Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and Pioneers of Change

Every year from September 15 to October 15, USAID celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month, honoring the significant impact Hispanic communities have made on our country and the world. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together” – which describes, of course, many of our colleagues here at USAID. From our Bureaus and Offices in Washington to our Missions overseas, our colleagues of Hispanic heritage are making tremendous contributions to advancing human dignity – working to end hunger, driving more sustainable economic growth, and preventing and treating disease.  

In USAID’s Bureau for Africa, a daughter of Chilean immigrants finds inspiration for her outreach work in the memories of the free health clinics her parents used to run. And a water security specialist of Peruvian descent recalls how watching her mother teach English classes to migrant workers helped inspire her to apply for a Payne Fellowship. Their stories and the hundreds of others like them are a testament to the hard work and dedication that drives our mission at USAID. All of us play a crucial role in advancing our commitment to promoting sustainable development and humanitarian assistance worldwide. These unwavering efforts contribute to building a more just, equitable, and prosperous world, and for that, we are deeply grateful.

In recent years, USAID has worked to do a better job recruiting, retaining, and empowering Hispanic Americans who are looking to apply their talents, experiences, and dedication to service toward USAID’s mission. We have expanded ongoing efforts to build partnerships with Hispanic-serving colleges and universities in the United States, including Florida International University (the largest Hispanic-Serving Institution of higher education in the country), California State University San Marcos, and Kean University. These and other partnerships, such as our 2023 agreement with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), will continue to increase opportunities for collaboration between university faculty and our teams, and help offer career opportunities for students of Hispanic origin who may not have previously had a direct pathway into international development. We are preparing to host our fourth annual HSI/LatinX Conference and Career Expo next week on September 24-25, 2024, where staff from across USAID will once again have the opportunity to connect with Hispanic American students and discuss ways to pursue global development and foreign policy careers. 

For generations, Hispanic communities have been crucial to helping build a freer, more peaceful, more prosperous world. I encourage us all to take the time to recognize and celebrate their contributions – and to do what you can to support them and their work, at home and abroad.