Southwest Washington. It was an event to acknowledge that real, measurable change is possible when community, compassion, and collective action come together.
To stand among so many organizations leading vital work, and to be recognized for our own impact, affirmed what we already know: our community is powerful.
Why Adelante Mujeres Was Selected
Adelante Mujeres was chosen for this honor because of our longstanding commitment to providing education, leadership development, enterprise opportunities, and health equity services for Latine women and their families. Each year, we serve more than 22,000 people in and around Washington County, with programs that center Latine women and children but are open to all.
For generations, systemic racism, sexism, poverty, and isolation have limited opportunities for empowerment. At Adelante Mujeres, we work to break those barriers by creating pathways to leadership, economic security, and holistic well-being.
Every class, every gathering, and every moment of support is created with one goal in mind: empowering women and families to thrive.
Advancing Health Equity, One Family at a Time
We know that racial equity is health equity. And we know that physical and mental health are foundational parts of empowerment. That is why our Health Equity team is such a critical part of our mission. What began in 2012 as a single staff member offering culturally responsive healing courses has grown into a full department providing:
Nutrition and health education
Comprehensive case management
Community Health Workers who bring lived experience, cultural understanding, and deep local knowledge
Holistic mental health services through our new clinic, Clínica Esperanza
In 2024, we proudly opened Clínica Esperanza, a bilingual mental health clinic dedicated to helping women and families heal and flourish. It offers inclusive, compassionate care by meeting community members where they are, honoring their stories, and walking alongside them on their healing journeys.
Clínica Esperanza serves families today, and it is also shaping the future. As a training site for mental health practicum students, it is preparing the next generation of mental health professionals committed to equity, dignity, and community care.
In a state where Oregon ranks among the lowest in the nation for mental health outcomes and access, our community asked for more support—and together, we built it.
Gratitude and Hope
As our Co-Founder and Executive Director, Bridget Cooke, reminds us:
“Adelante Mujeres is building community resilience through broad-based solidarity. When one family suffers, we all suffer. When one neighbor receives support, the whole community benefits. Kindness and compassion know no borders. The relationships we build today will see us through this difficult time and create a foundation for the future.”
The Impact Award is a beautiful reminder that transformative change is not only possible—it is happening right now. Together, we continue to build a future rooted in opportunity, dignity, and love.