Lucía Ledesma has been named the associate director of UNIDOS, a local non-profit organization that supports the Latine and other marginalized communities in Wisconsin.
Ledesma has lived in Madison for the last 10 years where she has dedicated her professional life to promoting empowerment for women and improving access to high-quality services for survivors of domestic and sexual abuse.
“Working directly with Latino communities and being born in a culture starring in gender violence, Lucía understands how migration status, poverty, language and other barriers affect Latino communities,” UNIDOS said in a social media post announcing her new position. “She believes that providing culturally responsive and linguistically appropriate services is a fundamental right. Lucía continues to work with the Hispanic-speaking community, sharing resources and providing accurate and reliable information in culturally relevant ways.”
First formed in 1996, UNIDOS provides culturally relevant, confidential and bilingual support to individuals and families so they can overcome the challenges of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.
Ledesma, who earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from the Universidad de Guadalajara, has worked on important projects and programs for the resident community in Dane County such as Planned Parenthood, Sexual Violence Resource Center (RCC) and YWCA Madison’s Empower Home program.
In 2018, UNIDOS awarded Ledesma the Emerging Leader Award, which recognizes an emerging community leader who has shown exemplary leadership service and commitment to the Dane County community.
