Thank You, Chispa: Reflecting on Eight Years of Organizing

I want to take a moment to share some exciting personal news: after eight years at Chispa, my tenure as Founding Executive Director is at an end.

This is a decision I didn’t make lightly, but that had been on my mind for the last year and a half–only to be made clear as the right decision following November’s election. 

In 2017, I founded Chispa on a dream and a dare to build organizing political power for young Latinxs in Orange County. I did so in the midst of the first Trump Administration when the future looked uncertain for many of us, and when the political climate couldn’t look more bleak. Since then we proved that through our actions we could face uncertainty and challenge giving in to despair with thoughtful, strategic organizing that led to many victories for our communities.

We build community through the launch of our membership program. We won locally by electing a progressive council majority in the city of Santa Ana that adopted our ten-year wishlist composed of affordable housing, tenant protections, and police oversight. We expanded our organizing into Anaheim where we advocated for the first ever affordable housing funding policy in the city’s history. And we won tenant protection and police accountability at the state level by organizing locally.

Today we face another moment of uncertainty that in many ways feels bleaker than the last. And although I will not face it alongside you in the same way as before, know that I remain committed to our fights for justice. And I remain committed to do my part in a different capacity–whatever that may look like following a period of rest.

This moment demands new, innovative leadership. It demands a new vision. And it demands those of us who have been in the fight for so long to pass the torch and support in a different capacity. 

I have always been a critic of tired leadership, and an enthusiastic supporter of new energy, of creativity, and of leadership with the drive to ask where we must go next.

In the next few days, we will be announcing Chispa’s new interim executive director who will oversee a hiring process for a long-term director.

If—like me—you believe this moment demands bold, transformative leadership, I invite you to invest in Chispa. Your support fuels a movement of young, relentless leaders who are ready to meet this moment head-on and ready to take on the challenge of the next four years. Every contribution strengthens our momentum, ensuring that we can continue organizing, building power, and driving real change over the next four years. Chip in today and be part of the movement shaping what comes next.

And from the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you.

Thank you for following me on the journey that has been building Chispa from a nebulous idea to an organizing powerhouse. And thank you for all the support you have given me.