Latin American Educational Foundation

LAEF President & CEO Nick Lopez has been appointed by Governor Jared Polis to the America 250 - Colorado 150 Commission. The commission is housed within History Colorado and is charged with developing programs and planning for the official observance in 2026 of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States and the 150th anniversary of Colorado statehood. Congratulations to Nick on his appointment.

Thank you for hosting us Chevron! We had a blast. Cary Baird, Melissa Muniz

Building For The Future: LAEF's Largest Scholarship Award in 75-Year History As we kick off the 2024-2025 academic year, LAEF is proud to announce this year's scholarship class of 121 returning and newly college-bound students across Colorado. Collectively LAEF is awarding $351,000! With many scholarships also being matched by partner universities, this is the largest award total in the Foundation's 75-year history. Of the 121 scholars, 81% are first-generation college going, and 31% of scholars represent rural Colorado. Students will be attending over 30 different colleges and universities across Colorado and nationally. Looking ahead, and building for the future, LAEF remains committed to opening new doors of possibility for deserving Latino students across Colorado. Over the next three years, LAEF will award $1.3 million in new scholarships. Adelante!

Calling all LAEF Scholars, Alumni, and Supporters! You're invited to LAEF's Latino Heritage Month Event on 9/18. Please RSVP! Rosario Torres (she/her/ella), Tatiana Rivera, Jorge Velasquez, Verónica García Barragán, Veronica Alvarez, MBA, Carolina "Caro" Chavez, Javier Tafoya, CPFA®, Mark King, Rosemary Rodriguez, Marlene De La Rosa, Dr. Violeta G., Lori Marie H., Michelle Trail, Richard Lewis, Kris Craven, Miguel Valdez, Lisa Zuniga Ramirez, Elena Mendoza, Sonya Garcia Ulibarri, Jazmín Chávez- JD, CPC, Guillermo Jose Lambarri, Crestina M. Martinez, Lia Carpio, Melissa Muniz, Melissa Black, Robert L. Doore, MBA, Anthony “Tony” Salazar, Kathy Maestas, Shannon Archibeque-Engle, Shannon Robb, Mike A. Ramsey, Michael Benitez Jr., Ph.D., Roberto Montoya, PhD, Justin Petrochko, David Aragon, Lacey Golonka, Lexi Muller, Liz Gardner, Scott Long, Eric Voogt

LAEF Scholars, Alumni & Friends: Please join us on September 18th for a special evening of remembering and celebration in honor of Latino Heritage Month. LAEF’s enduring 75 year legacy is a direct reflection of your ganas, dedication, and belief in our mission. Additionally, timeless LAEF archival items will be on display at History Colorado. This event is free, but you must RSVP. We hope you can make it! RSVP Here: https://lnkd.in/guR39piN And thank you to our generous sponsors: Colorado Gives Foundation and Molson Coors Beverage Company. Gracias!

As part of our commitment to enhancing and strengthening support services for Latino students pursuing their college degree, LAEF is partnering with InsideTrack to offer personalized, one-on-one student success coaching to our scholars. LAEF scholarship recipients now have an InsideTrack coach available to them for each academic year they receive the scholarship, with most receiving scholarship funding for every year through graduation. Our partnership would not have been possible without the major funding support of U.S. Bank and the Strada Education Foundation, and the leadership of Melissa Muniz, Marcia Romero and Roberto Montoya, PhD. Adelante!

LAEF is proud to announce our newest members of the Board of Directors, Jazmín Chávez- JD, CPC and Gabe Atencio. Both are proud LAEF alumni scholars! Jazmín serves as Vice President of Movement Building and Infrastructure at Hispanics in Philanthropy. Jazmin brings over 15 years of national experience in online strategy for nonprofits, social justice campaigns, online fundraising, and campaign analytics. She holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Gabe serves as a Wealth Manager Advisor at U.S. Bank and has over 25 years of experience and expertise in investment planning, wealth planning, and legacy planning. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Colorado. Adelante! Guillermo Jose Lambarri Anthony “Tony” Salazar Shannon Archibeque-Engle Michelle Griego Roberto Montoya, PhD Crestina M. Martinez Lawrence Garcia

We hope you can join us at Alpfa Denver's Summer Bash this Friday! LAEF is excited about the work ALPFA Denver is doing; their team is committed to fostering a sense of belonging for Latine students on college campuses, and supporting students through their early to mid-career. We can't do it alone, and that's why we have Alpfa, to help us gain connections, resources, and mentorship. Alpfa Denver has student chapters at CU Denver, CSU, and DU. They also have a mentoring program that supports students and introduces them to Latine professionals. We hope to see you there! Jorge Velasquez, Guillermo Jose Lambarri, Marcia Romero, Kathy Maestas, Crestina M. Martinez, Rosario Torres (she/her/ella), Tatiana Rivera (she/her/ella), Melissa Muniz, Damian Rivera, Corina Hierro, Aimara Rodriguez, Carolina "Caro" Chavez, Benilda Samuels, Elizabeth Krupa, Teresa Casillas, Marcela Mendoza, Lisandra Matos

Wouldn’t it be boring if we were all the same? This past weekend, Denverites and Coloradans celebrated PRIDE's 50th anniversary. At LAEF, we welcome the diversity of ALL Latin@s. We celebrate every part of who you are.  We acknowledge that still, in the Latino community and beyond, our LGBTQ+ community is treated as other, particularly our trans community.  To our LGBTQ+ friends and community members, you are beautiful. You are worthy. Who you love and how you express yourself is GORGEOUS. We wish you a happy Pride, a time of love and celebration. Love, your friends at LAEF. Photo provided by our friends at TransLatin@ Coalition in LA.

Today, we celebrate the freedom of Black, Afro-Latino, and African Americans. While we've come a long way since 1865, we know we still have a long way to go. LAEF is proud to be a part of the Bipoc Nonprofit Development Center at the RTL Foundation. Here, we learn from and witness the power of our Black colleagues. Maya Wheeler, Richard Lewis, Shalelia Dillard, MiDian Z. Holmes, Benilda Samuels, C. Benzel Jimmerson, Sondra Y., Simone Renee, Michelle Trail, MBA, Rashad Younger, we hope you took today off to rest and celebrate you!! We're grateful to be in community with you, and grateful for the work that each of you do to better our city. Gracias, amigos.