When Cristina Ortega joined Latino Community Fund, she hit the ground running. 

“I started with making sure that our community had resources,” she said. Cristina was hired onto the Yakima team at the beginning of the pandemic when critical information about COVID-19 was still developing and warehouse and field workers were striking across Yakima Valley. 

“There were all of these resources available and not much of our community was aware of it. So making sure that they had that information translated and have access to those things was important, that way they could continue to be safe and keep their families safe.”

Cristina Ortega outside of Jack Frost Fruit Co. in Yakima, Wash. during the Yakima Valley strikes in 2020.

When Cristina Ortega joined Latino Community Fund, she hit the ground running. 

“I started with making sure that our community had resources,” she said. Cristina was hired onto the Yakima team at the beginning of the pandemic when critical information about COVID-19 was still developing and warehouse and field workers were striking across Yakima Valley. 

“There were all of these resources available and not much of our community was aware of it. So making sure that they had that information translated and have access to those things was important, that way they could continue to be safe and keep their families safe.”

Cristina has been invaluable in connecting the community in Yakima to the Latino Community Fund as the statewide manager for civic engagement and advocacy. From voter registration to event planning and even hosting a radio show for LCF at Radio KDNA, Cristina is a jack of all trades. But her main role is getting down to the root of the most pressing issues of the Latinx community in the Valley. 

“The strength of LCF is that we are all part of the Latinx community in some way or another. We have lived experience, and that's why it makes it more important for us to make sure that positive change is happening in our community.”

But her lived experiences as a Latinx person aren’t the only thing that inspires Cristina to work for her community. Cristina identifies as pansexual and her experience as part of the LGBTQ+ community also leads her advocacy. Pansexuality is the emotional, physical, and/or sexual attraction to people of all genders, according to Merriam-Webster. 

“One of my goals is to make sure that we have resources for our LGBTQ Latinx communities and that our communities knew that LCF is a welcoming organization.”

In fact, LCF has joined several organizations across the state for Pride month celebrations.

Pride Month is a month-long celebration in June dedicated to uplifting LGBTQ voices and culture. Traditionally, the month is celebrated nationwide through parades, protests, drag performances, live theater and memorials. Yakima, like many other cities across Washington, will be seeing its own celebration on Saturday, Jun 18, 2022 organized by Yakima Pride. The event will host both a parade and festival including live music, drag performances, and vendors. Latino Community Fund will be a sponsor of this event, as well as many others across the state.

“We are trying to make progressive steps for positive change in our communities as Latinx and as LGBTQ but it's not easy. But we're gonna keep doing what we have to do. We are tired of being oppressed. We're tired of being silenced. And we're tired of having less access to resources and the things that our communities deserve as well. We're here to speak up now and we're here to stay.”

You can find a full list of LCF-sponsored Pride events across Washington state below:

- Somos Pride: Saturday, July 16