Valley of the Sun United Way has been serving Maricopa County since 1927, tackling systemic inequalities that lead to health, housing, education, and employment problems.

Maricopa County has many communities of color, but none are as large as the Latino community, which makes up 32% of the county’s population, according to recent census data.

So when Carla Vargas Jasa was named the organization’s first Latino president and CEO in 2019, she realized how much impact that feat had on her and her community.

“I didn’t know that until I read the press release that the group drafted and asked for approval before announcing that I would be on board,” Vargas Jatha told the Arizona Republic. Was it? Yes, it surprised me, and it certainly was an honor.”

Since being appointed president of the organization, Vargas Jasa has implemented goals and strategies aimed at addressing the needs of all Maricopa County residents. She sees them in a way only immigrant children can, she said.

settle in the United States

Vargas Jasa’s parents immigrated to the United States from Paraguay when her mother became pregnant with her. She was born while her parents lived in the Penn State University dormitory. There, her father was completing her Ph.D.

Her parents were blacklisted from their native Paraguay. Vargas Yasa’s father was the leader of the student movement against the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner in Paraguay, the longest running dictatorship in the 20th century in the Global South.

After being imprisoned and tortured for leading protests against the dictatorship, Vargas Jasa’s parents left the country as soon as they got married.

When Vargas Jasa was born, her parents started working. Her father alternated between being a business professor and working in the industry. Her mother became an English teacher. Her mother wasn’t fluent in English when she first arrived in the US, but Vargas Jasa said learning it and instilling it in her daughter became a priority for her. .

“She didn’t speak much English when we came here,” said Vargas Djasa. “She had studied English, but knew that they would most likely not be able to return to Paraguay and wanted me to be able to function in society, so she decided to learn English first. Emphasis on teaching.”

Vargas Jasa didn’t become fluent in Spanish until the family moved to Mexico during the years his father worked in Guadalajara.

Vargas Jasa’s father moved several times during his childhood. Vargas Jasa moved to Tucson twice and lived there while his father worked at the University of Arizona. She permanently moved to Metro Phoenix in 2019.

find her vocation

After graduating from El Dorado High School in Orange County, California, Vargas Jasa received a BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley. Her goal was to become a human rights lawyer, but after working in a law firm during her college days, she decided to pursue a career in her non-profit sector.

“I changed my mind about wanting to work in the non-profit sector to really make an impact on an issue that I cared about and realized it was a human rights issue,” said Vargas Djasa. “So that people can live in safe homes, have an education no matter where they grew up, be healthy and have a good job. We realized that it was a great place and we ended up making that transition.”

Vargas Jasa remained in California for several years and used the legal skills she learned in college to work as a legal advocate for domestic violence shelter organizations, helping women file restraining orders, and advocating for other legal services. I instructed women in formal procedures.

In 1998, Vargas Jasa joined Orange County United Way as Vice President of Investor Relations. She then became Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Community Impact in 2017. In September 2019, The organization named her president of the Arizona chapter.

According to Vargas Jasa, her move to Arizona and the Valley of the Sun United Way was motivated by her time spent in Tucson and the long-distance relationship she maintained for five years before turning to marriage. Vargas Jasa said her current husband worked in Scottsdale and she used to visit him every weekend so she could learn more about Arizona’s different communities and the issues they faced. I was able to.

Establishing leadership during a pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic began less than a year after Vargas Jasa began his leadership role in Phoenix. Vargas Jasa said that despite the difficulties of the pandemic, the Valley of the Sun United Way had already set up a hybrid working environment that allowed them to continue working smoothly.

With that system already in place, Vargas Jasa and her team were able to launch the COVID-19 Response Fund within a week, partnering with the Arizona Community Foundation to donate over $400,000 to nonprofits across the Valley. distributed. A response fund eventually raised her $3 million.

“I woke up every day feeling like I didn’t know what was going to happen that day,” said Vargas Djasa. “So it’s been hard. It’s hard for anyone, right? It’s been hard for me too, but you have to let it roll. I feel like I’ve stepped in.”

Vargas Jasa and her team launched MC2026 in March 2021. This is her five-year plan for Maricopa County’s Mighty Her Change. Some of these goals are:

• Reduce food insecurity by 50% by 2026.
• Increase the number of individuals with access to affordable health care by 100,000 by 2026.
• Reduce homelessness by 50% by 2026.

Valley of the Sun United Way received a $25 million donation from Amazon co-founder and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in December 2020. Vargas Jasa told the Republic that receiving a gift from Scott was one of his proudest moments as a leader.

Valley of the Sun United Way’s first Latina President and CEO, Vargas Jasa, feels the community has been very accepting of her, and her background as a Latino woman has made her a better choice for her service. Said it helps provide insight into the community it serves.

“I’ve seen first hand a lot of the challenges that people come to this country and come here to deal with. Yeah, I think it’s helping,” Vargas Djasa said. “I am also the only child of two immigrants who have relived the traumas and issues they dealt with both as children and when they came here. I hope you see it and know that I’m meeting them.”