Awards and Accomplishments

Sociedad Latina was awarded the Excellence in Nonprofit Advocacy Award from the Mass. Nonprofit Network in June 2010. The award was meant for organizations who replace small-change efforts with systems-wide change. Sociedad Latina was honored for training all of our clients, even those too young to vote, to advocate for themselves and their communities.

For the last three years, Executive Director Alexandra Oliver-Davila has served as a Barr Fellow as part of a program that honors the contributions of the most gifted and experienced leaders in the Boston area. Alex also serves as the Co-Chair of the Boston Youth Service Network and on the advisory council of Boston After School and Beyond.

For the second year in a row, Sociedad Latina's Music Clubhouse was chosen as a partner of the BPS Arts Expansion Iniatiative, which matches public schools with community organizations to expand arts opportunities for Boston Public School students. This year we have expanded our partnerships from one to three schools. In 2010-11, we are providing school-day music instruction to students from the Maurice J. Tobin K-8 School, Newcomers Academy, and New Mission High School.

Our Youth Community Organizing initiative on tobacco control was highlighted in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's 2010 Guide on Best Practices in Youth Engagement.

For the second year in a row, Sociedad Latina was awarded a "Civie" from Mass Vote for our tireless civic engagement efforts around education reform, voter engagement, health inequities, and neighborhood safety.

Sociedad Latina was selected to participate in the City of Boston's Mission Hill Community Learning Initiative, which leverages and aligns the resources among community organizations, libraries and community centers. The Mission Hill initiative includes Sociedad Latina, the Maurice J. Tobin K-8 School, Parker Hill Branch Library, and the Tobin Community Center.

 Executive Director Alexandra Oliver-Davila recently met with Geoffrey Canada, founder of Harlem Children's Zone, as part of a Boston delegation which included City Council and School Committee members. A school committee members called Alex the "Geoffrey Canada of Boston," honoring her dedication to building a stronger community and supporting youth in meaningful ways.

In October 2010, National Council of La Raza (NCLR) selected Sociedad Latina as a model for national workforce development programs for Latino youth. Sociedad Latina's Leadership Team presented our model at a national NCLR conference in Chicago.