Membership Luncheon & Meeting: El Centro de la Raza

Description

As an organization grounded in the Latino community, El Centro de la Raza’s mission is to build unity across all racial and economic sectors, to organize, empower, and defend our most vulnerable and marginalized populations and to bring justice, dignity, equality, and freedom to all the peoples of the world.

Keynote Speaker Bio
Estela Ortega is the Executive Director of El Centro de la Raza, leading Seattle-based civil rights, human services, educational, cultural and economic development organization with an operating budget of $11.05 Million that serves over 14,542 individuals and 9,442 families annually. She has actively engaged in coalition building, political advocacy and strategic development while working at El Centro de la Raza, distinguishing herself as one of the organization’s most effective leaders and as a respected community organizer.

Ortega is also responsible for the development of Plaza Roberto Maestas a $45 million mix use community-inspired transit oriented affordable housing project adjacent to the El Centro de la Raza.

Estela Ortega also serves on various boards and committees in the areas of civil rights, education, transportation, economic development and the environment. Ortega has received numerous recognitions and awards throughout her distinguished career with the most recent ones are being named one of the Seattle Times 13 Most Influential People of the Decade, the 2019 Northwest Progressive Institute award, 2018 NFL Hispanic Leadership award, and the 2018 Seattle Met Magazine 50 most influential women in Seattle who have shaped Seattle, the region and beyond.