Mary Gates Leadership Scholar, Autumn 2024
Leadership Project: Visualizing Latino Demographics, Entrepreneurship, and Developing Outreach Strategies for Community Empowerment in WA
Project Description: Latinos in the United States, while a fundamental part of its history, often face barriers in education, employment, and healthcare. Nonetheless, research has shown that despite limited access to financing, Latino immigrants over-index among entrepreneurs and business owners nationwide, playing a key role in driving economic growth. Latino Educational Training Institute (LETI), founded in Lynnwood, Washington in 1998 to provide language classes, career training, and cultural events for Latino residents is a key organization in the region. As LETI expands their reach with a new location in Everett, they seek to expand avenues for prospective small business owners and vendors, especially women, to develop as leaders and entrepreneurs. Building on the data analysis started during UW-Bothell’s Data for Public Good program in Summer 2024, this project further visualizes the needs of the Everett Latino community, working with local stakeholders to access diverse data sets and evaluate the state of Latino entrepreneurship in Washington and the Puget Sound region. Through community-based geography and strengths-focused demographic analysis, I hope this project will serve as a counterpoint to popular narratives of marginalization and validate LETI’s mission for collective, local empowerment.
What have you learned throughout your leadership project?
This experience, in addition to other civic engagement initiatives I’ve been involved in as part of Latino Leadership Initiative this year, has taught me about the need for data analysis in the public and non-profit sectors. While there is a lot of information out there, it’s easy to get lost in the numbers, and translating the raw figures to stories and insights takes time, patience, and trial and error. Delivering insights to community partners as well as public stakeholders is essential when applying for funding and developing new programs. I’ve learned how to prioritize projects to meet LETI’s needs and have started thinking about how to share what I’ve learned with the wider community and local government.
What piece of advice do you have for future applicants?
Embrace the interdisciplinary approach! Filling the gaps in the quantitative information with lived experience stories can make the message much clearer. Think about who (peers, students, faculty, community partners) could benefit from learning about the work you’re doing, and reach out to brainstorm. Sometimes we have a vision for our project, but the potential if more people get involved can make it extend much wider. Also, for leadership scholars, supplementing your project plans with statistics and data that validate the community need you’re trying to meet can help emphasize the impact of your work. For anyone interested in academics, non-profits, and the public sector, understanding how things are funded and what the limitations are will help you navigate future directions if you’re interested in continuing to work on your project.