Latinx Leadership Initiative (LLI)

Latinx Leadership Initiative (LLI)


The mission of the Latinx Leadership Initiative (LLI) is to develop social work leaders equipped to work with the Latinx community on sustainable solutions for complex problems. The LLI follows a cohort-based model that enables students to navigate social work together, supporting one another in and out of the classroom. 

LLI Team:
 Rocío Calvo
Founding Director
Ximena Soto
Assistant Director

Over 230 MSW students and three doctoral students have graduated from the program since 2013. Our LLI social work practitioners work with Latinx communities across the United States and abroad in a variety of settings: schools, clinics, hospitals, and prisons, providing an array of services, including behavioral health, individual and family services, case management, advocacy and support, and more.

The LLI works by: 

  • Recruiting Latinx students
  • Teaching classes in Spanish
  • Advancing a cohort-based educational model through the Latinx Communities field of practice—where students navigate graduate education together—supported by mentors and each other
  • Designing an evidenced-based curriculum of what works when communities lead their own processes of transformation
  • Conducting cutting-edge research that is advancing the field on best-practices for social work with diverse Latinx communities.

Core Principles


Classroom experience
By teaching in Spanish, we open the door to changing the learning space in which students interact. For students, many for the first time, this change enables them to bring their authentic selves into academic spaces that have historically denied the full expression of their lived experiences. Secondly, we accompany each student on their journey to develop their professional identity and voice. Students become professionals with a full cadre of skills based on best practices to work with diverse Latinx populations.

Cohort model
This is a way to navigate academia together. With the cohort model, students support and guide each other, draw from their communal knowledge, and establish strong relationships that accompany them through their professional careers. In school, they work, study, and accompany each other as they meet academic and personal challenges. They become each other’s family, in a way, which is another cultural marker that has strengthened Latinx communities for centuries. 

Mentorship
Most of our faculty identify as Latinx and have extensive work and research experience. Our advising body also identifies as Latinx social workers who have practiced social work in greater Boston and beyond. Finally, our supervising social workers also serve as guides for students as they learn how to do the work on the ground. They understand the intricacies of providing services in two languages, with populations that are often not insured or underinsured, and who may be navigating complex situations.

Research
Communities are the experts on the main problems they face. We put at the service of the community our skill set and resources to collaborate in finding sustainable solutions to their most pressing social problems. This is another key component of our model, as many of our students are involved in these community processes and collaborate in a variety of research projects. Drawing on diverse disciplines, our faculty are recognized nationally and internationally for their research and practice.

Program Awards


CSWE logo

Model Program for Diversity Education
The LLI was highlighted as a model program that addresses the unique social, historical, and cultural characteristics of Latinx communities by the Center for Diversity and Social & Economic Justice, a center of the Council on Social Work Education.

Example of Excelencia

Examples of Excelencia Winner
Excelencia in Education, an organization that recognizes evidence-based programs that help accelerate Latinx student success, named the LLI as a 2020 Example of Excelencia in the Graduate category

Facts & Figures

10

Years of the LLI

Celebrating a decade's worth of Latinx Leadership grads

239

LLI alumni

Working with Latinx communities around the globe

8

Core courses taught in Spanish

Navigating social work as a cohort

14%

Of current MSW students who identify as Latinx

Students have a culturally and linguistically congruent curriculum

August 22, 2023 -- Rocío Calvo, Boston College School of Social Work Professor, and Founder/Director of Latinx Leadership Initiative (LLI), photographed in her McGuinn Hall office.
By teaching in Spanish, we open the door to changing the learning space in which students interact. For students, many for the first time, this change enables them to bring their authentic selves into academic spaces that have historically denied the full expression of their lived experiences.
Rocío Calvo, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Latinx Leadership Initiative

Curricular Innovations


 LLI students take classes and seminars in Spanish, complete internships in agencies that serve Latinx families and individuals, and use their cultural acumen to conduct cutting-edge research that builds systems capacity. Students develop a nuanced understanding of the barriers that prevent Latinx communities from accessing equitable education, social services, and healthcare.

Delivered in Spanish, the eight core LLI courses are Rethinking Diversity: Systems of Oppression and Privilege; Human Behavior & the Social Environment; Psychosocial Pathology; Social Welfare System; Basic Skills in Macro Social Work; Basic Skills in Clinical Social Work; Advanced Clinical Practice with Latinx Populations; and Social Services with Latinx Populations in the United States.

Social work education is intentional in its integration of classroom instruction with experiential learning. Students complete their field practica with agencies that serve Latinx communities and participate in monthly workshops developed in collaboration with community partners and alumni, learning best practices for working with Latinx populations.


BCSSW students can also tailor their MSW toward work with Latinx communities by completing the course Social Services with Latinx Populations in the U.S. Additionally, students can earn a certificate in Latinx Leadership by taking three specific courses. 

Our faculty are recognized nationally and internationally for their research and practice. They draw on diverse disciplines—from social work and sociology to public health, epidemiology, and neuroscience—in their teaching and their work.

