Rosalva Nava, a member of the POWER-PAC Leadership Council, presented at the Chicago Foundation for Women’s 29th Annual Luncheonbefore 2,000 of the Foundation’s donors, grant recipients and partners. She shared her intense story of surviving domestic violence and how COFI training helped her to change the direction of her life. She spoke alongside the Illinois Governor, Chicago Mayor and keynote speaker, tennis great Billie Jean King. Now a strong and effective POWER-PAC leader, Rosalva is working for justice for all low-income women and families.
“I didn’t know you could channel anger into passion and passion could become action, and that action? Well, it becomes change. COFI’s model empowers low-income parents to become community leaders; we use our voices to build relationships that change policies and institutions.
I’ve testified before the Chicago Board of Education and the United States Senate. I also led campaigns to bring recess back into schools. We have made sweeping changes to the Student Code of Conduct to stop the school-to-prison pipeline. Most recently, we gave low-income families more financial security when we stood with Governor Quinn as he signed legislation to remove fees from payroll cards.”
It took guts and passion to do what Rosalva did. We are inspired by her courage and all the POWER-PAC parent leaders who stand up to injustice in their own lives and communities every day.
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