A new group in Greater Houston wants to grow the pipeline of Latino leaders in education, starting with the nonprofit world that pumps millions of dollars into learning.
While half of all students in the region are Latino, only 2 percent of board members for education nonprofits are. At the same time, only 11 percent of Latino students in Greater Houston are graduating from high school ready for college. These are gaps that a new group, Latinos for Education, wants to close.
“I think by having more Latino and Latina leaders serving on these boards, we will help these organizations be even more effective in the way in which they reach out to these kids, whether that's through college mentoring, tutoring and other types of services,” said Andy Canales, the executive director of Latinos for Education in Greater Houston.
Latinos for Education, which started in Boston, recently picked Houston to expand to, primarily because of the huge demographic shift happening in the region and Texas.
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Canales is recruiting 10 Latino and Latina leaders who care about education, especially those who work in the private sector.
Next year, they'll spend six months learning how to serve on a nonprofit board and afterwards be matched with a local nonprofit. The deadline to apply is November 4.
Canales said that later in 2019, they plan to launch a similar fellowship for leaders who work on executive teams for these kinds of boards and philanthropic groups.
Find more information about the Latino board fellowship in Houston, here.