The Centro Foundation was created to advance and empower women leaders that create equity and social justice in underserved communities. The Centro Foundation’s Global Women Leadership Program empowers community-based women leaders and provides them with access to leadership training and grants to help place them on the path to greater success and community impact.

Women leaders in developing countries lack access to financial support, leadership development and professional networks. Non-profits, associations and social enterprises led by women can benefit more from professional training in leadership and management skills that can help them create more effective and impactful organizations.

Building the Centro Foundation

Women leadership is critical to the socioeconomic development of communities in the United States and Latin America. By empowering women leaders, the Centro Foundation looks to help improve the economic development in Latin America and create stronger leadership programs that develop communities and preserves their culture.

As educated, ethical Latina leaders, the Centro Foundation has the social responsibility to assist the next generation of women leaders to provide them with the opportunity to develop themselves, improve their way of life, nurture their environment, and help their communities thrive.  The Centro Foundation is a catalyst for the support, guidance, and love that Latina leaders need to build stronger communities and create a better world for the next generation.

Meet Dorcas Bautista Sogamoso, FUNDACIón Sinumar, Colombia

Dorcas is a community leader, singer-songwriter and an afro-indigenous social activist. She was born in San Bernardo del Viento, a town on the north coast of Colombia of the Caribbean. Dorcas grew up in a family rooted in fishing, the environment, and music. Her parents, both musicians and environmentalists, made their love for art, music, nature and community a major part of raising their family and home. Dorcas has grown to be a social justice leader and cultural activist with a focus on working with women, children, teenagers and young adults.

About Fundación Sinumar

Founded in 2015, Fundación Sinumar’s mission is establishing women leadership in San Bernardo del Viento. The Colombia-based 501(c)(3) Fundación Sinumar has impacted the community by serving:

Fundación Sinumar provides two key programs – Women Empowerment & Literacy and Environmental Awareness with a focus on developing their ability to read, write, and environmental awareness through experiential learning. Each program helps the participants understand their ancestral and cultural identity, creating strong community engagement and protection. They learn to conserve their land, wildlife and promote peace in their village. 

The foundation’s women empowerment program is called Mujer Tierra that teaches the leadership skills of young women (ages of 14 and 28 years old) through environmental awareness activities. Women are taught their role as leaders, conservation practices and farming. Agriculture is taught in relation to personal growth through the sowing of the region’s plants. The women learn the knowledge of medicinal plants and preserve a long tradition, along with self-sustaining projects and tools to empower women towards self-care.

Meet Dunia Karina Padilla Gallegos, Creadoras, Perú

Dunia is the founder of Creadoras in Arequipa, Perú. Dunia earned her law degree from the Universidad Católica de Santa María in Arequipa, Perú. She works as a lawyer supporting entrepreneurship, women leadership, and social change programs. Dunia earned her master’s degree in corporate law at the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas. She is an extrajudicial advisor recognized by the Ministry of Justice and is a professional life coach specializing in personal development. 

About Creadoras

Founded in 2016, Creadoras is a social enterprise in Arequipa, Perú. Creadoras provides educational workshops that develop the skills and abilities that foster an entrepreneurship mindset in women and girls. Creadoras’ mission is to propel the financial sustainability and security of women that live in underserved communities. Creadoras’ impact in the community is:

Creadoras provides four workshops: 1) Development of abilities and skills to nurture a women’s entrepreneurial spirit and mindset; 2) Mobilizing key stakeholders to promote collective leadership that generates a transformative impact in the community; 3) Training recently graduated college women to teach other women to become entrepreneurs and develop social projects; 4) Visualization of goals through the sharing of storytelling from successful women.

Visionaries & Doers by Creadoras

Creadoras’ programs consist of classes where real life challenges are addressed. The Visionaries Program is a leadership program for young women which helps them to better shape their analytical abilities and emotional intelligence by teaching them about transformative leadership and financial self-sustainability. The Doers Program is a women’s entrepreneurship program offering basic knowledge of business concepts, business plan development, and guidance in starting and growing small businesses.

Creadoras’ trainers are professional women leaders from all backgrounds and experiences. The trainers receive 30 hours of in-class intensive training on business competencies, entrepreneurship and leadership. After the program, each trainer is assigned to empower a group of women from an underserved community.

Meet Andrea Gonzalez, Volunteers in Colombia, Colombia

Andrea is the founder of Volunteers of Colombia, in Medellín, Colombia. Andrea was born in Bogota, Colombia but because of her adoption, she grew up in the Netherlands, where she studied at the Hanze University to become a social worker. Her foundation leads local initiatives and self-development programs that empower women in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities to become educated, self-sufficient, and have self-determination for their own lives. Before the foundation, Andrea had a social enterprise that brought international volunteers into contact with local NGOs in Colombia. Due to the pandemic and because Colombia was in total lockdown for more than 7 months, she converted her enterprise to an NGO.

About Volunteers in Colombia

The Volunteers in Colombia Foundation builds innovative programs that support women’s empowerment to overcome violence, discrimination, and lack of education. The programs they build are community-based educational, psychological, and physical training for women ages 7 and up. They have two main programs:

• Box2Grow: Strong girls become strong women". The goal is to provide girls and women, from the ages 7 and up, who are disadvantaged by poverty and gender violence, the tools necessary to improve their self-confidence and self-esteem and make them more resilient to the violence they face on a daily basis. This program will ultimately empower them to use their voice by coming together and building a better future for themselves and their community. Emphasis on Relationship Building.

• "Un Paso Adelante: A better future starts with one step forward". Un Paso Adelante means a step forward. Providing a safe place where children and young adults can learn and discover their talent. By providing different educational programs such as English classes and art classes we teach them different skills but also how to work together.