The Latino Equity Network formed in November 2014, after nine Latino nonprofit organizations participated in the Washington Latino Nonprofit Leadership Academy, hosted by the Latino Community Fund. During the Academy, these leaders coalesced around a shared vision of lifting up the voices of Latino communities in Washington State and the need for carrying those voices to policymakers. The members of the Latino Equity Network work with thousands of Latino families in communities across the state, from Olympia to Everett to Spokane. The collective knowledge and experience these leaders bring in working with Latino families is enormous and informed the six common issues contained in this agenda. In addition to the Academy leaders, the Latino Equity Network surveyed hundreds of community members from each locale about the issues and recommendations that are captured in the agenda.
While the network as a whole collaborated on the completion of the 2015 Latino Equity Agenda, contributing writers to this agenda were: Karlah Tanori, Kate Smith, Carolina Gutierrez, Rosa Venancio, Sophia Beltran, Sandy Restrepo, Catalina Angel, Adrian Olivas, Adie Simmons, and Cathy Liu Scott. Felipe Rodriguez-Flores contributed additional editing and synthesis.