Our supportive and inclusive culture begins on our campus and extends to our alumni network, where more than 9,000 BCSSW grads continue to uplift one another after graduation, offering career guidance and networking opportunities. 

La Familia: A Lifelong Network


LLI alumni are part of a network of nearly 240 social workers in 26 states and four countries, many of whom support current students as internship supervisors and mentors. Using the skills and strategies they’ve honed in their evidence-based courses to respond to the unique needs of their clients other graduates work with Latinx families in: 

  • Law clinics
  • Public schools
  • Hospitals
  • Community health centers
  • Correctional facilities

LLI Community Awards


Five Behavioral Health Internship Pipeline Program Fellowships

2023

Rocío Calvo received the Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award, for inspiring students to achieve greatness.

2022

Rocio Calvo was appointed to the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Advisory Commission. 

2022

Four students receive Rappaport Fellowships

2022


Ximena Soto received the MA-NASW 2020 Greatest Contribution to Social Work Award.

2020

Rocío Calvo received the CSWE Distinguished Recent Contributions to Social Work Education Award.

2019

Rocío Calvo received the CSWE Distinguished Recent Contributions to Social Work Education Award.

2019

Five LLI Students Win CSWE Minority Fellowships

2018

Six LLI alumni working at the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center

2018

Meet the LLI Team


Rocio Calvo

Rocío Calvo

Founding Director

Founding Director of the LLI, Rocío Calvo strives to prepare students to work effectively in underserved communities. An Associate Professor of Global Practice and Health & Mental Health, she believes social workers need to be more nuanced in how they understand different cultural experiences in the U.S.

 

Ximena Soto

Assistant Director, Latinx Leadership Initiative

As Assistant Director of the LLI, Ximena Soto creates opportunities for MSW students to apply what they learn in the classroom. She fosters relationships with Latinx service providers across Greater Boston and connects students to placements.

LLI Full-time Faculty

María Fernanda Piñeros-Leaño, Ph.D.
María Fernanda Piñeros-Leaño, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
X
María Fernanda Piñeros-Leaño, Ph.D.

María Fernanda Piñeros-Leaño, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

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Carolina Vélez-Grau, Ph.D.
Carolina Vélez-Grau, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
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Carolina Vélez-Grau, Ph.D.

Carolina Vélez-Grau, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

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LLI Part-time Faculty

Yvonne Castañeda
Yvonne Castañeda
Part-Time Faculty
X
Yvonne Castañeda

Yvonne Castañeda

Part-Time Faculty

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Beth Craft
Beth Craft
Part-Time Faculty
X
Beth Craft

Beth Craft

Part-Time Faculty

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Mayte Antelo Ovando
Mayte Antelo Ovando
Part-Time Faculty
X
Mayte Antelo Ovando

Mayte Antelo Ovando

Part-Time Faculty

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Carolina Izquiel
Carolina Izquiel
Part-Time Faculty
X
Carolina Izquiel

Carolina Izquiel

Part-Time Faculty

Student Voices


Melissa

Melissa

Program: Part-time MSW Program, Clinical • Hometown: San Salvador, El Salvador

"I chose to study at BCSSW because of the Latinx Leadership Initiative, which has given me a community, the space to reconnect to my identity as a Latina, and knowledge to support Latinx communities as a social worker. I've had the opportunity to speak my native language in a higher education program (thanks to the LLI), which profoundly impacts me as a person, student, and professional working with Latinx individuals." 


Alejandra

Alejandra

Program: MBA/MSW Dual Degree • Hometown: El Paso, TX

"The BCSSW has challenged me to confront inequity and challenge current systems with an innovative, inclusive, and trauma-informed lens. The development of these skills has created a shift in mindset, empowering my current and future work to have a greater impact on the advancement of marginalized communities, especially my Latinx community."


Yorlady

Yorlady

Field of Practice: Latinx Communities • Hometown: Medellin, Colombia

"The Latinx Leadership Initiative (LLI) cohort is a space where a community comprises people who have lived similar experiences and want and are working to achieve in our communities. Also, being part of this cohort, I feel that I am recognized and validated as a person. My experiences are listened to and validated. I think that my Latino professors have done a great job promoting and advocating for recognizing Latino work in research, leadership, and academia. I am super proud to be part of this program at Boston College and belong to the Latino Leadership Initiative. LLI has become the pillar of my future and has given me the voice that I needed to advocate for my community."


Play
Alejandra Trejo, Latinx Leadership Student

SUPPORTING THE  NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY

The LLI prepares bilingual and bicultural social workers to work effectively with Latinx communities across the country. Students in the program are empowered to find innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of the communities they serve.

Latest News

Frequently Asked Questions

Serving Latinx Communities: Our Collective Response

The demand for social workers trained to respond to the needs and aspirations identified by Latinx communities, from culturally and linguistically appropriate social services to accessible mental health and healthcare, is urgent. Through award-winning academic programs and research, the BCSSW has established a community-centered approach to meet these aspirations and needs.

Questions?