Voting for MARTA on June 30th?

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Affordable and accessible housing is demonstrated when we have housing available at an attainable level for the diverse members and unique circumstances of our entire community.   Affordable housing is typically considered government subsidized housing and I have helped hundreds of families become first time buyers in our local community.  My housing expertise is an asset when we look at gaps of accessible housing.  Incorporating my lens to work to open up creative options of transitional, senior and workforce housing as some of the ways to support community expressed concerns on more safe and stable housing.

We must ensure that our public servants like teachers and police can live in the same community that they serve. I will continue to address the issue of access to housing with creative solutions and a housing expert lens, as I have for 20 years as a sustainable housing advocate.

•  I  have been a member of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate  Professionals for many years. Since 2014 I have been part of the Denver  Metro Chapter Board of Directors fighting for access to mortgage for all  residents who can qualify.  Our association lobbies in D.C. for credit  access and programs that will open up more housing opportunities for all  communities. 85-90% of my clients in the last 20 years are monolingual  Spanish speakers and bilingual families. 
• I  led the City of Longmont Multicultural Action Committee (LMAC)  Advisory Board for almost a decade in a variety of capacities: Chair,  overseeing the budget to sustain a community strategic plan that I  assisted in designing and Housing and Health Task Force Chair.  We  worked on housing inspections and barriers of access to affordable  housing.
• 2006:   All America Cities Delegate. I was chosen to represent Longmont in  this national competition where I served as a community delegate to  share volunteer work with LMAC and the policies, infrastructure and  programming we created to better serve Longmont

For over 20 years, I have fought to ensure that all of our Boulder County residents have the same access to housing and the financing that makes that possible. I spent years working to address the generational wealth gap that exists. My community voice is critical to include real life stories of students, families and small business owners as our County continues to flourish.

• As  a small business owner and self-employed resident; I know what hard  work it is to create, develop and navigate systems.  I am a working  family like many of our Boulder County residents. I have volunteered my  time to assist the Latino Chamber of Boulder County, in developing that  structure as well as sponsoring LasL3, a Spanish language Lunch and  Learn format to support women creating and maintaining small business in  Longmont.
• Over  the years I have been sought out to work with local chamber of  commerce, real estate associations and economic development groups to  review policies and structures and advise them about the ways to  integrate all sectors of Longmont's business community as well as care  for all workers throughout our community.   Advocating for partnerships  and collaborations has been an important part of my work throughout  Boulder County.
• In  2004 I was invited to participate in the creation of a community bank  focused on serving underrepresented residents in Colorado. The  experience of building a company from the ground up with a team of 20  other Organizers required understanding of the banking system, national  regulations, community needs and processes that are unique  qualifications to use in my next role as County Commissioner.

Health & Human services are critical to create options and alternatives for all residents. My work with Resiliencia Para Todos/Resiliency for All addressed health and safety equity issues experienced by residents of Boulder County after the Flood of 2013. I will further partnerships with local agencies that fight for community justice issues, impacting holistic health and wellness;  from access to healthy foods to open space and parks.

• 2018-  Present: I have been facilitating a team in Human Centered Design work  for the Community Foundation of Boulder County. As one cohort of four  national teams we are learning a new methodology of engaging community  to determine needs prior to development of programming. 
• 2016-2018:   Climate change is affecting all of us. I Coordinated, as a Resiliency  Specialist, a State grant from Division of Local Affairs, through the  City of Longmont, on a data assessment of residents throughout Boulder  County to determine barriers to access.  We found that those barriers  exist not only during times of natural disaster, but also throughout all  service sectors in our county.  I will use the community  recommendations to inform work that will include community voices  aligning with the County Commissioner vision of using an equity lens.
• 2010-2015:  I served community as a teacher completing a Practicum at Skyline High  School , teaching overseas and locally in St. Vrain School District.  I served on the Niwot High School Safety Committee and am a proponent of Gun Sense Outreach such as SMART, as a way to educate community on gun safety.  
• 2013-2016  I developed a  Colorado State Based Standards approved curriculum for  Spanish for Spanish Speakers, created new Professional Development for  all St. Vrain Educators on financial literacy and built a 3 Tier Family  Engagement program entitled Enlaces.

