Dear Friends,
Thank you for being a part of this
work with us. Your partnership makes our shared vision of an inclusive
and fair economy possible.
As the days grow longer and warmer,
we continue to nurture the roots of collective liberation through
intergenerational leadership, deep relationship building, and love.
Despite challenges in the world around us, our work has brought us
energy, healing, and hope. Read on to discover what continues to
inspire us – and what we hope will do the same for you.
KNOWLEDGE INTO ACTION: Spring
2025 Training of Trainers at Avila
Earlier this month, UFE returned to
the Avila Center for Community Leadership for a North Carolina
Training of Trainers with 30 participants nationwide.
Spring 2025 Training of Trainers Facilitators, Participants,
and Interpreters
The weekend created space for
reflection, healing, and strategy in a moment of local and global
crisis. The tone was shaped by a diverse group of immigrant leaders,
students, and organizers – including Palestinian participants – who
brought with them a powerful mix of grief, urgency, and hope.
Conversations were grounded in lived experiences of displacement,
deportation, and economic struggle, and shaped by a shared commitment
to justice.
At the heart of the training was a
guiding question: How do we use popular and political education to
critically examine why these injustices are happening – and how we
organize to transform them? Together, participants developed skills in
popular education and facilitation to bring back to their communities
– from Boston to Alabama to El Salvador – continuing organizing rooted
in truth, connection, and courage.
ALABAMA ON THE RISE: Immigrant
Power & Intergenerational Justice
In February, UFE joined nearly 200
community members and partners at the Alabama State House for
Immigrant Advocacy Day, co-hosted by the Alabama Immigrant Advocacy
Coalition’s Legislative Committee.
UFE's Ana Delia Espino
testifies at the Alabama State House
Advocates
from across the state held meetings with senators and representatives
to share stories, policy priorities, and concerns directly impacting
immigrant communities. From language access to workplace protections,
participants called for a more just and inclusive Alabama – one in
which all residents are treated with dignity regardless of their
immigration status.
GROWING THE MOVEMENT: UFE's
Grassroots Organizing School of Alabama Welcomes 3rd
Cohort
This
spring, UFE proudly welcomed our 3rd GOSA cohort, a powerful group of
organizers committed to justice in Alabama’s Black, Latinx, and
immigrant communities. Our first training of 2025 focused on deepening
facilitation, economic literacy, and healing tools for sustained
organizing.
UFE's Grassroots Organizing
School of Alabama 2025 Cohort
This
year’s cohort includes returning GOSA alumna Iralda Hernández, now a
facilitator, joined by her daughters Yamileth and Maria. Together,
they model the power of intergenerational learning and organizing
rooted in trust, love, and shared leadership.
ROOTED IN RESISTANCE: Raising
Wages & Voices in North Carolina
In March, UFE, with the Raising
Wages NC and NC Families Care coalitions, co-convened workers,
advocates, and coalition partners from across North Carolina for a Day
of Action at the General Assembly in Raleigh. The event included press
conferences and legislative visits to demand long-overdue policies: a
real living wage, paid sick days, and family and medical
leave.
With
powerful testimonies from caregivers, survivors, and workers across
industries, the action made clear that the fight for paid leave and
fair wages is a shared struggle for dignity and safety. The message
was clear: North Carolina workers are still here, still organizing,
and more united than ever.
SEEDS OF TRANSFORMATION: More
Trainings That Multiply Love & Leadership
Last November, UFE held a deeply
impactful Fall Training of Trainers at the Avila Center for Community
Leadership in North Carolina. The three days of time shared supported
participants in growing as popular educators, practicing language
justice, and building a more grounded approach to movement work, one
rooted in care and transformation.
From these trainings, powerful
reflections emerged. Participants explored themes of self, collective,
and community transformation – learning how leading with love is core
to organizing for economic and racial justice.
In
January, UFE kicked off the year by facilitating a one-day training
for leaders from BIPOC- and queer-led student groups at UMass Boston.
In response to students’ requests for support during a challenging
time on campus, we co-created a space focused on healing practices,
leadership development, and popular education.
Through
breathing exercises, a shared altar, and practices drawn from movement
history, we worked with students to create a space where new voices
felt safe to speak, and leadership could emerge from a place of
connection. Their biggest request? More time together for dialogue,
reflection, and connection.
UFE
Co-facilitators Justice Williams and Eroc Arroyo-Montano, center, with
student leaders at UMass Boston
RESPONSIBLE WEALTH: Members
Say “Not in Our Name"
UFE’s
Responsible Wealth (RW) network has been speaking out powerfully on
the national stage. In March, more than 300 high-net-worth individuals
– including RW members, and their peers with Voices for Progress –
signed a letter to Congress opposing massive new tax breaks for the
wealthy.
These proposed Trump-GOP cuts would
add an estimated $5 trillion to the national debt while delivering an
average tax cut of $61,000 to the top 1%.
Responsible Wealth members are
calling instead for fairer tax policies that strengthen – not strip –
investments in health care, education, housing, and other services
that communities rely on. As one signer put it: “Not in my
name!”
HONORING BOARD LEADERSHIP:
Gratitude & New Beginnings
We extend deep thanks to Anne Price
and Tess Ewing for their transformative leadership on UFE’s Board.
From guiding us through the pandemic to launching new workshops on
Black and Brown solidarity, their steady hands and bold vision helped
shape who we are today.
Now, we
look ahead with excitement: Elizabeth Pellerito and Khadidah Stone
have stepped into the role of Board Co-Chairs, bringing years of
experience in organizing and popular education to lead UFE into its
next chapter.
As these
stories illustrate, movements are made in moments of shared growth,
learning, healing, and collective action. We’re building our future –
rooted in justice and dignity for all – together.
Thank you
for your ongoing support and solidarity. Click below to make
a donation – and make it monthly if you can!
With deep
gratitude,
The UFE
Team
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