Leticia de la Vara is currently the Community Initiatives Officer for the ASU Center for Community Development & Civil Rights. Her primary duties involve program start up, evaluation, and implementation as well as marketing and community relations. Leticia was instrumental in the start of the American Dream Academy, a 9-week academy that engages parents to be active stewards of their childrens education. She is also responsible for the Civil Rights Forum, a twice yearly forum that brings national leaders to the downtown ASU campus to engage with community leaders, stakeholders, and students on the subject of contemporary civil rights. She is currently working on national efforts to increase the visibility and availability of Latinos in senior level management in corporate America and developing interventional efforts to stem the high Latino male high school drop out rate. Leticia joined ASU's Center for Community Development & Civil Rights in 2006.

Prior to joining ASU’s Center for Community Development & Civil Rights Leticia worked with a national affordable housing developer on a mixed income housing development in the Phoenix central city community. Her work included developing targeted approaches to create home ownership opportunities for low-income families and working to improve the living conditions of Section 8 residents within the Phoenix community.

Leticia has experience in contract and project management, entrepreneurial and start-up organizations, grant writing, as well as proposal development. As a small business owner she won the DHL Equity award for Small Business Start-Ups in 2005. Leticia currently serves on the Community Learning Center Advisory Board, the Grow Your Own Advisory Board, and the Neighborhood Housing Services of Phoenix Board.  Leticia is an almuna of the Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership, the Hispanic Leadership Institute, and the Generation Next Nonprofit Leadership Institute.  Recently Leticia was also part of a U.S. delegation that visited China to advance issues on international diplomacy and foreign relations.

Leticia de la Vara
Community Initiatives Officer
ASU Center for Community Development & Civil Rights
542 E. Monroe, Suite D100
Phoenix, Arizona 85004

direct phone 602-496-0433
general fax 602-496-1029
Leticia.delaVara@ASU.edu

Building bridges between the University and the Community as catalysts for transformation