4 minute read
Do-Gooding: Empowering Latinas Leadership Academy
Words by Caitlin Patrick / Photography by Jen Murillo / Layout by Bryce Patterson
When I asked Lillian Morales-Laster of ELLA what her one message would be to the world, she paused, smiled, and said, “You are enough.”
As I interviewed her from my office chair via Zoom, I couldn’t help but feel that if there happened to be a secret list of crucial humans who are passionate about community care and doing good in the world, I feel confident that Lillian is on it.
New York-born and Ohio-raised, Lillian proudly serves as the Executive Director for ELLA (Empowering Latinas Leadership Academy), a program dedicated to supporting Latina women in their careers and nurturing their leadership skills. With her father’s family hailing from Puerto Rico, Lillian’s passion for supporting Latina women is born from both seeing the need from her own lived experience and the fact that she was once a mentee in this program herself.
Founded in 2010 by the Hispanic Chamber of Columbus, this non-profit originally began as the Latina Mentoring Academy (LMA), a program created to introduce resources to Latinas within central Ohio communities interested in starting businesses. After several years, LMA noticed a theme with their applicants: most of the women were in the workforce, seeking guidance in the area of professional development as they navigated their various roles. Noticing this trend, Latina Mentoring Academy set itself apart from the Hispanic Chamber of Columbus and became its own stand-alone program. Now in its fourteenth year, and with its newly rebranded name of ELLA (pronounced “eh-yah” meaning “her” or “she” in Spanish), the organization is looking back at the last fourteen years with gratitude and toward the future with excitement. “Our rebrand came about as a way to celebrate that we are always growing and developing. This rebrand is focused primarily on leadership and making sure we meet the women where they are,” says Lillian.
Created with empowerment in mind, ELLA is a six-month, no-cost mentoring program from May to October, where Latina women are intentionally matched with mentors who support them as they acquire a plethora of skills, knowledge, and resources to help vitalize their chosen careers. Outside of professional mentorship, women can participate in intentionally curated workshops and community engagement.
Each cycle of the program kicks off with a networking event, I Mi Hermana (I Love My Sister), where we ask previous mentors and mentees to invite any women in their life who may be interested to come and meet other women in the Latina community.
After the networking event, women can then submit their applications.
The application process isn’t too invasive. We look for women who clearly understand where they want to go but want more tools and resources to get there.
The mission of ELLA has always been focused on encouraging Latina business owners but is now evolving in that identity by incorporating more business development and support into the curriculum. The dynamic all-female team at ELLA continues to drive the metamorphosis of the program to meet the needs of the Latina community. “It is a time commitment for both mentees and mentors, but we encourage the women to look at it as a form of self-care.” Lillian expresses.
From mentee to Executive Director, Lillian loves to see the women go through the program and find a deeper sense of confidence, as she also did when she went through the program. “I love seeing women get the promotion they’ve worked towards or become board members for a worthy cause, but seeing them exude deeper confidence is truly why we do this work.”
