Centro, the leading non-profit organization working with the Latinx population in Dane County, will celebrate the first-ever graduation ceremony of the Colibri Fellowship program in Wisconsin on Saturday, May 30, at Centro’s headquarters on Madison’s South Side.
This one-of–a-kind fellowship was launched by The Resurrection Project (TRP) to elevate Department of Justice (DOJ) accreditation as a viable and impactful career path while increasing the number of bilingual and bicultural legal professionals serving immigrant communities. This year, 53 Colibrí fellows throughout four states are graduating from the program, including 25 from Illinois, 10 from Massachusetts, 10 from Oregon and for the first time, 7 graduates from Wisconsin.
“My participation in Centro (Hispano)’s Colibrí program, in partnership with VISTA at Villanova University, has been a transformative experience that provided me with strategic leadership tools to strengthen my capacity for legal and social advocacy,” said Jhonatan Real Merino, a 2026 graduating Colibrí Fellow and Bilingual Legal Advocate for UNIDOS Against Domestic Violence, in a statement. “The impact of this program on my career has been profound, giving me the confidence to navigate complex systems and ensure that the voices of the most vulnerable are heard with dignity.”
Through structured mentorship and training in partnership with Villanova University and its VISTA program, Colibrí provides fellows with a comprehensive curriculum focused on leadership development, technical expertise, and legal advocacy skills.
Centro is located at 2403 Cypress Way in Madison. Saturday’s ceremony starts at 2:30 p.m., followed by a reception from 3-5 p.m.