My diverse career background has created opportunities to work in social justice and equity for all. I  will lead with a unique lens to do the critical work of institutional  change with the same urgency I have been for the last 28 years.  As a  single parent, my life has been a path of role modeling and working hard  to create a future for my two boys.

• As  a CU undergraduate student it was imperative for me to join in a  student movement demanding history of all be included as we fought for  the creation of an Ethnic Studies Department.
• As  a previous banker, that career was interrupted when I began to see the  inequities of financial services providers in Boulder County.
• As  a mortgage lender, my eyes were opened to the way regulation affects  positively and negatively, our neighbors and families in their quest to  provide safe and stable housing in Boulder County and our State of  Colorado.
• As  a housing advocate, my love for education has allowed me to facilitate,  by legally representing, hundreds of families along the Front Range in  the intricate and complicated process of home purchase.
• As  a licensed teacher, I was able to serve in Ecuador and in St Vrain  Valley School District, alongside other dedicated professional educators  and provide representation to kids who needed support, create  curriculum  & professional development for our school district.
• As  a Resiliency Specialist I coordinated the key data indicating community  needs that will be my first focus as a commissioner to answer community  based recommendations to allow local government, agencies and  institutions to serve our full community.
• As  a consultant I facilitated a national cohort from Boulder with a Knight  Foundation Grant, to determine community needs and that work is  elevating the value of cultural brokers in our local community.

Boulder  County and Colorado are leading climate action initiatives through  pivotal work and research around sustainability and local resiliency.   I have been a leader in assuring all residents of Boulder County are  considered and included in local climate action solutions.  It is  imperative to include bilingual youth, Latino Cultural Brokers, local  government partners and community agencies to further conversations  about working together to determine more resilient climate action  strategies that work for all. I will begin to implement existing  community based recommendations, to ensure that more voices throughout  Boulder County are incorporated in our local climate action solutions. 

• As  a bilingual Cultural Broker, I included my educator and housing lens  when coordinating an exhaustive resiliency data assessment serving as  the City of Longmont’s Resiliency Specialist on Resiliencia Para Todos in 2016-2018.
• As  an Advisor I have supported curriculum for the first pilot program of  Boulder County Cultural Brokers to include language access in county  work.
• I  have participated with Boulder County & Larimer  County Office of  Emergency Management departments to facilitate full community input into  the natural disaster planning and preparedness programming  (2016-present).
• As a community member I have presented, testified and shared to city councils and county commissioners asking for Climate Action Resolution, Extension of Moratorium against Oil and Gas Development and requesting a legal path to ban fracking.

I have been participating in community events, discussions,  town halls, and local hearings; I have heard a resounding concern from  Boulder County residents feeling like they are “not heard.” From a  business and operational perspective the root of that concern must be  addressed in local government. 

Community members currently have very  limited forms and tools to communicate with Boulder County  Commissioners. Marta has already been engaging  with new forms of  outreach to involve underrepresented sectors of community to emphasize  the importance of new input and participation in county matters.   Overseeing and ensuring that our county resources are used efficiently,  effectively and equitably is simply a good business practice.  Marta  will offer a fresh perspective on fiduciary oversight,  county  operations,  and equitable resource allocation. 

• Housing  Advocate: Since 1999 I have facilitated investment of more than 75  million dollars for first time buyer families while introducing and  moving them through county and state funded resources.
• Solera  National Bank: I have organized, with a team of another 20 community  members, a Colorado bank to serve an  underrepresented banking sector  and provide products that are supportive of financial goals and dreams  of Colorado families.
• Longmont  Multicultural Action Committee:  For a decade I volunteered and  facilitated a budget for the City of Longmont to create an inclusive and  welcoming community. I headed a Health and Housing Task Force ensuring  housing inspections to eliminate substandard housing, formation of the  Boulder County Latino Chamber to support small business  and creation of  the Longmont Latino Strategic Plan to give the City of Longmont metrics  to support the now 30% of our local City of Longmont population who  fits in that demographic.
• Longmont  United Hospital Centura Health Board: Oversight of one of Colorado’s  largest employer facilities includes reviewing practices, creating a  strategic plan for meeting holistic health goals for Longmont and our  surrounding community, caring for employees and responding to the ever  changing health care market of the U.S.