Striving to expand Latinx leadership and educational equity and opportunity in North Carolina
Serving Latinx immigrant families across the state of North Carolina, LatinxEd is an education nonprofit striving to expand Latinx leadership and educational equity and opportunity statewide. Their work is grounded in 3 L’s: Latinidad (what it means to be LatinX and connecting to those roots), Leadership, and Learning. LatinxEd, founded in 2018, offers programs and resources about college access, community leadership, and cultural identity. "The journey of being a first-generation college student and first-generation immigrant is nuanced but it's shared statewide by Latinx immigrant folks. So the fact that we get to be in this position to serve the community that raised us, that nurtured us, that helped us survive the education system itself, is a true honor," shared Elaine Townsend Utin, co-founder and executive director.
LatinxEd has two core youth programs: Somos Carolina (We Are Carolina), a leadership development and coaching program for high school students started in 2019, and College y Consejos (College and Advice), which provides culturally relevant college advising, started in 2020. These programs are currently focused in Orange and Lee Counties, and LatinxEd plans to expand them to Wake County.
With an emphasis on leadership development, LatinxEd is eager to activate a network of Latinx leaders, helping them gain more visibility as well as amplify their visions of transformative and positive community change. "One of the narratives that we're up against is that we don't exist. That there aren't any Latinx teachers or leaders and that is, simply put, not true. For us, it's about trying to connect then mobilize," said Ms. Utin.