Students, educators, professionals, and community members gathered on Friday, March 6 for the 2026 Latina Leadership Conference, a day focused on connection, reflection, and authenticity.
Centered on the theme “Reimagining Leadership,” the conference invited participants to explore how identity, culture, and personal experience shape the way they lead in their communities and careers. The event featured keynote speaker Alma Martinez ’84, who graduated from Whittier College with her B.A. in theater before earning an M.F.A. in acting from the University of Southern California and a Ph.D. in drama from Stanford University.
Now an accomplished actor, director, and educator, Martinez urged attendees to name their goals and believe in their potential. “It helps to say what you are before you actually do it,” Martinez said. “You have to put your aspirations in front of you. I am an actor. I want to be a lawyer. I want to be a doctor. Do that. Make it happen.”
She also challenged traditional structural ideas of leadership. “Leadership, it isn’t top down,” Martinez told the audience. “When you’re chosen to be the leader, you’re not the super chingona — you may be a chingona, but you’re not the chingona at the top and everyone is underneath you.”
For many attendees, the conference offered both inspiration and a sense of community.
Sonia Chaidez, an instructional media designer at Whittier, said the experience highlighted the shared journeys many Latinas face. “One of the best things thus far that I’ve taken is that we’re a community and that we have learned together, grown together, and we have each other’s backs,” she said.
Psychology major Marlene Estrada ’26 said connecting with others who share similar backgrounds was especially meaningful. “I like to see women from my same institution, my same cultural background, and the same drive,” Estrada said. “I’m hoping to take in as much as I can and really appreciate the stories that I’m hearing.”
By the end of the day, the conference reinforced a simple message: Leadership grows stronger when stories, culture, and community are at the center.
