Giving a Voice to our Community

By Lourdes Herencia, Director of Microenterprise 

Serving on the Oregon Commission on Hispanic Affairs (OCHA) is a valuable opportunity to connect what we see and hear in our communities every day with conversations happening at the state level.  

Lourdes Herencia, Director of Microenterprise 

OCHA works to ensure that the experiences, needs, perspectives, and priorities of Oregon’s Hispanic and Latine communities are represented in state government. As a Commissioner, I can be part of and contribute to conversations about issues that directly affect our communities and to help bring those perspectives into policy discussions. I also serve as OCHA’s liaison to the Oregon Environmental Justice Council, which gives me another important opportunity to connect the experiences of Latine communities with decisions around environmental justice, access to resources, and the health and resilience of our communities. 

For Adelante Mujeres, having a voice in these spaces matters. Every day, our work puts us in direct contact with Latine women, immigrant families, entrepreneurs, farmers, and community leaders. We hear about their successes, but we also see the barriers they encounter—from accessing capital and land to navigating systems that were not always designed with their experiences in mind. Being part of statewide conversations gives us an opportunity to help ensure those realities are represented when decisions are being made. 

I also see this work as a natural extension of Adelante’s mission. We believe in empowering Latine women and families to participate fully in and for their communities and create lasting change. We see this every day in our classrooms, at our farmers’ market, through small businesses, and in farms. And sometimes we make sure to find those meeting spaces where we can bring our community’s voice to the table, where policies and priorities are being discussed and shaped.  

That connection is what makes this service particularly meaningful. We bring our work at Adelante Mujeres into statewide conversations, while also bringing relationships, information, and opportunities from those spaces back to our organization and community. It is a two-way path, and one more way we can help make sure our communities are not simply represented but also heard and actively involved in shaping Oregon’s future.