Voces de Esperanza: Community, Climate, and Latine Leadership at OMSI
Real change happens when our community leads and lived experience guides the way. For the past few years, Adelante Mujeres participated in Voces de Esperanza (Voices of Hope), a powerful collaboration with Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) and AB Cultural Drivers.
We invited alumni from our environmental justice and leadership training, Justicia Ambiental y Liderazgo, to serve as the Colaborativo Comunitario. This community group helped shape the project’s vision, direction, and values. Community leaders brought their voices, stories, and hopes into conversations about climate change and how our Spanish-speaking Latine families engage with it.
What Was Voces de Esperanza?
Voces de Esperanza was designed to help Latine youth and families build confidence and skills to talk about climate change and take action in ways that feel culturally relevant and rooted in everyday life. The long-term goal was to create a bilingual, interactive exhibit at OMSI, created with the community, not just for it.
Through Adelante Mujeres, community members helped:
Share how climate change shows up in their lives
Co-design and give feedback on exhibit ideas and prototypes
Shape how museums can better engage Latine families in climate conversations
This work affirmed that when our community leads, the outcomes are deeper, more meaningful, and more lasting. Alma Sanjuan, our Leadership Trainer, guided this work with compassion and persistence. “Witnessing the growth of La Colaborativa was incredibly inspiring,” she reflected. “Their commitment, hard work, and passion to make the Voces de Esperanza exhibition a success showed the power of community leadership in action.”
A Project Cut Short
In 2025, due to a large-scale federal defunding decision, the Voces de Esperanza project was unfortunately cut short before it could be fully completed. Planned activities like additional free family trips to OMSI and further exhibit development were unable to move forward. Even so, the impact of the work already done is valuable.
Thanks to the dedication of the project partners and participants, a significant portion of the evaluation and learning was completed. Three public reports were finalized and are now available through OMSI, capturing key insights and community-informed strategies for culturally responsive climate engagement.
We also proudly hosted one full community trip to OMSI, bringing together Adelante Mujeres staff, participants, families, and supporters. It was a day filled with learning, laughter, and connection. It was an excellent reminder of what’s possible when access and belonging are prioritized.
What We Learned and Why It Matters
Even in its shortened timeline, Voces de Esperanza showed that:
Latine families want to talk about climate change when it’s framed with care, relevance, and respect
Community-based, participatory approaches build leadership, confidence, and belonginghttps://omsi.edu/for-museum-professionals/voces/.
Museums and learning institutions are stronger when they share power with community partners
These lessons now live on through the published frameworks and reports, helping museums and educators across the country reimagine how they engage Latine communities around climate resilience.
Alma Y Sanjuan (she/her)
Leadership Trainer at Adelante Mujeres.
This project also made an impact on our staff. “Voces de Esperanza was a new challenge for me and one of the most meaningful experiences in my professional journey,” said Alma. “I had the opportunity to work alongside museum experts and, most importantly, to support community members as they strengthened their leadership throughout this beautiful project Taking on this role was possible because my supervisor believed in me and trusted me to step into leadership. That trust made a profound difference in my personal and professional growth. Every step of the way brought valuable lessons, new experiences, and meaningful connections with truly extraordinary people.”
Gratitude and Forward Momentum
We are deeply grateful to our Justicia Ambiental y Liderazgo alumni and community leaders who gave their time and insight to this project. Thank you to our partners at OMSI and AB Cultural Drivers for committing to a community-centered approach.
“This experience reaffirmed my belief in the importance of continuing to open spaces and create opportunities for Spanish-speaking leaders to participate in decision-making processes,” Alma shared. “When our voices are present at the table, we do more than raise awareness, we create action, transformation, and hope.”
While Voces de Esperanza did not unfold exactly as planned, our voices were heard and our stories were documented. And our community helped shape a path forward for more just, inclusive climate education.
If you want to read all of the Voces de Esperanza reports, go to the OMSI website: https://omsi.edu/for-museum-professionals/voces/